The Grammy Nominations for 2007 came out a couple weeks ago and I have to confess, I didn’t recognize half of the songs. I haven’t even heard them. I don’t know if it’s indicative of my decreasing interest in pop music or the declining quality of the music industry, but I’m just not interested in listening to what MTV and VH1 tell me I should be listening to. So, I don’t know if I’m truly qualified to create a “Best of 2007” list of music because I haven’t heard a lot of what’s out there, but I am going to create a list of “stuff I really liked in 2007”. We’ll call it My Favorite Music of 2007, in no particular order.

Anberlin – Cities
Every album seems to be better than the previous one, and yet, I still get the feeling that Anberlin hasn’t peaked yet. They are getting close, though. They really do sound like “Arena Rock for Generation Y Kids” to me, but that’s ok, because it rocks nonetheless. Favorite Tracks: The trio of “The Unwinding Cable Car”, “There Is No Mathematics To Love And Loss”, and “Hello Alone” are a great back-to-back-to-back sequence, and the unbelievably sappy “Inevitable” is fun, too.

Ruth – Secondhand Dreaming
It sounds a lot like Third Eye Blind, but I like this a lot more than Third Eye Blind. Maybe it’s because the lyrics are a little more serious and not so dippy. It’s great summer-time rock that you just want to take on a road trip. Favorite Tracks: “Mr. Turner”, “Here To New York” and the title track.

Derek Webb – The Ringing Bell
It would be short and Beatlesey sweet if it didn’t have such gravity to the lyrics. Derek Webb is not afraid to tackle anything, even his own critics. The difference between this album and his previous two albums is that the songs are short and catchy, and Webb ties some of his own personal life into the songs. Favorite Tracks: “I Wanna Marry You All Over Again” which has given single Christians everywhere their new favorite lyric and the infectiously catchy “Can’t Be Without You.” Webb also mixes in thought provoking songs also like “A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fear” to keep the listener from getting too comfortable, too.

Over the Rhine – The Trumpet Child
This another politically conscious, but irresistibly romantic album. Karin Bergquist’s voice has been married with horns and strings in lush instrumentation that adds a lot of depth to the sound of Over the Rhine. Linford Detweiler is deft as always on keys and lyrically and even contributes a rare spoken-word piece to the album. Favorite Tracks: Let’s just go ahead and say all six of the first songs on the album, which I can listen to straight through in one block with a stupid grin on my face. “Don’t Wait for Tom” is also a raucous fun piece of work.

Mae – Singularity
The Everglow had a little more consistent flow aided by the common theme of the album and this one feels really uneven to me. But when it’s good, it’s so good. The songs get into your head and won’t get out. Favorite Tracks: “Brink of Disaster” and “Crazy Eights” might be my most favorite back-to-back opening tracks on an album ever. I also love “Home” and “Just Let Go.”

Future of Forestry – Twilight
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the anthemic opening track and the rest of the album shows a lot of promise as well. I’m really hoping this band continues to develop and produce music. Favorite Tracks: “Open Wide”, “Speak To Me Gently”, “Stay Beside Me”

Caedmon’s Call – Overdressed
The big news is that Derek Webb is back with the band, but the real strength of the album is Andrew Osenga’s guitar work and lyrics providing a strong infrastructure to the songs. His contributions to the album rival Webb’s in quality. It’s fun to have Caedmon’s Call no longer under the thumb of the Christian Music industry. Favorite Tracks: “There Is A Reason”, “Share In The Blame”, “Hold The Light”, “Start Again”, and the unbelievably amazing “Ten Thousand Angels.”

Swirling Eddies – The Midget, The Speck, and The Molecule
This one caught me by surprise, I only picked it up a couple weeks ago and it has gotten lots of attention from me. The Swirling Eddies are Terry Taylor’s anonymous band that he uses to show his more sarcastic, sardonic side. Normally Taylor uses the Eddies to poke fun at Christian sub-culture, but on this album, Taylor spends more time poking fun at himself, lamenting the life of an old rock star. There’s lots of rollicking fun on this album, and even though the band members are anonymous, it’s not too hard to figure out who is backing Taylor up here. Favorite tracks: “It All Depends”, “Salton Sea”, “Tremolo”, “A Humble Man Rises.”

All The Day Holiday – We’ll Be Walking On Air
Admittedly, I haven’t actually bought this EP yet, but it’s just a matter of time. I’ve been listening to the tracks on their MySpace site ever since seeing them at Cornerstone and I’ll be ordering this CD very soon. It’s the frenetic pace of Mute Math crossed with the bleeding heart vocals of Dashboard Confessional. Favorite Tracks: “Atmosphere”, “Fingerprints”