End of Year Lists - 2006

[ggw]

NPR:
 
 Music
 The Best CDs of 2006
 
 
 NPR.org, December 5, 2006 · All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen counts down NPR listener picks for the ten best CDs of 2006, with reviewers Robert Christgau, Will Hermes, Meredith Ochs and John Richards. They also share some of their own favorites from the past year and take comments from listeners.
 
 Below are the top ten CDs of 2006 as chosen by NPR listeners in an online poll, with select comments from some of the listeners who loved them.
 
 
 10. Regina Spektor
 Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope
 
 "Fidelity" from Begin to Hope
 "Regina sounds like Regina. Her voice is unmistakable â?? gorgeous, lithe, far from timid. Her songs are richly textured with unexpected yet accessible arrangements, and the variety of moods begs for many repeat listens. Her playful and sometimes theatrical way of addressing the human condition is the best melding of sugar and medicine Iâ??ve been served up since Nellie McKay. Thanks NPR for introducing us." -- Barbara
 
 
 9. Tom Waits
 Tom Waits: Orphans
 
 "Bottom of the World" from Orphans
 "Way back in 1972 The Rolling Stones released Exile on Main St. That album was a tour through various styles and genres: blues, country, gospel, etc., but with all of them filtered through the Stones' musical identity. Well, it's taken 34 years, but someone has finally created another record of equal breadth, stylistic adventurousness and power. There's something here for everyone, and yet it's unmistakably Tom Waits. Only real artists can pull something like this off, and Waits not only pulls it off, he makes it seem easy." -- Steve
 
 
 8. Jenny Lewis
 Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins: Rabbit Fur Coat
 
 "The Charging Sky" from Rabbit Fur Coat
 "It touches the soul. It is both irreverent and uplifting. Her version of 'Handle Me With Care' gives me goose bumps. And I can just listen to Jenny Lewis sing forever." -- Randal
 
 
 7. Cat Ppower
 Cat Power: The Greatest
 
 "The Greatest" from The Greatest
 "Chan Marshall follows through on the promise of earlier albums You Are Free and Moon Pix, which â?? no pun intended â?? only flirted with greatness. Her latest album, recorded in Memphis with a host of veteran soul and R&B musicians, is a giant leap forward for this ever-intriguing songwriter. Sad, hopeful, lovelorn, romantic, regretful, sweet â?? Marshall's voice and lyrics convey emotions and feelings that most songwriters only pay lip service to. Quietly but confidently -- and I mean that figuratively and literally -- Marshall indeed delivered the greatest album of 2006." -- Jake
 
 
 6. Joanna Newsom
 Joanna Newsom: Ys
 
 "Emily" from Ys
 "Joanna Newsom is definitely an acquired taste. But once you settle into her world, you become addicted. She may caterwaul and screech her schwas, but for my money she has the most emotive voice going in music... a voice you can fall into like a well worn chair. Ys makes me feel as if Iâ??m being physically lifted into the air -- the first album in a long while to evoke 'real world' sensations." -- Chris
 
 
 5. TV On the Radio
 TV On the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
 
 "I Was A Lover" from Return to Cookie Mountain
 "Simply put, there is no independent rock/pop band emerging anywhere on the scene pushing the boundaries of sound in such an imaginable, intelligent and stylish way. They embody all that is good about popular music: uncompromising standards and a radical sound that neither overwhelms the listener, nor underestimates them." -- Nathan
 
 
 4. M. Ward
 M. Ward: Post War
 
 "Poison Cup" from Post War
 "M. Ward's Post War has a mysterious and seductive quality that never grow tiring. The songs are never too long, always a little elusive, yet insistent and memorable. Not only are the songs little gems in their own right, they are set perfectly against each other. The record has that rare quality that makes you feel as though you are in a conversation in which everything said came at just the right moment." -- Mark
 
 
 3. Bob Dylan
 Bob Dylan: Modern Times
 
 "Spirit on the Water" from Modern Times
 "This is a high point for an artist whose high points redefined modern music. There is no irony in this album's title if you view history in a panoramic sense as Dylan seems to do. Dylan takes literary modernism to its next level, interspersing the lyrics of a confederate poet among blues forms that are rooted in African American tradition. His voice is worn but dances through this album. The album begins with the voice of God on the mountain and ends with a proclamation that Dylan 'ainâ??t talking.' Brilliant. This is a no brainer." -- Chuck
 
 
 2. Neko Case
 Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
 
 "Margaret Vs. Pauline" from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
 "Neko Case has made another album shrouded in dark beauty. Fox Confessor's music sounds the way old black and white celebrity stills look. Confessional lyrics like, 'The most tender place in my heart is for strangers / I know it's unkind, but my own blood is much too dangerous,' make Case perfect for late night listening. She restrains herself from the melodrama that her popular country counterparts can't seem to avoid. She's content with making music that is truly entrancing. This is what modern country should sound like: thoughtful, evocative, all wrapped in a package that sounds oddly like home." -- Bertha
 
 
 1. The Decemberists
 The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
 
 "The Crane Wife 3" from The Crane Wife
 "The Decemberists manage to do something completely new from their previous album while retaining all the wonderful thigns that make them unique: Colin Meloy's fantastic storytelling, the ability to be incredibly creepy and yet entirely beautiful at the same time, not to mention the use of fun words. I'm torn between 'dirigible' and 'parallax' as my favorites, though Iâ??m not sure either competes with 'palanquin' from their last album. Even if you put all that aside, this is just wonderful music, that makes me laugh, cry, join arm in arm with my fellow man." -- Felicity
 
 "First, the music is phenomenal: the band moves away from its older, quieter sound into an eclectic, bold style. They veer from folk-rock to prog rock to funk to hard rock and back around again with ease, and it all sounds excellent. 'The Crane Wife' song cycle stands out, but so do the epic run-on 'The Island,' the Led Zeppelin-esque 'When the War Came,' and the mournful 'Yankee Bayonet.' Second, despite the range of genres, the album comes together as a cohesive whole. There's no filler on the album, and from the opening chords of 'The Crane Wife 3,' to the closing chants of 'Hear all the bombs, they fade away,' the album flows together perfectly. In short, one of the best bands producing music today outdid itself in spectacular fashion and nothing else quite matched it." -- Evan

[ggw]

NME - Albums
 
 50 The Kooks - Inside In / Inside Out
 49 Absentee - Schmotime
 48 Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly â?? The Chronicles of A Bohemian Teenager
 47 Wolfmother â?? s/t
 46 Semifinalists â?? s/t
 45 Bob Dylan â?? Modern Times
 44 Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan â?? Ballard of The Broken Seas
 43 Beck â?? The Infromation
 42 The Automatic â?? Not Accepted Anywhere
 41 The Gossip â?? Standing In The Way of Control
 40 Midlake â?? The Trials Of Van Occupanther
 39 The Young Knives â?? Voices Of Animals and Men
 38 Metric â?? Live It Out
 37 Be Your Own Pet â?? s/t
 36 Datarock â?? Datarock Datarock
 35 Forward Russia â?? Give Me A Wall
 34 Albert Hammond Jr. â?? Yours To Keep
 33 The Bronx â?? s/t
 32 Lily Allen â?? Alright, Still
 31 The Sunshine Underground â?? Raise The Alarm
 30 Cat Power â?? The Greatest
 29 The Spinto Band â?? Nice and Nicely Done
 28 Morrissey â?? Ringleader of The Tormentors
 27 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! â?? s/t
 26 Jarvis â?? That Jarvis Cocker Record
 25 Mogwai â?? Mr Beast
 24 Secret Machines â?? Ten Silver Drops
 23 The Knife â?? Silent Shout
 22 The Flaming Lips â?? At War With The Mystics
 21 The Raconteurs â?? Broken Boy Soldiers
 20 The Streets â?? The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
 19 The Longcut â?? A Call And Response
 18 The Rapture â?? Pieces of The People We Love
 17 The Futureheads â?? News and Tributes
 16 Amy Whinehouse â?? Back To Black
 15 Thom Yorke â?? The Eraser
 14 TV On The Radio â?? Return To Cookie Mountain
 13 Panic! At The Disco â?? A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
 12 The Killers â?? Sam's Town
 11 Howling Bells â?? s/t
 10 My Chemical Romance â?? Welcome To The Black Parade
 09 Kasabian â?? Empire
 08 The Strokes â?? First Impressions of Earth
 07 The Long Blondes â?? Someone To Drive You Home
 06 Gnarls Barkley â?? St. Elsewhere
 05 CSS â?? Cansei De Ser Sexy
 04 Hot Chip â?? The Warning
 03 Muse â?? Black Holes and Revelations
 02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs â?? Show Your Bones
 01 Arctic Monkeys â?? Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

[BookerT]

man, that is one hella fauxhemian list.

[ggw]

<img src="http://www.catbirdseat.org/catbirdseat/sep06/cheatsheet.jpg" alt=" - " />

[bearman🐻]

SO glad that my 3 favorite records of the year aren't on either of those lists.

[ggw]

Amazon Editors' top 100
 
 1. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
 2. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
 3. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
 4. KT Tunstall - Eye to the Telescope
 5. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
 6. John Mayer - Continuum
 7. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
 8. Los Amigos Invisbles - Superpop Venezuela
 9. Sparklehorse Dreamt for Light Years In The Belly of a Mountain
 10. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
 11. Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental
 12. Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse
 13. Sondra Lerche and the Faces Down Quartet - Duper Sessions
 14. The Wreckers - Stand Still, Look Pretty
 15. Beck - The Information
 16. Gotan Project - Lunatico
 17. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
 18. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
 19. The Black Keys - Magic Potion
 20. Wolfmother - Wolfmother
 21. Ali Farka Toure - Savane
 22. Alejandro Escavado - The Boxing Mirror
 23. The Who - Endless Wire
 24. Toumani Diabate Symmetric Orchestra - Boulevard de l'Independance
 25. Rodrigo y Gabriela - Rodrigo y Gabriela
 26. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
 27. Badi Assad - Wonderland
 28. T Bone Burnett - The True False Identity
 29. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
 30. Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds
 31. The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
 32. Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae
 33. The Ark - State of the Ark
 34. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not
 35. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
 36. Alexi Murdoch - Time Without Consequence
 37. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
 38. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
 39. Gomez - How We Operate
 40. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under the Covers, Vol 1
 41. Jamey Johnson - The Dollar
 42. The Go Betweens - That Striped Sunlight Sound
 43. Soul Jazz Records Presents Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound
 44. Badly Drawn Boy - Born in the U.K.
 45. Weird Al Yankovic - Straight outta Lynwood
 46. Jerry Lee Lewis - Last Man Standing
 47. Todd Snider - The Devil You Know
 48. CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy
 49. Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris - All the Roadrunning
 50. Kieran Kane - Lost John Dean

[Relaxer]

I figured NME would go with the Monkeys, or Muse, as #1. Only niggling point is that it came out so long ago, and their star has seemed to fall a bit as Alex Turner gets more and more cranky.
 
 So, what will the grumpsters at Pitchfork call #1? I'll bet its Clipse -- PF always falls all over itself trying to be street. Gnarls is another one that will surely be very high on their list.

[Darth Ed]

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
 9. Sparklehorse Dreamt for Light Years In The Belly of a Mountain

That's a refreshing choice.

[thingsfallapart]

That NME list is pretty terrible.  As for Pitchfork, my guess is that they'll go with the Hold Steady for number one.

[nkotb]

Id say Joanna Newsom.  Didn't that, the Holdy Steady and the Clipse all tie for the highest ratings of the year?  9.4, maybe?
 
 

Originally posted by thingsfallapart:
  That NME list is pretty terrible.  As for Pitchfork, my guess is that they'll go with the Hold Steady for number one.

[kosmo vinyl]

Looks like I need to put together a year end best of list as very of the albums I was excited enough to buy and listen to made any of these lists....

[dfmcpete]

catbirdseat image

This has a few of my top ten pegged, but most of the albums on here that don't make mine are  albums I REALLY don't like/get (Newsom/Furnaces/Liars).
 
 I can't believe anyone has had enough time to absorb those Waits albums to put them on a list.

[calecp01]

Send in your personal favs of 2006 to brightestyoungthings.com, we have a little contest going on, details:
  BYT Best of 2006
 
 PS. we just do this web site for fun and don't make any money off it, and certainly don't care about using your email or personal info in any way.

[vansmack]

The Catbirdseat.org
 
 Tier Three
 
 Modest Mouse - We Were Dead....
 
 Cleary a 2007 album thrown in to establish cred.  Stupid.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  The Catbirdseat.org
 
 Tier Three
 
 Modest Mouse - We Were Dead....
 
 Cleary a 2007 album thrown in to establish cred.  Stupid.

i think it's supposed to be mocking someone who would throw a 2007 album in to establish cred   :roll: