And here we are. Time to reveal the top of the top…

02. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Here is Kevin Barnes’ glam rock album: so melodic, so fun, so over-the-top. Of Montreal has been making oddball pop music since 1997, but nothing as consistent as Hissing Fauna, which, by the way, wins for Best Album Title of the Year. Kicking off with “Suffer For Fashion”, you are immediately hit with lyrics that seem too smart for their own good. Barnes says this is a concept album, but does an incredible job of hiding the thread to follow. One thing that is quite obvious is that the character of the album has had his heart shattered. One listen to “She’s A Rejecter” confirms this: “There’s the girl that left me bitter/Want to pay some other girl to just walk right up to her and hit her”. Full of artistic and cerebral references, Hissing Fauna is both weird and wonderful.

Favorite songs: “Suffer For Fashion”, “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse”, “Gronlandic Edit”, “The Past Is a Grotesque Animal”, “She’s a Rejecter”

01. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
From the most over-the-top to the most sublime. Andrew Bird’s subtle song styling takes a few listens, but the rewards are ten-fold. The mix of violin, whistling, intelligent phrasing and melodies that cuddle up to you like a warm lover are his specialty. From the opening yumminess of “Fiery Crash” to the beautiful closing instrumental “Yawny at the Apocalypse”, Armchair… is just that. A comfy, cushy song cycle that floats in your head like a daydream — traveling in and out of phase with the rest of the world. It is truly inspiring that an artist who has 7+ albums under his belt can continue to create music of substance and relativity.

Favorite songs: “Fiery Crash”, “Imitosis”, “Plasticities”, “Heretics”, “Darkmatter”, “Scythian Empires”

See the entire Web Pen Favorite Albums of 2007 List here.

04. The Bird And The Bee - The Bird And The Bee
Here is the first of two outstanding debuts this year. The Bird And The Bee are two “jazz nerds” who decided to make a pop album which turned out to be the best 60’s album of 2007 — with electronic flare, of course. You know you’ve hit about something fun when “Fucking Boyfriend” rockets to #1 on the dance charts. Someone noticed because The Bee (Greg Kurstin) co-wrote two songs for Kylie Minogue’s new album. Here though Greg works with the beautifully wispy and ethereal voice of Inara George whose instrument floats in and out of the recording like a beautiful tree nymph. The Bird And The Bee is simply the most lovely album this year.

Favorite songs: “Again & Again”, “Fucking Boyfriend”, “La La La”, “I Hate Camera”

03. The Foreign Films - Distant Star
Here is the other stunning debut of the year and — like The Bird And The Bee — is steeped in the 60’s. This is plain old, good-fashioned pop music: catchy melodies, mostly guitar/bass/drum arrangements, lyrics about lost loves, etc. And for a double album it is overflowing with excellent material. Songs like “Remember To Forget”, “We’ve Become Ghosts” and “The Sleepwalker” reminded me how great it is to discover new artists. Distant Star is a memento to music lovers about the strength of being a hungry artist willing to put their best efforts out to the scrutiny of a fickle music-buying public in hopes that they’ll find a connection. Bill Majoros connects, but are you listening yet?
Hat tip to Absolute Powerpop for introducing me to this.

Favorite songs: “Remember To Forget”, “We’ve Become Ghosts”, “The Sleepwalker”, “Lonely #1″, “Cinema Light”

06. Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
When Elijah Wood decided to start his own record label, he signed as his first band his favorite. And so Apples in Stereo started a new chapter in their career. Steeped deeply in the 60’s for most of their albums (their name is from The Beatles’ record label), the band has kept their roots, but have grown into the 70’s when many odes to Electric Light Orchestra. Just like ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Robert Schneider can write the hell out of catchy song; however, he doesn’t have Lynne’s flare for the dramatic as a producer. No matter. New Magnetic Wonder is a collection filled with ditties that stay with you no matter what decade you’re currently existing in.

Favorite songs: “Can You Feel It?”, “Energy”, “Play Tough”, “Radiation”

05. Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime
This woman continually amazes me 21 years later. Beauty & Crime is an amazing song cycle about her beloved New York City and her best since ’92’s 99.9F°. Vega is still one of the best songwriting treasures that America has with your observational albeit heartfelt songs. Kicking off the album is her most poppy of songs in years — “Zephyr & I” — and includes some of her most humorous songs like “New York Is A Woman” and “Pornographer’s Dream”. Don’t let that fool you though. She still has the mirror held up to the darker side of life especially “Angel’s Doorway” about a 9/11 rescue worker and the stunningly beautiful “Anniversary” which is a song about the one-year anniversary of 9/11. Yes, it’s quite obvious she *hearts* NY, but with any love affair there is pain and that pain makes for some great music.

Favorite songs: “Zephyr & I”, “Ludlow Street”, “New York Is A Woman”, “Anniversary”

08. Lily Allen - Alright, Still
In the battle of the British songstresses, I found Lily’s album the most enjoyable. Her ability to take a relationship or a situation and completely skewer it with some of the most hilariously bitter lyrics of the year makes Alright, Still the best choice among the anti-Valentine set. I enjoyed Amy Winehouse, but her problems are ones I can’t identify with. Having my heart broken and finally standing up for myself is something I can get behind. “Smile”, “Not Big”, and “Shame On You” are great dedications to the ones you hate. Lily Allen sees to the heart and rips it out to show you the pain as it bleeds on the ground, but in an entertaining way.

Favorite songs: “LDN”, “Friday Night”, “Alfie”

07. Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
Even though Jarvis proclaimed his band Pulp defunct, he continues to write some of the most profound music about the state of the world and the state of the heart. He’s always been one to put life under a microscope, but his first solo album seems to zoom out a bit. There is the wake-up call “Running The World”, but this time Jarvis has concentrated on an examination of that feeling called love. He has even tried his hand at sampling. “Black Magic” makes heavy use of Tommy James and the Shondells’s “Crimson And Clover” to great effect. Here is a Brit who has no qualms about saying what he feels and those who enjoy great music should take the time to listen.

Favorite songs: “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time”, “Black Magic”, “Running The World”