Photograph by Amelia Bauer
Time once again to crush on our favorite albums of the year. As a sampling of our 2007 soundtrack, each of these stellar releases was required listening for road trips, subway rides, all-night benders, and for easing the hangover the next morning. We encourage you to download the single we've made available from each to make your own holiday soundtrack. Trust us, it'll make the transition to 2008 that much sweeter.
1. Radiohead—In Rainbows"Reckoner" [MP3]
Leave it to Radiohead to casually release a masterpiece on the internet with no promotion or warning. The songs sound worn-in and comfortable, and even without making a stylistic jump forward, it's still the best album we've heard all year. Buy this album
2. Of Montreal—Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?"Faberge Falls for Shuggie" [MP3]
There's something completely insane yet totally innovative and amazing about Of Montreal where there is so much going on, so many sounds and references your head is spinning but at the same time your body is moving. "Faberge Falls..." is a perfect starting point for someone to experience exactly what I mean. Enjoy. Buy this album
3. Feist—The Reminder"Intuition" [MP3]
She's known now as the iPod queen, but that track just scratches the surface of her true song-writing abilities. Usually an album so poppy and accessible doesn't stand the test of time, but "The Reminder" was stronger than we initially expected as evidenced by this heartbreaking ballad "Intuition," one of our top tracks of the year. Buy this album
4. Panda Bear—Person Pitch"Bros" [MP3]
There are thousands of bedroom producers all over the world, but only one of them is capable of making "Pet Sounds" on a cheap sampler. The only logical thing to do when this album ends is to play it over again. Buy this album
5. Deerhunter—Cryptograms"Hazel Street" [MP3]
This band elicits a rather divisive reaction from people but at its core it's really just an amazing pop band with iconic characters and sometimes abrasive psychadelics. (spelling?). Hazel St creeps up on you and will have you rocking out in no time to Mr. Cox's angelic vocals. Keep an eye on these guys. Buy this album
6. Justice—+"Newjack"
So what if they stole most of their moves from Daft Punk? We should be trying to encourage that kind of behavior and not condemn it. Plus, the " D.A.N.C.E." video made our year. Buy this album
7. The Field—From Here We Go Sublime"Everyday" [MP3]
Those crazy Swedes—they can take a millisecond of a Lionel Richie song, repeat it ad nauseum, and make us love every minute of it. Buy this album
8. Dirty Projectors—Rise Above"No More" [MP3]
Those crazy Brooklynites—they can take a Black Flag album we haven't listened to since high school, reimagine it as an art-school pop experiment, and turn it into one of the freshest albums of the past five years. Buy this album
9. LCD Soundsystem—Sound of Silver"Someone Great" [MP3]
The guy with impeccable taste who made it cool for indie kids to be into electronic music finally reached his full potential with Sound of Silver. This time around he had more than good ideas: He had great songs. Buy this album
10. PJ Harvey—White Chalk"Silence" [MP3]
Ok, so PJ doesn't rock so hard anymore, but she's still as intense as ever. Let this track wash over you like a warm bath, just don't hurt yourself! Buy this album
11. Cass Mccombs—Dropping the Writ"That's That" [MP3]
A Baltimore folksinger who abandons his lo-fi sound for a style closer to the classic Smiths sound. For some reason, whenever we hear this we think of the Mannequin soundtrack. Good movie. Buy this album
12. Beirut—The Flying Club Cup"Cliquot" [MP3]
Co-written by Canadian wunderkind Owen Pallett, this track is the only duet on the album and ends up being one of the stronger pieces. A gay love story as played by Beirut—a classic. Buy this album
13. Roisin Murphy—Overpowered"Primitive" [MP3]
All you need to do to understand Roisin Murphy is watch her videos and check out her outfits. It makes everything click into place. Trust us. Buy this album
14. No Age—Weirdo Rippers"Semi-Sorted" [MP3]
Pretty much the formula for this album is beautiful, noisy intros that lead into 20-second pop punk explosions. After a few listens you begin to realize you love the buildup so much, you don't care if the explosion ever comes. Buy this album
15. Sleeping States—There the Open Spaces"Rivers" [MP3]
This little-known UK singer-songwriter put out one of 2007's most charming releases, with this track standing above major label singles as one of the sweetest songs we've heard in years. Buy this album
16. Electrelane—No Shouts No Calls"The Greater Times" [MP3]
RIP Electrelane. We will sorely miss you, but at least you left us with an amazing final album to remember you by. Buy this album
17. Deerhoof—Friend Opportunity"Believe E.S.P." [MP3]
For a rock band, we admire Deerhoof's willingness to take any sound that pops into their heads and run with it. For this album, they decided to sound like a drunken J-pop garage band. It works. Buy this album
18. Papercuts—Can't Go Back"John Brown" [MP3]
Woozy, reverbed and tender the Papercuts are here to heal you and "John Brown" is just the man for the job. Buy this album
19. The Clientele—God Save The Clientele"Bookshop Casanova" [MP3]
The Clientele with a bit of disco sass you say? We welcome that after their endless sleepy record of yesteryear. Bookshop Casanova owns big time. Buy this album
20. Yeasayer—All Hour Cymbals"2080" [MP3]
One of the newer faces around the *cough*, "brooklyn scene", these guys are setting themselves to be the next animal collective except catchier—a great release all around. Buy this album
All MP3s are for sampling purposes only. Please go out and buy the artists' records. If anyone would like for us to remove a track, please email us at feedback@refinery29.com.Our 20 top albums of 2007...download and pass it on.