2006 was a good music year... Not great... not like 1992. But I've never struggled to find 10 albums to make up my list. This year was missing jazz for me. I was not super excited about any of the jazz records I heard except for a few re-issues.
There were some good ones, but not great ones. And there sure were disappointments this year... for me the biggest disappointments were The Decemberists' lousy album "The Crane Wife" (capitol)... three good songs, that's it - And also Patricia Barber's unlistenable crap-maker "Mythologies" (blue note).
since compilations of old material never make my Top 10 (since it's previously released material) I must point out two super great compilations... Soul Gospel 2 (soul jazz) and Air's "Late Night Tales" (thrive). Both are worth the listen. My favorite singles have to be "Country Girl" by Primal Scream and also The Tyde's "Do It Again." My most listened to record of the year was the Hot Snakes "Thunder Down Under" (swami)... but since it is a live record of old material... I decided to keep it off the Top list.My Favorite Albums of 2006...
1. Belle & Sebastian "The Life Pursuit" (rough trade)
2. TV On The Radio "Return To Cookie Mountain" (4ad/interscope)
3. Bonnie "Prince" Billy "The Letting Go" (drag city)
4. The Hold Steady "Boys And Girls In America" (vagrant)
5. Clipse "Hell Hath No Furry" (re-up gang/zomba)
6. Kelly Stoltz "Below The Branches" (sub pop)
7. The Sword "Age of Winters" (kemado)
8. So Many Dynamos "Flashlights" (skrocki)
9. Donavon Frankenreiter "Move By Yourself" (lost highway)
10. Laura Gibson "If You Come To Greet Me" (hush)
and the +10:
Bruce Springsteen "We Shall Overcome" (columbia)
End Of The World "Youre Making It Come Alive" (flameshovel)
Ghostface Killah "Fishscale" (def jam)
Josh Ritter "The Animal Years" (v2)
Jo Jo "The High Road" (blackground)
Left Alone "Dead American Radio" (hellcat)
M. Ward "Post-War" (merge)
Mastadon "Blood Mountain" (reprise)
Mission Of Burma "The Obliterati" (matador)
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 "Ole! Taranula" (yeproc)
