ALICIA KEYS, AS I AM
Like all truly great albums, this one just gets better and better with each spin. It echoes vintage Stevie, Prince and even the Jackson 5 while at the same time being quintessentially Alicia.

COMMON, FINDING FOREVER
The best work Kanye West did in 2007 was not on his own hit Graduation but behind the boards for this disc, which, following 2005's Be, gives Common back-to-back rap classics.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MAGIC
Reuniting with the E Street Band for the first time since 2002, the Boss revives his glory days with stadium-ready rockers like "Radio Nowhere" and "Livin' in the Future." This is the record that fans have been waiting for him to make since Born in the U.S.A. Everybody together now: "Bruuuuce!"

ARCTIC MONKEYS, FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE
After making the best rock CD of 2006—their insta-classic debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not—these blokes did it again in 2007. From the blistering "Brianstorm" to the brilliant "Fluorescent Adolescent," this is how to avoid the sophomore slump.

LUCINDA WILLIAMS, WEST
Haunting and heartbreaking, West finds the country rocker exploring vast emotional territory as she mourns the death of her mother and the end of a love affair.

JAY-Z, AMERICAN GANGSTER
After coming out of retirement with last year's uneven Kingdom Come, Jay-Z showed he was all the way back on this CD inspired by the hit movie of the same name. "This is black superhero music," he boasts on one cut. And who could argue with him?

JILL SCOTT, THE REAL THING: WORDS AND SOUNDS VOL. 3
Scott, a poetic lyricist and a powerhouse singer, has never had to use sex to sell her music. Which makes the sensual delights of this—the third in a trio of excellent studio discs starting with her '00 debut—all the more pleasurable. This is R&B at its most beautifully erotic.

MIRANDA LAMBERT, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
Tops of this year's country crop, the second album from this Nashville Star alum packs plenty of heat and heart, with both fierce foot-stompers (the bitchin' title cut) and tear-stained ballads ("More Like Her").

RADIOHEAD, IN RAINBOWS
They boldly went where no band had gone before by making their latest album available to download for whatever you chose to pay. And with all its different colors, Rainbows turned out to be a priceless gem.

AMY WINEHOUSE, BACK TO BLACK
It would be a shame not to be able to separate the music from the mess that this British chanteuse became as the year wore on. Led by the one-two punch of "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good," her mix of old-school soul and new-school attitude left an impression far bigger than that beehive.

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It was the year of the reunion as a slew of bands, led by the Police, went from breakups to makeups. Also getting back together for tours were Van Halen (with David Lee Roth), Genesis, Spice Girls and Smashing Pumpkins, while Led Zeppelin, the Sex Pistols, Rage Against the Machine and even Spinal Tap staged shorter-length reunions.