The combination would seem to be naturally at odds with each other. Fortunately, they come together in perfect harmony creating music that is infectious. It gets under your skin and transports you to another world where music is more adventurous and originality is the norm.

What else can I say? This is quite simply a striking artistic creation that pays tribute to the past as it looks towards the future.

El Bicho: Uncle Earl -Waterloo, Tennessee

One of life's greatest pleasures is discovering a new band. This year I was introduced to a talented quartet known as Uncle Earl, four females who work in bluegrass and old time music. They created one of my favorite albums of 2007, Waterloo, Tennessee, produced by John Paul Jones.

The stories told are mostly reflections on life, love, and death but that doesn't mean the g'Earls are always serious. A party breaks out during "D & P Blues," and you have to have a good sense of humor to sing an old traditional number in Chinese, "Streak o' Lean, Streak o' Fat (a.k.a. Hongshao Rou)," and make it work.

The g'Earls are all skilled musicians who take the lead playing and singing, but when they harmonize together, nothing sounds better. Do yourself a favor and give the album a listen because if you don't like Uncle Earl, you don't like music.

Donald Gibson: Bruce Springsteen - Magic

A good storyteller knows how to craft a convincing narrative, one in which specific circumstances and characters express a universal sentiment or ideal. Rock and roll allows a story to be told to the beat of a drum, the chords of an electric guitar, and the rhythm and melody of music. In 2007, Bruce Springsteen blended his literary songwriting skill with the energy and resourcefulness of the E Street Band to create Magic, the best album of the year.

Springsteen’s distinguished ability to lyrically personalize abstract issues is apparent throughout this album. As well, his deftness in delivering a dark message with often-incongruous music is remarkable. “Gypsy Biker,” for instance, is ostensibly a eulogy to a war-fallen friend, with eloquent lyrics imparting condolence. Yet an onslaught of raw guitar symbolizes anger toward the powers that allow such senseless death to happen in the first place. Such dichotomy of words and music, the conflation of two divergent elements to tell one story, manifests throughout Magic.