2007 was a terrific year for music, but it was also the year that finding music on your own terms (MySpace, iTunes, misc. downloads) became more pervasive than doing the bidding of the endangered species known as big record labels. Music writers had more opportunity to sample obscure and left-field stuff as well, since artists and inventive PR companies such as Team Clermont did a great job of making us aware of their projects. It would be easy to come up with a list of 20 or even 30 albums I loved this year, but I promised myself I'd zero in on the ten that meant the most to me and stood up to my own personal criteria. Here are the winners, plus some assorted additional recordings I'd like to acknowledge in other categories.