Please, help me make the best Hallowindie Mix EVER!

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I have so many favorites for 2007 that narrowing the lists was tricky. Plus I'm preggo as a house and have NO memory at this point, so I'm sure I've inadvertently omitted some really great releases and songs. Forgive me and my wacked out hormones.

But that said, here are some Top of 2007 lists from me, to you. Feel free to leave comments both nasty and supportive. I likely deserve both for some of my erratic tastes.

The official results of the TIG Best NW Releases of 2007 Readers' Poll are coming VERY soon... stay tuned! In the meantime, some of my personal picks for a wonderful year in music past:

Favorite Releases of 2007:

1. Amy Winehouse Back to Black
2. Okkervil River The Stage Names
3. Tullycraft Every Scene Needs a Center
4. Beirut The Flying Cup Club
5. The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
6. Shake Some Action Shake Some Action
7. Math & Physics Club Baby I'm Yours
   
8. John Vanderslice Emerald City
9. The Cave Singers Invitation Songs
10. The Fratellis Costello Music

Favorite Northwest Releases of 2007:

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Sometimes I think it takes me waaay too long to come up with my Top 20 albums of a given year. There are a lot of internal debates and arguments that really have no right answer. Really, you reach a point where all the albums are good but how to rank them gets to be quite the challenge. This year was chock full of good music (not matter what the naysayers might groan). I counted something like 175+ albums worth mentioning in 2007, and that is only a tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that was released in the year. However, I did whittle it down to 20... well, 22 if you count my 2 EP exception (EP's don't count as real albums).

If you're interested in some sub-lists, like my albums "with apologizes" (albums I didn't hear but should have) or "best imports" or "most disappointing" (hint, the band who made it rhymes with Milo Biley), check it out here.

So, here we go:

#21 The EP's - Two EP's made me happy this year, and really, they would be in the top 20, but it seems unfair to me to include EP's versus albums. They're both UK pop, and they're both brilliant in their own cute way.

Los Campesinos! Sticking Fingers Into Sockets (Thanks to igLiz for this band!)

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It’s always odd to revisit what you’ve reviewed over the course of a year. Sometimes, much can change – as after subsequent listenings, you realize that record you thought was pretty decent just blows (see The Killers’ Sam’s Town) or you come to love an album that you’d previously dismissed as mediocre (see “Into the Wild” soundtrack). The true test of a “best release of the year” is its stability, so I’ve tried to pick “long-haul” contenders—albums I’ll go to for months (or even years) to come, with no requirement for a set amount of finalists. Here’s what made the cut...

TOP ALBUMS:

• LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver (this one sits significantly higher than the rest)
• Interpol: Our Love to Admire
• The Shins: Wincing the Night Away
• Eddie Vedder: "Into the Wild" soundtrack
• Minus the Bear: Planet of Ice
• Aqueduct: Or Give Me Death

And, topping the list of what sadly wasn’t as good as I expected:
Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

I’ll leave it at that. I can hardly fathom how disappointed I was by that output (mixing the quirky fire of Modest Mouse with legendary jangler Johnny Marr? How did it fall so flat?).

TOP NORTHWEST ALBUMS:

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In an effort to regain their indie cred after selling records enough records to buy their own homes (the nerve!), Interpol release a 6-song live release (recorded from their July 2007 performance at London's Astoria) that will be sold exclusively through independent music stores today.

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Ah, it was a nice extra hour this weekend, wasn't it? Now that I've used that hour up, I might as well use my time to relay to you the newest of the NME hits from this week.

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at WaMu Theatre

What’s striking about Interpol is their songs sound just like they do on record – a tough feat in my mind, as those records are near perfection.

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Did you brave the elements and wander out to hear music? If so, who did you see, and what did you think?? Did you lose power at your place? Did you stay home and couch surf?

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If you're not gonna be at the Croc for whatever reason on Thursday, we'd suggest you email us by Tuesday at midnight PST to be entered to win free Interpol tickets.

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That noise you hear, the giant "THUD," is just the sound of albums plummeting after their first week on the Billboard Album charts.

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