What are your top albums of '06?

[en480c4]

So, which albums got it done for you this year? I know there's a month left, but I decided to go through my collection and pick out the albums released this year that I thought were really, really strong efforts. As it turns out, it ended up at a list of exactly 25. Instead of just listing them, I figured I'd throw a thought or two about each one, so people would know the why to go with the what.

Anyway... In alphabetical order (because trying to place them would be impossible):

• Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
  It's hard to believe they could improve on Pale Folklore & The Mantle, but they did. Their ability to create an atmosphere is unparallelled.
  
• Android Lust - Devour, Rise and Take Flight
  Cold and intricate industrial/electronic music with rare female vocals... Excellent all around.
  
• Artrosis - Con Trust
  A move away from the electronic influences of their last few albums with a more aggressive attack. I think I prefer Fetish, but this is a strong effort.
  
• Emilie Autumn - Opheliac
  The Victoriandustrial singer/songwriter/violinist's strongest effort yet. Clearly not for everyone, but there are some real gems here.
  
• Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go
  An amazing collection of songs, and the addition of female backing vocals are welcome. Stark and haunting.
  
• Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
  I wish I could describe how this album makes me feel, but I can't. It floors me with every listen, and it just doesn't get old.
  
• Cat Power - The Greatest
  I'm not sure it tops Moon Pix, but if not it's right there.
  
• Crooked Still - Shaken By A Low Sound
  Neo-bluegrass with the welcome addition of my favorite instrument... Cello! And Aoife O'Donovan's voice... Wow.
  
• Diablo Swing Orchestra - Butcher's Ballroom
  Another album with cello, but this is some metal with very varied influences... Swing, flamenco, folk.
  
• Doom:VS - Aeternus Vale
  Slooooooooooooooow funeral/doom metal at its finest. A hell of a side project from one of the members of Draconian.
  
• Draconian - The Burning Halo
  Not as strong as Arcane Rain Fell, but the added emphasis on Lisa Johansson's vocals is a good sign for things to come.
  
• Emily Haines and the Soft Skeletons - Knives Don't Have Your Back
  Paino-based songs with vocals that get under your skin and won't go away, not that you'd want it to. A nice change of pace from the singer of Metric.
  
• The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia
  I prefer their self-titled punk-cabaret debut, but there's no doubt that this is a strong follow up.
  
• The Great Invisibles - You Left Me Haunted
  Eerie and complex soundscapes with layers of sound you can get lost in.
  
• Isis - In The Absence Of Truth
  More experimental than previous efforts, and better for it. Post-sludge?
  
• Lacuna Coil - Karmacode
  Despite mediocre (at best) reviews, I really enjoy their foray into more accessible music.
  
• Nelly McKay - Pretty Little Head
  Well worth the wait. It's more mature than Get Away From Me, but still playful & fun.
  
• Shannon McNally - North American Ghost Music
  I don't know what to call her music, but with that voice, who cares. An amazing live set.
  
• Murder By Death - In Bocca al Lupo
  I prefer songs from their previous albums, but this is probably stronger as a whole.
  
• Nina Nastasia - On Leaving
  Stripped, almost barren soundscapes that let her voice shine.
  
• Joanna Newsom - Ys
  A huge step from The Milk-Eyed Mender (which I still can't stand), her voice, the harp & the orchestration create something magical.
  
• Peeping Tom - S/T
  Mike Patton's "pop" project. "We're Not Alone" kick's ass, and Norah Jones get naughty.
  
• Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital
  While lacking the urgent energy of The New Romance, they've gotten more adventurous and varied in their sound.
  
• Alice Smith - For Lovers, Dreamers & Me
  Neo-soul/blues/whatever... Her voice can do it all.
  
• Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
  A big leap from Soviet Kitsch... Not as rough around the edges with much stronger songwriting and better production.
  
  

So, what's your list?

[grawk]

Anyway... In alphabetical order (because trying to place them would be impossible):

• Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
  I wish I could describe how this album makes me feel, but I can't. It floors me with every listen, and it just doesn't get old.
  
• Cat Power - The Greatest
  I'm not sure it tops Moon Pix, but if not it's right there.
  
• The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia
  I prefer their self-titled punk-cabaret debut, but there's no doubt that this is a strong follow up.
  
• Lacuna Coil - Karmacode
  Despite mediocre (at best) reviews, I really enjoy their foray into more accessible music.
  
• Nelly McKay - Pretty Little Head
  Well worth the wait. It's more mature than Get Away From Me, but still playful & fun.
  

Of your list, these are the only 5 artists I'd heard of, excluding posts to head-case.

I long ago gave up trying to keep up with new music, tho.

[tiberian]

in flames - come clarity

yeah yeah yeah - show your bones

katatonia - the great cold distance

thom yorke - the eraser

the roots - game theory

gnarls barkley - st. elsewhere

basement jaxx - crazy itch radio

the rapture - pieces of people we love

p.o.s - audition

BT - this binary universe

my chemical romance - the black parade

jakalope - born 4

deftones - saturday night wrist

incubus - light grenades

the game - the doctor's advocate

[ojnihs]

Few for me:

Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

Tool - 10,000 Days

Communic - Waves Of Visual Decay

Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance

Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage

Doom:VS - Aeternum Vale

[xand1x]

AZ - The Format

The Game - Doctor's Advocate

Amos Lee - Supply & Demand

K-OS - Atlantis

[en480c4]

Of your list, these are the only 5 artists I'd heard of, excluding posts to head-case.

Well, I don't go out of my way to find off-the-beaten-path kinda stuff. I just love finding new music.

If you actually like Neko Case & Cat Power, then I'd strongly suggest:

Shannon McNally - North American Ghost Music
I don't know what to call her music, but with that voice, who cares. An amazing live set.

It's tough to describe. It's probably falls under the alt-country umbrella, but her voice is rich and bluesy. The band is very tight live, and the vocals in particular benefit from the live setting.

[deepak]

Isis - The Absence of Truth

Spock's Beard - self titled

The Pineapple Thief - Little Man

The Beatles - Love

The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

Boris and Sunn O))) - Altar

Boris - Pink

Mogwai - Mr Beast

Mogwai - Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait

Circle - Miljard

Soriah - Chao Organica In A Minor

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

[en480c4]

Camille - Le Fil is officially on my list. I can't count how many times I've listened to it over the last few weeks. It's intoxicating. I think it qualifies... It was released in France in '05, but it didn't make it into the US 'til '06.

[postjack]

I do a poor job of following new music, there is just so much great music that has stood the test of time I have yet to hear. So I find myself more researching and listening to older bands and albums (mostly 80's with some 70's and 90's, to grossly oversimplify). But I'll try to think of some 2006 records I really enjoyed.

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

Sales have been disappointing (as of a week ago the album hadn't even gone gold), but I believe Fishscale has cemented Tony Stark's new role as the dangerous darling of the rock snob critical community. The opening tune, "Shakey Dog", is the most ridiculous hip-hop song I've heard all year, meaning it's intensity blew my mind the first time I heard it, as well as in subsequent listens. Ghost purportedly meticulously selected the beats for these tracks from a pool of hundreds, and they definitely want for nothing. The MF Doom produced tracks (Clipse of Doom and Underwater) are wonderfully bizarre, and even the obvious attempt at a single, "Back Like That", is a pretty good tune I listened to for a couple of weeks. Is Fishscale better then Supreme Clientele? Nah, but its still damn good.

Assemblage 23 - Storm

Futurepop record, definitely not everybody's cup of tea, but the pounding beats, consistently good production, and well-written lyrics with a flair for the melodramatic without venturing into emo-esqe territory were exactly what I needed at one point this year.

Wow, two records, thats all I can think of right now.

[aerius]

Well, the only 2006 albums I bought this year were Wintersong (Sarah McLachlan), Orphan Music (Sarah Slean), and Ghost Stories (Chantal Kreviazuk). I'm having a hard time deciding which of the first 2 is better, they're both good, but neither's really exceptional.

[PsychoZX]

Tool - 10000 Days

The Flaming Lips - At War with the mystics

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

The Game - Doctors Advocate

Nas - Hip Hop is Dead

Incubus - Light grenades

Gnarls Barkley - st. elsewhere

[hungrych]

[postjack]

Still it seems like the only new music I follow is hip-hop. Adding to the list:

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

I cannot get enough of this album. The lyrics are pretty typical "I used to slang rocks now I rap" fare, but the flow is great and the attitude is spot on. Its hard not to have the right attitude when Pharrell and the Neptunes are sprinkling the best beats of 2006 all over the record. 100% Neptunes produced, the beats are just sick, sick, sick, sick, nasty. Unfortunately the album is mastered compressed and hot as hell, but thats just something I've learned to tolerate with contemporary popular hip hop.

I would love to have an instrumental version of this record.

[philodox]

BT - this binary universe

I got this album the other day, it is great.

[en480c4]

Well, since it's been in heavy rotation lately, and I have fallen completely in love with it, I have to add Trauma Pet's You Cannot Feel This to my list. The emotion, atmostphere and textures are great, with lots of synth and guitar, and Elie's vocals are sublime. A review here probably sums things up better than I could, especially considering my Synth/Darkwave/Electro experience is very limited. But I know I like this! "Yearning" is probably the stand-out track for me, though all 10 are very good.

[DigiPete]

I got

KT Tunstall - Eye to the Telescope as my #1 pick this year.

[en480c4]

I got

KT Tunstall - Eye to the Telescope as my #1 pick this year.

I love her live, seeing her do the sampling of percussion, vocals and guitar. She is a special performer. Unfortunately, to my ears, everything that makes her special was lost on the album, where she seems quite bland. Maybe it's because I saw her live (via KCRW) before I ever heard the album, but that was probably my most disappointing album of the year. I was looking forward to it after the performance and I don't think I've listened to it more than a few times since picking it up.

[ojnihs]

After much thought, I'm just going to have to say my favorite album of last year was definitely Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. There's just something about it that I can't seem to identity that keeps me coming back to it over and over again. I just love this fucking album.

[Dusty Chalk]

Still working on my list, but here's some of it, anyway (probably a superset):

Barry Adamson, Stranger on the Sofa

And One, Bodypop

Android Lust, Devour Rise and Take Flight

Black Heart Procession, The Spell

Brightblack Morning Light

Matt Elliott, Failing Songs

Gathering, Home

Giant Squid, Metridium Fields

Halou, Wholeness and Separation

Isis, In the Absence of Truth

Jakalope, Born 4

Katatonia, The Great Cold Distance

Mono/World's End Girlfriend, Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain

Mouse on Mars, Varcharz

Ms. John Soda, Notes and the Like

Anthony Phillips, Field Day

Psapp, The Only Thing I Ever Wanted

Pure Reason Revolution, The Dark Third

Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Carina Round, Slow Motion Addict

Stolen Babies, There Be Squabbles Ahead

Under the Influence of Giants

Unexpect, In A Flesh Aquarium

Wolverine, Still

Zero Hour, Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond Recognition

[Dusty Chalk]

EDIT -- add the following to the list of contenders:

Matchbook Romance, Voices

Katie Melua, Piece by Piece

Muse, Black Holes and Revelations

Gary Numan, Jagged

Snog, Vs. The Faecal Juggernaut Of Mass Culture