Everybody's doing it, right? I don't pretend to be hip or edgy or rebellious. I mean, I grew up on Billy Joel and Madonna and Motown and then the Gen Xer's basic dichotomy of KROQ versus Top 40 in the 90s. I find it increasingly harder to fall in love with albums in the downloading age, and am one of those people who obsessively compiles mixed cds for friends and iPod playlists full of......

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their......

Out Today (The Baby List) Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum (Ryko)) LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (Capitol) Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living (Touch & Go) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Sony) I'm from Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends [US Bonus Tracks] (Mute U.S.) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Junk Culture (Caroline) El-P - I'll Sleep When You're......