My favorite 15 albums of 2007, as of the moment I'm writing this (Subject to change)

1. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
2. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
3. Radiohead - In Rainbows
4. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
5. Pharoahe Monch - Desire
6. Buck 65 - Situation (But if you include the four Cd's he was selling at his show, it would be higher.)
7. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
8. Common - Finding Forever
9. Little Brother - Getback
10. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
11. Sage Francis - Human The Death Dance
12. Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
13. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
14. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
15. Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust (in part because I didn't want to list Patti Smith's barely-above-mediocre covers album and partly because of the fact that Saul covers "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and partly because it really is pretty damn good)

I still haven't heard Neil Young's new album, or Jay-Z's American Gangster album. I'm almost positive I've forgotten something important. Kanye West is not the something important I've forgotten (outside of the two singles, that is). I also think that I might have included the Bryan Ferry out of my desire to make sure that Dylan got a place on the list even though he didn't release a new album this year. Hell, I almost listed the "I'm Not There" soundtrack, even though I've only heard two tracks off of it. Of Montreal's album might actually be better than Bruce's and Ferry's, but I didn't think of it until that point in the list and I'm not passionate enough to cut and paste. I'm still trying to figure out why I can't warm up to the Aesop Rock album. I'm beginning to think that it's not me, but it that is wrong. For the record, I've seen six of the artists on the list live this year: Of Montreal, Sage Francis, Little Brother (twice), Buck 65 (twice), El-P and Brother Ali.

Really, I think 2007 might be described, at least for me, as a truly great year for live music but only a pretty good year for recorded new music.

Oh, and go ahead and put your favorite albums from the past year in the comments. Whatever arbitrary number you see fit.