Merry Christmas! Yes, I know it's only the 19th, but this is my last column of 2007 so now's as good a time as any to say it. It's a damn sight better than saying it in June, that's for certain. Anyway, it's time for my tenth festive round-up of what I thought of the year's tunes, be they good, bad or Samanda. Shall we start?

THINGS I LIKED

First off – downloads. Whoever it was who decided to allow any old tune into the chart is a genius, because the charts haven't been this interesting in donkey's years. And who'd have predicted that 7" and 12" singles would actually outlive CDs? Certainly not me, but I'm all for it. Also, iTunes, EMI and others deserve kudos for dropping copy protection from downloaded music – if I've bought a tune, surely I should have the right to decide where I want to listen to it, or am I just being old-fashioned? Yeah, probably, but that's what I reckon. To be honest though, isn't it nice to see singles going up the charts again? Obviously, if you're a McFly fan, you won't be familiar with this concept, but there are always winners and losers in this game. Anyway, let's move on to the traditional don't blink or you'll miss it recap of the other good things that happened… Proper Education, the Gossip, Fall Out Boy, Koopa for going it alone and succeeding, the original version of Exceeder, Bloc Party's The Prayer, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo's version of Running Up That Hill, Charlotte Hatherley, Nine Inch Nails, Lily Allen, Mark Ronson's version of Stop Me, Client, Cold War Kids, C.S.S., Digitalism, the Zimmers – purely for having a 90 year old sing "Hope I die before I get old", the Rumble Strips, Interpol, the Rakes, Shirley Bassey's take on Get The Party Started, Jarvis Cocker's Fat Children, Feist, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, another re-issue for Energy 52's Café Del Mar, the Foo Fighters, some very welcome Joy Division and Sex Pistols re-issues, Britney Spears's Gimme More – there's a shock for you, Underworld's Crocodile – didn't even make the Top 75, Radiohead for not only trusting their fans to pay a fair price, but also for releasing a very good album, Kylie's 2 Hearts, Let's Dance To Joy Division, Nickelback's first good single ever, Ian Brown, the Black Arts, and finally, I may be getting soft but I actually think it's nice to see some Christmas songs in the chart at Christmas. Just so long as I don't have to listen to them all. Now then, if you're wondering what my favourite singles and albums were… you're probably on your own there. I'll tell you anyway, though. Nine Inch Nails's Year Zero was the finest album, and the best song (because let's be honest, "single" is a bit of an outdated term now) was a tie between Kaiser Chiefs' The Angry Mob and Charlotte Hatherley's Siberia. That's the good news, and now comes the misery and gloom…

THINGS I DIDN'T

First off – downloads. The record industry still hasn't got a clue how to deal with the pesky little digital monsters. They're still releasing singles off of albums months after they've been released and then wondering why they're not reaching the Top 40. Well, perhaps it's because everybody who wants it has already downloaded it? Just a thought. The old idea of mining albums for singles five or six times really isn't going to work anymore for the vast majority of bands and singers, I mean, look what happened to the Scissor Sisters. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' went to No.1, then the album came out, and every single after that sank like a stone. Poor old Razorlight even missed the Top 75 altogether with one single. So, I have an idea. Why not release singles entirely separate from albums? You know, like it used to be? That way, bands can release one-off singles when they're ready instead of waiting around for an album's worth of (usually) filler tracks to be completed, and the fans know for a fact they're definitely getting something brand new. Call me naïve if you like, but I reckon it could work. Moving on then, and now a quick round-up of all the bad things I heard… Mika, the rework of Exceeder with Princess Superstar, Charlotte Hatherley getting criminally ignored, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes murdering Walk This Way – such a senseless waste, Melanie C's destruction of I Want Candy, Mark Ronson's singles other than Stop Me, Hanson, Scooch, Floorfillers Anthems – a child of three could've done a better job of compiling it, Snow Patrol – I've now got to the stage where I want to destroy things whenever I hear Chasing Cars, whoever it was who thought "Umbrella-ella-ella" wouldn't sound annoying at all if it was recorded and put out on a single, the Chemical Brothers – it's all gone wrong there, Cascada, 50 Cent, yet more Elvis Presley re-issues, Athlete, Girls Aloud's Sexy! No No No…, James Blunt's 1973, Samanda's Barbie Girl, Ash – it's all gone very wrong there, Kate Nash, Leona Lewis, that four piece boyband I always include in this list, and finally, the inevitable and yet still utterly underwhelming return of the Spice Girls. So, worst single, and there really was some tat to sift through here. It's cruel to count obvious novelty or half-cocked charity singles, so instead I decided to choose the song that I just couldn't grow to like, that irritated me more than any other, but still became a big hit in an attempt to prove me wrong. That'll be the Fray's How To Save A Life, then. Can't stand it. Sorry.

So there you have it. That's what I made of 2007, and if you agree with half of what I've just said I'll be amazed. All that remains for me is to wish my huge and loyal army of readers a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I'm sure both of you will be pleased to know that I'll be back here in 2008. Cheerio!