One of the things that makes Pittsburgh so darn livable in the '00s is that we get the full spectrum of the rock/pop experience. We have young hip-hop studs, pop divas, brutal guys with beards, psychedelic wood nymphs, gritty old-school rockers and kids with laptops.

They all had their moments in 2007. Here's a look back:

It was, without a shred of doubt, the greatest night in the history of Pittsburgh hip-hop.

The first Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards took over the Hilton ballroom on Jan. 14 with a glorious mix of old school, new school, gangstas and b-boys.

Because Pittsburgh hasn't produced much in terms of bona fide hip-hop superstars (yet), we borrowed one for a co-host. Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five joined New York transplant Paradise Gray and made a grand entrance, rockin' the house with "The Message" and getting everyone from Wiz Khalifa to Stan Tha Man to jump up and sing along. (Two months later Melle Mel would be at New York's Waldorf-Astoria, where his crew became the first hip-hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

Pittsburgh hip-hop pioneers Tuffy Tuff, Sly Jock, Stan Tha Man, Paradise and Nick Nice were honored, and the night was full of rousing performances by the likes of Tuffy Tuff, Da Sinate and The Suspects. Khalifa, Baby Sis and the Govament went home with the top prizes.

Melle Mel told the house, "If St. Louis can do it, Pittsburgh can do it!"

The second annual will take place on Jan. 20.

Jim Lingo took his leave of Centipede E'est, Paul Quattrone stepped away from the Modey Lemon, and Alexei Plotnicov turned the Karl Hendricks Rock Band into a trio -- at least temporarily.

The result was a monstrous year for Pittsburgh's No. 1 noise terrorists -- Midnite Snake.

The power trio unleashed the crushing instrumental record "Shaving the Angel," sounding like a cross between the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Comets on Fire experience. The band's high-voltage South by Southwest visit got it on the YouTube home page, where it was described as "Hendrix wrestling with Sabbath." Dusted magazine referred to them as sounding like "an army of ogres."

Locally, ogres were everywhere, scaring the kids before Girl Talk and playing a "Lord of the Flies"-style release show at the Iron Eden in Bloomfield that still has people buzzing.

After a glowing review in Vibe and a New Faces to Watch feature in Rolling Stone, 19-year-old Allderdice grad Wiz Khalifa had the opportunity to sit back and let the offers roll in.

He was super cool about it, too, brushing it off with the old "one day at a time" attitude. In June, he signed to Warner Bros. Records, which will work with his Pittsburgh label, Rostrum, on the follow-up to "Show and Prove."

It was just one highlight for Wiz this year. He won the Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards for best male artist and lyricist, opened for Nas at the Petersen Center and Lil Wayne at the Mellon Arena, and made his New York debut at the CMJ Music Marathon.

This month he dropped the mixtape "Prince of the City 2," featuring fellow Pittsburgh MCs Kev Da Hustla, S. Money and Lavish.

First they ruffled some feathers, then Black Moth Super Rainbow spread the love in the heart of Downtown this summer.

The tripped-out psych band highlighted 2007 with the release of its third record, "Dandelion Gum," on the Chicago label Graveface Records.

In the pregame hype, frontman Tom Fec, aka Tobacco, told Rolling Stone in May, "I've never paid much attention to the music scene here. It's the opposite of a scene. People don't want other bands to get out of the city. They just want them to stay stuck, unhappy, in Pittsburgh."

The debate spilled over onto a local music messageboard, where members of BMSR sparred with fellow scenesters.

There was no ill will in the air, though, when the band played a cosmic set during the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

Other BMSR highlights included tours with The Flaming Lips and Aesop Rock, a respectable 7.8 on Pitchfork and Rolling Stone's David Fricke recognizing it as one of the Top 4 bands at SXSW.

Old news: Metropol closed in 2002 and then Club Laga in 2005. Still a bummer, because it left us without a club venue in the 1,000- to 1,500-capacity range, unless you count the all-ages Club Zoo (which took over Metropol) or the Ice Garden in Rostraver.

We didn't get a House of Blues in 2007, but a few of the city's smaller and more enterprising promoters did something about it.

Brian Drusky re-christened the Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead in Munhall (a mouthful, to be sure) as a concert venue with an unforgettably joyous show by new Hall of Famer Patti Smith, and continued to bring bands like Nickel Creek and Hanson. Yes, Hanson.

Opus One and Gary Hinston turned to the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland for shows by Feist, Ryan Adams and others. The Byham was another hot spot for acts such as Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams and Interpol. The theater setting creates a much different atmosphere for a show -- a little less boisterous, a little more intimate.

Not everyone was into it. Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age seemed freaked by the sight of ushers patrolling the theater seats in Homestead and noted, "We'll never play here again."

They tore down the tent and put up a parking lot -- which basically returned the Chevrolet Amphitheatre to its original state.

The plan was that a new one would open at Sandcastle. But construction delays caused Live Nation to scrap that idea, leaving concert-goers without a mid-level outdoor venue. A handful of concerts were canceled, a bunch more were never booked, and a few were moved to the Post-Gazette Pavilion and the Palumbo Center.

One of the unfortunate outcomes was the loss of a job for longtime Pittsburgh concert guru Ed Traversari, who managed the amphitheater. There is no word yet on a plan for 2008, but we did learn that the Rooneys had scrapped a plan for a North Side amphitheater.

On the plus side, the biggest venue news came when the politicos announced the building of a new arena for 2010 for the Pens and, probably, Van Halen.

People try to put us down ... but check it out.

In March, we sent a record 10 acts to Austin, Texas. Normally, we might have about four or five bands at the prestigious South by Southwest Music Conference.

This year, Pittsburgh was represented by Girl Talk, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Black Tie Revue, The Cynics, Don Caballero, Michael Glabicki, Grand Buffet, Midnite Snake and Power Pill Fist (of Black Moth).

Add in the Arizona version of Ed Masley's Breakup Society (which we can still sort of claim) and that makes 10. And that didn't go quietly. Girl Talk, Black Moth and Midnite Snake all generated lots of buzz.

After all the hype about Pittsburgh's breakout party boy, Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) finally played his homecoming show, a sold-out affair in May at Mr. Small's complete with the usual stage full of dancers and the man of the hour twirling a Terrible Towel.

The year also found Girl Talk quitting his day job as a biomedical engineer, earning a nomination for the Shortlist Music Prize (along with, oh, Beck, Neil Young and Cat Power) and bumping into Paris Hilton at Coachella.

As we speak, the Illegal Art-ist and bpm magazine cover-boy is rocking the laptop in the halls of Europe.

• After a four-year gap between records, the venerable Karl Hendricks Rock Band returned in fine form with "The World Says," an indie-rock record with smart lyrics and blazing guitars.

• Eric Graf, of Boxstep fame, returned in thrashy blues-rock form with The 9th Ward and a debut record cut at Graf's new Blackberry Studios in Lawrenceville. Larryville was also the scene of a late-year gonzo charity tour.

• New Invisible Joy -- once seen as a major label hopeful -- returned with the epic-sounding "Kontakt," its first CD in four years, and its first show since 2005.

• In the clubs, there were reunions of The Silencers, Thickhead Grin, The Crow Flies and the A.T.S. quartet.

• After five years, critical darlings TV on the Radio, led by former Pittsburghers Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, finally played Pittsburgh, turning up for a sweltering August throwdown at Mr. Small's. More about this next week in the Top 10 concert list.

• One of the best records of the year was "Mirrored," the instrumental tour de force from Battles, a band fronted by former Don Caballero guitarist Ian Williams. It landed at No. 7 on the Pitchfork Top 50. Just prior to its release, Battles waged a small war in the back room of Gooski's.

• Having become a YouTube sensation with "Girls Kiss Girls," the L.A.-based Pittsburgh Slim (formerly Sied Chahrour of Strict Flow) caught the attention of Jay-Z and was signed to Def Jam. His seven-song debut, "Tastemaker," hit the shelves in early December.

• While Britney acted like a bona fide nutcase, Wexford's own Christina Aguilera donned a white suit and top hat for a classy "Back to Basics" tour that headlined the Arena in April.

• With "Country Girl," 26-year-old Rissi Palmer, a product of the suburb Moon, became the first black female artist to appear on the Billboard Country Singles chart since Dona Mason in 1987.

• The Clarks and Rusted Root partied like it was 1999 at the Post-Gazette Pavilion. In other Clarks news, Scott Blasey moved back here from Texas and released his second solo album, "Travelin' On." Meanwhile, Rusted Root continued to be road warriors on the college circuit.

• We knew Bill Deasy could write. He emphasized the point with a literate new album, "The Miles," and his first novel, "Ransom Seaborn."

• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to the 'Burgh after four years and, once again, Houserocker Joe Grushecky got a moment in the spotlight, joining the Boss for their Grammy-winning "Code of Silence." "A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story," a documentary from Flat Broke Productions, is coming soon.

• Singer-songwriter Tom Breiding shined a spotlight on coal country with "The Unbroken Circle," a fine concept album with narrative songs that touch on the struggles of the working man.

• Trance duo Life in Balance had a lively year, touring extensively and expanding into electronic dance music with the new album, "Om to Ohm."

• R&B/hip-hop crew CRAVE got freaky with Pretty Ricky on the road and on the sexy club single "Freaky Deaky."

• Great Ants, a girl-group that seemed like Pittsburgh's answer to Sleater-Kinney, made a crashing debut in April with "For Simply" and then marched off into the sunset in August.

• Making a splash on the Americana scene was Lohio, a new band fronted by Greg Dutton of Boca Chica. It released "Sleeping Stereo," a seven-track EP with beautiful harmonies and earthy musicianship.

• David Leicht, a Chicago export, rallied the acoustic scene with his duo Pairdown and a Woodlab series at Modern Formations that produced CD compilations.

• R&B singer Margot B (still young enough to be called a newcomer) played for the troops at Guantanamo Bay, calling it "the most uplifting, inspirational and meaningful thing I've ever done." She also opened for Nelly Furtado in Cleveland and Carl Thomas in New York City. She's working on a third album due out in the spring.

• "Circuits of Steel II: Electronic Music From Pittsburgh" spanned electro-pop, space-rock, industrial dance, underground hip-hop and noise with 38 tracks over two discs. Among those included were Girl Talk, Grand Buffet, Rein[Forced], Discuss and Hotness. The release show was washed out of Market Square during the Three Rivers Arts Festival but found shelter at a Cultural District gallery.

• Grand Buffet made a fourth quarter appearance with rousing release shows for the new album "King Vision" (officially due in January). One of the offbeat highlights of the American Legion show was seeing the smile on Billy Price's face during the hilarious Weird Paul set. Price was there to see his son's new act, C Money and Karl Kash.

• On the more savage side of the Pittsburgh scene was the hardcore band Brain Handle, which debuted with a full-length release and a five-week U.S. tour, including a stop at the Chaos in Tejas festival in Austin.

• Among the great drumming performances in Pittsburgh this year has to be the one by Tony Paterra of Zombi. When the drummer of Trans Am, the headliner at CMU's Doherty Hall, took ill, Paterra had to step in and just play along. He did so magnificently, even though he didn't know all the songs. Said Paterra: "I felt like Marky Mark's character in the movie 'Rockstar.' "

• The Graffiti Rock Challenge, a staple since 1984, went on hiatus this year, partly due to venue, partly due to its founder taking care of family.

• The Three Rivers Arts Festival was forced to downsize due to the renovation of Point State Park. It set up in the grassy knoll between the Gateway Centers for shows by the likes of Rickie Lee Jones and the Avett Brothers. One of the upsides was the satellite stage in Market Square, scene of the 9th Ward's debut and a mind-bending set by Centipede E'est just prior to Koko Taylor.

• Dance clubs Diesel, The Altar Bar and Smallville all joined the ranks of live music venues.

• There were spirited tribute shows played in honor of The Kinks, Misfits, WXXP and New Wave.

Todd Adleff, David Bernabo, Blackwell, Black Tie Revue, Blues Orphans, The Boogie Hustlers, Phil Boyd, Chip DiMonick, The Dirty Sunshine, Escaping Grace, Forbidden 5, Sue Gartland, Ben Hardt, Keith Hershberger, Incyte, Paul Labrise, Paul Luc, Ludlow, Magic Wolf, The Mavens, Maxipads, Josh McCann Band, Medic Medic, The Monophonics, Persephone's Dream, The Pump Fakes, Satanic Bat, Shanks, The Skinks, Soma Mestizo, Mike Stout, Sun Tornado, Weird Paul, The Working Poor.

Paul Shook of the Tigers; Joseph W. Verscharen of The Skyliners.

First Published: December 20, 2007, 10:00 a.m.