I should preface by saying, I am suggesting the following is the 'best of the year': I'm looking for ideas...

One month left, and I am putting together my year in review disc for friends. Problem is, I buy mostly archival, or wait for it to be cheap via BMG or used...So, I expect I will be a little shy of material. So what is out that I should consider...this is the paltry items I bought released this year (removing Jazz and most archival / live material which I normally do not include - although I am thinking of cheating this year for some previously unreleased material - a la the awesome 'Man Needs a Made/Heart of Gold Suite")

Arcade Fire Neon Bible
Black Crowes Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy
Circus Diablo Circus Diablo
Drew, Kenny Undercurrent
Grinderman Grinderman
McCartney, Paul Memory Almost Full
Mika Life in Cartoon Motion
Prince Planet Earth
Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist
Young, Neil Massey Hall
Young, Neil Chrome Dreams II
Springsteen, Bruce Magic

(although if I use Young's "Ordinary People" from CDII I think I'll be able to flush it out... )

I've only got the Prince title from your list and I am loving it!

A couple other favorites off the top of my head:

John Fogerty
Pipettes
Eagles
Kaiser Chiefs
Amy Winehouse

I can see Amy being nominated for a slew of Grammys this year.

Have to include Porcupine Tree's Fear Of A Blank Planet plus their EP "Nil Recurring".

Also Blackfield's beautiful second CD Blackfield II.

Arctic Monkeys ~ Favourite Worst Nightmare
The Rifles ~ No Love Lost
Little Man Tate ~ About What You Know
The Coral ~ Roots And Echoes
Ocean Colour Scene ~ On The Leyline
The Primary 5 ~ Go

Although I took a while to warm up to it, Wilco's Sky Blue Sky is up there for me.

Hmmmm.....
Arctic Monkeys-Favourite Worst Nightmare
Air-Pocket Symphony
Prince-Planet Earth
Kaiser Chiefs-Yours Tuly, Angry Mob
Smashing Pumpkins-Zeitgeist
Rush-Snakes & Arrows
Bruce Springsteen & E. Street Band-Magic
Dream Theater-Systematic Chaos
The Cult-Born Into This
Lily Allen-Alright, Still
Amy Wino-Back Into Black
The Killers-Sawdust
Porcupine Tree-Fear Of A Blank Planet
Ween-La Cucaracha
Bon Jovi-Lost Highway
Bruce Hornsby-Camp Meeting
Genesis-Live Over Europe (plus the boxsets)

Good year for reissues (by my taste), but I think this was probably the worst year in decades for new releases.

I had five records I really loved this year that were new:

Wilco-- Sky Blue Sky
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-- Living With The Living
Radiohead-- In Rainbows
Iron And Wine-- The Shepherd's Dog
Youssou N'Dour-- Rokku Mi Rokka

And Wilco and N'Dour put on fantastic shows as well.

Not a very strong year, I agree...


J

Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior
Lucinda Williams - West
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (everyone's favorite)
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Miles Davis Quintet - Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival (does this count as new?)

I still haven't listened to the new Radiohead, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young releases. Wilco might make my list. I need to listen to it again.

For a year that had a lot of releases that I looked forward to there were a lot of disappointments. Most of the big names did not hit home with me. Of course reissues are going to have a better batting average, you know what you are getting but it seemed like the vault releases were better this year too (the Monterey reissues, the Gram Parsons set, etc.)

New Releases
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Live from the Ruhr Triennale
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Wallace Roney - Jazz
Joshua Redman - Back East

Reissues/Vault
Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire
Love - Blue Thumb Recordings
Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth & Collected Works
John Coltrane - My Favorite Things: Coltrane at Newport
Andrew Hill - Change
Charles Mingus with Eric Dolphy - Cornell 1964
Miles Davis - The Complete On the Corner Sessions
David Byrne - Music for the Knee Plays

Terrible year for new releases - I'm not sure I could come up with ten new releases I've loved this year. I'm not sure I could come up with ten new ones I bought this year!

Well, looking at the stack by the PC, that's probably way wrong - I see the new KT Tunstall, Marilyn Manson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ringo comp and Alter Bridge right here, plus I have the new live Flaming Lips MVI disc here on the stereo, and I have the new Rush downstairs. Plus Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "10 Days Out", but I don' t know if that was this year, and two Mike Keneally re-issues that I think were this year...I should probably keep track of this stuff, but I've threatened to do that for years! Oh, and I did finally buy Dio's "Last In Line" on CD! And Heaven And Hell's live disc, and the Sabbath "Dio Years", and...

I should probably just shut up.

Alan

lucinda williams - west - the best singer songwriter in america today

wilco - sky blue sky - tweedy gets better and better

prince - planet earth - like old prince

bruce - magic - (i just wish it sounded better)

neil - chrome dreams - fits right in with harvest and goldrush for me.

chuck prophet - soap and water - the best artist no one ever heard of

crosby's box set - just simply wonderful form top to bottom

joni mitchell - was my favorite of the year until........

eagles - long road out of eden - call it pretentious. call it overblown, call it an ego trip, call it a money maker, call it anything you want.....the more i listen to it the more i like it, i haven't re-played an album over and over like i have this one in a long, long time.

Zappa - Wazoo
Zappa - Buffalo
Zappa - Dub Room Special
N Young - Chrome Dreams II
N Young - Massey's Hall
Maria Muldaur - Naughty, Bawdy & Blue
J Fogerty - Revival
L Wainwright III - Strange Weirdos
R Gordon/C Spedding - It's Now Or Never


could not make 10

Just heard and interview/performance on NPR Weekend Edition about 30 minutes ago. Count me as a new fan.

Best of the year:



Here & Now – America

My top 3 for 2007...

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Peter, Bjorn & John - Writer's Block --> this was a 2006 release, but a 2007 discovery and staple for me.

federico,

get them all, if you can find them.

you will not be sorry.

outstanding artist.

renny

I've added a bunch to my shopping list.
Another artist who seems to want to drive me into bankruptcy.

I agree with you there. Just saw Youssou N'Dour last night, and the show was as powerful as the shows I saw him do in the early 90's.
I'm going to have to get the new one soon.
And Wilco really have hit another level on stage. I've seen them about 15 times, and the 3 shows I saw on this last tour were among the best.

One album that I hope doesn't get overlooked this year is Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? It was released in January, and will probably make it on my top 10.

Me too.