by Paul,
on 12/19/2006.

My favorite albums from 2006, and why:

1. Girl Talk: Night Ripper
It's like opening a box of lucky charms, eating all the marshmallows and throwing out the rest of the box.

2. Herbert: Scale
It's lounge music that you can dance to. I feel like it'd be really appropriate at a super-expensive hotel lobby. And that feeling of elitism gets you to #2.

3. The Knife: Silent Shout
It feels like what the Brother's Grimm stories could've set their stories to. Seemingly innocuous, but upon further inspection: disturbing.

4. Junior Boys: So this is goodbye
There is a pop sound to this that makes it so approachable, or maybe it's just the clap track. It's just happy, bright and yet complex enough stay interesting.

5. Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury
It just doesn't seem fair to listen to this in anything but a car full of subs, on my way to a party with more booty than i'd know what to do with.

6. Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Sunday mornings were made for this cd. That's when i contemplate my place in this universe.

7. Gil Mantera's Party Dream: Bloodsongs
After i'm done contemplating and deciding I'm in a GREAT place in this universe, i want to celebrate.

8. Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America
After seeing them live, it's been hard to reconcile their harmlessness with music i always thought had some edge to it. But it's still fun music that's got some rockitude.

9. Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Was pop music always this suited to dance to? Cause i can't help but look like an idiot every time i listen to this album.

10. Sunset Rubdown: Shut Up I Am Dreaming
It's like most indie rock, but somehow a more raw, real and genuine.

The next two albums would top the list, but neither were released in '06. I include them here since i didn't hear them till this year.

Art Brut: Bang Bang Rock and Roll
Angst & Irony, that comes out simple, raw, funny, and rocking.

Gogol Bordello: Gypsy Punks
It's like those Irish punk bands (Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys) except that it pulls it's influences from Eastern European traditional music. This is the most interesting music i've heard in years.

Blogger Dan said,

I'm too lazy to make my own list. So put Hold Steady, Neko Case, and JT in the trash and slide Boris, Lupe Fiasco, and Lily Allen in there and you've got something resembling a list I might have written.

And put Gil Mantera up higher.

Blogger Dan said,

Oh and I'll trade you the Thermals for Sunset Rubdown.

But seriously. JT. Hold Steady. Trash.

Blogger Ryan said,

Well, here's my list. Year-end lists are weird because there are some albums that I listened to a lot at the beginning of the year that I got tired of towards the end of the year, and there are albums that are newer and still fairly fresh and exciting to me, so the newer ones may be fairly biased. Then again sometimes I don't give a newer album enough of a chance and come back later and realize it's actually really great. Anyways, I'm going to skip descriptions for now but if you're curious about any of them, feel free to ask.

1. Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
2. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
3. Gil Mantera's Party Dream - Bloodsongs
4. Mission of Burma - The Obliterati
5. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
6. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
7. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
8. Lo-Fi-Fnk - Boylife
9. Benoit Pioulard - Precis
10.Nicolas Makelberge - Dying in Africa

Blogger Dan said,

Mastodon rocks. Though I'm still trying to get through Leviathan without my eyes bleeding before i try and tackle Blood Mountain.

Never heard your last two people. I'll give those a listen and then tell you why you suck as a person for recommending them to me.

Blogger Ryan said,

Benoit Pioulard is kind of a folky/atmospheric record that I've been digging recently. Kind of has a winter feel to it.

Nicolas Makelberge is more along the Junior Boys synth-pop lines with a guy that sounds like Peter Gabriel on vocals.

Blogger Eric said,

Mastodon is great. I haven't heard Blood Mountain, but I'm digging Leviathan a lot. It's more melodic and refined than Remission.

I'm sad to say that I don't think I could contribute a top ten for 2006. I don't think I have ten albums that were released in 2006, let alone favorites.

Anonymous ellen said,

I'm with Eric...so this is not a "top" anything, but's it's what i bought and liked in 2006:

Islands (Return to the Sea) Guillemots (From the Cliffs) Decemberists (The Crane Wife) P.O.S. (Audition) Joanna Newsom (Ys) Camera Obscura (Let's Get Out of this Country) Built to Spill (You in Reverse)

Oh, and Justin has that Thermals album, and that's pretty sweet.

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