Best Cds of 2007

This last year has seen a reduction of the quantity of CDs I have bought. I am starting to realize that no one really has time to listen to all this music. In fact the summer of 2007 was the year of The Great Purge in which I sold 40% - 50% of my music. I wish I could say how many CDs I bought this year (I actually do count and compare from year to year) but its been over 7 months since I made that count. I would guess I bought about 80 CDs, which is down from the usual well over 100 CDs per year. With finances being really tight, I expect the number for next year to be even lower. Right now as of August 2008, I have about 40.
Another thing about this year is that I noticed that some of the CDs I have not listened to very much, which means I really don’t have a great idea of what they are about – A general idea but not a great understanding. So I expect that the ranking of the cds will be very loose, especially for the lower ranking CDs. So without any further ado, here is the best of 2007:

1. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup – This guy just doesn’t miss. In my opinion it’s a slight improvement over the last CD. Has a little more French influence, but the Eastern European is still there.

2. Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara – While a tad on the softer side, there is some beautiful acoustic folk music here.

3. Grinderman – Grinderman – Nick Cave rocking out. I think that this is better than the Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! CD, though many critics disagree with me.

4. Jessie Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – Like Love & Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul – A little more rocking than her last CD, yet still lush and haunting.

5. The National – The Boxer – Another Solid effort, though I still prefer Alligator.

6. Stax – 50th Anniversary Celebration – Now I’m not a fan of Rhythm and Blues, but the quality of song writing on this CD is unquestionable. If you don’t know what Stax is, thing Motown but hipper.

7. Iron & Wine – The Shepard’s Dog – I like his more recent work because it is a little more rockier.

8. P.J. Harvey – White Chalk – She plays piano instead of guitar. The results are spooky and beautiful.

9. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – This one is a bit more minimalist than their others, but still some catchy tunes.

10. Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited – Various Artists – Some nice renditions of classic songs.

11. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga – No new sound really, but there are some really good songs.

12. Chris & Carla – Fly High Brave Dreamers – I have not been able to get into this CD very much, though they are some of my all time favorite performers. I suspect with more listens, this would go up more in the rankings.

13. Bishop Allen & the Broken String - Bishop Allen & the Broken String – My Space Phenom. They release all their songs on My Space and than compiled their best songs for the CD. Great catchy pop songs.

14. Blanche – Little Amber Bottles – A Bit of a disappointment from their debut CD, but there are still some great songs on here. Maybe with some more listens…

15. Joe Henry – Civilian – A solid CD of Americanaish music. Very good song writing.

16. New Model Army – High – Solid Songs from punk Rock/Activist group

17. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha – While this one is good, I have not been able to get into this one as much as the previous CD. More listens needed?

18. Earlimart – Mentor – Good solid pop music. Kind of drags in second half .

19. Chuck Prophet – Soap and Water – Americana music but slightly more rockin’ than the typical for the genre.

And the bottom of the pile. Still good but perhaps they need more listens.

20. Cafe tacuba - Sino
21. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of...
22. Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
23. Pylon - Gyrate (rerelease)
24. Karen Ann - Karen Ann
25. Moby Grape - Listen My Friends (rerelease)