As you may have heard, Stylus called it quits, wrapping up yesterday on Halloween. No trick, no treat. Instead of going quietly into ghost-filled the night, though, they filed their Top 50 albums of 2007, along with a few other lists. In commenter parlance: “First!” The album list’s interesting, really, with some surprises, some crud, and a few cool choices that make us wanna chuck ‘em on the cheek with a gentle “job well done.”
50 PJ Harvey – White Chalk
49 Paramore – Riot!
48 Monkey Swallows the Universe – The Casket Letters
47 65daysofstatic – The Destruction of Small Ideas
46 The Avett Brothers – Emotionalism
45 Strategy – Future Rock
44 Colleen – Les Ondes Silencieuses
43 Basteroid – Upset Ducks
42 Calle 13 – Residente O Visitante
41 Andy Palacio & The Garfuna Collective – Wátina
40 Pantha Du Prince – This Bliss
39 UGK – Underground Kings
38 Tinariwen – Aman Iman: Water is Life
37 Devin The Dude – Waitin’ to Inhale
36 Marnie Stern – In Advance Of The Broken Arm
35 Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
34 Dungen – Tio Bitar
33 Stars Of The Lid – And The Refinement Of Their Decline
32 Low – Drums and Guns
31 Menomena – Friend and Foe
30 El-P – I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
29 Electrelane – No Shouts No Calls
28 A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Scribble Mural Comic Journal
27 Of Montreal – Oh Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
26 Kathy Diamond – Miss Diamond to You
25 Battles – Mirrored
24 Studio – West Coast
23 !!! – Myth Takes
22 Deepchord Presents Echospace – The Coldest Season
21 Caribou – Andorra
20 Dalek – Abandoned Language
19 Liars – Liars
18 Justice – Cross
17 Grinderman – Grinderman
16 The Besnard Lakes – Are the Dark Horse
15 The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
14 Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
13 Gui Boratto – Chromophobia
12 Phosphorescent – Pride
11 Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
10 Radiohead – In Rainbows
09 The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
08 M.I.A. – Kala
07 Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
06 Kanye West – Graduation
05 The National – The Boxer
04 Lil Wayne – Da Drought 3
03 Panda Bear – Person Pitch
02 Miranda Lambert – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
01 LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
Phosphorescent at #12! Holla. Menomena, Of Montreal, and Battles are probably too low, but seeing the first best-of list actually laid out is valuable for one thing at least: This has been a great year for albums. Gummys should be fun. A couple things to note, though, as you prep for ‘em: the National album is Boxer and not The Boxer (though we do love Simon & Garfunkel). And in relation to the Justice album Stylus listed as Cross, we recently received a public service announcement from P.R. peeps re: how to spell the name of that pesky, but banging collection:
hello, in the event that you are putting the justice record on any year end lists we wanted to make sure you had the proper information because over the year a lot of reviews incorrectly listed the album title as “cross”.it should read:
Justice Ý (Downtown/ Vice / Ed Banger)
note: to get the cross-like symbol just hit your computer’s option key and the letter t
Like so … ??? … fun. Of course, quibbles aside, choosing to close your doors on Halloween instead of, say, New Years, has its downside: There are still a couple months of releases coming up the pike, a number of potential best-of-the-year candidates to slog through. But never too early to begin the discussion, so feel free to start shortlisting.
Thanks for the memories, Stylus. Onward!
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i liked stylus for the simple reason that the reviews still reflected some excitement for the music, unlike the damp, stale reviews on most music sites. thanks to stylus, i found out about so many movies and records i never would have given the time of day to. plus, they were funny as hell which is another thing most record reviews is lacking…humor.
Arctic Monkeys before Monkey Swallows the Universe at least? =\
in a year where so few good albums came out, (seriously I find it hard to even think of 15 true contenders for classics) Of Montreal at 27 is just uncalled for.
no andrew bird? no AC? no deerhoof? i have yet to meet one person who likes lcd soundsystem. this list is rubbish.
Dammit, I’m going to miss Stylus. They had a large range of article types; that analysis of The Office US and The Office UK versions was gold. That, and their week-long features were always interesting.
RIP Stylus Magazine.
The Avett Brothers’ Emotionalism is one of the most underrated records of the year. Pure intensity, passion and fine musicianship.
Where the shit is Okkervil River? I like LCD Soundsystem, so now you know one person, isaac.
Make that two people!
The lack of Andrew Bird, Okkervil River AND Beirut on this list is disturbing. All three are in my top ten.
I mean Paramore? Are you kidding me?! It’s sad enough that I even have some passing recognition of this band to begin with.
where the fuck is jens????
1-6 = poop.
This list is really just so ho-hum. “Great year for albums”? Uh, no, not even.
HEY
panda bear is not poop
Why is Kanye so high on the list? I mean, it’s an okay disc, but it isn’t better than Spoon, Radiohead or Battles, for Pete’s sake.
So long, Stylus.
DwD
I’m not gonna lie: This maybe just be my favorite year for music…ever. I’ve found 2 perfect albums (Arcade Fire/Radiohead), 19 GREAT albums, and about a dozen simply “good” albums (which almost look worse in comparison to the other TWENTY ONE excellent records).
In comparison, My 2006 list featured only THREE “Great” albums (no perfect ones – I only have 22 of those after listening to over 1000 different records) and 17 “good” albums, with 2 compilations on top for good measure. Man, 2006 was a bad year…
But 2007 has become more than I could ever imagine. I thought Neon Bible’s release was epic enough, then so many albums dropped over the summer, I thought the year couldn’t top itself…then Radiohead came out of nowhere and…well, I find it next to impossible to believe that anyone can deny this year’s status as one of the biggest ever.
No Animal Collective? No QotSA (probably the most underrated album of the year)? Well it’s good to see MIA, Spoon, and Panda Bear up there…
!!! before Patrick Wolf?!? And where is Feist?!? I am glad RK didn’t make this list. One consolation.
And no Strawberry Jam!?!?!?! This is upsetting me more than it should.
The most surprising thing missing is Random Spirit Lover. They gave that one of the most glowing (and deservingly so) reviews I have ever read.
I shall miss Stylus.
panda bear, yet no animal collective. hm.
Hmm… It seems nobody enjoyed the new Do Make Say Think record as much as I did.
NO AGE
no sky blue sky, that’s shocking.
ddd
weirdo rippers and cryptograms>>?? this list is mediocre but Stylus was a wonderful site
where’s white rabbits, magik markers, yeasayer…
no animal collective voids this list. so stupid.
wow pretty solid list….woulda put arcade fire and radiohead a bit higher but i think its a good spot…and Of montreal shouldnt even be ona list. I still have yet yo comprehend why would anyone like that band. THEYYY SUUUUUCK. nice surprise for #1, but still good :]
2007 the best year for music ever? have you only been alive like 5 years? I mean, even 2001 trumps this year by a long shot. Sir, I suggest you investigate the boatload of good music recorded between 1967 and 1972.
Ignore the ordering of the list, and I’d say that a pretty solid selection. Far better than most ‘Top’ lists tend to be.
This has been an absolutely amazing year for music, which is even more impressive considering that 2006 wasn’t half bad either.
The order of the list really comes down to personal preference. I didn’t really care for LCD’s most recent album, but acknowledge that it’s significant. I could also see how one could prefer The Shepherd’s dog over Boxer or vice versa.
I think that Radiohead are squeezed in roughly where they belong. Not a bad album, but also not particularly groundbreaking, or the best that they’ve done.
My top 10 (or thereabouts) of the year in no particular order:
-Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
-Iron & Wine – Shepherd’s Dog
-The National – Boxer
-65daysofstatic — Destruction of small ideals
-Justice – ?
-Feist – The Reminder
-Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
-Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
-Battled – Mirrored
-Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna….
-The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
with a (very) honorable mention going to: Andrew Bird, !!!, Menomena, Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Apostle of Hustle, Stars, and Arcade Fire.
Daft Punk also deserves a mention somewhere, even though they haven’t technically released anything, I don’t think any group has ever made such a spectacular comeback.
Yeah. It’s been an absolutely amazing year.
2001….you serious? Plenty of great albums, but absolutely nothing that’s leaving an indelible mark on this decade. As for 1967-1972, while having an undeniable impact on today’s music….just isn’t all that in my honest opinion. I’ve listened to my fair share of the classics, I agree with some, disagree with just that much more. I just feel more of an attachment to today’s music, I understand it better. When it comes to the classics, I can see where people are usually coming from and I do enjoy it often, but even the best of the best just doesn’t hit my like what’s being released today. Thanks for the suggestion, but like any other human, my opinion’s just different. Thanks for being more polite about saying that than most other people would though, I didn’t expect that.
2007 was the most overhyped year for mediocre music:
M.I.A.
Arcade Fire
Wilco
Kanye West
Modest Mouse
all delivered albums that are not nearly as good as the albums before them. please. and don’t get me started on Black Kids or the random myspace “next big hopes”. i don’t know if there was even 20 albums from this year that I will listen to for the next few years.
also if you do a top 50, you best include the fantastic Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus SOMEWHERE in that 50!
decent list. lack of AC, deerhunter, deerhoof, magik markers, and no age is lame, but still it’s okay. this is my top 10 of the year right now…
10.) The National “Boxer”
9.) Magik Markers “Boss”
8.) Caribou “Andorra”
7.) Animal Collective “Strawberry Jam”
6.) Justice “?”
5.) Panda Bear “Person Pitch”
4.) Deerhunter “Cryptograms”
3.) Battles “Mirrored”
2.) M.I.A. “Kala”
1.) Radiohead “In Rainbows”
Arctic Monkeys- Favourite Worst Nightmare
how about explosions in the sky?
i think everyone thinks 2007 was the best year for music because 3 or 4 years ago, they never heard of half of these bands so now that you know who they are, they love there new records. how many people had panda bear’s s/t on their best of ’04 list?
any year will have a lot of good releases but even last year was better than this year in my opinion.
this really was the most passionate music site on the web
the singles jukebox, on second thought, playing god, seconds
it was refreshing to read people write more than just reviews
I miss Black Lips, Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, Klaxons and Feist. And Of Montreal should be #1.
THE AVETT BROTHERS should easily be in the top ten……
XDAN DEACONX
Wow…
This year fucking slays.
I thought 05 was a good…
But a list this solid without Deerhoof, Deerhunter, Animal Collective, No Age, Sunset Rubdown, Old Time Relijun, Feist, Black Lips, Dan Deacon, Simian Mobile Disco, Magik Markers, White Rabbits, Beirut, Chromatics, Jens Lekman, White Williams, Les Savy Fav, Pig Destroyer, Kevin Drew, Modest Mouse, Dinosaur Jr., Big Business, Matthew Dear, Dizzee Rascal…. ETC ETC.
Maybe I’m wrong.
The Stylus top 10 hardly reflects mine though… The National and… Panda Bear, perhaps.
Matt B,
It was called “Young Prayer”.
And I think many people loved it.
hell yeah. i always wondered how to make the ?.
Im surprised no one’s mentioned the absence of 23/Blonde Redhead…
As soon as I finished the headline, I squirmed a bit at thought of how many fine young hipsters would use this post a chance to remind us of what THEIR top ten list is like.
We’ve only got two so far but I really hope everyone at least waits until December for this shit – a month can mean a lot and this kind of bickering is just a lot more tolerable when it comes all at once.
Besnard Motherfucking Lakes
Paramore?!! You gotta be fucking kidding me.
Arcade Fire? With a brutally overhyped album as bad as Paramore’s? Ahead of Justice, Battles, Of Montreal, Menomena, among a number of others? Seriously?
LCD Soundsystem, number one? Hahahahahahahahaha…
Field Music, shirley?
LCD at the top removes the cred from the rest of the list. that album was really cheesy and self absorbed in the worst way.
what the hell is the option key? all i can come up with is hitting shift+alt+t which actually puts gives you the time-so that’s nice. looks like i need step by step instructions on how to make that cool cross.
Actually, Panda Bear’s self-titled debut album came out in 1999. But I’m not going to pretend I was “hip” enough to seek that out then. I think I was too busy downloading Grand Theft Audio mp3s.
doesn’t it bum any of you guys out to realize that you and every other commenter have the exact same taste in music?? “indie” obviously is not short for “individual” or “independent”
this comment thread depresses me to no end.
Yet ANOTHER nod for Avett Bros. Emotionalism. Next to Boxer by The National it’s my disc o’ da year.
2007 is a great year of albums. we needed it, because 2006 was so terrible.
battles
animal collective
panda bear
radiohead
feist
deerhoof
black dice
those should all be higher (well, except panda bear, which rightfully gets a #3 spot).
Feist?
Wilco?
Weakerthans?
Most Serene Republic?
Stars?
Where are these?
Justice is shite.
stylus was great.
in my opinion, the best album of the year so far: Hissing Fauna by Of Montreal
I guess they didnt hear the new Poison Control Center album.. It should be in their top 10
The New Pornographers, Apostle of Hustle, Sondre Lerche, and NIN would have to be my favorite omissions that I can think of offhand.
@nick: Are we reading the same thread? I’m seeing a pretty wide number of different suggestions.
DEERHUNTER PEOPLE. some of you need to open your ears.
no dr. dog?? saul williams –niggy tardust, they should have known it would be amazing!
deerhunter tries too hard.
deerhunter may try too hard, but they still come off better than dr. dog. and this is no slam against dr. dog, cause they are good, but i really dont think anyone should be crying because they arent on this list.
Interesting. They seemed to have missed the best album of the year ‘Bolts Of Melody’ from Adam Franklin.
I, like many others am surprised at the lack of Feist on this list. I really hope that the Apple and Verizon usage doesn’t turn off the blogs to the fact that her record was really, really solid.
I think Justice should be a little higher on that list, and I might be alone in this, but I also really enjoyed Albert Hammond Jr.’s disc too. Hopefully it shows up on a few lists, or at least get honorable mention.
how can they neglect random spirit lover and spirit if…
other than that, not bad, lil wayne before neon bible and in rainbows is just a little blasphemic.
you’re ALL idiots.
“And in relation to the Justice album Stylus listed as Cross, we recently received a public service announcement from P.R. peeps re: how to spell the name of that pesky, but banging collection [...]”
They’ll be pleased to learn the album title is correct on the Grammy entry list.
no beirut or blitzen trapper
“Justice is shite.” Funny, Camron, since their record is still better than anything in your discography.
justice is the wrapping around the real gift in dance music this year – - SMD
Calle 13 got some recognition. That makes me happy.
I think if there was some awesome device that cut off the hands of ppl who were regular commenters on websites, I send it to y’all for Christmas.
i literally threw up all over my laptop when i saw LCD at
#1. literally. vomit everywhere. dumb.
and fuck MIA. seriously, open your ears people. where is the draw!? there is nothing interesting about that music.
and did stereogum just use the word “crud” in a post!?!?!
i’m going to bed.
What is the option key?
0 options, the “option key” is a Mac key.
LCD Soundsystem number 1?! No one saw that coming… Errr agreed some should be higher, other lower and some were inconceivable ignored!!!
Anyways, if someone bothered to go over to the site they should have caught the “Top 50 Songs of 2007″…. now you can talk about disgusting.
50. Weeping Willows – The Burden
49. Ciara – Like a Boy
48. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Down Boy
47. Pleasure ft. Brett Anderson – Back to You
46. Devin the Dude feat. Andre 3000 and Snoop Dogg – What a Job
45. Christophe Willem – Double Je
44. M.I.A. – Paper Planes
43. Dominik Eulberg – Die Alpenstrandläufer von Spiekeroog
42. My Teenage Stride – Chock’s Rally
41. Janelle Monae – Violet Stars Happy Hunting!
40. Kylie Minogue – 2 Hearts
39. Lil Mama – Lip Gloss
38. R. Kelly – I’m a Flirt (Remix)
37. Paramore – That’s What You Get
36. Twilight Sad – Cold Days from the Birdhouse (* hearts from me)
35. Roisin Murphy – Overpowered
34. Rihanna – Umbrella
33. 50 Cent – I Get Money
32. Pink Reason – Down on Me
31. Kanye West feat. Dwele – Flashing Lights
30. The Field – Everyday
29. Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
28. Jason Aldean – Johnny Cash
27. Animal Collective – Peacebone
26. Miranda Lambert – Famous in a Small Town
25. Patrick Wolf – Accident & Emergency
24. Battles – Atlas
23. Linda Sundblad – Lose You
22. St. Vincent – Now Now
21. My Chemical Romance – Teenagers
20. Against Me! ft. Tegan Quin – Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart
19. Björk – Earth Intruders
18. Lil? Wayne – Dying
17. Kathy Diamond – All Woman
16. Dan Deacon – The Crystal Cat
15. Gui Boratto – Beautiful Life
14. Digitalism – Pogo
13. Kanye West – Can?t Tell Me Nothin?
12. Spoon – Yr Cherry Bomb
11. Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend
10. LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great
09. Lil’ Wayne – Upgrade U
08. Grinderman – No Pussy Blues
07. The National – Fake Empire
06. Radiohead – House of Cards
05. M.I.A. – Jimmy
04. Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
03. Los Campesinos! – You! Me! Dancing!
02. UGK ft. OutKast – International Players? Anthem
01. LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
Any publication that lists “11. Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend ” get totally discredited from here to eternity.
Lists are dumb anyways. I’d make my own personal list, share with close people and that’s it! One persons opinion taken into account. That’s like me stating “THE BEST ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME” list like right now.
No Deerhoof, St. Vincent, or Tuss?! Fuck that shit! At least A Sunny Day In Glasgow made it.
Is Stylus a UK-based website?
I think they definitely have a weird pop fetish – they seem to go overboard to praise albums that won’t get credit from Pitchfork or other hipster-ish sites.. Good for them tho. It’s nice reading a year-end list with quite a few albums that you haven’t listened to or even heard of!
As for their song list – the top 10 sounds pretty fucking good to me
Spoon – gagagagagagagagagaggagagagagag
Tender Buttons – Hot Abductions
Battles – Mirrored
Bill Callahan – Woke on a waleheart
A-trak – Dirty South Dance
Secret Mommy – Plays
Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
Sleping States – There The Open Spaces
WZT Hearts – Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones
Tyvek – Fast Metabolism
I suppose not in that particular order, but involving these records. many more favorites.
Published lists should not be taken more seriously than those incredibly useful coffee table coaster conversation starters. The ones that inquire as to your pant putting on tendencies.
That being said, one should not be too upset over a list that doesn’t accurately reflect your own.
However I don’t understand M.I.A. If this disqualifies me from further musical listening merit, so be it.
If it doesn’t then I admit I am surprised not to see the A-sides, Sea Wolf, Bombay Bicycle Club and Bon-Iver.
No Soulsavers?
No love for Band of Horses? Tragic. Blitzen Trapper too.
And Menomena should be higher…LCD lower, for sure.
I would laugh a hearty laugh if a year-end best of list was ever met with universal approval. The fun of them is that they’re controversial. Hopefully. Anyhow…Don’t forget about Animal Collective, Hallelujah The Hills, Times New Viking, Gowns, Thurston Moore
No Art Brut, no Andrew Bird, no Good Shoes…no cred.
No Dappled Cities, really? I am shocked, its my favorite so far.
Did no one listen to the Kings of Leon or the Shins this year?
yeasayer first.
david broughton vs. 7 heartz second.
magik markers third.
pink reason fourth.
of montreal fifth.
… !