“Paste” Gives The National A Gold Star

noah | November 27, 2007 12:50 pm
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Paste came out of the gate with its Top 100 Albums Of 2007 list, and it’s topped by The National’s Boxer, with the Arcade Fire (hey, remember them?) and Bruce Springsteen right behind it. (For those of you who were wondering, Radiohead’s In Rainbows came in at No. 11.) The full list is after the jump, but here are a few impressions:

THE GOOD: The top 20 is pretty much full of the usual triple-A suspects (White Stripes, Wilco, Modest Mouse, Band Of Horses, Iron & Wine), but it’s awful nice to see Miranda Lambert’s genuinely thrilling Crazy Ex-Girlfriend get some love at No. 18. THE BAD: The clustering of Internet-loved darlings near the list’s bottom–particularly the Menomena-Liars-Deerhunter-Dan Deacon-Art Brut run that makes up Nos. 85-81–makes one wonder if this list really needed to be 100 albums long. 2007 wasn’t that good, folks! THE WHAAA? Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings’ 100 Days, 100 Nights (No. 45) being bested by the safe-as-milk Norah Jones (No. 44) and the Grey’s Anatomy-approved caterwauler Brandi Carlile (No. 41)? C’mon, Paste–we know you have a target demo, but challenging people can sometimes be fun.

100. Stars, In Our Bedroom After The War 99. The Fiery Furnaces, Widow City 98. Dinosaur Jr., Beyond 97. Marissa Nadler, Song III: Bird on the Water 96. Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare 95. The Good, The Bad & The Queen, The Good, The Bad & The Queen 94. Suzanne Vega, Beauty & Crime 93. Lori McKenna, Unglamorous 92. Jesse Sykes, Like, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul 91. The Fratellis, Costello Music 90. Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon 89. Anat Cohen, Noir 88. Do Make Say Think, You, You’re A History In Rust 87. White Rabbits, Fort Nightly 86. Ruthie Foster, The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster 85. Menomena, Friend and Foe 84. Liars, Liars 83. Deerhunter, Cryptograms 82. Dan Deacon, Spiderman of the Rings 81. Art Brut, It’s A Bit Complicated 80. Akron/Family, Love Is Simple 79. Deerhoof, Friend Opportunity 78. The New Pornographers, Challengers 77. Jeremy Fisher, Goodbye Blue Monday 76. Okkervil River, The Stage Names 75. Great Lake Swimmers, Ongiara 74. Beirut, The Flying Club Cup 73. Warm In The Wake, American Prehistoric 72. Bettye Lavette, Scene Of The Crime 71. Josh Rouse, Country Mouse City House 70. Ween, La Cucaracha 69. Bat For Lashes, Fur & Gold 68. Office, A Night At The Ritz 67. St. Vincent, Marry Me 66. Apples In Stereo, New Magnetic Wonder 65. Caribou, Andorra 64. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam 63. Explosions In The Sky, All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone 62. Joseph Arthur, Let’s Just Be 61. Prince, Planet Earth 60. The Broken West, I Can’t Go On I’ll Go On 59. Imperial Teen, The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band 58. Romantica, America 57. The Clientele, God Save The Clientele 56. Kate Nash, Made of Bricks 55. Sunset Rubdown, Random Spirit Lover 54. Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew, Spirit If… 53. Fionn Regan, The End Of History 52. Thurston Moore, Trees Outside the Academy 51. The Frames, The Cost 50. Battles, Mirrored 49. Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dona Got A Ramblin’ Mind 48. The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour 47. Linda Thompson, Versatile Heart 46. Justice, 45. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights 44. Norah Jones, Not Too Late 43. The Everybodyfields, Nothing Is Okay 42. Lifesavas, Gutterfly 41. Brandi Carlile, The Story 40. Damien Dempsey, To Hell Or Barbados 39. The Perishers, Victorious 38. Olof Arnalds, Vid Og Vid 37. Eleni Mandell, The Miracle Of Five 36. Joe Henry, Civilians 35. Peter Bjorn & John, Writer’s Block 34. Bright Eyes, Cassadaga 33. PJ Harvey, White Chalk 32. Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha 31. Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? 30. Björk, Volta 29. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 28. Mary Gauthier, Between Daylight and Dark 27. Derek Webb, The Ringing Bell 26. The Shins, Wincing the Night Away 25. Over The Rhine, The Trumpet Child 24. Patty Griffin, Children Running Through 23. Black Lips, Good Bad Not Evil 22. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver 21. Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala 20. Blonde Redhead, 23 19. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Living with the Living 18. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 17. Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter 16. Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger 15. Kanye West, Graduation 14. Loney, Dear, Loney, Noir 13. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black 12. Avett Brothers, Emotionalism 11. Radiohead, In Rainbows 10. Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog 09. Band of Horses, Cease to Begin 08. Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank 07. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky 06. M.I.A., Kala 05. Feist, The Reminder 04. The White Stripes, Icky Thump 03. Bruce Springsteen, Magic 02. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible 01. The National, Boxer

Paste Picks Boxer As Year’s #1 [Stereogum]