Non-collabs Top 5 Prog Albums of 2007

Every year a collaborators favorite albums list is prepared.  I'd be interested to see a non-collab favourite Prog albums list of 2007.  Be interesting to see how the results compare.  I wish I'd done this earlier as the year is a waning, but I won't end it with the new year (unless this little experiment bombs).

So please list your "best of" 2007 list, and, if possible, limit it to studio albums, or, if you like, Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promos are acceptable too (Manfauna for example). 

Your first choice will be given a value of five points, your second choice a value of four points, your third a value of 3 points, your second a value of 2 point, and your first, yep, you guessed it, one point and so on down to one point.  So that I don't have to tally up the points for the albums from using each list, it would he helpful if each person makes a "Personal List" and then, in the second half of the post, a "Compilation List."

 And when someone chooses a favourite album (or albums) for his or her 'personal' list that another has chosen already, he or she merely add his or her points to the already existing album in the (secondary) 'compilation' list. Just copy and post the last compilation list, add your new choices to it and for those albums that are already on the list that one has chosen in one's personal list, if applicable, tally up the points.  It would be helpful to order them by rank, but not necessary.

See THIS topic to see how the idea worked for a ten album list.

Here's an example, but this, of course, is not to be included in the list:

.............................................................................................................

[example only]
Personal List

Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (5)
Alamaailman Vasarat - Maahan  (4)
Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses - Manfauna (3)
Soft Mountain - Soft Mountain (2)
Far Corner - Endangered (1)

Compilation List

Porcupine Tree -  Fear of a Blank Planet(81)
Rush - Snakes and Arrows (66)
Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos (50)
Oceansize - Frames (33)
Phideaux - Dommsday Afternoon (30)
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - (25)
Amaran's Plight - Into the Night (22)
Gazpacho - Night (20)
Satellite - Into the Night (17)
Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (15)
Alamaailman Vasarat - Maahan  (8)
Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses - Manfauna (7)
Soft Mountain - Soft Mountain (7)
Far Corner - Endangered (4)
Kevin Ayers - The Unfairground (4)
Fause & Nurse with Wound - Disconncted (3)
etc.
[/example only]
............................................................................................

Here's a list of the Top Studio Albums for 2007 for ease of reference:

1	2007	4.16 (271 ratings)	PORCUPINE TREE Fear Of A Blank Planet	Heavy Prog (Studio Album)
2	2007	4.52 (18 ratings)	PINEAPPLE THIEF What We Have Sown	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
3	2007	4.23 (72 ratings)	PHIDEAUX Doomsday Afternoon	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
4	2007	4.31 (36 ratings)	OCEANSIZE Frames	Psychedelic/Space Rock (Studio Album)
5	2007	4.48 (18 ratings)	SATELLITE Into The Night	Neo Progressive (Studio Album)
6	2007	4.18 (61 ratings)	ANEKDOTEN A Time Of Day	Heavy Prog (Studio Album)
7	2007	4.16 (65 ratings)	GAZPACHO Night	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
8	2007	4.23 (37 ratings)	BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME Colors	Tech/Extreme Prog Metal (Studio Album)
9	2007	4.18 (51 ratings)	AMARAN'S PLIGHT Voice in the Light	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
10	2007	4.28 (25 ratings)	ALAMAAILMAN VASARAT Maahan	RIO/Avant-Prog (Studio Album)
11	2007	4.37 (16 ratings)	QUIDAM Alone Together	Neo Progressive (Studio Album)
12	2007	4.30 (18 ratings)	MIND'S EYE A Gentleman's Hurricane	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
13	2007	4.28 (19 ratings)	SIEGES EVEN Paramount	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
14	2007	4.06 (75 ratings)	MORSE, NEAL Sola Scriptura	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
15	2007	4.16 (32 ratings)	DEADSOUL TRIBE A Lullaby For The Devil	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
16	2007	4.13 (38 ratings)	GALAHAD (GBR) Empires Never Last	Neo Progressive (Studio Album)
17	2007	4.48 (10 ratings)	MAR DE ROBLES Indígena	Jazz Rock/Fusion (Studio Album)
18	2007	4.60 (8 ratings)	ZORN, JOHN Six Litanies For Heliogabalus	RIO/Avant-Prog (Studio Album)
19	2007	4.05 (53 ratings)	TOWNSEND, DEVIN Ziltoid the Omniscient	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
20	2007	4.17 (21 ratings)	KNIGHT AREA Under A New Sign	Neo Progressive (Studio Album)
21	2007	4.42 (10 ratings)	THREE The End Is Begun	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
22	2007	4.16 (18 ratings)	NEMO Si Partie II - L'Homme Idéal	Eclectic Prog (Studio Album)
23	2007	4.11 (21 ratings)	FISH Thirteenth Star	Neo Progressive (Studio Album)
24	2007	4.01 (37 ratings)	GOURISHANKAR, THE 2nd Hands	Eclectic Prog (Studio Album)
25	2007	3.94 (78 ratings)	SYMPHONY X Paradise Lost	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
26	2007	4.50 (7 ratings)	CATHEDRAL The Bridge	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
27	2007	4.27 (11 ratings)	NEW TROLLS Concerto Grosso, The Seven Seasons	Italian Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
28	2007	4.35 (9 ratings)	BLOTTED SCIENCE The Machinations of Dimentia	Tech/Extreme Prog Metal (Studio Album)
29	2007	4.29 (10 ratings)	CONQUEROR 74 Giorni	Italian Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
30	2007	4.23 (11 ratings)	DARKWATER Calling the Earth to Witness	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
31	2007	3.91 (76 ratings)	BLACKFIELD Blackfield II	Prog Related (Studio Album)
32	2007	4.30 (9 ratings)	VIRGIN BLACK Requiem - Mezzo Forte	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
33	2007	4.25 (10 ratings)	MANNING, GUY Songs From The Bilston House	Eclectic Prog (Studio Album)
34	2007	3.93 (45 ratings)	FLOWER KINGS, THE The Sum Of No Evil	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
35	2007	4.20 (11 ratings)	RITUAL The Hemulic Voluntary Band	Prog Related (Studio Album)
36	2007	4.50 (6 ratings)	ANUBIS GATE Andromeda Unchained	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
37	2007	3.96 (31 ratings)	ULVER Shadows of the Sun	Post Rock/Math rock (Studio Album)
38	2007	4.04 (19 ratings)	COHEED & CAMBRIA Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow	Prog Related (Studio Album)
39	2007	4.80 (4 ratings)	VIOLETA DE OUTONO Volume 7	Psychedelic/Space Rock (Studio Album)
40	2007	3.98 (26 ratings)	REDEMPTION The Origins of Ruin	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
41	2007	3.95 (32 ratings)	SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM In Glorious Times	RIO/Avant-Prog (Studio Album)
42	2007	4.46 (6 ratings)	WYATT, ROBERT Comicopera	Canterbury Scene (Studio Album)
43	2007	4.29 (8 ratings)	CANVAS SOLARIS Cortical Tectonics	Tech/Extreme Prog Metal (Studio Album)
44	2007	3.98 (22 ratings)	PLANET X Quantum	Jazz Rock/Fusion (Studio Album)
45	2007	4.08 (13 ratings)	BLACK BONZO Sound of the Apocalypse	Heavy Prog (Studio Album)
46	2007	4.70 (4 ratings)	LAZULI En avant doute...	Eclectic Prog (Studio Album)
47	2007	4.10 (12 ratings)	SENOGUL Senogul	Eclectic Prog (Studio Album)
48	2007	4.23 (8 ratings)	GRAYCEON Grayceon	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
49	2007	4.28 (7 ratings)	DEAR HUNTER, THE (Rename Me)	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
50	2007	3.93 (23 ratings)	NIGHTWISH Dark Passion Play	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
51	2007	4.44 (5 ratings)	ROSETTA Wake/Lift	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
52	2007	3.91 (23 ratings)	APPLE PIE Crossroad	Neo Progressive (Studio Album)
53	2007	4.17 (8 ratings)	SUN CAGED Artemisia	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
54	2007	3.85 (38 ratings)	MAGIC PIE Circus Of Life	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
55	2007	3.86 (33 ratings)	CIRCUS MAXIMUS Isolate	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
56	2007	4.17 (7 ratings)	KEKAL The Habit of Fire	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
57	2007	4.31 (5 ratings)	NOTABENE Sei Lacrime d'Ambra	Italian Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
58	2007	3.80 (38 ratings)	THRESHOLD Dead Reckoning	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
59	2007	4.07 (8 ratings)	FLOR DE LOTO Madre Tierra	Prog Folk (Studio Album)
60	2007	4.41 (4 ratings)	KBB Proof Of Concept	Jazz Rock/Fusion (Studio Album)
61	2007	3.87 (18 ratings)	DOMINICI 03 A Trilogy Part 2	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
62	2007	3.85 (18 ratings)	RUDESS, JORDAN The Road Home	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
63	2007	4.00 (9 ratings)	DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, THE Ire Works	Tech/Extreme Prog Metal (Studio Album)
64	2007	4.08 (7 ratings)	TORRE DELL ALCHIMISTA, LA Neo	Italian Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
65	2007	5.00 (2 ratings)	PSYOPUS Our Puzzling Encounters Considered	Tech/Extreme Prog Metal (Studio Album)
66	2007	5.00 (2 ratings)	WINDS Prominence and Demise	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
67	2007	3.89 (13 ratings)	HIDRIA SPACEFOLK Symetria	Psychedelic/Space Rock (Studio Album)
68	2007	3.95 (10 ratings)	GLASS HAMMER Culture Of Ascent	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
69	2007	3.84 (16 ratings)	THERION Gothic Kabbalah	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
70	2007	4.03 (7 ratings)	OUTER LIMITS Stromatolite	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
71	2007	3.81 (18 ratings)	NEUROSIS Given to the Rising	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
72	2007	4.13 (5 ratings)	MINSK The Ritual Fires of Abandonment	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
73	2007	4.09 (5 ratings)	PAX CECILIA, THE Blessed Are The Bonds	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
74	2007	3.69 (61 ratings)	RADIOHEAD In Rainbows	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
75	2007	4.73 (2 ratings)	DIRGE Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
76	2007	3.82 (12 ratings)	MYSTERY Beneath the Veil of Winter’s Face	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
77	2007	3.73 (22 ratings)	WATCH, THE Primitive	Neo Progressive (Studio Album)
78	2007	3.67 (70 ratings)	RIVERSIDE Rapid Eye Movement	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
79	2007	3.63 (222 ratings)	DREAM THEATER Systematic Chaos	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
80	2007	4.00 (5 ratings)	DO MAKE SAY THINK You, You're A History In Rust	Post Rock/Math rock (Studio Album)
81	2007	3.71 (21 ratings)	KAMELOT Ghost Opera	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
82	2007	3.81 (10 ratings)	MORNINGSIDE, THE The Wind, The Trees and The Shadows of The Past	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
83	2007	3.78 (12 ratings)	NEXUS Buenos Aires Free Experience Volumen 2	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
84	2007	4.08 (4 ratings)	LITTLE ATLAS Hollow	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
85	2007	4.50 (2 ratings)	BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE The Physics of Fire	Tech/Extreme Prog Metal (Studio Album)
86	2007	4.20 (3 ratings)	PARALLAXE Soundtrack	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
87	2007	3.63 (95 ratings)	RUSH Snakes & Arrows	Heavy Prog (Studio Album)
88	2007	3.96 (5 ratings)	SHINING Grindstone	RIO/Avant-Prog (Studio Album)
89	2007	3.88 (6 ratings)	SCHULZE, KLAUS Kontinuum	Progressive Electronic (Studio Album)
90	2007	4.14 (3 ratings)	AZURETH The Promethean Syndrome	Crossover Prog (Studio Album)
91	2007	3.78 (9 ratings)	PAGAN'S MIND God's Equation	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)
92	2007	4.00 (4 ratings)	AMAROK Sol De Medianoche	Prog Folk (Studio Album)
93	2007	3.74 (11 ratings)	BEARDFISH Sleeping In Traffic: Part One	Eclectic Prog (Studio Album)
94	2007	3.78 (8 ratings)	AVIVA Rokus Tonalis	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
95	2007	4.08 (3 ratings)	TRION Pilgrim	Symphonic Prog (Studio Album)
96	2007	3.80 (7 ratings)	MAGNUM Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow	Prog Related (Studio Album)
97	2007	5.00 (1 ratings)	WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND Hurtbreak Wonderland	Post Rock/Math rock (Studio Album)
98	2007	5.00 (1 ratings)	TIME OF ORCHIDS Namesake Caution	RIO/Avant-Prog (Studio Album)
99	2007	5.00 (1 ratings)	BARONESS Red Album	Experimental/Post Metal (Studio Album)
100	2007	5.00 (1 ratings)	ARGENTO, ALEX EGO	Progressive Metal (Studio Album)

I hope this doesn't seem like too much work for people considering the tallied/ combined in each new post compilation list. There should be no duplicates of albums in any compilation list.  If you can't think of 5 Prog albums of this year that you really enjoyed, then less is okay (if you only had three, you could even give your top album only 3 points if you don't think it worthy of more).

I'll definitely participate. After Christmas though...got some '07 releases coming then.

It may seem a  bit daunting due to the compilation list, though of course the first person who does a list need not do one.  One worry that some people may have is about what happens when they re-evaluate their list and want to make changes.  One can always post again with one's changes (new personal list and update the compilation list to reflect those changes since only one top five list per person counts, (change the point values, albums added...), just be careful to clearly note that one is changing one's list (quote your old posted list, provide the updated one, and then redo the compiled list to reflect those changes).

I thought this might be a fun way to do it (with the running compilation list), and save me from compiling the data myself, but if it's too much work for people, then you can always just list your five favourite albums -- someone else may add it to the compilation list, or I can always use Excel to compile all of the choices myself (just make sure to include point values for each one from five to one -- e.g. Zorn, John - Six Litanies for Heliogobalus 4.   As long as it's standardised.  Oh, and I just realised, if the album's project is the name of an artist, for instance, Robert Wyatt, John Zorn, Kevin Ayers etc., please list it as Wyatt, Robert; Zorn, John; Ayers, Kevin.  As long as everyone does it the same way, it doesn't matter.

Confused yet?

Perfect, thanks!

I don't see my top 5 changing in the last few days of this year, so:

Personal List

1: Blackfield - Blackfield II (5)
2: Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (4)
3: Marillion - Somewhere Else (3)
4: The Reasoning - Awakening (2)
5: Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos (1)

Compilation List:

Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (8)
Blackfield - Blackfield II (5)
Gazpacho - Night (5)
Satellite - Into The Night (4)
Marillion - Somewhere Else (3)
Reasoning, the - Awakening (2)
Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement (2)
Anekdoten - A Time of Day (1)
Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos (1)

my faves for the year are:

I want to join in... but I can't!

THIS IS NOT APPLICABLE, SO LEAVE OFF THE COMPILATION LIST!

1. Robert Wyatt - Comicopera
2. Battles - Mirrored
3. Alamaailman Vasarat - Maahan
4. Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement
5. The Pax Cecilia - Blessed are the Bonds

Honorary mentions:

Soft Mountain - Soft Mountain
Anekdoten - A Time of Day
Grayceon - Grayceon


Best live album:

Van der Graaf Generator - Real Time

Turkey of the year:

Pain of Salvation - Scarsick

Well, I had such a big desire to listen to 2007 music, I think I'll end this year up at having listened to about 100 albums. I'll post my top 5 (in the Collabs zone, but also here, if I'm allowed to), but perhaps also make a full chart (as a separate topic) of all the albums, with small lines on each album in which I mention what I thought of them.

I can tell you I've listened to no masterpiece this year, only from very good albums to cruelly lousy ones.

What happened in 1997?