Top 10 Albums of 2007

Okay, here's my top ten favorite albums released in 2007. Last year I could defend every single one of my choices, but this year's list seems a bit harder to defend. I think my own personal style and preferences made a huge impact on the albums I enjoyed the most. I still believe that every one of these albums are beautiful albums and worthy of a good ten to twenty listens... a week.

10.
Two Gallants - Two Gallants
I started listening to this album late in the year and liked it immediately. After listening through a few times, I decided each song sound too much the same to be any good or original. However, the vocals and lyrics kept calling me back. And at least the songs sounded really good even if each song sounds like it could be the same melody.

09.
Iron & Wine - Shepherd's Dog
This album would have been my number one album of the year f I had made my list before it came out. I had far too high hopes and desires of how I wanted it to sound. It's not a whole lot like his first two full lengths, which I love. It does however have enough of that style to keep me coming back for more. The new beats and added percussion is a change, but is done well enough to make this a very pleasant album.

08.
Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
Wow. I never would have thought this type of album would be on a top ten list of mine. Then I went to his live show. It was probably some of the most fun I've had dancing and seeing other people enjoy themselves. The album doesn't sound much different either. I have a secret love for electronic music, but not so much club music. This fills my longing perfectly. Very electronic, but not in a depressing or sensual way. Fun, electronic, and dancy as hell.

07.
The Snake, The Cross, The Crown - Cotton Teeth
This is another band that I saw live and immediately enjoyed. I never heard of them until seeing them in Orlando. Plain and simple, I love the style. Yes, it's been done, but this is the type of music I can listen to every which way.

06.
Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Guilty. I shouldn't like this sappy stuff. His lyrics are too simple and good. His vocals are too easy on the ears. His melodies and style are too good a mix of pop and folk rock. This is the album you listen to when you're driving down a country road with a lady friend. Hand holding may ensue.

05.
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
I have decided that whatever this band puts out from here on out, I will automatically place it somewhere on my top ten list. These guys style and lyrics are what I really feel like as a young man. A little respectful of my upbringing, a little willingness to be rowdy, a little desire to be a badass. It's all there mixed up in some of the most talented musician and rock n' roll song writers working today. Plus, they were homeschooled.

04.
Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir
Where did this band come from? Why is the lead singers falsetto voice so sweet to hear? The melodies through this album are very laid back and filled with emotion at the same time. I suggest a bike ride with earphones and this album turned up to eleven. I couldn't quite listening to this album at night.

03.
The National - The Boxer
This is the type of music that should be playing on radio stations across the country. Then I wouldn't feel like we were a bunch of idiots soaking up dumb pop with stupid lyrics. The baritone vocals and haunting melodies make this album. The lyrics are more like poetry than song lyrics. I went and saw this band live, and was mad because the weren't playing in an arena with a couple thousand appreciative fans. Although, they made it high on a ton of top ten lists this year, so it could happen.

02.
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
These guys could have put out another album very similar to their beautiful first album, and I would have expected it. Instead they made something that sounded different and flowed in a different direction. Sure, it's still almost country rock. But it's got a different style to each song. Enough to make you remember them from their first album, but not so much that you think they just duplicated their first hit.

01.
The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
Good lord. This band hit me form nowhere. I have no idea how I got a hold of a song from this album. I know someone told me I'd like them. They didn't tell me they'd take over my listening habits. I love listening to this album. I love that I found their other albums through this album. This is true modern mountain music. It has taken the past, traditional bluegrass, made it hang out with some cool young people, hipped it up, and released it to the nation. It's music that makes you want to get in fights, fall in love with a lady, cry over the same lady when she leaves, swear off women, go fishing, go hunting, live in New York City, fix up old cars, learn to play banjo, drink moonshine straight from the jar, have a horrid hangover the next day, and do it all over the next day. If you have any country in you at all, or you just like the traditions of the simple life, this album will hit you somewhere.