2007 in Music

[YokaiKnight]

What kind of year did you think '07 was for music? What were your favorite or least favorite releases and artists? A specific artist or genre you thought did well?

So that I'm not only asking questions here, I thought it was too bad many review outlets posted "best of the year" lists earlier this month, because Lupe Fiasco's The Cool may have been the best hip-hop release I heard this year.

[UchihaHunter]

I haven't had the pleasure of hearing Lupe's The Cool as of yet, but after listening to Mood Muzik 3, I think that's a pretty solid album (even if it's only a mixtape, lol).  I liked American Gangster, but after "letting that bitch breathe" for a month or so, I can see it's above average, but not great like Hov was saying it was...

As far as 2007 for music, if I never hear "Crank Dat" for 20 years, that still wouldn't be long enough.

[Willfor]

Since I can pretty much ignore any music that I don't search for myself, I think it was a pretty good year.

I am thoroughly enjoying Thrice's latest two EPs. Jars of Clay's Christmas Song has become a personal favorite christmas album. A good but not 10/10 release for Caedmon's Call.

Um...

I really need to actually listen to more music than I do.

[I Fell In Love With Judas, then I got Herpes]

As far as 2007 for music, if I never hear "Crank Dat" for 20 years, that still wouldn't be long enough.

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Also:

[Superbus]

It's funny that the people that get the most attention are the Jigaboos - yeah, I said it - like Soulja Boy, whereas no one outside the scene gives any props to 9th Wonder.

2007 was the year where I learned that legendary shit is out there... you just need to look for it; Hip Hop isn't quite as dead as Nas said it was in '06, as poignantly stated by KRS-One and Marley Marl (Hip Hop Lives! - to punctuate what that partnership means, these two hated each other in the 80s as much as Jay and Nas did in 2001). There wasn't anything terrific to start the year off, but then Brother Ali came out with The Undisputed Truth, and things just took off. Desire (Pharoahe Monch), Finding Forever (Common), Eardrum (Talib Kweli), Below the Horizons (Blu + Exile), None Shall Pass (Aesop Rock), I Predict a Riot (Hezekiah), Median's Relief (Median), Graduation (Kanye West), Dream Merchant Vol. 2 (9th Wonder; and don't forget his old group Little Brother with Getback), Ultimate Victory (Chamillionaire; this one surprised me), American Gangster (Hov), and ending with The Cool (Lupe Fiasco), 2007 has been awesome, and if you want to go back to December of '06, don't forget Hip Hop is Dead {Nas). There were only a few genuine stinkers this year, too (like that dumb motherfucker Soulja Boy, or the new Yung Joc). Shit, even the group that got me into Rap in the 80s (Public Enemy) came out with a new album, and it's good! (How To Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?). What a year. And the best part is that most of the really good shit was from smaller, non-RIAA labels.

As for Album of the Year... I'm honestly not sure. This is all personal preference to me, as most of the big magazines and sources are likely just going to say it's between Kanye and Jay, because they're blinded by their own press. Personally, those albums are awesome, but they're not even in the top 3 for me, and the main reason I don't say there's a definitive choice is because I need to hear The Cool a few more times, and get some perspective on it. Personally, if I had to rank a top three of albums that came out from January to November, I think Below the Horizons would be the top album, with Median's Relief second and The Undisputed Truth being #3. And it would be CLOSE.

[YokaiKnight]

I was typing up something longer before I managed to accidentally close my window, so I'll keep this short and sweet, just like the subject matter.

Speaking of releases that may or may not have come out in 2007, there is one which, in my opinion, may very quietly have been this artist's best work--more so than the much longer and very solid album he also released this year.