Upset. The word of the our 2008 Best Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll is upset.

With the Fleet Foxes winning readers and critical polls alike, who would've thought they wouldn't get top honors in our humble little Northwest poll? But they didn't -- they placed a distant second to New Faces, another debut record from some very talented, very young Northwest fellas.

We had other surprises as well, with unsigned newcomers such as Hey Marseilles, the Kindness Kind, and Kaylee Cole cracking the top ten, beating out Northwest heavyweights such as Death Cab for Cutie. We did not expect that. And we love it when you surprise us, dear readers.

We imaginaries like to champion the up-and-comers from the Northwest, and our results indicate that you do as well. We think you all also have fabulous taste, as always. Thanks to everyone who participated in our poll. We couldn't be more proud or thrilled to present the top 50 winners on your behalf...

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TIG staffers are a lot like you -- coming up with our list of faves for the year is a fun and gripping process. After comparing/contrasting/debating our individual favorites, we figured the sum of our imaginary parts would make for an interesting list.

While ChrisB and Keenan, among other things, brought in the power-pop elements,  Chris Estey stood by the smartie subtle elements of this year's Northwest offerings. Imaginary liz, as usual, loved the lo-fi and indie-pop songs, while imaginary dana spent much of the year obessed with Throw the the Statue and of course, the Fleet Foxes. And nearly all of us agreed that the Saturday Knights album was a force to be reckoned with. Here's our our staff votes tallied up...

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2007 has been another stellar year for local music, with some Northwest artists breaking out and having significant national releases, and other local upstarts charming us with great records. We know that you, like us, had a hard time determing who to place on your end of the year mixtape -- let alone which album should be should be crowned the #1 Northwest release of 2007.

And what did all that tabulation and debate equate to? The Three Imaginary Girls Best Northwest Releases of 2007 lists! The results of our TIG Readers' Poll had some expected winners, as well as some surprises. We invite you to check it all out, and to also check out our TIG top editorial picks, as well as the lists for each of our individual writers.

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You voted, we tabulated. Here are the winners of the Three Imaginary Girls top 50 Northwest Releases of 2007 Readers' Poll!

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We gathered our imaginary staff to determine our collective Northwest favorites for 2007. It was hard work. Imaginary battles were fought, alliances formed, and finally, winners emerged.

You should have seen the way that imaginary Liz can arm wrestle, and how Erik Gonzalez can duke it out for his favorite bands. It was fierce and fun, and we think our final list was well worth the effort.

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See what each our imaginary staffers picked as their faves of 2007.

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The winners in the TIG Best Northwest Releases of 2006 Readers' Poll, including BOAT, the Decemberists, the Long Winters, Band of Horses, the Thermals, and um, 45 more.

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I'm so proud of the Pacific Northwest music scene, as she has given us some of the best records released anywhere (although Suburban Kids, Art Brut, Manhattan Love Suicides, and Graham Coxon — I love you like a sister).

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You weren't the only one we asked to vote. We asked our imaginary staffers to gather their best-of-the-year lists too! Here's what has been in highest rotation on our iPods this year.

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See all the winners in the TIG Best Northwest Releases of 2005 Readers' Poll (see the top 10 winners, including Death Cab, Tullycraft, the Decemberists, and more).

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