OK, I feel much better now, and I'm back to writing about stuff I liked this year. So, without further ado, here are ...

EJ's Best albums of 2007

1. “Back to Black” Amy Winehouse: The sounds of Motown updated for a new millennium. Winehouse is the most talented and refreshing soul singer to emerge in a while. Unfortunately, we now know she ain’t kiddin’ on that “Rehab” song. She’s the new Pete Doherty with weekly tabloid reminders of how much she needs to say “yes, yes, yes” to the whole detox thing. Here’s hoping she lives long enough to get her life together, let alone record another album.

Download: “Wake Up Alone,” “Love is a Losing Game,” “Rehab”

2. “In Rainbows” Radiohead: They got that techno bug out of their system for the most part, rooted through their vaults for some unfinished gems and ended up with their most focused effort since “OK Computer.” And what’s this? Thom Yorke forgoing dystopian angst long enough to – gasp – sing love songs? And not even the unrequited kind. The meds must be working.

Download: “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” “House of Cards,” “All I Need” ("I'm an animal trapped in your hot car" ... I love that line.)

3. “Widow City” The Fiery Furnaces: Based on this album, siblings Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger – the brains behind the Fiery Furnaces - are good candidates for Ritalin. There’s something new every 30 seconds or so as tempo and style changes fly fast and furious. Blasts of fuzzy, ‘70s guitar rock relent to halcyon melody; cartoonish hip-hop is washed way by torrents of Sonic Youth-style noise rock. Think Mr. Bungle for context. And if anyone makes a movie based on the story line – a funny but disjointed plot involving zombie husbands, magical gurus and youth-restoring beer, as far as I can tell – I am so there.

Download: "Navy Nurse," "The Old Hag is Sleeping," "Automatic Husband"

4 “Armchair Apocrypha” Andrew Bird: Lush melodies, insightful lyrics and Bird’s considerable whistling skills make this one of the prettiest and most original rock records of 2007. This is a disc that will appeal to fans of Radiohead and Jeff Buckley alike.

Download: “Plasticities,” “Heretics,” “The Fiery Crash”

5. “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead” El-P: With a little help from his homies in Nine Inch Nails, the Mars Volta and Cat Power, Def Jux label head Jaime Meline – aka El-Producto – brings us the best sci-fi hip-hop concept album since Detron’s “3030.” Quick, name three more sci-fi hip-hop concept albums.

Download: "Flyentology," "No Kings," "EMG"

6. “The Story” Brandi Carlile: Big congratulations are in order for Maple Valley’s Carlile and her twin collaborators, Tim and Phil Hanseroth, after a big, breakout year that saw them in heavy rotation on VH1. Carlile vocals are sweet and timeless in a way that recalls Patsy Cline on the ballads. And it breaks just the right when she takes it up to an anthemic roar on the title track.

Download: “Turpentine,” “Josephine,” “Have You Ever”

7. “Kala” M.I.A: Maya Arulpragasam pours heaping helpings of hip-hop, techno, disco, Bollywood film scores and even a bit of didgeridoo into the hippest and most adventurous dance album of 2007. And if she comes across as a female, British Chuck D as she sloganeers about “third world democracy.”

Download: “Paper Planes,” “Bamboo Banger,” “Mango Pickle Down River”

8. “Wincing the Night Away” The Shins: James Mercer and company take big risks here as they stray from the jangly pop that got them there in the first place for a dreamier approach. And while it took a spell for a few of the tracks to grow on me, “Phantom Limb” and “Sea Legs” were sublime from first listen.

Download: “Sea Legs,” “Phantom Limb” “Turn On Me”

9. “Year Zero” Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor skews a bit too far towards abrasive, industrial noise on some tracks. And there’s a disturbing moment at the beginning of “Capital G” where you think he’s about to cover Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” But our man remains at the top of his game for most of this dystopian odyssey, which chronicles man’s final days.

Dowload: “Survivalism,” Me, I’m Not,” “In This Twilight”

10. “The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams” Me’Shell Ndegeocello: You never know what you’ll get with the daring, talented and occasionally confounding Ndegeocello. Will it be artsy, hip-hop inflused R&B? A collection of dreary anti-love songs? A fusion jazz album with no lyrics? Her latest, genre-blurring effort is best described as phantasmagoric funk as Ndegeocello takes a spiritual journey through love, lust and religious fanaticism.

Download: “Headline,” “Article 3,” “Lovely, Lovely”