best of 2006: music
I usually shy away from all time best album lists. The fact that Sgt. Pepper's and Dark Side of the Moon always land in the top ten speaks volumes to the credibility of the voters. However, when music nuts focus on one year at a time, the crap is typically filtered out from the decent stuff.
The following albums stand out for me this year either for their excellence in quality, their previous mention on this blog, or their heavy rotation in the Comandante's iTunes. These are in no particular order:
- Yo La Tengo - I'm Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
- Beck - The Information
- Kool Keith - The Return of Dr. Octagon
- Johnny Cash - American V
- Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
- Built to Spill - You in Reverse
- Eagles of Death Metal - Death by Sexy
- Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
- Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics
- Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
I know you're saying, "How come Kelly Clarkson and Fall Out Boy didn't make the list?!". Well, I don't roll like that. But don't pay attention to my selections. The music bloggerati - you know, the hipsters with tight jeans and real indie cred - have complied some great best of lists for 2006. Surprisingly this constituency overlaps with NPR listeners, who selected most of the same albums in their top ten.
Prefix Mag has compiled the top 50 albums. Among their top ten are some sweet choices like Neko Case, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Joanna Newsom and TV on the Radio. Also check out Tad's albums of the year and tracks of the year. A consortium of music bloggers collaborated on a top 12 list. [hat tip to c]
I haven't been much of a concert-goer lately. I saw two shows this year - Gnarls Barkley at the OC fair and DJ Shadow at Avalon in Hollywood con El Serracho. Shadow was by far the better of the two.
No "best of" list would be complete without the best of the worst. 2006 was definitely a great year for shitty album cover art. 2006 shall ever be known as the year of the skank thanks to Whirlwind Heat and Ice-T.
Feel free to chime in with your best and worst for the year in music.
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