ALBUMS (descending points)
1. Tegan and Sara - The Con
2. Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls
3. Grizzly Bear - Friend EP
4. Tender Forever - Wider
5. CocoRosie - Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn
6. Interpol - Our Love to Admire
7. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City
8. The Cribs - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
9. The National - The Boxer
10. Jenny Hoyston - Isle Of

TRACKS
1. Lil Mama - Lip Gloss
2. Rihanna - Umbrella
3. Klaxons - Golden Skans
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Kiss Kiss
5. Grizzly Bear - He Hit Me
6. Tegan and Sara - Back in Your Head
7. Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina
8. St. Vincent - Marry Me
9. New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream
10. Junior Senior - Can I Get Get Get

ARTISTS
1. Tegan and Sara
2. Grizzly Bear
3. The Gossip
4. Pitchfork Media
5. Timbaland

COMMENTS
Despite having released "Standing in the Way of Control" in 2006, The Gossip have toured on the album for the entirety of 2007. The addition of drummer Hannah Blile has brought the band to a new level of disco bass pop that has really resonated in the UK. Beth Ditto is being recognized as the vocal superstar she is, while also bringing queer and fat-positive visability to light. Her nude portrait on the cover of NME was probably the year's most shocking photo, and it only furthered the band's popularity. Fortunately, they have the talent to back it up.

Tegan and Sara have long been known as the lesbian twins from Canada, but "The Con" is indie pop perfected. Chris Walla's production surely helped (his suggestion to take "Back In Your Head" from a slow ballad to a mid-tempo headbopper was waht made the song a single.) It seems the twins needed to experience a little bit of heartbreak from a break-up and their grandmother's passing to really learn the writing ropes. Maturity in the public eye at its very best.

Electrelane's demise comes at a time when their shows are sold out and they've released their best album to date. "No Shouts, No Calls" was a cohesive group of songs that perform well live. For a band whose show can be notoriously boring, songs like "To the East" and "Saturday" have enough liveliness that it would be impossible to ignore the ladies on stage. Sadly, their indefinite hiatus seemed inevitable.

Leave it to Jens Lekman to write the best song about lesbian love this year. "Postcard to Nina" is a comically meloncholy tune about his friendship with Nina, and his pretending to be her fiancee so her father wouldn't find out she had a female lover. Lekman is a storyteller at heart, and his narrations have a spot-on score.