Top 10 Bollywood Music Albums of 2007

A month ago I started this poll to see which music album everyone thinks is the best this year. I picked 16 movies which had good music. I already had 10 music albums in mind which I thought were the best this year, but still wanted to see what everyone's opinions were. And this poll really helped me to come up with a list which I think will be agreed by almost everyone. Please note that this list doesn't take into account the success of a movie, but plainly goes by the level of excitement and enjoyment it provided in listening and the repeatability factor. Lets start with 10th best music album and go up from there -

10) Jhoom Barabar Jhoom ~ Shankar Ehsaan Loy
The title track was extremely addictive and so were its varied versions. This song rocked almost all dance floors and got played in TV and radio innumerous number of times. And then there was the beautiful pleasant number Bol na halke sung gracefully by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Mahalakshmi. Ticket to hollywood and Kiss of Love had catchy starts, but dragged a bit. But overall the album had a unique sound to it which was something different and that makes this album enter the top 10 albums of this year in the last place.

9) Salaam e Ishq ~ Shankar Ehsaan Loy
This was a very enjoyable album when it got released. It had really good tracks like the casual Dil Kya Kare, catchy title song with a celebration feel, the sweet melodious Mera dil which was cut out of the movie, the mellow remix Babuji, the energetic qawali Saiyyan Re and a shaadi number Tenu Leke. I didn't like Ya Rabba so much and I felt a little bit irritated too when it appeared all of a sudden in the movie. The songs were picturized beautifully, however many felt there was nothing new in the songs as they were typical Chopra or Johar Khandan ki songs..Nevertheless this is another quality SELs album which easily takes up the 9th spot.

8) No Smoking ~ Vishal Bharadwaj
For me this was the most daring album and a bold movie of the year 2007. The entire album is filled with Gulzar Saab's brilliant lyrics, which is one of the high points of the album. Till date I still listen quite often to the excellent smooth jazz number Jab Bhi Cigarette. Phoonk De and Kash Laga are equally fabulous numbers. While one is a haunting, dark and techno number, the other is rich in freshness and has a happy feel. Ash tray is another amazing song which I started to like even more after watching the video. Even the remixes are different and stand out. Vishal Bharadwaj totally excelled in this album. If the movie had become a decent hit, the album would have found more acceptance. I rate this album more than Salaam e ishq just for its sheer deviation from the usual Bollywood style of music and for trying to be different and original.

7) Saawariya ~ Monty
Claimed to be a musical extravaganza, Saawariya had a lot of promise and I believe it did fulfill most of it. Many thought the songs were dull and boring, but I felt they had a very young, contemporary and melodious feel. There were some sad songs without which any Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film is incomplete. But in the end it was a complete score wherein Monty had poured his heart and soul in each and every track. The songs which stood out in terms of high quality were the joyful title track, the mesmerizing and melodious Jab se tere naina, Masha allah, Pari, and Yoon Shabnami. The rest were ok. In future Saawariya might not be remembered for Ranbir or for Sanjay, but it'll surely be remembered for its songs, and thats the reason it takes up the 7th spot.

6) Johnny Gaddar ~ Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Daniel B George, Gulraj Singh & DJ Shane
This has got to be the most unconventional album of this year, of course followed by No smoking. Once again here's an album which does full justice to one specific genre instead of trying to cater to both masses and classes. The cool and stylish retro title track must be one of the most played songs by me this year. The stupendous sound of electric guitar accompanied by drums leaves an everlasting impact on the listener making him/her play it again and again. The highly charged club track Move your body pumps you up. Then there is the peppy number dhoka which completes SELs 3 original tracks for this movie. The rest of the album is filled with amazing instrumentals which form the background scores of the movie. I absolutely love Revenge of the 70s and Johny Breakbeat mera naam. The uniqueness and the distinctiveness of this album places it at the 6th spot.

5) Life in a Metro ~ Pritam
Pritam had an excellent year this time around. Metro has got to be one of his finest albums he's produced till date. I absolutely loved KK’s stunning vocals in Alvida & O meri jaan. The rock number Rishtey also rocked big time. Then there was the captivating song In Dino with beautiful lyrics. And finally Baatein Kuch Ankahee and energetic and fun track Kar Salaam rounded off the album in a grand fashion. Pritam often gets criticized for plagiarism, and with this movie he proved that he's a composer to watch out for in the coming years. I know many of my friends who absolutely adore this soundtrack. All the songs are dominated by some excellent guitar work. Its one of those subtle albums which has connected pretty well with everyone and thus it truly deserves to be in the top 5.

4) Om Shanti Om ~ Vishal Sekhar
Many might disagree with this, but for me OSO didnt meet the huge expectations it set. The problem with V-S in this album was their inconsistency. Some songs were very good while some were mediocre. And we don't want mediocre songs for big banner movies like Om Shanti Om. The songs which stood out were the bare bodied Dard e disco, exciting Deewangee, soothing melody Ajab Si, and sorrowful Jag soona. Dhoom tana was a bad song, while Main Agar kahoon was ok, however it was extremely well picturised. Dastaan had good lyrics, and great start, but middle portions were mediocre. However as we all know the movie did extremely well and also the music sales were phenomenal, but quality wise I would rate it 4th best album of this year falling behind some of the excellent scores.

3) Taare Zameen Par ~ Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Shailendra Bharve
Shankar Ehsaan Loy along with Prasoon Joshi have delivered a powerful and soul stirring album which surely has found a place in everyone's heart. 8 songs from this album talk beautifully about almost everything pertaining to the curious and innocent Child's World. Even the picturization did full justice to the feel of every song. Each and every song works at one level or the other, be it Shankar's heart-warming rendition of the title track, casual guitar-led song Kholo kholo, playful Bum Bum bole, entertaining Jame Raho, sensitive Maa, intriguing Mera Jahan or the torturous Bheja Kum. Its a complete album, which doesn't comprise of chartbursters wannabe, but rather try to do justice to the theme and be memorable numbers and thus for its sincerity, it finds itself in the respectable 3rd spot.

2) Jab We Met ~ Pritam , Sandesh Shandaliya
After Metro, this is Pritam 2nd entry into top 10 albums this year. Thanks to the variety in the soundtrack, I didn't even for once skip any song before it finished. The class of songs range from extraordinary to great. While absolutely melodious Tumse hi and Aao Milo Chale and the rocking Mauja Mauja fall in extraordinary category, the extremely soulful Aaoge Jab tum, catchy Yeh Ishq and Bhangra folk Nagada belong to the great songs categories. Added to them are the remixes and a brilliant instrumental version of Tum Se hi. This album is diverse, soulful, melodious, got some awesome dance numbers, beautiful lyrics, and great vocals. All in all a music both for masses as well as classes which is the reason it finds itself in the honorable 2nd position.

1) Guru ~ AR Rahman
There can be only one Guru in the town...and that has to be the man who has the capabilities to get everything right, and who can be banked on by anyone at anytime and he'll promise and deliver irrespective of the kind of movie. Its none other than AR Rahman who just gave one album this year and it turned out to be a masterpiece. Actually the album released in November 2006, but as the movie released this year and more people got to hear it this year, it makes more sense to include it in this year's list. If you are looking for the one perfect song of this year, its got to be Tere Bina for its delightful vocals, great arrangements and sugar coated melody. Aye Hairathen was another extremely well packaged song sung beautifully by Hari Haran. Barso was immensely catchy and picturised too very well. Mayya Mayya was a very experimental middle eastern number for our audience. And then we had the grand orchestration filled Jaage Hain which gave me goosebumps every time I heard it. Finally there were two songs one which wasn't used - the playful Baazi Laga and the other colorful and funny Ek Lo Ek Muft. There was also another soothing melody "Shauk Hai" which wasn't released in the album, but that also adds to this years best soundtrack. Guru might not be the best of ManiRatnam and ARR combo and thats also because of the standards they've set before, but it sure is the best soundtrack of 2007.

Apart from these albums there were also albums with one or two songs becoming big hits like Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Train, Kya Love Story hai, Chak De, Heyy Babyy and few more. But looking at the album as a whole, the variety it offered and the genres which it catered, I think they couldn't match up to the top 10 albums I chose. I'm sure there would be many who might have different opinions, and I thoroughly encourage you to leave your comments . Also you can leave reasons for why some other album deserves to be in top ten. I hope next year we have many more excellent soundtracks which will make it even more harder to pick the best of the best. Have a great new year ahead....