The Top 50 Albums of 2007

43 Smashing Pumpkins
Zeitgeist (Warner Bros.)
Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the only original members in this resurrection, make an art-pop roar worthy of the Pumpkins crown. Corgan piles on guitar overdubs with philharmonic zeal and Siamese Dream-era smarts on searing songs about the suffocating chaos of life and politics in America.

44 Peter Bjorn & John
Writer's Block (Wichita)
Like many good indie boys, these three Swedes sound a little beaten down by romance. But on their third album, they translate their love-zonked melancholy into warm, Sixties-derived folk pop that feels instantly familiar and improves on repeated listens. The little frills — modest keyboard atmospherics, meticulous harmonies, even the whistled hook on "Young Folks" — all seem perfectly placed, but the real appeal is the slew of clear, simple melodies that stick around in your head like a bad houseguest.