Every December I go through over 80 albums and try to codify them some way. Though it may take until after Christmas before my final top list (and mix cd) is ready, my favorite albums of the year are always fairly obvious to me by now. These are the ones that meant the most to me.

Top NW Albums

1) Grand Archives - s/t
2) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
3) Menomena - Friend & Foe
4) Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs A Center
5) Shake Some Action - s/t
6) Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
7) The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
8) Welcome - Sirs
9) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
10) Awesome - Beehive Sessions
11) Carolyn Mark - Nothing Is Free
12) Grand Hallway - Yes Is The Answer
13) The New Pornographers - Challengers
14) Ghost Stories - Quixoticism
15) The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

Overall Top 10 Albums of 2007

1) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3) Emma Pollock - Watch The Fireworks
4) Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
5) Feist - The Reminder
6) Menomena - Friend & Foe
7) Blonde Redhead - 23
8) Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
9) Apostle Of Hustle - National Anthem Of Nowhere
10) Radiohead - In Rainbows

Sometimes I think it takes me waaay too long to come up with my Top 20 albums of a given year. There are a lot of internal debates and arguments that really have no right answer. Really, you reach a point where all the albums are good but how to rank them gets to be quite the challenge. This year was chock full of good music (not matter what the naysayers might groan). I counted something like 175+ albums worth mentioning in 2007, and that is only a tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that was released in the year. However, I did whittle it down to 20... well, 22 if you count my 2 EP exception (EP's don't count as real albums).

If you're interested in some sub-lists, like my albums "with apologizes" (albums I didn't hear but should have) or "best imports" or "most disappointing" (hint, the band who made it rhymes with Milo Biley), check it out here.

So, here we go:

#21 The EP's - Two EP's made me happy this year, and really, they would be in the top 20, but it seems unfair to me to include EP's versus albums. They're both UK pop, and they're both brilliant in their own cute way.

Los Campesinos! Sticking Fingers Into Sockets (Thanks to igLiz for this band!)

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Tonight's the night! The final show of the Noise for the Needy week of shows is tonight at Neumo's and, boy oh boy is it a humdinger.

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Quixoticism is one of the most pleasant surprises so far this year - hock full of catchy melodies and fun lyrics from start to finish.

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 Much like Dean & Britta, the pair evokes a nostalgic, 1960's romanticism with their gentle, quirky harmonies and echoic production values.

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The organization is as worthy as their lineup is spectacular this year.

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The show not only features two great local bands -- Siberian and Ghost Stories -- but also will have local models displaying the latest fashions by independent designers before, between, and after each act.

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I think Eric Grandy over at the Stranger might be as huge of a Carissa's Wierd fan as I am, as he's doing a stellar job keeping me and the rest of Seattle up-to-date on the haps of Grand Archives, a brand new band featuring Mat Brooke (Carissa's Wierd's somber front-man) as well as Ron Lewis (Ghost Stories, ex-Mines) and Curtis Hall (ex-Jeunes).

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Join TIG and most of the Seattle music community tonight at the Crocodile Cafe where we gather together to wish Pete Greenberg, booker extraordinare and all-around amazing fella to know, a super happy birthday -- with what else but live music?

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The first AstroPOP! for 2007 featuring rock and roll astrological reviews of releases by the following bands: Tom Brosseau, The Trolleyvox, Ghost Stories, Indigo Girls, Dave Fischoff, Camera Obscura, Euros ChildS, Cranebuilders, Menomena, The Besnard Lakes, Chin Up Chin Up, and Bossa Nova.