I have ranked the albums in this list in terms of enjoyment as opposed to a supposed worthiness. So while I appreciate that Panda Bear’s record was perhaps a bolder artistic statement than Okkervil River’s, well, I just didn’t spend quite as much time devouring it. I went a bit crazy for The Stage Names it seems. And whoever said the album was finished as a concept clearly didn’t listen to any of my top ten.

1. Okkervil River – “The Stage Names”
2. Animal Collective – “Strawberry Jam”
3. Jens Lekman – “Night Falls Over Kortedala”
4. LCD Soundsystem – “Sound of Silver”
5. Radiohead – “In Rainbows”
6. Twilight Sad – “Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters”
7. Of Montreal – “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?”
8. Iron & Wine – “The Shepherd’s Dog”
9. Panda Bear – “Person Pitch”
10. Jesu – “Conqueror”
11. Loney, Dear – “Loney, Noir”
12. Wilco – “Sky Blue Sky”
13. Songs of Green Pheasant – “Gyllyng Street”
14. Von Sudenfed – “Tromatic Reflexxions”
15. Les Savy Fav – “Let’s Stay Friends”
16. A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Scribble Mural Comic Journal”
17. Band Of Horses – “Cease To Begin”
18. Interpol – “Our Love To Admire”
19. The Good Life – “Help Wanted Nights”
20. Dinosaur Jr – “Beyond”
21. Adam Franklin – “Bolts of Melody”
22. Black Moth Super Rainbow – “Dandelion Gum”
23. Sunset Rubdown – “Random Spirit Lover”
24. Klaxons – “Myths Of The Near Future”
25. Rumskib – “Rumskib”
26. The Shins – “Wincing The Night Away”
27. Strategy – “Future Rock”
28. Caribou – “Andorra”
29. Deerhoof – “Friend Opportunity”
30. Pinback – “Autumn of the Seraphs”
31. Muleskinner Jones – “Alcohol Tobacco Raygun?”
32. No Age – “Weirdo Rippers”
33. Liars – “Liars”

Honourable mentions: M.I.A’s Kala, Joakim’s Monsters and Silly Songs, Battles’ Mirrored, Marnie Stern’s In Advance of the Broken Arm… the list could go on forever.

Biggest disappointment: Neon Bible

The No Ripcord Top 50 of 2007 will be going live very soon and it’s a slightly more representative set than mine. I hope you enjoy it. I might run an analytical stat-heavy piece on the list, comparing it to those from other publications if I get the time. I have a theory I want to test out about the increasing homogeneity of our music tastes. Of course, I may just sack it off and enjoy Christmas/New Year without my computer. You’ll have to wait and see.