Welcome to the first installment of my Favorite Albums of 2007. Since I am a fan of good music in general, I tend to shy away from numerically ranking these albums. Instead I am posting my thoughts in alphabetical order by album title. Here are the first five album reviews from A through L.

As I Am
Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys = my guilty pleasure. Ms. Keys third album is a captivating sonic experience. No longer a timid little songstress, Alicia stretches her legs and proves that she is a strong artist with a desire make music on her terms. If you were able to catch her VMA performance you saw the only standout performance by a true artist that night. She debuted the strong single No One with moxie and capped it with a cover of George Michael’s Freedom ‘90. Too bad that this memorable performance was over-shrouded by a certain Starbucks-loving, deadbeat mom pretending to be a pop princess debacle that garnered most of the media attention. Fortunately, Alicia Keys doesn’t have to compete for attention here. The fourteen tracks featured on As I Am are strong lyrically as well as musically. You get caught up in the stories and the emotions. The songs deal with growing up and moving on through adversity- universal themes if there ever were any. A great album to rock in your car, on your iPod, or at home on the stereo.

Download: Superwoman, No One, Lesson Learned (feat. John Mayer), Wreckless Love, Sure Looks Good to Me, The Thing About Love

Back to Black
Amy Winehouse

Thanks to a tip from a friend living in England earlier this year, I jump on the Amy Winehouse bandwagon early and I have yet to disembark. In March I purchased her US debut for $7.99 from the iTunes store (haha suckers it is now $9.99) and then promptly purchased the import of Frank from the Virgin record store. On one hand there is something fresh about Winehouse’s sound but on the other it is something that is oddly familiar. Someone wrote that listening to this album was like listening to some distant radio transmission from a parallel 1960s. If this is the type of music she makes in a self-destructive nose dive imagine what she could do if she gets her life together. If you haven’t checked Winehouse out give her a listen. You will not be disappointed.

Download: Back to Black, Rehab, Wake Up Alone, You Know I’m No Good

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters

I like the Foo Fighters. I mean, what’s not to like? Raw emotions, big sound, and tight rhythms are the markers for great bands. Foo Fighters has them all and all are on display here. Their last studio effort yielded a (slightly) bloated two disc set of good tracks. What took them two discs and twenty songs there is concentrated into a tight mix of twelve semi-perfect tracks here. The production work is great and I haven’t been this excited about the Foo Fighters since ‘97s The Colour and the Shape (ESPG is produced by Gil Norton, the producer behind The Colour and the Shape). Grohl and company certainly delivered with quite possibly their best album to date.

Download: Let It Die, Home, The Pretender

Icky Thump
The White Stripes

They say that “almost” only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. I now believe that “almost” can and should apply to seeing the White Stripes live. At this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival I “almost” got to see Jack and Meg perform live. Alas it was not to be. however, I spent a great deal of time rocking out to this superb rock album. This is probably the White Stripes loudest album. Icky Thump contains some of Jack White’s best guitar work. The title track just plain rocks. Of course a White Stripes album wouldn’t be complete without a little drama and oddness. Conquest is an epic song in the vein of Tenacious D where as St. Andrew might be the only WS song to feature bagpiping. Not quite a substitute for a cancelled world tour but I guess it will have to do.

Download: You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)

Live at Radio City
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds

Two men, two acoustic guitars and one of the most famous venues in the world. This truly is a fitting sequel to 1999’s Live at Luther. It was that album that introduced me to Dave Matthews back in college . The true nature of these songs are laid bare through this intimate and raw acoustic performance. Classic tracks such as Bartender, Stay or Leave, and Don’t Drink the Water are re-imagined as haunting acoustic ballads far removed from the full band sounds that we are used to. While the songs may have lost the keyboards, drums, and wind instruments they haven’t lost their intensity. A few new songs made their debuts here as well. Eh Hee, a frenetic and wild song inspired by a trip to Africa, is a new favorite of mine. Also, Cornbread and Sister, while new to the cannon, sit comfortably alongside old favorites like Crush and Dancing Nancies. I have probably spent more time with this album than any other. A true classic and a must have for any fan of true music.

Download: The entire album