The Top 50 Albums of 2007

25 Linkin Park
Minutes to Midnight (Warner Bros.)
Now in their early thirties, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda are still angry young men, only now they're as riled up about world affairs as personal turmoil — "The Little Things Give You Away" and "Hands Held High" are as vociferous as any anti-Bush screed 2007 produced. They've broadened their sound a little, too, adding cooler keyboard textures, but with co-producer Rick Rubin in tow, their metallic crunch is as brutal and efficient as ever, and the tunes still feel as cathartic as a good punch to your bedroom wall.

26 Miranda Lambert
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Columbia)
Tough-talking, straight-shooting, self-examining Lambert made the best album to emerge from Nashville since years started with "19." The fast ones surprise because usually Nashville rocks so macho. The slow ones surprise because Nashville rockers rarely know the difference between sodden and serious. Lambert is serious. She's also funnier than a crutch upside your head.