ALBUMS (descending points)
1. v/a - Play (DeSoto Records)
2. The Terrible Twos - If You Ever See an Owl
3. Peter Himmelman - My Green Kite
4. Renee and Jeremy - It's a Big World
5. Dean Jones - Napper's Delight
6. Recess Monkey - Wonderstuff
7. Morgan Taylor - Gustafer Yellowgold's Have You Never Been Yellow?
8. The Deedle Deedle Dees - Freedom in a Box
9. Father Goose - It's a Bam Bam Diddly!
10. The Jimmies - Make Your Own Someday

TRACKS
1. The Deedle Deedle Dees - Major Deegan
2. Georgie James - Grizzly Jive
3. ScribbleMonster - I Wish I Lived In Michigan
4. Peter Himmelman - My Green Kite
5. Steve Lee - Grab A Balloon
6. Soccer Team - I'll Never Fear Ghosts Again
7. The Nields - Anna Kick a Hole in the Sky
8. Orange Sherbet with Hot Buttered Rum - Bit By Bit
9. The Hipwaders - Educated Kid
10. The Barenaked Ladies - The Other Day I Met a Bear

ARTISTS
1. Morgan Taylor (Gustafer Yellowgold)
2. Dan Zanes
3. Recess Monkey
4. The Biscuit Brothers
5. The Deedle Deedle Dees

COMMENTS
In last year's poll, I was the most iconoclastic voter — that is, my ballot looked more different from everyone else's than, well, everyone else's.

I suspect that will be the case again here this year, as my "professional" (read: unpaid but diligent) obligations suggest that I continue to only list albums, songs, and artists only in the kids and family genre, despite my ongoing love for Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. (So if that's how you stumbled onto my ballot, welcome!)

Having said that, the ten albums and ten tracks I've listed above are all solid no matter what your age or perspective on life and I would have no hesitation to recommend almost all of them to any listener. (The Renee and Jeremy and Jimmies disks, though excellent, probably need the listener to have a kid to connect with fully.)

I especially recommend the genre for power-pop fans who wonder where all the Matthew Sweet acolytes went to in the past few years. (Seriously, "Educated Kid," the Hipwaders. Awesome song.)

I had Hannah Montana up there in my Top 5 artists of the year, then figured, eh, she'll get enough votes as it is, and she's not really doing "kids music" (whatever that is) anyway. The artists I did pick are doing something unique with the genre, helping to keep it alive, creatively — Taylor with his animation, Zanes with his constant touring and record label growth, Recess Monkey with figuring out how to engage kids in recording an album, the Biscuit Brothers for having the best kids music show on TV, and the Deedle Deedle Dees for continuing to think about how to get their music in areas that don't get a lot of kids' music. All those artists (with the exception of Zanes, who's got a new album coming out spring 2008) also put out music I and my family really grooved to this year, and that's got to count for something. These artists are just as much on the forefront of the brave new musical world, even if they're not yet asking families to name their own price for a CD.

After all, my 6-year-old won't listen to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga on repeat like I will.