 | Turntable Soul Music by Belleruche
Buy new: $31.99 This was a serious find. Trip-hop that doesn't sound stuck in the early nineties.
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 | Myth Takes by !!!
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $3.77 Indie rock you can dance to?
So far I'm diggin' this way more than Louden Up Now. Try to find the version with the 3 track bonus disc if you can.
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 | Security by Antibalas
Buy new: $16.98 / Used from: $5.82 The best of the Afrobeat emulators as produced by John McEntire of Tortoise. Takes the template established by Fela Kuti and goes off on all sorts of tangents.
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 | Andorra by Caribou
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $11.35 An exquisite and beautifully crafted album assembled by Dan Snaith. See the band version live if you can and snatch up the tour cd too.
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 | Tio Bitar by Dungen
Buy new: $10.97 / Used from: $6.50 Psychedelic rock from Sweeden that is much more than the sum of its influences. Not as much bombast Ta Det Lugnt, but I think it flows better as an album. Love the added use of violin.
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 | I'll Sleep When You're Dead by El-P
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $3.99 Probably my favorite Def Jux release ever. Beats so incredibly detailed it boggles the mind. Last track with Cat Power is my favorite El-P production ever, even if it ain't strictly hip-hop.
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 | The Harlem Experiment by The Harlem Experiment
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $8.00 An incredible collaborative funk/jazz/latin/rock outing that features a wide array of talent. This one is kind of like the Philadelphia Experiment X the Detroit Experiment. Hopefully the next one won't take four years. Props to Thirsty Ear.
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 | Graduation by Kanye West
Buy new: $12.97 / Used from: $4.99 This is the first Kanye album I liked enough to actually buy. Much more focused effort than first two albums, yet more diversity in sounds.
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 | Kala
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $6.27 The beats on this album are insane! Thought her first album was little heavy on hype/short on substance, but this one brings the heat.
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 | Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4: In India by Madlib
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $8.99 The music of Bollywood sampled and chopped into instrumental hip-hop form by one of underground hip-hop's best producers.
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 | Dr. No's Oxperiment by Oh No
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $7.48 Madlib's younger brother takes a bunch of Mediterranean psych rock and turns it into heady hip-hop goodness. Think I'd give this the edge over Beat Konducta in India for best instrumental hip-hop of the year.
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 | Desire by Pharoahe Monch
Buy new: $13.98 / Used from: $7.37 Eight years in the making, Pharoahe Monch finally follows up on his debut album. Quite possibly the most gifted lyricist in hip-hop today.
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 | In Rainbows by Radiohead
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $7.00 Radiohead finally merges the eerie experimentation of Kid A/Amnesiac with the straight forward songwriting and rock of OK Computer. This is the album that Hail to the Thief should have been.
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 | Attack Decay Sustain Release by Simian Mobile Disco
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $2.92 Aside from "I Believe", the first time I heard this album I was underwhelmed. However, a few of the tracks showing up in a random playlist got me to give it another listen. Thank god I did, cause this one of the best dance records I've heard in years.
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 | Mind Control by Stephen Marley
Buy new: $9.97 / Used from: $6.24 There isn't a whole lot of contemporary reggae that I can really get into, but seeing as how Stephen produced Damian's stellar Welcome To Jamrock, figured this couldn't be half bad. Well, good news is that its way better than I expected. While there's nothing here that can top "Welcome to Jamrock" or "Road to Zion", this may be the better album over-all.
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 | For Hero: For Fool by Subtle
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $5.90 Subtle is an experimental band based in Oakland that defies categorization. I guess since the front man is Anticon rapper Doseone and some of the beat work is done by Jel, I'd call this hip-hop, but there is so much more going on. Definitely not for the feint of heart.
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 | 8 Diagrams by Wu-Tang Clan
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $6.49 Wu Tang! Wu Tang! Wu Tang!
For all the dissension in the ranks of the Clan, I was expecting a dud. But if you take this on its own merits, its really quite good. RZA's growth as a producer is demonstrated in spades on this album, even if it doesn't always suit the needs of those rapping over it.
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 | Good Girl Gone Bad by Rihanna
Buy used from: $7.41 This is totally a guilty pleasure. For all the gaudy pop sheen, vocal limitations, and lyrical fluff, I had a hard time putting this album down. Quite possibly the pop "masterpiece" of 2007.
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