I know it's a little early but LA Times already have their best of. I actually like that they waited til Novemeber to release this. Usually the albums that come out past November are these weird artsy snobrock records that only come out so late just so they can stay fresh on the critics minds (ie Joanna Newsom) and make it easy for them to remember when their making their top 20. The "for your consideration records." Besides LA Times doesn't kiss Nick Hartcort's ass every chance they get like the LA Weekly or NY Times.

I'll just do the top 8 since albums 9 and 10 dont't qualify(Lil' Wayne and Amy Winehouse)

8) LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver
7) Rihanna- Good Girl Gone Bad
6) Feist- The Reminder
5) Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
4) Bruce Springsteen- Magic
3) MIA- Kala
2) Kanye West- Graduation

#1) Radiohead- In Rainbows

Don't mess with Radiohead

It's really, really early.

Albums still to come out this year:

Jay-Z: American Gangster soundtrack
Lupe Fiasco: The Cool
Ghostface Killah: The Big Dough Rehab
Wu-Tang: The 8 Diagrams

That's only major releases. Who knows what else might come out of the woodwork. But all four of those albums have a serious chance to be #1 on critics lists. All four could not make a single list as well...But, releasing a best of list before they come out is absurd.

And LCD Soundsystem notches their first entry in a list. I expect many more to come!

Tim, 9 and 10 may not be 2007 albums but any list they appear on this year will certainly be added to their current database numbers here. BACK TO BLACK in particular is likely to do very well in U.S. year-end rankings, and I expect to see other "holdovers" like Peter Bjorn and John's WRITER'S BLOCK and Jarvis Cocker's JARVIS pop up frequently as well.

It will be fascinating, as always, to see how well the rankings that Henrik and Stefan have been compiling all year from Metacritic and elsewhere match up with the gradual accumulation of best-of lists. If the LAT list (which, I agree, is outlandishly premature) is any indication, Henrik's current top three (Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Radiohead) will probably still be in the top 5 when the dust settles, and I fully expect LCD to end up close to where it is now too. (NEW MOON could be a different story - I wonder if it might be disqualified from some year-end lists.) And look for GRADUATION and MAGIC to climb considerably higher than their current relatively low positions. (Although they already rank pretty high by comparison, look for PJ Harvey and the White Stripes to score a lot of top-ten slots as well.)

I suspect the most acclaimed album of the year will be a two-way race between Arcade Fire's Neon Bible and Radiohead's In Rainbows. But they will be closely followed by MIA's Kala and LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver. With likely strong backing from British and European critics, I wouldn't be surprised if Favourite Worst Nightmare by Arctic Monkeys sneaks into the top 5 too. I don't think Kanye West's Graduation will appear on as many critics lists as his 2004 and 2005 albums, so if the upcoming Wu-Tang and Ghostface Killah albums are any good they might be the hip hop albums to make an appearance on lots of top 10 lists.

LCD Soundsystem deserves to have the most acclaimed album of the year.

No way! The National's Boxer is the greatest album of this century.

Nobody's going to put the Apples in Stereo in their top 10 because it came out so early. Whether this is their best or not they deserve more acclaim than any of their Elephant 6 bandmates. They're my #1 by far.

"No way! The National's Boxer is the greatest album of this century."

Not the century but I think I'm with you on album of the year.

I hope that of Montreal and Jens Lekman will be ranked high in EOY lists because they deserve it ! But I'm sure that Radiohead will be number 1 because it's Radiohead and whatever the shit they make every rock-critic adore them. It's sad but true. Arcade Fire will be number 2.

My favourite album of the year is the Rush one - Snakes and Ladders

2007 has been rubbish imo

oops, Snakes & Arrows!

Which Lil' Wayne album was at 9th place?

National's Boxer is definitely an awesome album. And they did a killer gig at this year's Roskilde Festival *and* are due back in Copenhagen in four weeks' time. Yipeee. :-)

This is just one critic's list (Ann Powers):
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-ca-popalbums28oct28,0,6059579.story?page=1&coll=am-wtcnav

I see. Bye bye list...

i might get one of the national's albums. i remember being attracted to their hit from their last album (i can't remember its name). what should i get first?

Seeing as there's only two, I'd say both. But if I had to choose, I'd be Boxer. By a mile too, brilliant album.

battles mirrored!!! I love it! Boxer too!
But in rainbows is an absolute masterpiece and is clearly the best of the year
MIA is cool too!

"Seeing as there's only two, I'd say both."

Actually they've put out four albums.

The National (2001)
Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers (2003)
Alligator (2005)
The Boxer (2007)

I haven't heard the first one but the others are great.

And I have all 4. I should start paying attention to what I write when I post comments. Sorry, let me redo that.

I recommend all 4, although their debut album is definitely not quite as good as the latter 3. Sad Songs takes a while to get in to, while Alligator and Boxer a little 'easier' to access. My personal order is Boxer, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, Alligator and then The National.

I think the only album I would also put in my top 10 would be Neon Bible (maybe even as number 2). Haven't heard the Rihanna, Feist, and Bruce Springsteen records but I'm generally not a big fan of any of their music. I thought Sound of Silver was good, but not fantastic. Kala might have a chance with a few more listens. Graduation is a big maybe (like Kanye, but much of this album just feels like he's going through the motions and not really pushing himself as an artist). In Rainbows is no big deal to me, but maybe I just need a moment of clarity.

Right now I think my personal year end number 1 is animal collective's Strawberry Jam. Boxer and Mirrored are also standouts for me, as is caribou's Andorra.