Idolator
LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver—which, based on my rough estimation of the number of times we've had to use the album cover illustration over the past few weeks, seems to be running away with this year's top-albums lists, at least in the UK—topped the Guardian critics' poll, with its now-familiar listmates Radiohead, the Hold Steady, M.I.A., and the Klaxons rounding out the top five. Full list after the jump.
THE GOOD: Because the Guardian's list reprinted lines—and star ratings—from each ranking album's original review, we can all see that either the music writers have changed their stance on the Klaxons or the Guardian's fired the person who gave Myths Of The Near Future one star, saying that "Indie chancers trying to pass this ropey stuff off as a dance revival is insulting and pointless." But maybe I appreciate this because Myths grew on me over the course of 2007, too.
THE BAD: Feist's The Reminder at No. 10. Britney Spears' Blackout at No. 17. Hey, if you're going to have the year's most talked-about dance-pop album on your list, why not get really ballsy and put it ahead of the snoozy dinner-party music?
THE WHAAA? "Like a hunk of blue cheese, Tennessee's Kings of Leon seem to be getting better with age." Really, Guardian? Really?
1 LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
2 Radiohead, In Rainbows
3 The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America
4 MIA, Kala
5 Klaxons, Myths of the Near Future
6 Kings of Leon, Because of the Times
7 Grinderman
8 Battles, Mirrored
9 PJ Harvey, White Chalk
10 Feist, The Reminder
11 Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare
12 Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
13 The Felice Brothers, Tonight at the Arizona
14 Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
15 Les Savy Fav, Let's Stay Friends
16 The Good, the Bad & the Queen, The Good, the Bad & the Queen
17 Britney Spears, Blackout
18 Bruce Springsteen, Magic
19 Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
20 El-P, I'll Sleep When You're Dead
2007's best albums [Guardian; HT Matos]
Comments
I give this list a thumbs up for keeping Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys out of the top ten, and for including Josh Ritter.
Hey, I like snoozy dinner-party music.
Plant and Krauss at number 12, eh? Okay, that record is growing on me.
the Guardian's fired the person who gave Myths Of The Near Future one star
Hunt for the Lex, part 24323.
"The Good The Bad And The Queen" just one spot ahead of "Blackout"...Really?
Lex (the reviewer) is still working for them (as the Blackout placing is surely evidence!)
I'd have put the Les Savy Fav higher, but it's still nice to see them getting props. Especially since, you know, they aren't bullshit like most of this list.
Also, and I just realized this recently, while I think we'll still be able to have an interesting conversation about Battles in a few years, I'm somewhat doubtful that anyone will care enough to have that conversation. Nothing about that record has stuck with me beyond some vagueley pitchforkian modernist posturing and one part of track 5. I don't think its bad, but I'm not sure if there's anything there to really care about.
@Freakytrigger: Yeah, I saw that charting and immediately knew who was responsible.
Yay, Grinderman in a top 10, finally! Also, Kings of Leon: like cheese. Only stinkier!
snoozy indeed. and i'm not really sure why battles is showing up on so many lists...maybe well played but uninventive spaz/math rock is the new black.
oh well...better them than the arctic monkeys, i guess.
What have you guys got against Kings of Leon again?
i see they've changed their stance on the arcade fire as well. when that album came out it was the only thing the gaurdian wrote about for what seemed like an eternity.
@therichgirlsareweeping: And I thought I was the only one. Go Nick!
Britain in general and the British press in particular have a very odd mad-on for Kings of Leon. But then again, they also used to support Fun Lovin' Criminals, so...
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