My 10 Favorite Songs of 2007

2007 was another great year of music for me, as evidenced by the 228 songs I downloaded from i-Tunes over the course of 12 months. This was a milestone year for me in that I didn’t buy one CD for the first time in 22 years (hard to believe CDs are that old!), thus officially passing myself over to the digital age once and for all.

I have mixed feelings about this, just like I did back in 1985 when I bought my last vinyl record. I used to love the packaging and the artwork that came with the music, particularly in the days of 33RPM albums. I remember back in 1975 when “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” by Elton John came out and I spent hours reading the multi-page picture and lyric booklet that came with it.

I guess it’s just the music now, and the sheer convenience of that darn i-Pod I can carry with me wherever I go. That’s not a bad trade given all my travels.

Here are my favorite tracks of 2007 (in no particular order):

1) “Pop Goes My Heart” - Pop (from the movie “Music and Lyrics“) This is a pure guilty pleasure that I can’t help breaking a smile from every time I hear it, or see the hilarious video.

2) “Better Than” - John Butler Trio (from the album “Grand National“) A great “road” song that got me through many a long drive this year.

3) “The Story” - Brandi Carlile (from the album “The Story“) - What a voice. FEEL this song.

4) “Everybody Knows” - Ryan Adams (from the album “Easy Tiger“) - Yet another excellent melodic effort from someone who just keeps cranking them out.

5) “Don’t Stop Now” - Crowded House (from the album “Time on Earth“) - Great to hear this group back recording again.

6) “Dashboard” - Modest Mouse (from the album “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank“) - A driving alt-rock beat and the most inventive album title of the year.

7) “Raincoat” - Kelly Sweet (from the album “We Are One“) - One of the “warmest” voices you’ll ever hear. Aural candy.

“Love Stoned/I Think She Knows” - Justin Timberlake (from the album “FutureSex/LoveSounds“) - Another guilty pleasure; this one is best heard while watching him perform it live on his HBO special. A talented kid.

9) “Chasing Cars” - Snow Patrol (from the album “Eyes Open“) - I admit I’m a sucker for a power ballad like this one.

10) “1 2 3 4” - Feist (from the album “The Reminder“) - I was slow to connect with this one (especially when it was all over the TV in that i-Tunes ad) but when I did, it hooked me pretty good.

There you have it - the 10 that effected me most in 2007. I wish you all a Happy New Year of great music listening in 2008!