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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Fur and Gold is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve heard this year.

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The Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future walked away with the 2007 Mercury Prize. For those of you who don't remember, the likes of Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Bats for Lashes and Dizzee Rascal were nominated, yet somehow the remarkably blah Myths of the Near Future. The Brits just keep on baffling me, I guess.

Yes, it is that time of year for the baffling and somewhat odd Mercury Prize. Nominees for this year's award were announced today, and here they are.

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