It’s About That Time: The Top Albums of 2006

I’m a sham, a complete and utter sham. I sit here about to write my “Top Albums of the Year” post, and I’ve yet to listen to the album which I know is better than any that came out this year. That’s right, I’ve yet to listen to Bob Dylan’s newest effort Modern Times. I’m not sure why, but I just can’t bring myself to listen to it. Dylan is easily the most important person still making music, seeing as how he’s been putting out great records since the ‘60’s. And here I am about to write about the best albums of the year, when I haven’t even listened to the record put out by the best artist in said year. But the thing about artists like Dylan and Tom Waits – important musical figures who are still churning out amazing records* – is that their albums transcend “Best Of…” lists. Or at least that’s my excuse for why I haven’t listened to either of their albums yet. At any rate, these lists are more or less pointless, seeing as how I don’t have enough time to listen to enough music to make a fully comprehensive list. In fact, three of my favorite records from last year (all of which would have made my Top 10 list), I didn’t even hear until this year**. Anyhow, before we get started with this year’s list, there are a few mini-lists I need to preface things with.

Albums Which Garnered Critical Acclaim this Year That I’m Glad I Don’t ‘get’:

Joanna Newsom – Ys: Sure, the harp playing is beautiful, but her voice is truly one of the worst human-made sounds ever recorded.

Danielson – Ships: This band could put out an album on par with Doolittle, and I’d ignore it purely based on their song “That Dragon”, which is arguably the most obnoxious song ever made (in which Fergie was not involved, at least).

Rock Plaza Central - Are We Not Horses?: Listen, I love Neutral Milk Hotel and all, but some things just shouldn’t be emulated – especially this poorly.

Various – The World is Gone: It doesn’t help that I’m not a fan of the genre, but I’ve been to brothels that were less busy. (Well, I’ve actually never been to a brothel, but I’d imagine they’re rather busy places).

Albums I Liked, But Didn’t put Enough Time Into:

Ghostface Killah – Fishscale: I’m feeling confident that this is the best rap album of the year, but I’ve only listened to it all the way through twice – which is why it’s absent on this list.

Jarvis Cocker – Jarvis: The former Pulp front man’s solo album is immensely fun: it sounds like an updated Bowie record. I’m not sure if it would have landed in my Top 10, but at the very least warrants mentioning.


Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up, I’m Dreaming: A little odd sounding, had probably the best opening track off any record I heard this year. But in the end, I didn’t give it as much time as it deserved. I’ve already vowed to give it an extensive listen in the future.

TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain: Technically speaking, this is the most impressive album I heard all year. I’ve only listened to it once and it seems like it has epic potential. Yet another album which I need to listen to more.

(It should be noted that all the albums listed here would have made my Top 20, but I decided to put other albums in their spots instead).

Well, that’s it for the mini-lists. Here are the Top 20 Albums of the Year. It should go without saying, but this is all my opinion and this list shouldn’t be taken as anything more than a sign that I have too much time on my hands. Anyhow, I’ll give a quick rundown of albums 20-11 and then go further into detail on albums 10-1. Just a little warning, but this is probably going to be very long and overly pretentious; just thought I should warn you. It should also be noted that some of my explanations of things may come off as short and fragmented. That’s not because of poor writing (OK, it probably is), but has more to do with my desire to be short and concise because this list takes a long time to write (or in your case, read).

20.) Starflyer 59 – My Island: One of the best guitar rock bands of the last two decades turns out another solid album with incredible highlights, most notably “I Win” and “Ideas for the Talented”.

19.) The Killers – Sam’s Town: Not nearly as epic as they hoped, but this is still a very fun album. While most will knock this album for it’s similarities to “Hot Fuss”, I tend to respect a band that knows what it does well and sticks with it (see also: the first two Strokes albums). When bands that are successful at doing one type of music and then try to branch out, it usually ends poorly (see: the third Strokes album). Let’s hope that’s not the case with The Killers. I’d list top tracks, but they’ll all be singles eventually so just have patience.

18.) Regina Spektor - Fidelity: With her unusually charming vocals and mixture of folk and classical music, this was one of the most surprising and off-beat pop records I’ve heard this year. Top tracks include, but are not limited to, “Fidelity”, “On the Radio” and “20 Years of Snow”. It should also be noted that Regina has replaced Beth Orton as my newest indie crush.

17.) Decemberists – Crane Wife: Easily the band’s weakest album to date, but its hits far outweigh the misses, and even the misses are not so much misses as they are just not hits. I realize that doesn’t make any sense, so I’ll just list off some of the best tracks: “The Crane Wife pt. 1 and 2”, “O Valencia!”, and “Sons and Daughters”.

16.) Band of Horses – Everything All the Time: This band was overly-hyped, and therefore never judged fairly by me. I like this album, but half the songs tend to bleed together. If I had just discovered this band on my own, without having every musical outlet and indie friend I have singing its praises, I probably would have liked it more. Instead, my expectations were way too high, and I was a little under-whelmed. Still, a very good album. Top Tracks: “The Funeral”, “St. Augustine”, “First Song”.

15.) Mewithoutyou – Brother, Sister: This punk/grunge/hardcore/scremo band clearly studied up on their Fugazi, System of a Down, and Pixies before this album, and we’re all the beneficiaries of that. Also, it’s pretty damn good. Top tracks: “Messes of Men”, “A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains”, “Wolf Am I! (And Shadow)”.

14.) Eef Barzlay – The Ballad of Bitter Honey: This album is more or less the anthems for lazy summer nights. Eef, Clem Snide’s front man, uses mostly just an acoustic guitar and piano for the instruments on this album. Despite Eef’s offbeat voice, the album is incredibly relaxing and soothing. Top Tracks: “Ballad of Bitter Honey”, “N.M.A.”, “I Wasn’t Really Drunk”, “Words That Escape Me”, “Joy to the World”.

13.) M. Ward – Post War: Yet another brilliant album by Ward, which everyone, myself included, is underrating. Part of the problem is that Ward underplays on his own album, meaning he holds back some of his amazing guitar work for his live shows. The other part of the problem is that the majority of this album sounds like it could just have easily been on all his other records. Now that doesn’t mean the songs are bad; they’re actually really, really good. It’s just that it dampens the songs’ quality, or more appropriately their impact, that it sounds like you’ve heard them before. Top Tracks: “Poison Cup”, “Chinese Translation”.

12.) Annuals – Be He Me: In the not too distant future, I will look back at this list and the Annuals’ album will stick out like a third nipple. Either I will have vastly overrated it or underrated it. At the present time, I’m not really sure where it fits. Part of me believes it should be in my top ten, as it continues to grow on me. Yet something in the back of my mind tells me that I’m probably overrating it. I stuck it at number 12, because I think that covers me either way. I have no idea how this will play out in the long run, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit intrigued. Top Tracks: “Brother”, “Ida My”, “Father”, “Sway”.

11.) Bruce Springsteen –We Shall Overcome: the Seeger Sessions: The Boss is always at his best when he’s doing country/folk songs (see “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” or every song off Nebraska) and on this album he goes all-out bluegrass. I think the Coen Brothers probably could have used this as the soundtrack for O’ Brother Where Art Thou, as every song has that old-timey blues/folksy feel to it. And thank God that Bruce lacks the self-awareness to realize the joke of covering Pete Seeger songs as a form of war protest. Top Tracks: “Pay Me My Money Down”, “Jacob’s Ladder”, “Old Dan Tucker”, “O’ Mary Don’t You Weep”.

And now on to the Big 10***. The Top tracks for each album are in order of my opinion of their awesomeness (if that’s even a word). Here they are.

10.): Willie Nelson – Songbird:

Top Tracks: “Songbird”, “Blue Hotel”, “Amazing Grace”, “Sad Song” and “Waltzes”.

The Rundown: This album was produced by Ryan Adams, a longstanding man-crush of mine, and his band, The Cardinals, are the backing band on this album. At first it’s a bit of an odd mix. You have Willie’s timeless soft voice and The Cardinals bar country style seemingly butting heads. Not to mention several songs include a gospel choir singing in the background. On paper it all seems like a mess, especially when The Cardinals music sometimes over powers Nelson’s voice. But in somehow it all works out. It didn’t click for me a t first, but around my 3rd listen through I stopped questioning why Willie’s voice wasn’t higher in the mix, why there wasn’t more minimalist production, ect., and just starting enjoy the album. And despite it’s flaws this album is really enjoyable. Whether Willie is covering Fleetwood Mac, himself or singing new material it all sounds great.

9.) Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Etiquette:

Top Tracks: “New Years Kiss”, “Cold White Christmas”, “Scattered Pearls”, “Bobby Malone Moves Home”.

The Rundown: I think the best way to describe this album is that it sounds like something Stephen Merrit (Magnetic Fields, Future Bible Hereos) would have made. This is pretty much pure electronica-pop, and it’s great. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, which is one of the best band names ever, is mainly Owen Ashworth, as he writes all the lyrics and music. A few female singers pop-up on a couple songs, which is no surprise since Ashworth is more obsessed with Lesbians then I was at the age of 15. Every song has a fine mixture of sarcasm and genuineness. The only real downside to this record is Ashworth’s voice, which is fine, but if you’re not in the mood for a heavy dose monotone vocals then you’re in for a rough listen. But if you yearn for monotone then this is a CD for you.

8.) Figurines – Skeleton:

Top Tracks: “Race You”, “Ghost Town”, “Fiery Affair”, “Rivalry”

The Rundown: While this comparison greatly undermines the Figurines, the best way to describe their music is it sounds like the Flaming Lips covering Modest Mouse. The Figurines are a Danish band, which I why their front man, Christian Hjelm, has a peculiar sounding voice. The band is also heavily influenced by Built to Spill and Pavement, but who isn’t these days. Outside of the semi-mellow opener “Race You” this album is pure upbeat indie rock. None of the songs really jump out at you as overly amazing, but on the other hand there’s not a bad song on the CD. Suffice to say this album is well worth a listen to if you’re a fan of any of the above mentioned bands or good music.

7.) Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon:

Top Tracks: “Manitoba”, “Cowbell”, “Insistor”, “Jakov's Suite”.

The Rundown: This album is pretty much a blueprint for how to make and indie rock record. Tapes ‘n Tapes perfectly borrows from a wide variety of bands such as The Pixies, Modest Mouse, Pavement, Built to Spill and even a little Walkmen is mixed in there. This is the only album on this list that didn’t get a single track on my Best Songs of 2006 list and that’s not meant to be a knock on any of the tracks on this album. It’s just that these songs work far better as a collection then they do on their own. I think that makes Tapes ‘n Tapes the anti-Franz Ferdinand. If you’re a hipster in training or just want to get in the indie scene this would be a great album to start out with. It’s not a difficult listen and it steals so much from other bands that it’s kinda like and indie rock variety pack.

6.) Camera Obscura – Let’s Get Out of This Country:

Top Tracks: “Lloyd I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken”, “If Looks Could Kill”, “I Need All the Friends I Can Get”, “Tears for Affairs”.

The Rundown: This album is absolutely fantastic in just about every facet. Musically it sounds like and indie update of the 60’s psychedelic surf pop. Lyrically it’s practically the antithesis of the records upbeat music. Just about every song is about heartbreak, while the music is reminiscent of a sunny day at the beach. Every song also has an oldie, almost Motown, feel to it. The whole album is exceptional, especially the opener “Lloyd I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken”, which is a response to Lloyd Cole’s classic “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?”. I originally thought the song was about Say Anything’s protagonist Lloyd Dobbler. I’m actually unsure which of those explanations I would have liked better, but that’s neither here nor there.

5.) Oh No! Oh My! – Self-titled:

Top Tracks: “I Have No Sister”, “Reeks and Seeks”, “Lisa Make Love (It’s Okay!)”, “I Love You all the Time”, “Women Are Born in Love”.

The Rundown: If I were to write a one word review of this album the word would be: simplistic. This album is just straight forward indie pop. Some songs lyrics aren’t longer then a single sentence. If I were to add a second word to this albums review it would be charming. Whether it’s the head swaying, toe taping music or the subtly clever lyrics, you can’t help but smirk when listening to this record. Oh No! Oh My! sounds like a younger, americanized version of Belle and Sebastian. They show their cleverness not only in their lyrics, but also in this albums length and production. They self-released this album and it has incredible flow to it and it’s a shade under 35 minutes. Maybe I should have just said this album was short, sweet and charming and just moved on.

4.) I’m From Barcelona – Let Me Introduce My Friends:

Top Tracks: “Barcelona Loves You”, “Oversleeping”, “Chicken Pox”, “This Boy”, “Collection of Stamps”.

The Rundown: If Let Me Introduce My Friends was a sports team, it would be the 2006 Detroit Tigers. Top to bottom both their pitching staff and field players were great, but the Tigers lacked a superstar to put them over the top in both categories. The same is true for this album. Every song on it is great, but lacks the knock out song to truly make it an epic album. That said, while the highlights on Let Me Introduce My Friends aren’t as good as those on The Polyphonic Spree or Boy Least Likely albums, this is the best twee pop album I’ve heard. For a short while I thought this was going to be my album of the year, I was just waiting for a few of the songs to take it up a notch, but they never did so this album sits here at fourth. Still though this is by far the happiest album you’ll hear in this, or probably any other, year. It can’t help but put a hop in your step and make you want to dance, poorly in my case.

3.) The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America:

Top Tracks: “Citrus”, “Chips Ahoy!”, “Stuck Between Stations”, “Massive Nights”, “Southtown Girls”.

The Rundown: If it weren’t for Craig Finn’s, The Hold Steady’s front man, voice this would have been my album of the year. It’s not that Finn’s voice is bad, but at best it’s just neutral, neither adding nor subtracting anything from the music and lyrics. Musically this album’s impeccable, sounding like a mixture between Bruce Springsteen and a harder rocking version of the Counting Crows. And while ignorant mo-fos would assume the Counting Crows comparison is a knock, it’s not at all. No one in music writes better hooks then the Counting Crows, whether you like their music or not this is the truth. Lyrically this album is as good as it gets. Finn spends the majority of the record demeaning and degrading America’s youth. On the surface it appears he’s glorifying rampant party, drug use and alcoholism. But in reality he’s showing how destructive and depressing all of the above is. All in all this might be the most accurate and cruel take on American society I’ve ever heard.

2.) Josh Ritter – The Animal Years:

Top Tracks: “Girl in the War”, “Thin Blue Flame”, “Lilian, Egypt”, “One More Mouth”, “Here at the Right Time”.

The Rundown: Going back to the ‘if this album was a sports team’ gimmick, The Animal Years would be the Shaq-Kobe Lakers semi-dynasty. It has two nearly unmatched
Superstars (“Girl in the War” and “Thing Blue Flame”) and a host of gusty, terrific role players. The analogy falls apart a bit with The Animal Years lack of a third epic song, which in those Lakers team case was Big Shot Bob Horry. This is still an amazing album and the duo of “Girl in the War” and “Thin Blue Flame” is practically unmatched in any other record that came out this year. The rest of the album’s songs are all good and enjoyable, but its lack of a third blockbuster, which keeps it from being my album of the year. Still, what Ritter has done here is simply amazing. While his music has shades of folk and alt. country, at his heart Ritter is a singer/songwriter. And as anyone listening to mass amounts of music will tell you: No genre is more pretentious, melodramatic and underwhelming then the singer/songwriter genre. Ritter’s music is personal with out being egocentric; it’s passionate with out being emo. And even his lesser songs have an epic feel to them, or they act as set ups for his truly epic songs. Maybe he’s not a singer/songwriter after all.


1.) Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies: (A quick note to those of you who are unfamiliar with Destroyers music. Destroyer is an alias for musician Dan Bejar. Bejar does all the musical arrangements and lyrics and plays most of the instruments himself.)

Top Tracks: Rubies, European Oil, Looters Follies, Your Blood, A Dangerous Woman Up to a Point.

The Rundown: Whenever I try to describe Dan Bejar’s music I draw a blank. He combines elements of musical theatre, rock ‘n roll, psychedelic, classical and chamber pop in his works. It seems familiar while you’re listening to it, but you can’t quite peg it down to any single genre. This is my way of saying that while I know Rubies is the best album of the year (read: my favorite) I can’t really explain why it is. Well it’s not so much that I can’t explain it, it’s just that I wouldn’t be doing it justice. All I can say is that this albums is really, really good. I’m not saying everyone should own it, because it’s not for everyone, but if you like music at all you should at least listen to this album. Truth be told my descriptions probably did all of these bands a bit of injustice. This list is mainly my way of justifying the obscene amount of music I listen to. And really all any list can do is stir up an argument. And I like debating and I like music, so that’s really why I wrote this. Hope you enjoyed it.

Well that’s it for now. Thanks to those of you who actually read this all the way through, I’m sure it wasn’t always easy. Stay tuned next week for my two part series on the best songs of 2006. Or don’t…

Until We Meet Again

* Although I’ve never really cared for Wait’s music as much since he started singing every song as if he were Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster.
** The Albums are: Okkervil River – Black Sheep Boy, Animal Collective – Feels, Antony & The Johnsons – I Am a Bird Now.
*** This is not a reference to the MTV show or the athletic conference.