Indie-rockers Spoon [ tickets ] largely operated under the radar for much of their 12-year existence--which included a single major-label album a decade ago--but the group keeps finding ways to tweak its core sound.

"Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" is Spoon's most direct and mainstream release--key track "You've Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" sounds somewhere between a classic from the Stax catalog and Steely Dan's "Reelin' In the Years"--but the album retains enough experimental moments to keep jaded critics on their toes. This clearly is an album that matters.

Ten LiveDaily critics submitted their 10 favorite albums of 2007, and five placed "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" among their selections. Radiohead [ tickets ]'s "In Rainbows"--the name-your-own-price download-only album that the band released after leaving longtime label EMI--also appeared on five lists, but was edged out of the top slot because most LiveDaily critics ranked Spoon [ tickets ]'s album higher. "In Rainbows" will be available Jan. 1 as a physical CD.

Overall rankings were determined by first grouping albums by the number of ballots on which they appeared. Most ties were then broken by weighting votes based on where albums ranked on individual lists.

Wilco [ tickets ]'s "Sky Blue Sky" and The White Stripes [ tickets ]' "Icky Thump" appeared on four lists each, while Amy Winehouse [ tickets ]'s "Back To Black" and LCD Soundsystem [ tickets ]'s "Sound of Silver" turned up on three lists.

Receiving two votes each and rounding out the Top 10 were Of Montreal [ tickets ]'s "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer," Arcade Fire [ tickets ]'s "Neon Bible," Bjork [ tickets ]'s "Volta," and the Foo Fighters [ tickets ] "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace."

Honorable mention goes to Feist's "The Reminder," The National's "Boxer," Modest Mouse's "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" and M.I.A.'s "Kala," all of which also appeared on two lists but ranked too low overall to crack the Top 10.

Critics Picks: LiveDaily's top albums of 2007

1. Spoon, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" (Merge)
2. Radiohead, "In Rainbows" (XL Recordings)
3. Wilco, "Sky Blue Sky" (Nonesuch)
4. The White Stripes, "Icky Thump" (Warner Bros.)
5. Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black" (Universal Republic)
6. LCD Soundsystem, "Sound of Silver" (Capitol)
7. Of Montreal, "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" (Polyvinyl)
8. Arcade Fire, "Neon Bible" (Merge)
9. Foo Fighters, "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" (Roswell)
10. Bjork, "Volta" (Atlantic)