Here is the last installment of my Favorite Albums of 2007. Again, they are listed in alphabetical order. Be on the look out of my list of Favorite Books of 2007 later this week. Until then, Merry Christmas everyone.

Oh! Gravity
Switchfoot

While 2003’s The Beautiful Letdown introduced the world to Switchfoot the alum seemed incomplete. It was disjointed and the second half of the album seemed like it belonged elsewhere. This year Switchfoot released Oh! Gravity and in doing so released a fully realized album with great lyrics and stunning soundscapes. Lyrically this is their deepest album yet. The songs deal with out of control consumerism, inauthentic living, and selling our souls for less than what their worth. Oh! Gravity is Switchfoot’s best album to date and judging by their direction this is only the beginning.

Download: American Dream (acoustic), Awakening, Faust, Midas, and Myself, Dirty Second Hands

Remedy
David Crowder* Band

I am a huge DC*B fan. Remedy seems to capture everything great about the DC*B that we’ve seen before (thoughtful lyrics, organic sound) and coupled it with some new sounds (more electronic beats, guitar solos). The requisite reinterpretation of a classic hymn on this album is O For a Thousand Tounges to Sing by Charles Wesley. While Wesley argued that no one should ever change or update his hymns Crowder and Co. do a great job of bringing this beautiful song written in 1739 into the 21st century. The best surprise on this album is the guest appearance by Ted Nugent on the song We Won’t Be Quiet. The Nuge lays down some of the heaviest licks ever on a CCM album. Good stuff.

Download: Glory of It All, O For a Thousand, We Won’t Be Quiet, Everything Glorious

Snakes and Arrows
Rush

See Kratzer’s review in the comments section.

This Is Somewhere
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

The only band I was interested in seeing Sunday morning during the Austin City Limits Music Festival was a little band I had seen on Leno. I had no idea what a treat I was in for when Grace Potter and the Nocturnals took the stage. Their straight up, gospel infused, southern rock blew me away. Their latest album This is Somewhere is a solid effort from this Vermont band. I was not disappointed by this album at all. It wasn’t able to completely capture the energy and raw prowess of their live show but they sure came close.

Download: Stop the Bus, If I Was From Paris, Falling or Flying

We Shine
Fee

The award for my favorite worship album of 2007 goes to Steve Fee and his band’s first full release, We Shine. Fee led worship at this year’s Catalyst Conference and turned the volume to 11. This album has new worship songs (All Because of Jesus, Beautiful the Blood) and it has some great interpretations of worship favorites (Glorious One, Happy Day). Check out We Shine and look forward to Fee’s sophomore release.

Download: All Because of Jesus, We Shine, You Are The Light

Welcome to the first installment of my Favorite Albums of 2007. Since I am a fan of good music in general, I tend to shy away from numerically ranking these albums. Instead I am posting my thoughts in alphabetical order by album title. Here are the first five album reviews from A through L.

As I Am
Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys = my guilty pleasure. Ms. Keys third album is a captivating sonic experience. No longer a timid little songstress, Alicia stretches her legs and proves that she is a strong artist with a desire make music on her terms. If you were able to catch her VMA performance you saw the only standout performance by a true artist that night. She debuted the strong single No One with moxie and capped it with a cover of George Michael’s Freedom ‘90. Too bad that this memorable performance was over-shrouded by a certain Starbucks-loving, deadbeat mom pretending to be a pop princess debacle that garnered most of the media attention. Fortunately, Alicia Keys doesn’t have to compete for attention here. The fourteen tracks featured on As I Am are strong lyrically as well as musically. You get caught up in the stories and the emotions. The songs deal with growing up and moving on through adversity- universal themes if there ever were any. A great album to rock in your car, on your iPod, or at home on the stereo.

Download: Superwoman, No One, Lesson Learned (feat. John Mayer), Wreckless Love, Sure Looks Good to Me, The Thing About Love

Back to Black
Amy Winehouse

Thanks to a tip from a friend living in England earlier this year, I jump on the Amy Winehouse bandwagon early and I have yet to disembark. In March I purchased her US debut for $7.99 from the iTunes store (haha suckers it is now $9.99) and then promptly purchased the import of Frank from the Virgin record store. On one hand there is something fresh about Winehouse’s sound but on the other it is something that is oddly familiar. Someone wrote that listening to this album was like listening to some distant radio transmission from a parallel 1960s. If this is the type of music she makes in a self-destructive nose dive imagine what she could do if she gets her life together. If you haven’t checked Winehouse out give her a listen. You will not be disappointed.

Download: Back to Black, Rehab, Wake Up Alone, You Know I’m No Good

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters

I like the Foo Fighters. I mean, what’s not to like? Raw emotions, big sound, and tight rhythms are the markers for great bands. Foo Fighters has them all and all are on display here. Their last studio effort yielded a (slightly) bloated two disc set of good tracks. What took them two discs and twenty songs there is concentrated into a tight mix of twelve semi-perfect tracks here. The production work is great and I haven’t been this excited about the Foo Fighters since ‘97s The Colour and the Shape (ESPG is produced by Gil Norton, the producer behind The Colour and the Shape). Grohl and company certainly delivered with quite possibly their best album to date.

Download: Let It Die, Home, The Pretender

Icky Thump
The White Stripes

They say that “almost” only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. I now believe that “almost” can and should apply to seeing the White Stripes live. At this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival I “almost” got to see Jack and Meg perform live. Alas it was not to be. however, I spent a great deal of time rocking out to this superb rock album. This is probably the White Stripes loudest album. Icky Thump contains some of Jack White’s best guitar work. The title track just plain rocks. Of course a White Stripes album wouldn’t be complete without a little drama and oddness. Conquest is an epic song in the vein of Tenacious D where as St. Andrew might be the only WS song to feature bagpiping. Not quite a substitute for a cancelled world tour but I guess it will have to do.

Download: You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)

Live at Radio City
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds

Two men, two acoustic guitars and one of the most famous venues in the world. This truly is a fitting sequel to 1999’s Live at Luther. It was that album that introduced me to Dave Matthews back in college . The true nature of these songs are laid bare through this intimate and raw acoustic performance. Classic tracks such as Bartender, Stay or Leave, and Don’t Drink the Water are re-imagined as haunting acoustic ballads far removed from the full band sounds that we are used to. While the songs may have lost the keyboards, drums, and wind instruments they haven’t lost their intensity. A few new songs made their debuts here as well. Eh Hee, a frenetic and wild song inspired by a trip to Africa, is a new favorite of mine. Also, Cornbread and Sister, while new to the cannon, sit comfortably alongside old favorites like Crush and Dancing Nancies. I have probably spent more time with this album than any other. A true classic and a must have for any fan of true music.

Download: The entire album