THE FINE PRINT: We asked critics for their top 20 new releases and top 10 reissues; shorter lists were also accepted. We asked readers for their top 10 new releases. In the reader poll, common-sense measures were taken to protect against ballot stuffing. For the critics’ new releases poll, a #1 ranking received 20 points, #2 received 19 points, and so on; for reissues and the readers poll, #1 received 10 points, and so on. Unranked ballots received an equal point-value for each entry. Ties were broken by number of voters listing the record; if still tied, the highest rankinf of any individual voter was used. Only records released in 2007 were eligible.
OUR CRITICS SWEAR THESE ARE THE TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2007
1. Bettye LaVette, The Scene Of The Crime (Anti-)
2. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand (Rounder)
3. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
4. Mavis Staples, We’ll Never Turn Back (Anti-)
5. Patty Griffin, Children Running Through (ATO)
6. Bruce Springsteen, Magic (Columbia)
7. Nick Lowe, At My Age (Yep Roc)
8. Porter Wagoner, The Wagonmaster (Anti-)
9. Lucinda Williams, West (Lost Highway)
10. Mary Gauthier, Between Daylight And Dark (Lost Highway)
11. Steve Earle, Washington Square Serenade (Ammal/New West)
12. Feist, The Reminder (Cherry Tree)
13. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)
14. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, 100 Days 100 Nights (Daptone)
15. Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter (Sony)
16. Levon Helm, Dirt Farmer (Vanguard)
17. Linda Thompson, Versatile Heart (Rounder)
18. Joe Henry, Civilians (Anti-)
19. Shins, Wincing The Night Away (Sub Pop)
20. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Sony Nashville)
21. Ike Reilly Assassination, We Belong To The Staggering Evening (Rock Ridge)
22. John Fogerty, Revival (Fantasy)
23. Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, It’s Not Big It’s Large (Lost Highway)
24. Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II (Reprise)
25. Loudon Wainwright III, Strange Weirdos (Concord)
26. Kelly Willis, Translated From Love (Rykodisc)
27. Richard Thompson, Sweet Warrior (Shout! Factory)
28. Various artists, Song Of America (Split Rock/31 Tigers)
29. Avett Brothers, Emotionalism (Ramseur)
30. Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger (Lost Highway)
31. Radiohead, In Rainbows (self)
32. Okkervil River, The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)
33. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black (Republic) 66
34. Peter Case, Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John (Yep Roc)
35. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (Merge)
36. New Pornographers, Challengers (Matador)
37. Dwight Yoakam, Dwight Sings Buck (New West)
38. Iron And Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog (Sub Pop)
39. Kings Of Leon, Because Of The Times (RCA)
40. Tommy Womack, There, I Said It! (Cedar Creek)
41. Bill Kirchen, Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods (Proper)
42. Elizabeth Cook, Balls (31 Tigers)
43. White Stripes, Icky Thump (Warner Bros.)
44. Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum)
45. National, Boxer (Beggars Banquet)
46. Teddy Thompson, Upfront & Down Low (Verve Forecast)
47. Johnny Bush, Kashmere Gardens Mud (Icehouse)
48. Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles, Diamonds In The Dark (Sugar Hill)
49. Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian)
50. Maria Taylor, Lynn Teeter Flower (Saddle Creek)
BUT OUR READERS INSIST THESE ARE REALLY THE TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2007
1. Wilco, Blue Sky Blue (Nonesuch)
2. Patty Griffin, Children Running Through (ATO)
3. Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger (Lost Highway)
4. Lucinda Williams, West (Lost Highway)
5. Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band, Magic (Columbia)
6. Jason Isbell, Sirens Of The Ditch (New West)
7. Steve Earle, Washington Square Serenade (Ammal/New West)
8. Sam Baker, Pretty World (BlueLimeStone)
9. Avett Brothers, Emotionalism (Ramseur)
10. Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter (Ryko)
11. Will Kimbrough, EP (Daphne)
12. Gina Villalobos, Miles Away (Face West)
13. Son Volt, The Search (Transmit Sound/Legacy)
14. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand (Rounder)
15. Tommy Womack, There, I Said It! (Cedar Creek)
16. Lucky Tomblin Band, Red Hot From Blue Rock (Texas World)
17. Brandi Carlile, The Story (Columbia)
18. Levon Helm, Dirt Farmer (Vanguard)
19. Mary Gauthier, Between Daylight And Dark (Lost Highway)
20. Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II (Reprise)
21. Jesse Malin, Glitter In The Gutter (Adeline)
22. Iron And Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog (Sub Pop)
23. Teddy Thompson, Upfront & Down Low (Verve Forecast)
24. Gurf Morlix, Diamonds To Dust (Blue Corn)
25. Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, It’s Not Big It’s Large (Lost Highway)
26. Kelly Willis, Translated From Love (Rykodisc)
27. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (Merge)
28. Walt Wilkins & the Mystiqueros, Diamonds In The Sun (Palo Duro)
29. Okkervil River, The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)
30. Porter Wagoner, The Wagonmaster (Anti-)
31. Rachel Harrington, The Bootlegger’s Daughter (self)
32. Kane Welch Kaplin, self-titled (Dead Reckoning/Compass)
33. Kings Of Leon, Because Of The Times (RCA)
34. Derailers, Under The Influence Of Buck (Palo Duro)
35. Tom Gillam, Never Look Back (Treehouse)
36. Todd Snider, Peace, Love And Anarchy (Oh Boy)
37. Mark Olson, The Salvation Blues (Hacktone)
38. Bettye LaVette, The Scene Of The Crime (Anti-)
39. Chuck Prophet, Soap And Water (Yep Roc)
40. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)
41. Nick Lowe, At My Age (Yep Roc)
42. John Fogerty, Revival (Fantasy)
43. Deadstring Brothers, Silver Mountain (Bloodshot)
44. Dwight Yoakam, Dwight Sings Buck (New West)
45. Mavis Staples, We’ll Never Turn Back (Anti-)
46. Terri Hendrix, The Spiritual Kind (Wilory)
47. John Prine & Mac Wiseman, Standard Songs For Average People (Oh Boy)
48. Radiohead, In Rainbows (self)
49. Ryan Bingham, Mescalito (Lost Highway)
50. Jason Eady & the Wayward Apostles, Wild Eyed Serenade (Littoraria)
VOTERS: Grant Alden, David Baxter, Peter Blackstock, Scott Brodeur, Jeff Burger, Davaid Cantwell, Rick Cornell, Eric R. Danton, Matthew Duersten, Daniel Durchholz, Katy June-Friesen, Bill Friskics-Warren, Jon M. Gilbertson, Holly Gleason, David Greenberger, Mark Guarino, Russell Hall, Jewly Hight, Silas House, Edd Hurt, Roy Kasten, Rich Kienzle, Ed Masley, Barry Mazor, Don McLeese, Eli Messinger, Fred Mills, John Milward, Andy Moore, Jim Musser, Joe Nick Patoski, Steve Pick, Alex Rawls, Linda Ray, Kurt B. Reighley, Lloyd Sachs, William Michael Smith, Allison Stewart, Bob Townsend, Andy Turner, Jeff Vrabel, Tom Wilk, Jerry Withrow, Greg Yost.
THE CRITICALLY ANOINTED TOP-20 REISSUES OF 2007
1. Various artists, Vee-Jay: The Definitive Collection (Shout! Factory)
2. Emmylou Harris, Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems (Rhino)
3. Arthur Alexander, Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter (Hacktone)
4. Gram Parsons & the Flying Burrito Brothers, Archives Volume One: Live At The Avalon Ballroom 1969 (Amoeba)
5. Neil Young, Live At Massey Hall 1971 (Reprise)
6. Bobby Bare, Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies (RCA Nashville/Legacy)
7. Aretha Franklin, Rare & Unreleased Recordings From The Golden Reign Of The Queen Of Soul (Rhino)
8. Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True, Deluxe Edition (Hip-O)
9. Chris Knight, The Trailer Tapes (Drifter’s Church)
10. Various artists, Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration (Stax)
11. Traveling Wilburys, self-titled (Rhino)
12. Dolly Parton, Coat Of Many Colors (RCA Nashville/Legacy)
13. Elliot Smith, New Moon (Kill Rock Stars)
14. Woody Guthrie, The Live Wire: In Performance 1949 (Woody Guthrie Foundation)
15. Staple Singers, The Best Of The Vee-Jay Years (Shout! Factory)
16. Moby Grape, self-titled (Sundazed)
17. Jim Ford, The Sounds Of Our Time (Bear Family)
18. Robyn Hitchcock, I Wanna Go Backwards (Yep Roc)
19. Prefab Sprout, Steve McQueen (Sony/Legacy)
20. Merle Haggard, The Studio Recordings 1969-1976 (Bear Family)
VOTERS: Grant Alden, Peter Blackstock, Scott Brodeur, Jeff Burger, David Cantwell, Rick Cornell, Eric R. Danton, Matthew Duersten, Daniel Durchholz, David Greenberger, Russell Hall, Edd Hurt, Roy Kasten, Rich Kienzle, Ed Masley, Barry Mazor, Don McLeese, Eli Messinger, Fred Mills, Jim Musser, Joe Nick Patoski, Kurt B. Reighley, Allison Stewart, Andy Turner, Tom Wilk, Jerry Withrow, Greg Yost.
