Best Beats of '07

I have a headache. You see, from the umpteen CDs my ears have digested this year, I could only pick 10 that were super-duper sonic successes. T-E-N. That’s like selecting the top-10 best meals you ate this year (which would be easier if you were Nicole Richie). Alas, I sucked it up (mostly ’cause it’s my job), replaying even crapola – just for you! – until my eardrums begged for a vacay. From uber-big releases or under-the-radar records like my No. 1 selection, I traipsed through some real trash (Kelly Clarkson. Ugh!), but found some true masterpieces buried in between.

10. Amy Winehouse, ‘Back to Black’

She says “no, no, no” to AA, and I say “yes, yes, yes” to this boozy Brit’s stellar sophomore set, which oozes a retro vibe, recalling ’60s Motown girl groups. Not one to hide her much-publicized liquor habit, Winehouse made headlines equally for her fruitful music and her drinking shenanigans. But who’s complaining? Without it, we could forget getting the infectiously stubborn “Rehab.” And that’d be – as Winehouse would say – a bunch of fuckery.

iPod it: “Rehab,” “Tears Dry on Their Own,” “You Know I’m No Good”

9. Alicia Keys, ‘As I Am’
She calls herself a superwoman, and if that nickname entails super-musician, too, then she’s accurate. On soaring “No One” – o

ne of the best singles of the year – Keys’ throaty, emotive voice sails over a hard-hitting drumbeat, punctuated by a sing-a-long “ooh” section. The lively “Teenage Love Affair” follows, along with an ultra-personal pair of goose bump-raising Hallmark moments on “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” and “Tell You Something (Nana’s Reprise).”
iPod it: “No One,” “Tell You Something (Nana’s Reprise),” “Superwoman”

8. Rihanna, ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’
Girl can’t sing like Beyoncé. But – sure! – even on a sunny day, I’d stand under her “Umbrella,” a hella-catchy sing-along set to an electro beat, chanting “ ’ella! ’ella! ’ella!” The ubiquitous single launches a trio of flavorful dance grooves, like the sensually-snappy jam “Don’t Stop the Music.” Pink-ish double-entendre-laced “Shut Up and Drive” rocks, and even the DNA of mid-tempos like Ne-Yo-paired “Hate That I Love You” bring beaming beats.
iPod it: “Umbrella,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Shut Up and Drive”

7. Various artists, ‘Hairspray’
Nothing’s impossible: That’s a bunch of BS. Try standing still while listening to “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” an all-star tolerance anthem. Or nearly any other peppy, sugar-heavy song from the movie soundtrack to “Hairspray,” a musical menagerie of rambunctious, rad dance ditties and slower, more soulful songs.
iPod it: “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” “Welcome to the ’60s,” “Good Morning Baltimore”

6. Tegan and Sara, ‘The Con’
Traces of Tegan and Sara Quin’s poppier predecessors pop up, but this queer Canadian duo wallows in more-cryptic, more-mature sonic sizzlers. “Nineteen” and “The Con” are wholly obsessive – the kind of angsty, hook-laced vent-alongs that kick ass, without selling out to mainstream girl-power rock. This is serious lesbian stuff: relationships, relationships, relationships. Just not the way umpteen other chicks have griped ’bout them.
iPod it: “The Con,” “Nineteen,” “Call it Off”

5. The Arcade Fire, ‘Neon Bible’
Church never sounded so damn good. Not “Praise Jesus!”-kinda shtick, but a different sorta divine “Intervention” – a swirl of horns, guitar, drums and the church organ. The Canadian septet’s walloping, whimsical numbers are meditative pieces of spiritually – marked by a body-numbing intensity. It’s enough to bring anyone to their knees.
iPod it: “Windowsill,” “Intervention,” “No Cars Go”

To see the rest of the list, visit www.pridesource.com or pick up an issue of Between The Lines on Jan. 10.