kevin.

I don't make "best of" lists, only lists of my favorites. As such, here is the most important favorites list of 2007. Stay tuned later for my list of the 50 best best lists of 2007.
Disagreements are welcome. For the record, numbers 15 through 50 are all just about even, I just figure what good is a list if you can't rank things?
-- 41-50 (Download It) --
50) Britney Spears – Blackout
49) New Found Glory – From The Screen To Your Stereo, Part II
48) Kanye West – Graduation
47) Tegan And Sara – The Con
46) Dashboard Confessional – The Shade Of Poison Trees
45) The National – Boxer
44) Every Time I Die – The Big Dirty
43) Single File – No More Sad Face
42) Anberlin – Cities
41) Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
-- 31-40 (Buy It Eventually) --
40) Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
39) Air – Pocket Symphony
38) Kings Of Leon – Because Of…

This title implies that there even was a 2006 (or 2005) edition, of which I'm not sure, but 50 Cent's highly-publicized declaration that he'd "retire" (oh pleeeeease) if Kanye West's new album Graduation outsold 50's Curtis in their simultaneous first week will reportedly backfire, though not for lack of trying. HITS reports that 50 Cent's album will check in at a very impressive 600,000 copies sold, but unfortunately well short of Kanye's massive 800,000.

First of all, the retirement threat is a bit useless after Jay-Z's hollow retirement pledge (hell, Tupac has been dead for a decade and still drops new singles every once in a while). Additionally, 50 Cent, ever the master of lexicon, said he simply won't put out any solo records as 50 Cent, whateverthatmeans.

More notable in this story…

My iPod is confused. It's summer in LA, and it somehow produced this section of songs today.
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia
Eels - Saturday Morning
David Bowie - Young Americans
Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
Zombies - This Will Be Our Year
Method Man - Tease
Stephen Brodsky's Octave Museum - Kid Defender
Rocky Votolato - Uppers Aren't Necessary
Depeche Mode - People Are People
Massive Attack - Protection
Otis Redding - Security
Common - The Corner
Go find these songs, burn them to a CD, and save them for the first day of fall.

For some reason, the staff at Blender Magazine seem to have self-applied the "kings of all music lists" title without clearing it with me. They post lists with alarming frequency, and, in this discontent blogger's opinion, they capitalize on society's obsession with listmaking to assert their "brilliance." I believe it's a quote from High Fidelity (great book, by the way) that encompasses most of Blender's lists: "a sly declaration of neoclassic status, slipped in with a list of old, safe ones." If someone asked them to name the most important classical composers in history, they'd top the list with Mozart and Phillip Glass. That's like putting two bookends on your shelf and forgetting about the books.

In honor of Blender's umpteenth declaration of musical fact, I'd like to present you with my top five least favorite Blender lists. These lists carry as…

Emanuel debuts their new track "Phobos" / Alternative Press

The 100 Greatest cover songs of all time / Digital Dream Door

Scientific proof that metal really is Satanic (or something like that) / idolator

GNR's Appetite For Destruction turns 20, continues to outsell newer records / velvet rope

Not to be outdone, The Sex Pistols' Nevermind The Bollocks turns 30, slated for reissue / NME

No Knife's Ryan Feguson posts two new solo tracks / Ryan Ferguson

Hot New Blog Alert! For those interested in music and global health (simultaneously, of course) / Chain of Strength

Notoriously shy Bad Brains give an interview / Spinner

Steve Jobs tops Blender's list of music's top 25 "power geeks" / vicariousmusic

Is this what the future of top 40 music holds for us? / the onion

You heard it on MTV first: the new Panic! At The Disco album will "probably suck" / punknews

Disney announces new CD format, no one impressed / yahoo!

Yup.

Less Than Jake tries to forget their last album [punknews]

Jamaica: birthplace of the mashup? [Wired]

We just can't seem to get rid of Courtney Love [Brooklyn Vegan]

In the wake of Live Earth, some videos from benefit concerts with a little more lasting impact [Q Daily]

J Vanderslice drops his new video [indieblogheaven]

For Saves the Day fans: check out First to Leave. Do it.

"White People For Peace" at the Key Club in Hollywood in December 2006.

Ever wonder where Avril Lavigne got the idea from? (Although I'd be willing to bet Avril's video is 100 times better than the original.)

Oh, if you hadn't heard: Avril's getting sued. I'm sure there will be some shady back-room settlement leading to the plaintiffs getting to co-perform with her at the VMAs, never to be heard from again.