Idolator

Boy, did that Low album ever suck.

Good list, what with the A Sunny Day In Glasgow love and all, but it's a shame they didn't get the memo that mixtapes aren't actual albums.

good to see people haven't forgotten that International Players Anthem came out this year.

@bg5000: but drought 3 was better than any other rap album that came out this year..should it be disqualified on a technicality?

I know no one over the age of 11 who actually enjoyed "Girlfriend." And most of those kids' year-end lists would probably rank Hannah Montana's efforts much higher, anyway.

Nice to see that Marnie Stern record getting at least a nod somewhere.

@tigerpop: If the Low album sucked, then I guess everything else sucked a little more 'cause for my money, Low put out the best album of 2007.

I can't emphasize enough how much I miss Stylus. They were the smart, impassioned online music magazine I always wished Pitchfork was.

This list is (relativeley) good. They pushed a litte bit of bullshit, but they big upped Twilight Sad, who I don't recall seeing on any other lists.

@gofreescout: Yeah, her record and the movie version of the play that the Virginia Tech shooter wrote pretty much were 2007 for me.

@stephenbush: Thank you! The Low album is lovely. What exactly is your beef with it, Tigerpop? That they replaced guitars with glitchy sounds? They couldn't keep making Curtain Hits the Cast over and over. No matter what's behind it, Sparhawk's spooky lyrics remain great.

As for this list, what is Paramore doing on it???

This is a good list. I am glad to see Gui Boratto and Deepchord get some nods.

A few notes (see: surprises) on this list:
1) No Icky Thump. surprised not because they deserve it (because they don't), but because every other publication has placed them somewhere atop the list.
2) The Field in the top 10
3) Paramore in the top 50, again not because they don't deserve it, just that they're there.
4) No Against Me! in the top 50 albums, I do love the nod in the singles list.
5) Ted Leo & The Pharmacists absence makes me sad

Yeah, Paramore was definitely the (pleasant) surprise of this list. If I'd kept writing for Stylus for a few more months than I did, I would've voted in the list and bumped it up a little higher.

This is easily the best list you've posted yet. I'm surprised "Jimmy" keeps outranking "Paper Planes" though. Also, isn't "To Live and Die in the Airport Lounge" the My Teenage Stride song that should have made this list?

@JZ13 and stephenbush: Uh-oh, I pushed the Wilco button!

I'm not of the "they have to make the first record over and over" mindset at all; I like "Things We Lost in the Fire" and "Great Destroyer" best, neither of which is anything like "the old Low". This one just didn't work for me. And the mix is annoying. (That said, "Drums and Guns" is Low's first iPod record, for whatever that's worth.)

@tigerpop: I'm not exactly a Wilco fan. And the mix is stunning on a good set of headphones in the dark.

Looking forward to outraging the Idolator masses by voting for "Girlfriend" in the year-end poll...

@futurehorse: Certainly with you on the surprsing lack of "Paper Planes" love.

@stephenbush: Agreed, I'm glad to hear someone other than John McEntire utilizing old timey hard panning in a mix. Especially with something as sparse as Low. I loved this record for that exact reason.

Plus that cake-eating video. That was good too.

The absence of Robert Wyatt's "Comicopera" surprises me. I would think it'd be up Stylus' alley.

Was Burial's new disc released by the time Stylus closed up shop? That probably would've made the cut, too.

@Paperboy 2000 and stephenbush: Maybe I need new headphones.

Two thumbs up for those Paramore kids. That album's a blast. Besides, when I saw them this summer, they were escorted onto the stage by Mexican wrestlers.

Any band that brings Mexican wrestlers (complete with masks) on stage is a great band in my book.

@Weezy F Baby: Well, yes, i would, for pretty much the same reason that i wouldn't want to see a EP in a top albums list either. It's a lot easier to make a great EP than it is to make a great album, since the format gives you a lot of freedom to experiment with your sound and you're under no pressure to put forth a cohesive set of songs that express central themes. It's even easier for mixtapes, cause you dont even have to make your own beats if you don't want to. So while it may be good (though i have to strongly disagree with you on it being the best rap release of the year), it's not really the same as making a great album.

So it seems that we are all in agreement that this list is the most tasteful we have see thus far. It includes a variety of genres, and plentiful diamonds in a year of over-hyped roughs. "sigh" Now I miss Stylus, and I didn't even read them that much. I missed out, big-time.

While it wasn't the most challenging record in the world, Yours To Keep should have made at least one appearance on a list somewhere, no? At least a token placement at #49 or #50 even? I thought I'd hate that album, and I ended up listening the shit out of it.

(Yeah, I know, 2001 called, they want their taste back, lolz.)

Every time I see a mention of Stylus I get all sad inside, what with the untimely death of the best webzine around and all that-

-or maybe I just miss the free mp3s from the Singles Jukebox.

Patrick Wolf! Yay! Sometimes I think I'm all alone in some things.

@Charlie Kerfelds Jetsons Tee: Nope, Stylus closed on Oct. 31 and Burial was released in mid-November (in the US, anyway). I think you're probably right that it would've sneaked in there. Also Kisskisskiss OTM about the mp3s!

@Charlie Kerfelds Jetsons Tee: The Wyatt album probably didn't become available before they made their lists.

Damn shame about Stylus...they put out some of my favorite feature arcticles ever.

@futurehorse: there are three excellent songs on that MTS album imho, and that's one of them...but I think Chock's Rally edges it.
Wyatt, Burial & Ghostface = too late for voting.

@Charlie Kerfelds Jetsons Tee:

Judging by all the love that Burial disc received on the Stylus board . . . yeah, it most definitely would have found its way to the top album list.