ALBUMS (10 each)
1. Electro Group - Good Technology
2. Polar Bears - The Future King
3. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
4. Nellie McKay - Obligatory Villagers
5. Bill Callahan - Woke on a Whalehart
6. Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators - Keep Rechin' Up
7. Adam Franklin - Bolts of Melody
8. Jesca Hoop - Kismet
9. Japancakes - Loveless
10. Six Organs of Admittance - Shelter from the Ash

TRACKS
1. Electro Group - Hong Kong Blues
2. Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend
3. Jesca Hoop - Seed of Wonder
4. Ween - Your Party
5. Dan Deacon - Crystal Cat
6. Willard's Canteen - Can My Niece Poop in Your Toilet?
7. Tay Zonday - Chocolate Rain
8. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - Keep Reachin' Up
9. You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse
10. Change! - Le Sad Cassetto

REISSUES
1. Pavement - Wowee Zowee
2. Vashti Bunyan - Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind
3. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
4. Various - The Heavy Metal Box
5. Miles Davis - The Complete On the Corner Sessions

ARTISTS
1. Dan Deacon
2. Nellie McKay
3. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
4. Jesca Hoop
5. Willard's Canteen

COMMENTS
I made this list for fun. It's not about who made breakthrough musical maddness, or who was all hot and stuff. This is music that made me happy.

The awesome Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators album was out already as an import (I voted for it last year), but since it got US distribution this year, I couldn't help but include it again—it's too good!

Dan Deacon's surge in popularity has been gratifying to see. There's no artifice in his music or persona—I don't know if he even has a persona! Which makes his output pure, unmitigated fun.

Also immensely pleasing is the breakout of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. Amy Winehouse, not so much, but I think she busted out a few of the definative singles of 2007.

Sonoma County's Polar Bears released a great, great album, The Future King. I wish it were recorded better, but it's a very mature collection of songs.

Electro Group is probably my favorite band around today that's not a bunch of 50-year-olds. So I put them on the top of the album and track lists as a fan, not a critic, but a critic needs to be a fan, you know? Otherwise, what's the point?

I'm serious about the Tay Zonday song. It has merit. "Chocolate Rain" is everything good about You Tube.

The reissue of Pavement's Wowee Zowee came out in 2006, but I didn't really start listening to it until this year. I blame my lack of knowledge/interest in current music on this reissue, which sounds very new and exciting to me. Can't get enough.

And Jesca Hoop's "Seed of Wonder" came out as a demo a number of years ago, but I am really into the album version. I think it offers all of the aspects that make her a unique and appealing artist—especially her off-kilter phrasing.

Willard's Canteen is Matt Pamatmat. He drops a new album every few months. This is amazing to me. He's like a non-boring Jandek. "Can My Niece Poop in Your Toilet?" is an epic, exhausting song. Unforgettable. A glimpse into the mind of a man on the edge, pushing the limits to the breaking point.