Best of 2007

Well, it's almost time for the annual ritual of celebrating my favorite albums of the year. Let me rephrase...in reality, I spend the entire year obsessing over this process. Now is the time that I share my list with friends and whomever else might be vaguely interested.

This year I've only listened to 240 new releases. That's not necessarily the final number, but it pales in comparison to last year's 400 and doesn't really come close to the prior year's 300 either. For that reason, this year's list will be a top 40 rather than a top 50. Frankly, I feel that most of the records that would be filling out numbers 41-50 are really nothing to rave about, so I'm going to opt for a little more quality over quantity. Besides, there's something that just feels right about a top 40. I'm sure Kasey Kasem would agree.

I'm actually pretty close to completing this year's list...definitely a little earlier than usual. The most recent albums that I got a little excited about have already faded, and after sorting through...wouldn't you know it...50 contenders, I have it narrowed down to 42. In fact, I'm still deciding the final order of #s 1-7, but I also need to complete a final evaluation of #s 35-42 and my list will be complete.

But nobody really cares about this. If you care at all, it's about the actual list, not the process. So, as soon as I'm finished with the aforementioned final evaluation, I'll be counting them down...right here. I'm feeling ambitious right now (although there is still much Christmas shopping to finish), so I'm planning to do a brief writeup for each album. This could be a short review, a comparison of how the album stacks up versus the artist's prior work, or a description of my own experience with and/or enjoyment of the record.

I'm looking forward to getting started. Please check back shortly.