The 100 Best Songs of 2007

89 "I Wish That I Could See You Soon"
Herman Dune
French folkies with a Jonathan Richman fixation address rock's criminal lack of ukulele on this totally twee, utterly charming tune, complete with horns, bongos and backup angels.

90 "Threshold Apprehension"
Black Francis
Black Francis, using his Pixies name instead of his usual solo moniker of Frank Black, reinvents the gigantic razor-blade-guitar attack of his old band and slashes away for the best Pixies song since "U-Mass."

91 "Freak Out"
Liars
Bad ideas come in many flavors: disasters, catastrophes and attempts to make melodic pop from out-of-tune-guitar noise. Yet these ne'er-do-wells' career album spins bad ideas into gold — especially with this surf-punk gem, which could be a lost hit from the Jesus and Mary Chain.

92 "Mistaken for Strangers"
The National
Matt Berninger vents over a post-punk guitar loop; if Joy Division had been Dylan fans, they might have sounded like this.