Well finally here it is, the undisputed and anticipated biggie list we’ve all been patiently awaiting so as to begin the lobs and insults of pretension. But honestly, P4K’s done well by their readers, and mostly well by us, too. After the cavalcade of mag lists that’ve been tolerable to shitty (for the record, no list will go by without complaint, but really only two were bad enough to merit the Shit stamp — and we’re still in shock over that Rolling Stone catastrophe), the list reads like a sight for sore eyes. Where else will you see No Age not only being remembered by getting a well-deserved #11, the Field’s sonic experiment in the top 10, Bon Iver getting a top 30, etc. And how about that, remembering Deerhoof’s awesome Friend Opportunity. Much like you guys, Pitchforkmedia.com thought it was a top 10 year for Noah Lennox and Animal Collective, putting both the Panda and AC album within a few of each other at the top of the pops. During the Gummys reveal, we called Panda the year’s VIP (#7 Hottie, two top 8 albums). Pitchfork agrees, and puts Person Pitch atop ‘em all. A little agenda-based statement-making, that choice, but that’s what these lists are, after all. And shit, given that we’re still listening to Noah’s little opus, and next year’s bound to have a rush of aesthetic-incorporating sound-alikes, it’s a good choice. So all in all, good show. Obligatory bitch session after the jump, of course.
50 Tinariwen – Aman Iman: Water Is Life
49 Dizzee Rascal – Maths + English
48 Robert Wyatt – Comicopera
47 Yeasayer – All Hour Cymbals
46 Marissa Nadler – Songs III: Bird on the Water
45 Ricardo Villalobos – Fabric 36
44 Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
43 Stars of the Lid – And Their Refinement of the Decline
42 Ghostface Killah – The Big Doe Rehab
41 Life Without Buildings – Live at the Annandale Hotel
40 Beirut – The Flying Club Cup / Lon Gisland EP
39 The White Stripes – Icky Thump
38 Wu-Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams
37 Grizzly Bear – Friend EP
36 Iron and Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
35 Black Lips – Good Bad Not Evil
34 James Blackshaw – The Cloud Of Unknowing
33 King Khan & the Shrines – What Is?!
32 Sally Shapiro – Disco Romance
31 Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity
30 Caribou – Andorra
29 Bon Iver, For Emma – Forever Ago
28 Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond
27 Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
26 Various Artists – After Dark
25 The Tough Alliance – A New Chance / New Waves EP
24 Dan Deacon – Spiderman Of The Rings
23 Studio – Yearbook 1
22 Okkervil River – The Stage Names
21 Dirty Projectors – Rise Above
20 Liars – Liars
19 Feist – The Reminder
18 Kanye West – Graduation
17 The National – Boxer
16 Lil Wayne – Da Drought 3
15 Justice – ?
14 Deerhunter – Cryptograms / Fluorescent Grey EP
13 Jay-Z – American Gangster
12 No Age – Weirdo Rippers
11 Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
10 Burial – Untrue
09 The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
08 Battles – Mirrored
07 Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
06 Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
05 of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
04 Radiohead – In Rainbows
03 M.I.A. – Kala
02 LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver
01 Panda Bear – Person Pitch
OK, Boxer at #17? Really? Sometimes they make it too easy to draw that “you’re popular, so we’ll keep a slight distance lest we seem populist — unless you’re Justin Timberlake or Rihanna ’cause hey we’re totally not pretentious!” (See also: Neon Bible at #27.) More complaints? Well that Les Savy Fav record’s too low, which is surprising given how repeat-worthy it’s proven to be, and how much love its been getting outside Forkland (or maybe, that explains it?), the retroactive Dirty Projectors correction to #21 wasn’t nearly as drastic as we predicted it’d be/should’ve been (Rise Above got a gun-shy 8.1 and not even Best New Music, but really it’s one of the year’s very finest records, bar none), and finally — where the metal be at? For the annotated goods, click.
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has anyone here noticed this? https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=8wzvazG8Wv0P2H0S9_2fzNmw_3d_3d
kinda wondering if anyone even read the opening blurb of this year-end list….sorry, shouldn’t use the word “read” with this group, i know how public education goes and the short attention spans, and the unending excuses…just stick to the numbers as you always have, and agree that the writing is awful.
LOOK they were even considerate enough (to you, of course, because YOU’RE THE MOST IMPORTANT MUSIC FAN IN THE WORLD!) to include Sunset Rubdown…man, p4k totally hated on that record with their 8.5 rating (see, the numbers, you know those)
hint: it says “The 2007 Pitchfork Readers Poll” at the top..yr welcome.
I was very surprised and disappointed not to see Menomena on the list. “Friend and Foe” was unquestionably my favorite album of the list. Though I realize whether or not I like it was not one of the criteria Pitchfork used, it does seem odd that so many records that were Best New Music did not end up on the list (Menomena, Blitzen Trapper, Chromatics), whereas something awesome like Dity Projectors was not canonized in its review, yet placed quite high on the Year End list. How are these selection processes different? Or is it just a matter of attention span?
NO EFFING WILCO???
Impossible (Germany)!
And seriously enough with the techno/rave/electronica/ garbage. My ears hate me for even exposing them to such poisonous sounds. What’s so wrong with playing the geeetarrr?? Perhaps PFork is threatened by the EARTHLINGS whose audience they crave!
but srsly lol @ pitchfork. it’s like they want to confuse they love you too much to tell you the truth, you know?
NO EFFING WILCO???
Impossible (Germany)!
And seriously enough with the techno/rave/electronica/ garbage. My ears hate me for even exposing them to such poisonous sounds. What’s so wrong with playing the geeetarrr?? Perhaps PFork is threatened by the EARTHLINGS whose audience they crave!
but srsly lol @ pitchfork. it’s like they want to confuse you because they love you too much to tell you the truth, you know?
okay so basically the only reason Person Pitch is number 1 is because Ryan Scheiber or whateverthefuck his name is wanted it to be and it is on his list. i think he did the same thing with arcade fire’s funeral back in 2004. You could tell he did it when they released a best of 2000-2004 and arcade fire was at 55 after being their number one of 04 like a month or two prior.
basically lcd soundsystem deserved to be number one, and personally i think sunset rubdown deserves to be top 10, i don’t know why hardly no one has it high on their year end lists
Counting my Christmas Blessings: Thank God no Whinehouse.
Am I the only one who doesn’t dig M.I.A. nearly as much as the rest of this community?
P4k has been tooting the American Gangster horn since the news broke.
I could have gone for some more Modest Mouse, Daft Punk, Justice and Icky Thump placement. Nothing’s wrong with fun, even if you can find it in every record store.
Hate to sound like a fanboy, but: Fuck all of you for buying into the the blind Arcade Fire backlash. Go see them live and tell me they’re still shittier than motherfucking Feist. In 20 years kids will still be listening to AF and Radiohead and LCD; and Animal Collective will be as well-revered as the Boredoms output from the ’90s.
Seriously, anyone who doesn’t recognise that ‘Random Spirit Lover’ was the greatest album of the year knows nothing about anything. The fact that it wasn’t even in the Top 50 is absolute insanity.
A better list came out Saturday which at least narrows it down to 20 instead of just listing every indie release of 2007.
http://blogs.caller.com/left_of_the_dial/
a possible explanation on why panda bear was #1 over lcd:
year end lists were compiled from staffers and other contributors. i assume that those listed on pitchfork’s masthead would be given a greater weight as to their “best of” list.
as for sunset rubdown:
yes, it was a good album. so was “ola podrida”. so was “friend and foe”. so were “myth takes”, “everybody”, “a place to bury strangers”, “drums and guns”, “..are the dark horse” and “god save the clientele”. but unless you’re in the top 25 for quite a few writers, you’re nowhere to be found. that’s how an aggregated year-end list works.
people need to stop criticizing the “P4K” institution and start realizing this is just a group of 30-some moderately to extremely talented music critics/writers. most of them write for a wide spread of other publications as well.
I’ll echo the sentiment that Menomena, Sunset Rubdown, and Wilco are some pretty major omissions. Neon Bible needs to be higher. I don’t care if you prefer Funeral, it’s an amazing album. That said, P-Fork gets big points from me for putting Hissing Fauna in the Top 5 where it belongs.
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They got number one right and that’s what counts most. I also liked at least half of the albums on the list, so that’s saying a lot. Awesome to see Life Without Buildings on there, but I can’t help but wish Monotract got some much-deserved love.
To Evan: “No, I was missing nothing.”
Do you like Steve Reich and/or the Beach Boys?
Now mash the two together, add a ton of natural reverb and found rhythms (trains… birds… shoes), obscure the sounds so they’re from another planet, then bring it home with bubblegum melodies, BOOM! Unique, ghostly and ear-pleasing to those who may not have an avant garde weirdo fetish, too. The whole record sounds like a memory of a place that never actually existed. It’s awesome.
Best album of the year. Totally no doubt. Literally miles ahead of everything including the guys own band. Compared to Person Pitch, Strawberry Jam (which I like a lot) sounds like a retreat.
I can understand long songs can be “difficult” and the reverb can put somebody off, but come on! The whole thing is obviously an extremely well-crafted and deliberate series of songs. Not a sound on there is incidental. It’s perfect.
Icky Thump’s placed way too low, and I’m also at a loss about the hatred for the album. I guess hard rock is out of fashion and introspective, shoe-gazing, sound-alike meandering is in. I even like Prickly Thorn/St. Andrew, but I can understand how others don’t. But if you think Catch Hell Blues sucks; if you think You Don’t Know What Love Is sucks; if you think Icky Thump itself or Little Cream Soda suck, I can only figure you don’t like hard rock or blues, or you reject accessibility for its own sake, or you were expecting the White Stripes to churn out 10 more 7 Nation Armys.
I’d put Icky as the #2 or #3 White Stripes albums overall. Toss another excellent album on the pile, and a few more experimentations on the way (Conquest, Prickly Thorn, St. Andrew, Little Cream Soda, Rag & Bone). If you’re into blues, hard rock, and a even some country, I’m not seeing any album on this list that can touch it. Good luck finding a songwriter as consistently good as Jack White in the rest of these, as well.
I don’t get Panda either, but I have to give it a few more listens. Some things are just growers. Same with some other stuff on this list.
The Battles album rocks; but again, if it’s not your thing, it’s not your thing. It’s definitely out there, and it took me a few spins to get fully into it.
I call: Andrew Bird, Sunset Rubdown, Menomena. And I raise Handsome Furs.
A year-end list to redeem all others, imho. I’m not sure how the other pubs compile their rankings but the combination of highly-literate-music-reviewers with appreciably-diverse-tastes and the Pazz and Jop-style point system evidently serves P4K a nicely representative slice of the Year in Indie every time.
With that said, I was surprised and bummed to not see Menomena and St. Vincent. Though those sentiments are tempered by the fact the Top 10 is Person-Pitch-perfect and “Cease to Begin” is nowhere to be found. Stupid horse band.
Wasn’t Pterodactyl’s Blue Jay out this year? That album deservedly belong’s on more of these Top 50 Lists. Sure wasn’t it you guys who gave them the BTW early this year too?
Anyone hear the new lupe fiasco album yet? do you think it would be on this last had it come out earlier?
Just a suggestion, but if you’re disappointed with P4K’s list, you should take their reader poll. Unless you’re too cool to be recognized (however anonymously) that you read their site. My personal top five (to be ruthlessly picked apart by petty message boarding): #1 Strawberry Jam, #2 Kala, #3 Rise Above, #4 Hissing Fauna, #5 Night Falls Over Kortedala. There – everyone has their opinions. Further blasphemy: I really liked In Rainbows (gasp), and I also think the Arcade Fire are terribly overrated. Here’s another one: Silent Shout is a great album (!oh no’s!)
Not that they’re top 50 material, but did anyone else wish Scout Niblett and Michael Gira would have gotten just a little more recognition this year? Or do those records only inhabit the minds of brooding misanthrope types like Jamie Stewart & Steve Albini?
The lack of Sunset Rubdown and Blitzen Trapper on both lists is upsetting. “Wild Mountain Nation” is one of the best tracks of 07, methinks.
Otherwise, there isn’t a single album on this list that I view as crap… It’s refreshing to see a list that doesn’t seem too forced, despite what Pitchfork-haters think… No mandatory Arcade Fire/National top 3…
I like Neon Bible, but if you haven’t seen the songs performed live, it’s about half as effective…
MIA is the biggest scam ever perpetrated.
Where is ELECTRELANE!?
I am also sad that there is no Andrew Bird on this list. In addition why do people possess the need to bash the Arcade Fire. I will admit that I thought Funeral was better so fuck these people that pretty much think that Arcade Fire deserve to be at the bottom of these lists. If Neon Bible came out in October/November people would still be drooling about. So pretty much my argument is we all know that these lists suck, so just shut the fuck up already.
I like Neon Bible a little better than Funeral, it just doesn’t have Neighborhood 1 on it, which is their best song. I think Pitchfork’s list is really good actually. I never “got” of Montreal’s album after like three listens so I gave up on it, but the rest of the top ten is pretty nice. Person Pitch was far and away my fav. album. way better than strawberry jam IMO.
The best thing about this list is the complete absence of Modest Mouse.
Worst thing is probably the complete absence of Random Spirit Lover.
no Black Moth Super Rainbow or Prefuse 73?
As an aside… does anyone else think Grizzly Bear was the biggest grower of last year and should retroactively made number one? Well, either way, I do.
What??!?! Signet Memorandums?
clearly the best album put out all year!
pitchfork = SHIT LIST!!!!!!
I saw Fall Out Boy on three of the individual lists.
FALL OUT BOY
so I see Fall Out Boy on three lists and New Young Pony Club in neither of them.
stop complaining if you didn’t agree with the lists.
gah besnard lakes?! besnard lakes anyone???
totally unrecognised in every list, i thought pitchfork were at least going to acknowledge them
and also the twilight sad and sunset rubdown, pretty sad not to see them make an appearance
other than that it was fairly pleassing though
Woow…This is totally interesting……
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2321441
I just cannot believe that Random Spirit Lover is not there. It’s a tragedy, really.
And MIA? That shit blows.
Fuck.
menomena!
Seriously! What’s the deal with Panda Bear? I just don’t get it..
Has anyone heard of a band called Sunset Rubdown? I don’t know…they seem pretty darn nifty to me. Certainly an album worthy of the Top 10 of the decade deserves a drop of credit. Don’t even get me started on the neglection of Besnard, Bird, Bowerbirds, Handsome Furs and Harvey. WTF?! Bitchfork Sucks.
I just think that In Rainbows just have got the first position, simply brilliant album!!! Ah, and M.I.A. in second!!!
Some of the other ones I’ve never heard of, bah!
is it everyone that thinks Arcade Fire is overrated? I don’t get all the bashing. I think they must be pretty damn good to get on all these lists and win “best live act” on this site…so what’s with the hate? are they “too big” to like now?
NICE TO SEE MY BOYS NO AGE ON THAT LIST GOOD JOB KIDS
Adam: I think they must be pretty damn good to get on all these lists and win “best live act” on this site…so what’s with the hate?
Adam, in the 1970s, Kenny Loggins and the Eagles were on many best-of lists, while I bet you’d be hard pressed to find any major list with Chrome’s first records or Robert Wyatt’s solo work (albums now recognized as much more unique than most others of the era).
I think a lot of these lists are silly Christmas shopping tickets for the musically clueless. How can anyone know after only one year how well something will wear, where it stands in relation to the culture, what inspired it and what it will inspire, and it’s long-standing value as a piece of art? How can anyone even hear enough music in a year to know what’s best of said year? Who knows what got released in the middle of the ex-Soviet Bloc or the Alps or wherever that no one has paid attention to yet?
surprising list, but i’ll say i agree with most. nice to jens up near the top, but really where was andrew bird???
this is not Pitchfork’s list — this is the same list that every critic for every major newspaper published this year. is there risk in thinking for yourself? where are bands like As Tall As Lions, Minus the Bear, and Wintersleep?
This gets more and more interesting here
http://www.great.fx.to
Totally in agreement about Menomena, ‘Friend and Foe’ was probably one of my favorite and most listened to albums all year.
Same thing with Handsome Furs, that album is just simply amazing, listen to it again. It’s way better than any Sunset Rubdown album… sorry, but thems the facts.
In agreement about Andrew Bird, and what about Malcolm Middleton’s ‘A Brighter Beat’? Sure it wasn’t as good as ‘Into the Woods’ but it deserved to be up there I think.
While Pitchfork does suck ass a lot of the time, and the writing can be absolutely horrible and sound often pretentious they do occasionally shed some light on albums I probably wouldn’t have ever given a chance.
one of the pitchfork artist’s lists had the latest SEX VID 7″, which is a totally rad record. never in a million years will sex vid make a pitchfork year-end list.
one of the guys from the tough alliance had a good list as well, imo.
PS, steve: minus the bear didn’t make anyone’s list because they are a paint-by-numbers “modern alternative rock” band so generic that they make the foo fighters sound like captain beefheart. just trying to help.
im a little suprised that Tegan&Sara’s ‘The Con’ didn’t make this list. i thought that record was amazing.
Where are The Shins? Surely ‘Wincing The Night Away’ is atleast in the top 50 albums for the year, especially if the american gangster Jay Z can make top 25.
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The Panda Bear placement is telling. I tried to like it, I bought a few tracks off iTunes to hear all the fuss myself. Here’s the part where I turn into an elitist fuck. Although a noble effort at trying to create something nostalgic and dreamy this record points out how desperately in need of craft modern music is. The album uses Brian Wilsonesque sounds to deliver a secondhand experience of something far greater (an actual Beach Boys record). Just go to the source, and if it’s not cool enough at least get Hippocamp Ruins Pet Sounds ( http://www.autistici.com/petsounds.htm ) which is free and far more imaginative reconstitution of these same elements. Person Pitched is for those that just don’t know any better, god bless em they try, like AOL dialup users.
Kings Of Leon? Stars? where are they? Pitchfork is cracked
I’m a battles fan, but they ranked them too high in my opinion, Boxer needed to be higher. Wheres Besnard? Modest Mouse?.. I even think Kevin Drew should have atleast cracked top 50 over some of these albums, the same with Explosions in the sky.
Leaving White Rabbits – Fort Nightly album off the list is my main complaint. That and Andrew Bird not being listed.
Boxer should have been number one. Hands down. Arcade Fire should’ve been higher.
And yeah, PB’s record was good…not great. And I think Grizzly Bear is terrible, myself. Someone said on this list that PB is like a bad second-hand version of Beach Boys (citing the need for real craft). That’s how I feel about Grizzly Bear. Do not get the hype one bit.
Still, glad to see that Dan Deacon & Deerhunter did not get too high up on there (but still, they should’ve been lower.)
I figured he wouldnt make it because of the review this year, but I think Josh Ritter’s album was amazing this year. Two of the writers had him as top 10, as well.
@ “everyone talks about pitchfork writing bad reviews… who’s doing it better?”
On occasion, Coke Machine Glow and All Music Guide do the trick nicely. Of course, I’m one of those nerds who pays attention to whose name is on the byline. Some p4k writers I like. Others need to get their head out from up their own arse and stop believing that just because they pepper their reviews with pop culture references and SAT words that their convoluted shit is worth reading.
Does that answer your question?
Don’t get all the love the for the Kanye album. It’s his worst album by far. I only liked a few songs on it. The best hip-hop album of 2007 was Shape of Broad Minds, “Craft of the Lost Art”. A brilliant album.
Saw the comments mentioning Menomena . I didn’t even know they released an album this year. I really liked “I Am The Fun Blame Monster!”. I’ll have to check out their latest release.
I wish more people had listened to A Sunny Day In Glasgow.
My #2 record of the year and I haven’t seen it on one list.
Such a shame.
I’m also a big fan of a sunny day in glasgow. Finally a refreshing take on the shoegaze genre. Definitely in my top 10.
Another one of my favourites that doesn’t seem to get much love is boris – rainbow. Maybe because it was originally a (very limited) 2006 recording, but nevertheless.
LOL is it that serious people?
Compile your own fucking list if you don’t agree with p4k (or anyone else for that matter).
Music is subjective, so keep it moving.
It is one thing to rank M.I.A. at #3 for its musical interests, but pitchfork (and i am a pitchfork follower) made the mistake of namedropping M.I.A.’s politics. NOT GOOD. I know a good deal of Sri Lankan politics and M.I.A. is LTTE. Don’t throw around these things lightly. LTTE is the al quaeda of Sri Lanka. So enjoy the music, support her even if she supports terrorism but DO NOT bandy about any interest in SL politics when you do not know what you’re speaking of.
reeeeally lil wayne, he doesnt deserve to be on any respectable music list