The nonsensical ponderings of Eric Frisch...

The last couple of years I have counted down my 10 best albums of the year... and since this is a time of milestones (we're very nearly to 2008, I'm rapidly approaching 500 entries on this blog... which by the way I've been keeping for four years now), I've decided to continue the tradition.  Don't expect to see any of these on the big Mindsay voting... this is the real music that the industry doesn't always pay much attention to.  I have absolutely no criteria other than this: the album must have been released in 2007, and it must be something I actually purchased (rather than just hearing snippets of).  And without further ado... here we go...

10. Angels and Airwaves: "I-Empire"



Solid sophomore record from this band.  I must admit, I actually really like this band, surprising considering my disdain for Blink-182, from which it was spawned.  In any case... if you're into the punky stuff and don't mind some rather adult subject matter... this one's sweet.

9. tobyMac: "Portable Sounds"



Superior third set from Toby McKeehan.  You might remember him as 1/3 of dc Talk.  Well, I can safely say that his solo stuff is even better than his old band.  It's essentially hip-hop, but with some serious pop and rock influences.  Toby said that the goal for this record was to create tracks that would stand alone for listening on mp3 players, etc.  It has spent quite a bit of time on mine!

8. Josh Turner: "Everything is Fine"



Josh has the privilege of being the only country artist on the chart this year (and one of the only ones I listen to regularly, for that matter).  I kind of got out of the country scene some time ago, but Josh has a real old-school deep baritone, and I love it.  Great record.

7. Straylight Run: "The Needles The Space"



Straylight Run has been one of my favorite bands ever since their first record came out.  This one doesn't disappoint either, following in the footsteps of their previous work, but stretching the listener a little bit.  It's a little more alternative, a little more "folky"... but I love it.  An incredible amount of talent in this band.

6. Cartel: "Cartel"



Sadly, Cartel suffered a bit from the legendary "sophomore slump."  Don't get me wrong, this is a solid record, but it doesn't quite live up to the raw energy that was present on their first CD.  Still one of the best of the year, though... great pop/rock hooks and positive content.  I like it.

5. Spoken: "Spoken"



Spoken once again comes through with the best hard music album of the year.  This band will rock your face off from the moment you put the CD in until the last note ends.  This album is even a little bit harder than the last couple of records, but it works well for them, and I love it.  Don't put this one in unless you like it heavy.

4. Jars of Clay: "Live Monsters"



I fought with myself long and hard over whether this record could be included on this list.  It's a less than full length live album made up completely of material which was already on Jars' "Good Monsters" (one of LAST years best albums).  But, in the end, I had to do it.  The way Jars of Clay was able to reproduce and reinvent these songs live is stellar, and if you ask me, the versions that result are better than the original studio tracks.  Bravo, guys... you created an incredible album without doing anything new.

3. Anberlin: "Cities"



Anberlin is a band that shows an incredible amount of musical development with every record they put out.  Their singer, Steven Christian has said that if the last two records were about understanding God and others, respectively, then "Cities" is about coming to terms with yourself.  That theme definitely shows here, and the result is just awesome.  This is rock music as it was meant to be played.

2. Jon McLaughlin: "Indiana"



This is without a doubt one of the best debut albums I've ever heard.  I'm not typically into pop, but this CD really blew me away.  Plus this guy has some incredible piano chops.  I've been listening to this nonstop for almost two months now.  Simply wonderful.

Drum Roll, Please....

1. The Fold: "Secrets Keep You Sick"



From the second I put it in, I knew.  This is simply some of the best music I've ever heard.  The band goes after some really deep issues on this one, and they do it with such brilliant writing and orchestrating that it's simply irresistible.  Not to mention the ingenious packaging... it simply doesn't get any better than this.  On par with anything else I've ever heard.

And there you have it!  So now it's your turn to talk to me!  Have you heard any of these?  Do you like them as much as I do?  Is there something that I completely missed this year that I would love?  Let me know!  I'm all about the feedback!  Hope you enjoyed it... can't wait to see what happens next year!