By request... my top five records of 2007.

1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Every Spoon record takes a little time to grow on me, and this one was no different. But, once I got into it, I was hooked. It's too short, one of the songs annoys the hell out of me, but "Don't You Evah" and "Finer Feelings" are two of the catchiest songs they've evah done. It doesn't beat-out Girls Can Tell for favorite Spoon album evah, but it's a strong second, and it beats every other album released this year.
2. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha Another great bunch of songs. Musically, he's a genius, in a league all by himself, working in his own genre. Even better: I'm a sucker for clever lyrics and this guy ranks among the best. His imagery is surreal and vibrant, rhymes interlock within and across lines, and his delivery is loose and free in ways that remind me of a rapper like Beck or Q-Tip (Andrew Bird and Beck... that'd probably be a great record):
   turnstiles on mezzanine
   jet ways and Dramamine fiends
   and x-ray machines
   you were hurling through space
   g-forces twisting your face
   breeding superstition
   a fatal premonition
   you know you got to envision
   the fiery crash

   oh close your eyes and you wake up
   face stuck to a vinyl settee
   oh the line was starting to break up
   just as you were starting to say
   something apropos I don't know

   beige tiles and magazines
   Lou Dobbs and the CNN team
   on every monitor screen
   you were caught in the crossfire
   where every human face
   has you reaching for your mace
   so it's kind of an imposition
   fatal premonition

   to save our lives you've got to envision
   and to save all our lives you've got to envision
   the fiery crash
   -- from Fiery Crash

   But he's singing those words, not speaking or shouting them. Brilliant.

3. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky I liked this one immediately, and wore it out quickly. It's got a laid-back 70's country-rock vibe, but the little streaks of weary nihilism and irritation here and there keep it from turning into a Ryan Adams record. It's my favorite Wilco record so far.
4. The Shins - Wincing The Night away. It's not as infectious as Chutes Too Narrow, but there are solid songs throughout. And happily, they looked back to The Smiths at the same time I did. They put on a great live show, too.
5. Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall Neil always sounds better live; his songs just don't need the over-production he typically slathers on them. And this is Neil solo/acoustic, doing stuff from the peak of his career. There are a couple of weak spots (ex. I hate "A Man Needs A Maid", it reminds me of something Dana Carvey's "Choppin Broccoli" guy would sing), but the rest more than makes up for it.

Actually, the request was for ten, but I couldn't come up with a solid ten favorites; and lists that aren't multiples of five bring bad luck.