Harp‘s December issue may have Ween on its cover, but the magazine’s Top 50 of 2007 is headed by Okkervil River’s The Stage Names, with Band Of Horses, Iron & Wine, Future Clouds & Radar, and Feist–who’s apparently the official No. 5 pick for the triple-A set–rounding out the list’s top five. (In Rainbowswatch: It’s No. 7.) The full list is after the jump, but below we have some highlights.
THE GOOD: Grinderman squeaks in at No. 30, with Robert Wyatt’s Comicopera behind it. Also, there’s no Joss Stone in sight.
THE BAD: Rilo Kiley (No. 20) ahead of M.I.A. (No. 24)?! That is just wrong. (Damn hot pants.)
THE WHAAA? Who knew that Kings Of Leon (No. 29) put out an album this year? Anyone?
50. Tunng, Good Arrows
49. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights
48. Oakley Hall, I’ll Follow You
47. Yeasayer, All Hour Cymbals
46. Manu Chao, La Radiolina
45. Bettye LaVette, The Scene Of The Crime
44. Beirut, The Flying Cub Cup
43. Explosions In The Sky, All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
42. Mavis Staples, We’ll Never Turn Back
41. Dr. Dog, We All Belong
40. Ian Hunter, Shrunken Heads
39. Patty Griffin, Children Running Through
38. Eleni Mandell, Miracle Of Five
37. Rufus Wainwright, Release The Stars
36. Bright Eyes, Cassadega
35. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam
34. Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger
33. St. Vincent, Marry Me
32. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew, Spirit If…
31. Robert Wyatt, Comicopera
30.Grinderman
29. Kings Of Leon, Because Of The Times
28. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, This Is Somewhere
27. Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
26. Steve Earle, Washington Square Serenade
25. Jesse Sykes And The Sweet Hereafter, Like, Love, Lust, And The Open Halls Of The Soul
24. M.I.A., Kala
23. Bill Callahan, Woke On A Whale Heart
22. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Living With The Living
21. The National, Boxer
20. Rilo Kiley, Under The Blacklight
19. Bruce Springsteen, Magic
18. Georgie James, Places
17. The Good, The Bad, And The Queen
16. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
15. The New Pornographers, Challengers
14. The Shins, Wincing The Night Away
13. Avett Brothers, Emotionalism
12. Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
11. White Stripes, Icky Thump
10. Jason Isbell, Sirens Of The Ditch
9. Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II
8. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
7. Radiohead, In Rainbows
6. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
5. Feist, The Reminder
4. Future Clouds & Radar
3. Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog
2. Band Of Horses, Cease To Begin
1. Okkervil River, The Stage Names
@SteveHy: I heard Band of Horses open for Iron + Wine while I+W was touring behind The Woman King EP. My ears started to bleed and I pledged never to listen to them ever ever ever again.
Hurrah: Oakley Hall’s I’ll Follow You gets some recognition. Great record.
But that Okkervil River album? #1? I think I made it through one listen before it hit my trash file as hard as Lou Reed’s last album.
I know I’m in the minority here, but I can’t believe I haven’t seen a year-end list that has either Electrelane or A Sunny Day in Glasgow on it. Those records have had, without a doubt, the most plays around my house this year, and are easily better than most things past 20 on this list (Manu Chao?!?). Oh, and Person Pitch blows Strawberry Jam out of the water.
@Catbirdseat: Ha! Good one!
Now I did like that Kings of Leon album, it’s their best one. And I liked the new Wilco more than a lot of their other records. But I’m old and cranky and haven’t had my dose of the Posies or Sepultura today…
@JedTheMime: Don’t automatically shit on me because I didn’t like an album. It has nothing to do with Wilco becoming “too popular.” It has to do with the entire album sounding like Jack Johnson without the steel drums. It’s just flat. You can be mellow, hell I love mellow. But it just doesn’t…do…anything…it doesn’t go anywhere, it justs sits, musically stagnant.
@SomeSound-MostlyFury:
agreed. the kings of leon record almost made my top ten. its a scorcher.