1. Radiohead: In Rainbows
2. Over the Rhine: The Trumpet Child
3. Iron & Wine: Shepherd’s Dog
4. Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger
5. The Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
6. Ezra Furman & The Harpoons: Banging Down The Doors
7. Josh Ritter: Historical Conquests
8. Sigur Ros: Hvarf/Heim
9. Derek Webb: The Ringing Bell
10. Wilco: Sky Blue Sky
Honorable Mention:
Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha
Bruce Springsteen: Magic
Eliza Lumley: She Talks In Maths
Elliott Smith: New Moon
Feist: The Reminder
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova: Once (Soundtrack)
The Innocence Mission: We Walked In Song
Joe Henry: Civilians
Joe Purdy: You Can Tell Georgia
Patty Griffin: Children Running Through
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals: Follow The Lights EP
Various Artists: Across The Universe (Soundtrack)
Various Artists: I’m Not There (Soundtrack)
Interesting. I would have put Wilco’s effort into my “disappointing” category. I just don’t feel it holds up well compared to AGiB or YHF (silly acronyms, all). And I’ll have to check out your Feist rec. there. If you’re putting it up there with Andrew Bird’s album, it’s gotta be good.
By: e on January 9, 2008
at 3:31 pm
In some ways, the Wilco album WAS quite disappointing to me. I think all of us expected to hear a continuation of the experimentation/rock that was obvious on AGiB, YHF and Kicking Television.. and from that perspective you’re absolutely correct.
I just kept listening to it to see what Tweedy was up to and I really came to love the album. It’s clear, straightforward and almost happy.. To reference some of my reading material, it’s like Wilco without their ‘bell jar’.. Even the ‘Sky Blue Sky’ title and references this. Now, don’t get me wrong, if they had written an album like YHF again then I would’ve put it in my top 3 of the year..
Also, I’ve been getting into John Lennon this year and this album is almost like a Tweedy tribute to the man in some ways..
By: themostbrianever on January 9, 2008
at 6:13 pm
you’re dumb.
sigur ros is great, but they are like a fake joke band compared to solid records like “we walked in song” and “magic”
Now I can say this because I’ve never really listened to these albums, despite the fact that you showed them to me. I’d give Derek and Sigur honorable mentions and put magic and we walked right in that top ten.
allow me to throw in some senseless grammar: colorless green ideas sleep furiously
By: Owen on January 9, 2008
at 6:28 pm
Magic just felt way too overproduced for my tastes. Bruce needs a more rough and tumble sound and instead the production came across like Maroon 5 or something like that..
Sigur Ros is much more than a fake joke band, in my opinion.
Oh, and in response to your randomness:
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
By: themostbrianever on January 9, 2008
at 8:12 pm