Ranking, Relatively: 2007 Albums
It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
Colleen, Les Ondes Silencieuses (Leaf)
Kalabrese, Rumpelzirkus (Stattmusik)
Thomas Melchior, No Disco Future (Perlon)
nsi., Plays Non Standards (Sähkö)
Rosy Parlane, Jessamine (Touch)
Dino Saluzzi + Anja Lechner, Ojos Negros (ECM)
September Collective, All the Birds Were Anarchists (Mosz)
Sun Electric, Lost & Found (1998 - 2000) (Shitkatapult)
Ricardo Villalobos, Fabric 36 (Fabric)
Various, Shut Up and Dance Updated (Ostgut Ton)
Playing Favorites
Angels of Light, We Are Him (Young God)
Apparat, Walls (Shitkatapult)
Paul Bley, Solo In Mondsee (ECM)
Matthew Dear, Asa Breed (Ghostly)
His Name Is Alive, Sweet Earth Flower: A Tribute to Marion Brown (High Two)
Petre Inspirescu, Tips (Cadenza)
Klimek, Dedications (Anticipate)
Laconnor, Laconnor (Drip Audio)
Morgan Packard, Airships Fill the Sky (Anticipate)
Pan Sonic, Katodivaihe/Cathodephase (Blast First Petite)
Panda Bear, Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
Ewan Pearson, Fabric 35 (Fabric)
Ewan Pearson, Piece Work (!K7)
Pole, Steingarten (~scape)
Sun, I'll Be the Same (Staubgold)
Mark Templeton, Standing on a Hummingbird (Anticipate)
Bjørn Torske, Feil Knapp (Smalltown)
Various, Soundboy Punishments (Skull Disco)
Their Music Is Large-Hearted And So Am I
Battles, Mirrored (Warp)
Burial, Untrue (Hyperdub)
Burnt Friedman, First Night Forever (Nonplace)
Chloe, The Waiting Room (Kill the DJ)
Cobblestone Jazz, 23 Seconds (!K7)
G-Ha & Olanski, Sunkissed (Smalltown)
His Name Is Alive, Xmmer (Silver Mountain)
Neil Landstrumm, Restaurant of Assassins (Planet Mu)
LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (DFA)
Michaela Melian, Los Angeles (Monika Enterprise)
Strategy, Future Rock (Kranky)
Andrea Sartori, Il Tagliacode (Persona)
Sunburned Hand of the Man, Fire Escape (Domino)
Supermayer, Save the World (Kompakt)
Valet, Blood Is Clean (Kranky)
White Rainbow, Prism of Eternal Now (Kranky)
For Those About To Rock We Salute You
Health, Heath (Lovepump United)
No Age, Weirdo Rippers (Fat Cat)
A Few Great Cuts, Or: The Thing That iPods Are Made Of
Blonde Redhead, 23 (4AD)
Caribou, Andorra (Merge)
Pluramon, The Monstrous Surplus (Karaoke Kalk)
Printer, I Can Take More (Statler & Waldorf)
Robosonic, Sturm Und Drang (Undercoverart)
Snuck Up On Me From '06
Grizzly Bear, Yellow House (Warp)
François Houle, Aerials (Drip Audio)
Paul Wirkus, Déformation Professionelle (Staubgold)
Stoked For '08
Autistic Daugthers, Uneasy Flowers (Kranky)
Nemeth, Film (Mosz)
Bruno Pronsato, Why Can't We Be Like Us (Hello? Repeat)
Nicola Ratti, From the Desert Came Saltwater (unknown)
Reanimator, new shit (Community Library)
Reissues And Old Shit I Found In Boxes (An Admittedly Partial List)
Holger Czukay, Canaxis (Revisited)
Richie Hawtin/Thomas Brinkmann, Concept 1/Variations (Minus)
Kaffe Matthews, Ebb & Flo (Annette Works)
Nice Strong Arm, Reality Bath
Seefeel, Quique Redux (Too Pure)
Trees, The Christ Tree (via curved-air.com)
Various, The Roots of Chicha (Barbes)
Mildly Disappointed
José González, In Our Nature (Mute/Peacefrog)
Really Did Not Get It
Yeasayer, All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free)
You've Gotta Be Kidding Me
Underworld, Oblivion With Bells (Different/PIAS)
Late-breaking update: Tip of the hat to Todd Burns blog for uncovering The Catbirdseat.Org Incredibly Handy Music-Blogger "Best of 2007" List Cheat-Cheat, which basically accomplishes a month's worth of Idolator-like skewering in one nifty Earl Boykins-style chart. (Not that I'm calling Jess ineffectual or anything.) All the more mindboggling to realize that the Catbirdseat's "cheat-sheet" was created all the way back in mid-October, long before the daily intoning of "The National... Animal Collective... LCD Soundsystem... M.I.A..." became the morning anthem of Blog Nation--a mantra that sounded like nothing so much as the echo-chambered cries of indie culture congratulating itself to death. The overwhelming sense of consensus really was rather stifling this year, wasn't it?