Top 10

10. M.I.A.
Kala
M.I.A broke through my stereo one day with her track “Paper Planes” and I fell in love. It’s Poppy Hip Hop with some real grunge and dirt added to it in this genre blurring, cultural crossing album of 2007.

9. ELLIOTT SMITH
New Moon
His second posthumous release proves what we’ve always known that his music will last the test of time. Our kids will listen to this album and not associate his antics with it, they won’t listen to it because he was a troubled musician but because his music is amazing.

8. THE NATIONAL
Boxer
This album on first listen seems to be missing something. It grows on you and you find gems buried beneath the dirt that your ears have to discover. Boxer is the National on top of their game and an album not to be ignored.

7. SUNSET RUBDOWN
Random Spirit Lover
I loved Wolf Parade’s “Apologies to the Queen Mary” and while I wait for their next album I needed Sunset Rubdown to tide me over. It ended up being another brainchild of Spencer Krug I could consistently rock out to. His shaky weary vocals sit right with me as does his amazing songwriting capabilities

6. ARCADE FIRE
Neon Bible
Expectations are often times not fun, especially if you release, Funeral, one of the best albums ever recorded on your first time out. Neon Bible was not the same, it was different. It wasn’t an extension or a next step, it was a new record and a new sound and they still did it well.

5. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
Sound Of Silver
Sound of silver is a proper album to listen to the whole way through in a perfect blend of rock and dance music. I remember listening to “daft punk is playing at my house” from his self titled disc, loved the song so I checked the album. Sound of Silver outdoes everything that came before it from him.

4. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE PRESENTS KEVIN DREW
Spirit If
I love Broken Social Scene and whosever plan it was to associate Kevin Drew so dearly to BSS did not bode well for me. Every other release from a BSS member didn’t need the title so why did Drew? It could be the album sounds like a follow up to Broken Social Scene’s self titled release but this is what makes it great. Kevin Drew’s talent is the backbone of the band and it’s heard on Spirit If.

3. OF MONTREAL
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
When I first heard the album I was at a loss. It’s all over the map with changing mood swings, falsetto vocals, techno rock, synth spins and catching melodies. I disregarded the album but upon further review I fell in love with its awkwardness.

2. IRON AND WINE
The Shepherd's Dog
I’ve always loved Iron & Wine so I went to see them in concert this year and Sam Beam started by saying, “We’re gonna play a lot of new ones for you, hope that’s all right” on the day of this album’s release. I didn’t know the music but it didn’t stop me from loving it all the same. The album is him as he’s always been with loads of accompaniment creating a richer, fuller sound than heard on previous albums.

1. RADIOHEAD
In Rainbows
No, they weren’t the first and no, it wasn’t original what they did but they will be the ones remembered for it. They sold this album online for pay-what-you-want pricing. They won’t divulge the results of how well it went but rumour has it doing very well. The album itself is reminiscent of “Hail to the thief” and a beautiful one to hear.