Best Albums of '07, Yo.

Well, I'd like to think I'm frugal. Except when it comes to gear and CDs. I figure it's all professional development, right? I am a firm believer that to make good music you have to listen to it. Songwriting, for most, does not occur in a vacuum. Hence...I buy music. Here's what I discovered this year that I like a lot. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through (Buy it) I started off the year with a Patty show at Gruene Hall, where she debuted a lot of these tunes. It was freezing inside Gruene Hall; we all wore winter jackets and hats and gloves. The place was packed. The music was awesome. Then, in March Josh and I saw Patty play at Waterloo Records and I got to meet her. I think I said something lame, but it was PATTY. This album is just as amazing as all of her others...none of them are alike, so you can't even pick a favorite. That's what great about Ms. Griffin. Also, this video captures what this whole "thing" of music and writing and performing is about, I think. Adrienne Young - Room to Grow (Buy It) I still don't know a whole lot about Adrienne, I just know that I have 3 of her albums and they are all sublime. Slightly traditional, but still current and relevant. So relevant, in fact, that partial proceeds from this CD will go to a seed fund to "which will provide non-genetically modified seeds and support for urban and community gardens throughout the United States and Canada." Heck yeah. Josh and I aim to do the same when we are a full-fledged record label...give a bunch of it back. Cheers to Adrienne because that's a cool way to do it. Terri Hendrix - The Spiritual Kind (Buy It) ARE WE SURPRISED? No. But this album has seriously been spinning on the 'pod since June, and it's not old yet. It's nice to see Terri on other people's "best of" lists, too. It's like rooting for the hometown team, here around Austin. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (Buy It) I was suspicious. Random collaborations like this can either rock or fail miserably. This one rocks. Both of them have very haunting voices in different ways, and you can tell both artists are stepping outside the box for this record. That makes them the best kind of artist, I think...do what they do well and then switch it up...and STILL do it well. Mary Chapin Carpenter - The Calling (Buy It) Not Surprised No. 2. What can I say? It's Chapin. She's smart. She's poetic. She is one of America's best working songwriters. I'll stand up to that statement in a Nerf ball war any day. "On With the Song," written for the Dixie Chicks, is awesome. No one else uses "jingoistic" and "camel jockey" in a song and gets away with it. The title track, "The Calling," rings especially true at this point in my life, too. Score. The Weepies - Say I Am You (Buy It) Dan introduced me to these two and this record is a class act all the way through. It's sweet but not sappy, bold but not offensive, and they recorded it all themselves in a house in California. Home grown records, kids. Buy them. Tori Amos - American Doll Posse (Buy It) I was late to jump on the Tori bandwagon because she gets stereotyped and stuck in a box a lot, which is ironic because her music is anything but boxed. This album has the interesting twist of being sung from the perspective of different women/characters...of course all of them are ultimately Tori embodying these different personalities. That must have been a cool way to write. I listened to "Bouncing Off Clouds" 45 times straight through when I first got this record, I think. John Jennings - More Noise From Nowhere (Buy It) JJ is pretty much my guitar guru and he writes great songs, too. When he's not touring with Mary Chapin, he finds time to produce a lot as well and write and record his own albums. He plays just about every instrument on them, too. A definite inspiration and guide for what we are going to do with EP No. 1 this year. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Buy It) Dan and I saw Josh play in November, and the show was transcendent. Few people put as much joy into their live performance that Josh does. And this record is chock full of lines that make me wish I had written them. Plus I'm a history nerd, so it's even better. Looking forward to in '08: Susan Gibson...is putting out a new one! Hurrah! This calls for a Red Bull. Shedaisy...is about due, too. I have a love for intelligently crafted country-pop. And there's not a lot of country-pop that can call itself intelligent these days. I have said it before and I will say it again; Kristyn Osborn is one of Nashville's best writers. Kathleen Edwards - this one is supposed to be coming fairly soon. Kathleen's first two records made my "Perfect Albums" list...I'm sure No. 3 will be just as good. EP No. 1 - Oh yeah, that thing I'm working on. :) ProTools is ready to go and I am recording quick demos to give us something to listen to and work on. We have more songs than we need...which is a RELIEF and a good position to be in for this type of thing. But I'll keep on writing because I'll keep on listening. What were YOUR top albums of 2007?