Rock and Reel

Top 10 Tracks of 1978

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I must have a musical bald spot because my metalhead is starting to show. Bob Dylan never stopped writing great songs, even with his weaker albums. I will never cease to be amazed by Eddie Van Halen’s work on “Eruption.” There are two by Elvis Costello because he’s the man, but Bruce is on top because he’s the boss.

10. The Police- Born in the 50’s (Listen)

9. Judas Priest- Beyond the Realms of Death (Listen)

8. Bob Dylan- Changing of the Guard (Listen)

7. The Clash- (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais (Listen)

6. Van Halen- Eruption (Listen)

5. Funkadelic- One Nation Under a Groove (Listen)

4. Elvis Costello- (What’s So Funny ‘About) Peace, Love and Understanding (Watch Bill Murray sing in Lost in Translation)

3. Elvis Costello- No Action (Listen to non-album live version)

2. Blondie- Hanging on the Telephone (Listen)

1. Bruce Springsteen- Racing in the Street (Listen)

See Also: Top 10 Albums of 1965

Top 10 Albums of 2007

1. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Listen: “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb”

2. Dinosaur Jr.- Beyond

Listen: “Crumble”

3. Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago

Listen: “Flume”

4. Kanye West- Graduation

Listen: “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”

5. Various Artists, I’m Not There

Listen: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Antony and the Johnsons

6. Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala

Listen: “The Opposite of Hallelujah”

7. The White Stripes- Icky Thump

Listen: “Icky Thump”

8. Arcade Fire- Neon Bible

Listen: “Intervention”

9. Radiohead- In Rainbows

Listen: “All I Need”

10. Brandi Carlile- The Story

Listen: “The Story”

Honorable Mention: Andrew Bird’s Armchair Apocrypha, Kevin Drew’s Spirit If…, Flobots’ Fight With Tools, Lil Wayne’s Da Drought 3, Modest Mouse’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, The New Pornographers’ Challengers, Josh Ritter’s The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, The Swell Season’s Once: From the Motion Picture

Updated: January 13, 2012

Top 10 Albums of 2006

1. The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America

Listen: “Stuck Between Stations” [Non-Album Live Version]

2. Ghostface Killah- Fishscale

Listen: “Shakey Dog”

3. Tom Waits- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards

Listen: “Missing My Son”

4. Belle and Sebastian- The Life Pursuit

Listen: “Another Sunny Day”

5. Sonic Youth- Rather Ripped

Listen: “Another Sunny Day”

6. Yo La Tengo- I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

Listen: “Mr. Tough”

7. Bob Dylan- Modern Times

Listen: “Thunder on the Mountain”

8. Bruce Springsteen- We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

Listen: “We Shall Overcome”

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Show Your Bones

Listen: “Gold Lion”

10. Neil Young- Living With War

Listen: “Let’s Impeach the President”

Archival Highlight: Neil Young- Crazy Horse at the Fillmore 1970

Listen: “Winterlong”

Honorable Mention: Lily Allen’s Alright, Still; Islands’ Return to the Sea; My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade; Sufjan Stevens’ The Avalanche; The Streets’ The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living; Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds

Updated: December 31, 2011

Top 10 Albums of 2005

1. The Hold Steady- Separation Sunday

Listen: “Your Little Hoodrat Friend”

2. Kanye West- Late Registration

Listen: “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix feat. Jay-Z)”

3. The White Stripes- Get Behind Me Satan

Listen: “Blue Orchid”

4. Franz Ferdinand- You Could Have It So Much Better

Listen: “Do You Want To”

5. Sufjan Stevens- Illinois

Listen: “Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois”

6. Wilco- Kicking Television: Live in Chicago

Listen: “At Least That’s What You Said”

7. Serena-Maneesh- Serena-Maneesh

Listen: “Drain Cosmetics”

8. My Morning Jacket- Z

Listen: “Off the Record”

9. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Listen: “Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)”

10. Art Brut-Bang Bang Rock & Roll

Listen: “Emily Kane”

Archival Highlight: Bob Dylan- The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack

Honorable Mention: Fall Out Boy’s From Under the Cork Tree, Gogol Bordello’s Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, The New Pornographers’ Twin Cinema, Nine Inch Nails’ With Teeth, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ Nothing But the Water, Bruce Springsteen’s Devils & Dust, System of a Down’s Mezmerize; Tapes ‘n Tapes’ The Loon, Weezer’s Make Believe

Updated: December 31, 2011

Top 10 Albums of 2004

1. Arcade Fire- Funeral

Listen: “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”

2. Kanye West- The College Dropout

Listen: “Never Let Me Down”

3. The Trash Can Sinatras- Weightlifting

Listen: “Leave Me Alone”

4. Iron & Wine- Our Endless Numbered Days

Listen: “Naked As We Come”

5. Sufjan Stevens- Seven Swans

Listen: “Abraham”

6. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds- Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

Listen: “Get Ready for Love”

7. Brian Wilson- Smile

Listen: “Roll Plymouth Rock”

8. Wilco- A Ghost is Born

Listen: “At Least That’s What You Said”

9. Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand

Listen: “Take Me Out”

10. Morrissey- You Are the Quarry

Listen: “First of the Gang to Die”

Archival Highlight: Bob Dylan- The Bootleg Series Volume 6: Live 1964 - Concert at Philharmonic Hall

Listen: “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”

Honorable Mention: Annie’s Anniemal; The Black Keys’ Rubber Factory; Prince’s Musicology; TV on the Radio’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes; U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb; Tom Waits’ Real Gone; The Walkmen’s Bows + Arrows

Updated: April 5, 2012