Top 10 Albums of 2006

[vivalaultra 0]

Holy handgrenades! 2006 is almost over and since we've had a "Best Shows" topic, I think "Best Albums" should naturally fall in line next:

 

10. Girl Talk-"Night Ripper"

9. Grizzly Bear-"Yellow House"

8. My Brightest Diamond-"Bring Me the Workhorse"

7. Isis-"In the Absence of Truth"

6. Bonnie "Prince" Billy-"The Letting Go"

5. Destroyer-"Destroyer's Rubies"

4. Sunset Rubdown-"Shut Up I Am Dreaming"

3. Band of Horses-"Everything All the Time"

2. TV on the Radio-"Return to Cookie Mountain"

1. Califone-"Roots and Crowns"

 

This whole year until I heard the Califone CD, TV on the Radio was #1, but...man, I just fell in love with that Califone record. Still, it was close. Everything after Band of Horses is pretty fluid, but the top three are pretty concrete in terms of my favorite releases this year.

[cbacon 0]

I don't get the love for the TV on the Radio album.

 

Gonna need more time with some albums before making a list. Crane Wife should be #1 though

[vivalaultra 0]

Meh, I didn't really like "The Crane Wife" that much. Then again, I haven't thought a Decemberist's album was anything better than good bordering on quite good since "Her Majesty...", but they put on a really good live show.

[SuperJerk 0]

More evidence that I'm a typical person over 30: I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

 

I really need to find a pop culture board populated by people my own age or something.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Jerk, you're probably not that out of touch. I don't think any of those albums have sold over 100,000 copies (even though several of them are very good).

 

I'll return to this later with some more thoughts, though there are still a lot of albums I've yet to hear. Off the top of my head, I'd say that TV on the Radio is tops by a solid margin, but that the Hold Steady, Mastodon, Clipse, and Justin Timberlake (not at all kidding here) are all way up there too.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I can't do a top ten, so I'll just add that Belle & Sebastian's The Life Pursuit is the best album I've heard in a long time.

[Gary Floyd 0]

1.) Ghostface Killah-Fishscale

2.) The Roots-Game Theory

3.) Peeping Tom-Peeping Tom

4.) Current 93-Black Ships Ate The Sky

5.) Mastadon-Blood Mountain

6.) Bonnie "Prince" Billie-The Letting Go

7.) OOIOO-Taiga

8.) Zombi-Surface To Air

9.) J-Dilla-Donuts

10.) Boris-Pink

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

That Decemberists album was really disappointing and kinda not good. For the first time a lot of Colin Meloy's tics felt forced and unnatural. Also, someone really should have put a stop to those misguided/embarassing attempts at prog-rock and metal. Oof.

 

Anyway, my list:

 

1. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

2. Joanna Newsom - Ys

3. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33

4. The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea

5. T.I. - King

6. The Knife - Silent Shout

7. Lily Allen - Alright, Still

8. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

9. DJ Drama & Lil Wayne - Dedication 2

10. Liars - Drum's Not Dead

 

Honorable Mentions: Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit, Ghostface Killah - Fishscale, Hot Chip - The Warning

[Gary Floyd 0]

Damnit, I forgot Hot Chip and The Knife!

 

I personally think LCD Soundsystem are just good, but overhyped.

[Ravenbomb 0]

in loosely chronological order:

 

"Drum's Not Dead" by Liars

"Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" by Neko Case

"Show Your Bones" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Peeping Tom" by Peeping Tom

"Broken Boy Soldiers" by The Raconteurs

"Ultra Blue" by Utada Hikaru

"A Hundred Highways" by Johnny Cash

"Live at the Electric Factory" by The Fray

"Straight Outta Lynwood" by Weird Al Yankovic

"Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards" by Tom Waits

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I thought about it a bit more and I did it this way since numbers are tough.

 

My favorite new album in a long time:

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

 

Albums I loved:

The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

Ghostface - Fishscale

Mastodon - Blood Mountain

Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

 

Albums I liked a lot:

Hypatia Lake - And We Shall Call Him Joseph

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

Joanna Newsom - Ys

T.I. - King

Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

Califone - Roots and Crowns

[vivalaultra 0]

I should probably add Johnny Cash and Lil' Wayne as 10b and 10c. I don't consider myself a rap afficionado, but I really like Lil' Wayne. And I haven't been able to bring myself to get the Justin Timberlake CD, but I really enjoy the singles, so I should probably get it.

[Guest BlindHeartagram]

In no particular order:

 

1. Kamelot "The Black Halo'

2. Lamb Of God "Sacrament"

3. Blind Guardian "A Twist In The Myth"

4. Vader "Impressions In Blood"

5. Katatonia "The Great Cold Distance"

6. Scar Symmetry "Pitch Black Progress"

7. Mastodon "Blood Mountain"

8. Goatwhore "The Haunting Curse"

9. All Shall Perish "Eradication"

10. Cannibal Corpse "Kill"

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

I personally think LCD Soundsystem are just good, but overhyped.

 

I used to feel that way. I mean I liked "Losing My Edge" and "Beat Connection," but I never really saw what all the fuss over the two "Yeah"s was about and the full-length left me feeling a little cold. But 45:33 is just miles beyond anything else Murphy's done thus far and blows pretty much everything else in electronic/dance music out of the water in terms of compositional breadth and creativity.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I should probably add Johnny Cash and Lil' Wayne as 10b and 10c. I don't consider myself a rap afficionado, but I really like Lil' Wayne. And I haven't been able to bring myself to get the Justin Timberlake CD, but I really enjoy the singles, so I should probably get it.

The first half of the Justin Timberlake album (through "What Goes Around") is completely awesome. It falls off to just decent-to-good after that, but that first 30 minutes puts it way up there.

[Gary Floyd 0]

I personally think LCD Soundsystem are just good, but overhyped.

 

I used to feel that way. I mean I liked "Losing My Edge" and "Beat Connection," but I never really saw what all the fuss over the two "Yeah"s was about and the full-length left me feeling a little cold. But 45:33 is just miles beyond anything else Murphy's done thus far and blows pretty much everything else in electronic/dance music out of the water in terms of compositional breadth and creativity.

I'll have to give it a listen.

[Annabelle 0]

i won't list them in order

 

tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain

justice - waters of nazareth ep

justim timberlake - futuresex / lovesounds

t.i.- king

spank rock - yoyoyoyoyo

cassius - 15 again

cat power - the greatest

sunset rubdown - shut up i am dreaming

clipse - hell hath no fury

bob dylan - modern times

 

honorable mentions

 

rick ross - port of miami

weezy - dedication 2

ghostface - fishscale

boris - pink

game - doctors advocate

dilla - donuts

[Gary Floyd 0]

My Honerable Mentions

 

The Knife-Silent Shout

Mono-You Are There

Hot Chip-Warning

A Guy Called Gerald-Proto Acid: The Berlin Sessions

Red Sparrowe-Every Heart Shines Towards The Sun

PzychoBitch-Electrolicious

The Rapture-Things We Lost In The Fire

Girl Talk-Night Ripper

 

Motor's Klunk is great. It's like old acid techno meets old industrial dance with a pinch of Detroit.

 

Guilty Pleasures

 

Front Line Assembly-Artificial Soldier

The Sounds-Dying To Say This To You

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Albums I bought that came out this year:

 

Shadows Fall - Fallout From the War

Mastodon - Blood Mountain

Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death

Unearth - III: In the Eyes of Fire

Bleeding Through - The Truth

MC Lars - The Graduate

Wednesday 13 - Fang Bang

Johnny Cash - American V

Slayer - Christ Illusion

Skinless - Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead

Gwar - Beyond Hell (technically, girlfriend bought it)

Strapping Young Lad - New Black

Hatesphere - The Sickness Within

Kataklysm - In the Arms of Devastation

The Haunted - The Dead Eye

 

Of them, the only ones I'd say should even be considered for "Best album of '06" contenders are Mastodon, Unearth, Kataklysm, and Slayer. MC Lars may have released the album I'd consider the most FUN of 2006, but it ultimately remains forgettable due to the abundance of filler tracks. Beyond Hell was a solid Gwar album, much better than Carnival of Chaos (though every Gwar album is), with a good tour to support it, but it's shit compared to War Party (although, truth be told, that's one of the best Gwar albums, right up there with Scumdogs of the Universe and America Must Be Destroyed).

 

I wish the Summers End's s/t LP, Municipal Waste's Hazardous Mutation, and the Zombie Apocalypse/Send More Paramedics split Tales Told by Dead Men weren't all released in '05, because they would've easily made it onto my "best of '06" list.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Ok, I'm replacing OOIOO with Motor. So now, the offical tally is

 

1.) Ghostface Killah-Fishscale

2.) The Roots-Game Theory

3.) Peeping Tom-Peeping Tom

4.) Current 93-Black Ships Ate The Sky

5.) Mastadon-Blood Mountain

6.) Bonnie "Prince" Billie-The Letting Go

7.) Motor-Klunk

8.) Zombi-Surface To Air

9.) J-Dilla-Donuts

10.) Boris-Pink

[lomasmoney 0]

I will third or whatever, the Justin Timberlake album for being both better than his debut which I felt was very good, and also being one of the best albums I've heard in a while. I don't know why, but I love this album, and think that so many people dismiss it because it came from one of the guys from N'sync

[Carnival 0]

1. NATAS - N of tha World

2. Tech N9ne - Everready : The Religion

3. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

4. Obie Trice - Second Round's On Me

5. Esham - Martyr Sity

6. Jedi Mind Tricks - Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell

7. King Gordy - King of Horrorcore Vol. 1

8. DMX - Year of the Dog...Again

9. Nelly Furtado - Loose

10. Boondox - The Harvest

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

1. Scritti Politti - White Bread, Black Beer

2. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

3. Mission of Burma - The Obliterati

4. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

5. Andrew WK - Close Calls With Brick Walls

6. Sparks - Hello Young Lovers

7. Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors

8. Pere Ubu - Why I Hate Women

9. Killing Joke - Hosannas From the Basements of Hell

10. Cansei De Ser Sexy - Cansei De Ser Sexy

 

I think that's about right, though I'm sure I've missed a couple. I'm certain of the top 2, at any rate.

[DCMaximo 0]

1. James Dean Bradfield-The Great Western

2. Jarvis-Jarvis

3. Morrissey-Ringleader Of The Tormentors

4. Bruce Springsteen-The Segar Sessions

5. Butch Walker And The Lets-Go-Out-Tonites - The Rise And Fall Of...

6. Razorlight-S/T

7. Paolo Nutin-These Streets

8. The Young Knives-Voices Of Animals And Men

9. The Ordinary Boys-How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps

10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-S/T

[Chuck Woolery 0]

carnival,

 

was the new jedi mind tricks that good? i haven't heard it but i felt like they fell off huge after visions of gandhi.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

Aha, missed Jarvis. Bugger.

[Wyld Cannon 0]

1. Young Machetes - The Blood Brothers

2. Crisis - Alexisonfire

3. A City By The Light Divided - Thursday

4. Our Darkest Days - Ignite

5. No Heroes - Converge

6. Let's Get Out Of This Country - Camera Obscura

7. S/T - A Static Lullaby

8. The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New

9. Happy Hollow - Cursive

10. Decemberunderground - AFI

 

my list is a lot different than you guys' though. . . .

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Second year in a row where I am incapable of making a top ten. I simply haven't kept up with enough new stuff to where I could make a sound ranking.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

This is indeed the first year I've been able to name ten (even eleven) in a while.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Back in January, I started a thread wherein I intended on listing all the new releases I heard through the year, as I heard them. I ended up abandoning the thing, losing count at around 20 or so. If pressed, I could list ten albums I liked, but the ranking would be entirely arbitrary. (Save Return to Cookie Mountain in the top spot.)

 

That I was able to put together a definite all-time top ten favorite albums list was the big 2006 listing news, as far as I'm concerned.