Top 25 of 2006

[elheffe]

It may a bit early, I mean I still haven't listened to Joanna Newsomb's Ys which is supposed to be good, but looking at last year's thread, I posted it on December 5 too, so I guess it's time:

1.Mojave 3 Puzzles Like You – Perfect pop-rock. This one wouldn't leave the CD player. In a world where Paris Hilton makes pop songs, I ask why aren't these guys played on the radio?

2. Silversun Pickups Carnavas – Mix two parts Smashing Pumpkins and add a dash of Shoegaze is the recipe for my #2 album of 2006. Lazy Eye has to be the song of the year.

3. Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood – Is this country music? I don't know, but it sounds way better than modern country which sounds more and more like reheated Eagles.

4. Band Of Horses Everything All the Time – I'm not sure if there's a bad song on the entire album. It is a short album, but there's not filler.

5. Birdmonster No Midnight – A rocker that manages to incorporate harmonica and banjo seamlessly. Spaceman may be the best hard rock-to-acoustic-ballad-to-hand-clapping-hoedown-jam ever.

6. The Twilight Singers Powder Burns – It's like Greg Dulli has distilled every album he's ever done as a Afghan Whig or a Twilight Singer and crafted this super album, weeding out all the bloat and excess that sometimes overpower his songs.

7. Phoenix It's Never Been Like That – Man, more pop-rock! I think this would've even charted higher, if not for the instrumental North which is really filler and breaks the flow of the record.

8. M.Ward Post-War I'm not sure how such a great record as Post War makes number 8, figuring that everything in the top 10 are essentially ties, it makes sense. Standouts are the Neko Case backed To Go Home the Jim James backed Chinese Translation and Rollercoaster.

9. Hard-Fi Stars of CCTV They say that this Dance-Punk sound popularized by Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party is on it way out. And if Dance-Punk is on it's way out, Stars of CCTV is a great last gasp.

10. Regina Spektor Begin To Hope – Regina Spektor can be profound and silly and shocking all in the same song. Who would've thought that she likes Guns and Roses' November Rain and that the "solo's awful long."

11. Cat Power The Greatest
12. Robert Pollard From a Compound Eye and Normal Happiness
Prolific as ever, Uncle Bob manages to put out two albums in one year.
13. Jenny Lewis And The Watson Twins Rabbit Fur Coat
14. Camera Obscura Let's Get Out of This Country
15. Paul Westerburg Open Season Soundtrack
16. Lily Allen Alright, Still
17. Beck The Information
18. Tapes N Tapes The Loon
19. Gnarls Barkley St. Elsewhere
20. Sound Team Movie Monster
21. Pretty Girls Make Graves Élan Vital
22. Bishop Allen February EP and June EP
Bishop Allen did a EP record every month this year. There's a lot of good stuff on these records, but also a lot of so-so songs.
23. Viva Voce Get Your Blood Sucked Out
24. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Show Your Bones
25. Kite Flying Society Where is the Glow?

The most disappointing album of the year:
Built To Spill You In Reverse – I loved Goin Against Your Mind but man, the rest was real long and real boring.

[howyadoin]

Only one of those I've even heard is Gnarls Barkley. No Chili Peppers? No Springsteen?

[Fish Sauce]

Yeah, I've only heard of 6 of those bands, and of those I think I've heard maybe two songs.

It's amazing how many bands there are that you never hear about.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Heh. On your list, I've only heard of Phoenix, Hard-Fi, Cat Power, Lily Allen, Beck, Gnarls Barkley and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. That's the music fan's favorite pastime, right, being obscure? ;)

On your list, I would only include Cat Power and Gnarls Barkley on my "Best of 2006" list. I'll have to think about it before I post mine, though.

[Fish Sauce]

Considering that I haven't bought many CDs released this year, I don't even have enough to make a top ten.

That said, these are all of the 2006 albums which I've purchased:

Augie March - Moo, You Bloody Choir
The Cat Empire - Cities: The Cat Empire Project
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny

I actually really like all of these albums, so I guess I've been lucky.

There's so much old stuff I still need to catch up on, I don't have much to go towards the newer.

Oh, and the artists of yours that I've heard of are The Twilight Singers, Cat Power, Gnarls Barkley, Lily Allen, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Beck. I quite like Lily Allen's "Knock Em' Out", but I haven't heard any other stuff.

[twilight]

I've heard of 12 of those bands.
Do I win?

[zombie]

I've heard of 20 of them. Go Team Me!

Hm, a top 25 list...so much I haven't listened to yet, and probably so much that I won't get around to listening to. I'll have to get back to you on this. Yay, something new to use as procrastination.

[Jonathan Bogart]

I've heard of 22 of them. I win!

Like others, I don't think I bought enough new albums in 2006 to make up a Top 25 list, though I probably listened to 150 or so. Thank you, the internet.

[jessecuster3]

I have heard of pretty much all of those albums, but I do not know if I would put any of them high on my list.


I have listened to so much old stuff this year its hard to find even 10 I like this year.


I did just start listening to The Cassettes and really dig it. Besides that, I guess a list would look like:

1. Old crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World
2. Chatham County Line - Speed Of the Whipporwill
3. Mutemath - Mutemath
4. RX Bandits - ...And the Battle Begun
5. The Black Keys - Magic Potion
6. Blind Melon - Live At The Palace
7. Matisyahu - Youth
8. The Black Hollies - Crimson Reflections
9. The Purrs - The Purrs
10. The Village Green - Feeling The Fall


Honorary mentions:
Embrace - This New Day
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open

And then advance stuff for next year:
Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City
The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
The Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder

[Ill Communication]

I FINALLY got to see Dulli in November, and man, if that guy isn't a god. I can't wait till that collaboration with Lannegan (the Gutter Twins) comes out.

That Band of Horses album is incredible, and I completely flaked on that Westerberg score! Guess I'm off to buy it on my break.

Wasn't there another power popster doing a soundtrack? Matthew Sweet maybe?

[elheffe]

Heh. On your list, I've only heard of Phoenix, Hard-Fi, Cat Power, Lily Allen, Beck, Gnarls Barkley and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. That's the music fan's favorite pastime, right, being obscure? ;)

Like others, I don't think I bought enough new albums in 2006 to make up a Top 25 list

Only one of those I've even heard is Gnarls Barkley. No Chili Peppers? No Springsteen?

Well, this is telling. I listen to too much music.
I think one of the reasons have so many CDs is that when a act comes through town, I usually will pick up their CD from the merchandise table. They're usually a few dollars cheaper than the record stores.
Also telling is that only Hard-Fi, Cat Power, Beck and Viva Voce were only albums I bought that I didn't download at least one mp3 off of a blog first. I swear, I buy more CDs the more mp3s I download.

I FINALLY got to see Dulli in November, and man, if that guy isn't a god. I can't wait till that collaboration with Lannegan (the Gutter Twins) comes out.

That Band of Horses album is incredible, and I completely flaked on that Westerberg score! Guess I'm off to buy it on my break.

Wasn't there another power popster doing a soundtrack? Matthew Sweet maybe?

Man, i missed Duili when he came through Tucson this year, due to lack of funds. I have seen him a couple times in the past, but still it sucks.

Yeah, that Band of Horses was hard to place. I listened to it non-stop for at least a month, maybe longer.

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs did an album of covers called Under the Covers, Vol. 1

[Punchy]

That is an obscure list but there are few acts on there I've been thinking about checking out including Regina Spektor and Neko Case. I think I shall do that.

I wonder if my list would be more obscure than yours ... I'll think about it and get back to yas.

[elheffe]

That is an obscure list but there are few acts on there I've been thinking about checking out including Regina Spektor and Neko Case. I think I shall do that.

I wonder if my list would be more obscure than yours ... I'll think about it and get back to yas.

Yes, that'd be cool, Lyman. And by all means, check out at least Regina Spektor. I think you'd like some of her music.

[Jonathan Bogart]

Yes, that'd be cool, Lyman. And by all means, check out at least Regina Spektor. I think you'd like some of her music.

If I made a list, she'd definitely be on it.

[elheffe]

If I made a list, she'd definitely be on it.

Do one up, Jonathan!