OK, well, nobody likes to reflect and rank more than I do (I’m a scientist, I love to quantify), so here goes. I’ve got my favorite songs of 2007 – no, not best or most innovative, but rather the songs I liked … lots and lots and lots. There is a little overlap from my forthcoming Best Albums, but also some curveballs. Enjoy!

Honorable Mention:

• “Girls and Boys in Love” by the Rumble Strips
• “Sons of Cain” by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
• “Jack the Ripper” by the Horrors (special note: If the Horrors had a brain and released the original fast demo version of this song on their debut Strange House, it would have been an easy top 10.)
• “Ragoo” by Kings of Leon
• “Heart It Races” by Architecture in Helsinki
• “Geld Essen” by K.I.Z.

#10. “The Prayer” by Bloc Party from Weekend in the City – This song is one of the most interesting songs Bloc Party has recorded. Too bad the rest of the album (short of “Hunting for Witches”) just wasn’t as cool.

#9 “Heinrich Maneuver” by Interpol from Our Love to Admire – OK, well, this is really nothing we haven’t heard before from Interpol, but heck, their skill lies in writing incredibly catchy, dark pop songs. And as much as I tried, I couldn’t stop listening to the song … too bad the whole album didn’t have the same effect on me.

#8 “Stronger” by Kanye West from Graduation – Seems like every time I think “Kanye is just overrated” he goes and records a song like this. OK, sure, he stole … er, em … borrowed a lot of it from Daft Punk, but then he had then in the video, so they’re all good. The man knows who to turn French techno into U.S. hip-hop gold.

#7 “Einfach Sein” by Die Fantastischen Vier from Fornika – The first of the songs that weren’t really ever released in the U.S. Die Fantastischen Vier are Germany’s godfather’s of hip-hop and this song is sort of their “well, we’re middle aged now” song … bitterly ironic and fabulous.

#6 “Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo” by Jens Lekman from Night Falls Over Kortedala – If anything, the new Jens Lekman album just had too many great songs for me to find just one to obsess over, but this one might be my favorite Jens song ever (even if some people I know get driven nuts by the saxophone).

#5 “Pussy’ole (Old Skool” by Dizzee Rascal from Maths & English – Technically, the U.S. “digital-only” release of Maths & English didn’t include this song thanks to sampling issues, but it might be the perfect melding of old school and new school, with Dizzee in his top form.

#4 “Almost Ready” by Dinosaur Jr. from Beyond – Now, if someone told me at the beginning of the year that Dinosaur Jr. would have recorded one of my favorite new songs of 2007, I would have thought you were crazy. Lo and behold, Gandalf, er, J Mascis the Grey put together the most purely enjoyable rock song of the year.

#3 “Foundations” by Kate Nash from Made of Bricks – This song might be the biggest “guilty pleasure” song of the year for me. I really have no right to like the song as much as I do, but I found myself listening to the song over and over and humming it when I was wandering about. If this can’t become a U.S. hit, I’ll be convinced that American music listeners are scared of “British” songs.

#2 “The Magic Position” by Patrick Wolf from The Magic Position – Handclaps, oboes, footstomps, this song was such a remarkable piece of music that you can find something new to hear with every listen. Patrick Wolf really is the pop answer to Conor Oberst, a wunderkin of modern rock, and I can’t wait to hear where else he can take us.

#1 “Someone Great” by LCD Soundsystem from Sound of Silver – I honestly don’t know what I can say about this song. The other day I was driving to SF and this song came up on my iPod. It literally made me tear up. Yes, that is sad in a number of ways, but the fact that James Murphy could record an electronic epic packed with so much feeling is a testament to his genius. Hands down my favorite song of the year. (Note: I wouldn’t normally link to a cheesy fan-made version of the video, but the edited version of the song from the official video is a travesty.)

Stay tuned for my best albums (if you need something to read)…