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It's that time of year again. In the next few weeks, nearly every major music publication in print and online will issue their lists of ten or twenty or fifty albums their staffs selected as favorites for 2006. And, like every previous year since this tradition started, people will roll their eyes, piss and moan, and complain about how wrong and sucky they are. Or nitpick over the rankings. There were over 20,000 albums released in 2006. Who cares if your favorite was ten slots lower than you thought it should be? Or simply gripe that the lists are stupid and meaningless. I'd like to try to preempt some of that wasted energy this year.
I'll use the Uncut list as an example, since they are the first publication to issue their list early in November. Personally I think lists shouldn't come out before New Year's Day, because the holidays should be spent catching up on albums one might have missed, and reconsidering others. But perhaps I take it more seriously than some, and consumer publications like Uncut, Spin and Rolling Stone prefer to exert some influence as buyer's guides as gift purchases for the holidays. So be it, they can be useful. While the latter two rags' top 20 and 10 lists rarely offer any surprises of stuff I haven't heard, Uncut isn't too bad.
Granted, it's not great either. I could waste my time complaining about the absence of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and The Roots, and the relatively low ranking of my favorite, TV On The Radio. But seriously, why be a whiney beeotch just because their tastes don't exactly match mine? The real value of EOY lists are that there are often interesting albums that I had previously overlooked, or haven't even heard of. Most are at least worth hearing, and a few might even make my own top 50.
Currently, I'm really digging Hot Chip (great British electro-pop), Burial (moody, Tricky-like atmospherics), and Espers (beguiling folk with some Velvet Underground-like drones). I was pleasantly surprised to see Comets On Fire at number three. They're a cool band that I like, but sort of forgot about Avatar when it got buried under all the other new releases. I re-listened to it and inched it up in my list.
I finally got around to listening to Neil Young's Living With War. I really wanted to like it, as I respect his gutsy, direct protest lyrics. But I can't stand the choir, and the lack of good tunes makes it virtually unlistenable for me. Oh well. There's many more finds I"ll like. I was reminded to listen to the new Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Ali Farka Toure's (RIP) final album. Oldham's The Letting Go is intruiging and will take more time to sink in, while Toure's Savane is beautiful, and hit me immediately. Joan As Police Woman is an interesting discovery. Joan Wasser has been around the New York music scene for a long time. While a member of the Dambuilders she dated Jeff Buckley, and has worked with Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Sparklehorse, Antony & the Johnsons and many more. I like it on first listen, but am still absorbing. Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis has an appealing voice, but her solo debut's take on country is a little dull and pedestrian for me.
Still in my queue are Brightback Morning Light, Howlin' Rain and Oakley Hall. I'll include the list in the comments, courtesy of my friend Julian White and his Rock List site. I doubt that very few people here have heard more than half of it. Dismiss these EOY lists, and you might be missing out on a new favorite or six.
Joan As Police Woman and Burial are two I've been meaning to check out.
You have a good point. I pretty much hate a majority of what's included (or have zero interest in), especially in its ranking, but there are always a couple items that elude me that should not.
Uncut's Top 50 Albums of 2006
1. Bob Dylan – Modern Times
2. Scritti Politti – White Bread, Black Beer
3. Comets On Fire – Avatar
4. Joanna Newsom – Ys
5. Neil Young – Living With War
6. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
7. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther
8. Hot Chip – The Warning
9. Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche
10. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
11. Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics
12. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – The Letting Go
13. Lindsey Buckingham – Under The Skin
14. Cat Power – The Greatest
15. Brightblack Morning Light – Brightblack Morning Light
16. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Solders
17. Ali Farka Toure – Savane
18. CSS – Cansei De Ser Sexy
19. Beck – The Information
20. Burial – Burial
21. Vetiver – To Find Me Gone
22. Espers – Espers II
23. Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
24. Howlin’ Rain – Howlin’ Rain
25. Scott Walker – The Drift
26. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
27. Yo La Tengo – I’m Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
28. Tom Waits – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers And Bastards
29. Oakley Hall – Second Guessing
30. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
31. Mastodon – Blood Mountain
32. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways
33. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
34. Granddaddy – Just Like The Fambly Cat
35. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
36. Scissor Sisters – Ta-Dah
37. Outkast – Idlewiled
38. Lilly Allen – Alright, Still
39. Lambchop – Damaged
40. Joan As Police Woman – Real Life
41. Jenny Lewis – Rabbit Fur Coat
42. Donald Fagen – Morph The Cat
43. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome
44. Kasabian – Empire
45. The Walkmen – A Hundred Miles Off
46. Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time
47. Gnarls Barkley – St Elsewhere
48. Muse – Black Holes & Revelations
49. Belle & Sebastian – The Life Persuit
50. Drive-By Truckers – A Blessing And A Curse
Julian just sent me the Q list. I have one issue from earlier in the year when they declared both the Muse and Razorlight albums 10/10 classics. I figured they must have been on crack, but they stuck to their guns, and I kind of respect that, even though the Razorlight was a big dissapointment to me (I one of the three Americans who liked the passionate fusion of Patti Smith-Voidoids-Thin Lizzy of their million selling debut). Their tastes are aligned more with the British pop mainstream, and they seem unapolegetically sincere about it. However, that means the ones I haven't heard wyet ill be a minefield of stinkbombs. I'll skip the Neil Diamond and Elton John, check out James Morrison, Orson, The Automatic and the new Paul Simon and hope for the best.
Coming next is probably NME , then Spin, MOJO , Stylus, The Wire and Pitchfork. I fear now that Christgau is gone from The Village Voice, the Pazz & Jop is no more :(
Q Albums of 2006
1. Arctic Monkeys – Whetever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
2. Muse – Black Holes & Revelations
3. Razorlight – Razorlight
4. Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
5. The Killers – Sam’s Town
6. Keane – Under The Iron Sea
7. Bob Dylan – Modern Times
8. Kasabian – Empire
9. Scissor Sisters – Ta Da
10. Gnarles Barkley – St Elsewhere
11. The Kooks – Inside In/Inside Out
12. Corinne Bailey Rae – Corinne Bailey Rae
13. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
14. The Feeling – Twelve Stops And Home
15. Shack – The Corner Or Miles And Gil
16. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
17. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
18. Snow Patrol – Eye Open
19. Neil Diamond – 12 Songs
20. Guillemots – Through The Window Pain
21. Midlake – The Trials Of Van Occupanther
22. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways
23. Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental
24. Jarvis – Jarvis
25. Damien Rice – 9
26. James Morrison – Undercovered
27. Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat
28. Elton John – The Captain And The Kid
29. Jet – Shine On
30. Outkast – Idlewild
31. Paul Simon – Surprise
32. My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade
33. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
34. The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics
35. Orson – Bright Idea
36. Justin Timberland – Futuresex/Lovesounds
37. Cat Power – The Greatest
38. Neil Young – Living With War
39. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
40. The Strokes – First Impressions Of Earth
41. The Automatic – Not Accepted Anywhere
42. The Zutons – Tired Of Being Alone
43. Lambchop – Damaged
44. Hot Chip – The Warning
45. David Gilmore – On An Island
46. Afx – Chosen Lords
47. Morrissey – Ringleader Leader Of The Tormenters
48. Christina Aguliera – Back To Basics
49. John Legend – Once Again
50. The Twilight Singers – Powder Burns
51. Graham Coxon – Love Travels At Illegal Speed
52. Scritti Politti – White Bread Black Beer
53. The Beatles – Love
54. Tom Waits – Orphans…
55. Nelly Furtado – Loose
56. Jack Johnson & Friends – Sing-A-Long And Lullabies..
57. Lilly Allen – Alright, Still
58. Badly Drawn Boy – Born In The Uk
59. Sparklehorse – Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain
60. Joan As Police Woman – Joan As Police Woman
61. Sway – This Is My Demo
62. Jamelia – Walk With Me
63. Lostprophets – Liberation Transmission
64. Plan B – Who Needs Actions When You Got Words
65. Soloman Burke – Nashville
66. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine
67. Shakira – Oral Fixation Vol.2
68. The Vines – Vision Valley
69. The Sleepy Jackson – Personality…..
70. Primal Scream – Riot City Blues
71. Secret Machines – Ten Silver Drops
72. Beyonce – B’day
73. Willy Nelson – Songbird
74. Belle & Sabastian – The Life Pursuit
75. Junior Boys – So This Is Goodbye
76. Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
77. Burial - Burial
78. Espers – Espers II
79. Get Cape, Wear Cape. Fly – Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager
80. Vetiver – To Find Me Gone
81. Tom Petty – Highway Companion
82. Regina Spektor – Begin To Hope
83. Wolfmother – Wolfmother
84. Meatloaf – Bat Out Of Hell Iii: The Monster Is Loose
85. Anthony Hamilton – Ain’t Nobody Worryin’
86. Mogwai – Mr Beast
87. The Magic Numbers – Those The Brokes
88. The Young Knives – Voices Of Animals And Men
89. Css – Cansei De Ser Sexy
90. Adrian Sherwood – Becoming A Cliché
91. David Kitt – Not Fade Away
92. Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint – The River In Reverse
93. Iron Maiden – A Matter Of Life And Death
94. Duke Special – Songs From The Deep Forrest
95. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
96. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
97. Boy Kill Boy – Civilian
98. The Like – Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking
99. The Concretes – In Colour
100. Matisyahu – Youth
MOJO Albums of 2006
1. Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
2. Bob Dylan – Modern Times
3. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
4. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: Seeger Sessions
5. Archie Bronson Outfit – Derdang Derdang
6. Vetiver – To Find Me Gone
7. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
8. James Hunter – People Gonna Talk
9. Midlake – Trials of Van Occupanther
10. Cat Power – Greatest
11. Morrissey – Ringleader of the Tormentors
12. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
13. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways
14. Scritti Politti – White Bread, Black Beer
15. Young Knives – Voices of Animals & Men
16. De Rosa – Mend
17. Who – Endless Wire
18. David Gilmour – On an Island
19. Beatles – Love
20. Joanna Newsom – Ys
21. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
22. Espers - II
23. Bert Jansch – Black Swan
24. Kelley Stoltz – Below the Branches
25. Belle & Sebastian – Life Pursuit
26. Brightblack Morning Light – Brightblack Morning Light
27. New York Dolls – One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This
28. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Ballad of the Broken Seas
29. Comets on Fire – Avatar
30. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor
31. Graham Coxon – Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
32. Fionn Regan – End of History
33. Elton John – Captain & the Kid
34. Bonnie Prince Billy – Letting Go
35. Jerry Lee Lewis – Last Man Standing
36. Lindsey Buckingham – Under the Skin
37. Zutons – Tired of Hanging Around
38. J Dilla [Jay Dee] – Donuts
39. Guillemots – Through the Windowpane
40. Thom Yorke – Eraser
41. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
42. Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World
43. Kasabian – Empire
44. Ali Farka Touré – Savane
45. Corinne Bailey Rae – Corinne Bailey Rae
46. Simple Kid – 2
47. Flaming Lips – At War with the Mystics
48. Sparks – Hello Young Lovers
49. Lily Allen – Alright, Still…
50. Amp Fiddler – Afro Strut
Nice to see Yeah Yeah Yeah's finally get some love. Albums I gotta hear still are Howling Bells, The Spinto Band, The Sunshine Underground, Datarock, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Absentee. Note my heroic restraint from commenting on the likes of Arctic Monkeys, and Panic! At the Disco...
NME 's Albums of 2006
01 Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
03 Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
04 Hot Chip – The Warning
05 CSS – Cansei De Ser Sexy
06 Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
07 The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home
08 The Strokes – First Impressions of Earth
09 Kasabian – Empire
10 My Chemical Romance – Welcome To The Black Parade
11 Howling Bells – s/t
12 The Killers – Sam's Town
13 Panic! At The Disco – A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
14 TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
15 Thom Yorke – The Eraser
16 Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
17 The Futureheads – News and Tributes
18 The Rapture – Pieces of The People We Love
19 The Longcut – A Call And Response
20 The Streets – The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
21 The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
22 The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics
23 The Knife – Silent Shout
24 Secret Machines – Ten Silver Drops
25 Mogwai – Mr Beast
26 Jarvis – That Jarvis Cocker Record
27 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! – s/t
28 Morrissey – Ringleader of The Tormentors
29 The Spinto Band – Nice and Nicely Done
30 Cat Power – The Greatest
31 The Sunshine Underground – Raise The Alarm
32 Lily Allen – Alright, Still
33 The Bronx – s/t
34 Albert Hammond Jr. – Yours To Keep
35 Forward Russia – Give Me A Wall
36 Datarock – Datarock Datarock
37 Be Your Own Pet – s/t
38 Metric – Live It Out
39 The Young Knives – Voices Of Animals and Men
40 Midlake – The Trials Of Van Occupanther
41 The Gossip – Standing In The Way of Control
42 The Automatic – Not Accepted Anywhere
43 Beck – The Information
44 Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan – Ballard of The Broken Seas
45 Bob Dylan – Modern Times
46 Semifinalists – s/t
47 Wolfmother – s/t
48 Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly – The Chronicles of A Bohemian Teenager
49 Absentee - Schmotime
50 The Kooks - Inside In / Inside Out
As usual, SPIN has the fewest surprises, and nothing I hadn't already heard. It's nice to see TVOTR finally get a top vote though. The problem with SPIN 's lists are that they feel a bit contrived. I find it hard to believe those are actually what the writers and editors actually liked the best. My Chemical Romance? As far as I know there are no 14 year-olds on staff. It reeks of pandering to what part of their customer base would want to see. And does hip hop really take up over 35% of their listening time? I have doubts. Yet oddly the Roots didn't even make the list. Perhaps the editors calculated they didn't have high enough levels of street cred to keep everything in balance...
SPIN 's Top 20 Albums of 2006
01 TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
02 Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
03 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say That I Am, That's What I'm Not
04 Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
05 My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
06 Joanna Newsom - Ys
07 Cat Power - The Greatest
08 My Morning Jacket - Okonokos
09 Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
10 Beck - The Information
11 The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
12 Hot Chip - The Warning
13 Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
14 T.I. - King
15 Lady Sovereign - Public Warning
16 Editors - The Back Room
17 Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
18 The Streets - The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
19 The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
20 Lupe Fiasco - Food & Licquor
Top 20 Singles of 2006
01 "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
02 "When You Were Young" - The Killers
03 "Ain't No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera
04 "Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance
05 "Wolf Like Me" - TV on the Radio
06 "Hustlin'" - Rick Ross
07 "Ridin'" - Chamillionaire feat. Krazie Bone
08 "Steady as She Goes" - The Raconteurs
09 "Smile" - Lily Allen
10 "Rise Up with Fists!" - Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
11 "Kick, Push" - Lupe Fiasco
12 "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" - The Artic Monkeys
13 "Cheated Hearts" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
14 "Notorious" - Turbulence
15 "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Scissor Sisters
16 "Vans" - The Pack
17 "The Funeral" - Band of Horses
18 "Silent Shout" - The Knife
19 "Trains to Brazil" - Guillemots
20 "Be Gentle with Me" - The Boy Least Likely To
The disturbing thing to me about Rolling Stone is they often include a few of my favorites in their top ten (TVOTR, Hold Steady, Mastodon), and then go and list John Mayer. Eeek! However, I would never be so reactionary as to remove bands I love from my list just because a completely decrepit, uncool magazine gives them props. That would be just as bad as SPIN fixing their results, or more similarly, Pitchfork writers self-editing their lists, leaving out their favorite because it's too popular and not obscure enough. To RS's credit, their list isn't quite so overrun with geezer artists embalmed well beyond their relevance as on MOJO and Uncut. When I get back from Arizona I'll need to listen to Regina Spektor's latest (I liked but didn't love her previous efforts), and Cold War Kids, who I keep forgetting about, but sound kind of promising.
Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2006
01 Modern Times BOB DYLAN
02 Stadium Arcadium RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
03 Rather Ripped SONIC YOUTH
04 Return to Cookie Mountain TV ON THE RADIO
05 Fishscale GHOSTFACE KILLAH
06 The Greatest CAT POWER
07 Hell Hath No Fury CLIPSE
08 Boys and Girls in America THE HOLD STEADY
09 Blood Mountain MASTODON
10 Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards TOM WAITS
11 Continuum JOHN MAYER
12 One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This THE NEW YORK DOLLS
13 Pearl Jam PEARL JAM
14 American V: A Hundred Highways JOHNNY CASH
15 Wolfmother WOLFMOTHER
16 Food & Liquor LUPE FIASCO
17 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not ARCTIC MONKEYS
18 Game Theory THE ROOTS
19 Taking the Long Way DIXIE CHICKS
20 The Black Parade MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
21 Begin to Hope REGINA SPEKTOR
22 Night Ripper GIRL TALK
23 The Crane Wife THE DECEMBERISTS
24 The Information BECK
25 Blue Collar RHYMEFEST
26 FutureSex/LoveSounds JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
27 Pieces of the People We Love THE RAPTURE
28 Broken Boy Soldiers THE RACONTEURS
29 We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
30 Robbers & Cowards COLD WAR KIDS
31 Like Father, Like Son BIRDMAN AND LIL ' WAYNE
32 Supernature GOLDFRAPP
33 The Devil You Know TODD SNIDER
34 The Eraser THOM YORKE
35 Once Again JOHN LEGEND
36 I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass YO LA TENGO
37 Alive and Kickin' FATS DOMINO
38 10,000 Days TOOL
39 The Tragic Treasury THE GOTHIC ARCHIES
40 Make History THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW !
41 Friendly Fire SEAN LENNON
42 Under the Skin LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM
43 Tropicalia: A Brazlian Revolution in Sound VARIOUS ARTISTS
44 Show Us Your Bones YEAH YEAH YEAHS
45 Fox Confessor Brings the Flood NEKO CASE
46 You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker WILLIE NELSON
47 Brightblack Morning Light BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT
48 Public Warning LADY SOVEREIGN
49 Pick a Bigger Weapon THE COUP
50 It's Never Been Like That PHOENIX
Now here's a fun list, with more albums I haven't heard than I can possibly catch up on before Dec. 31. I did check out Battle of Mice, which is odd because it's hardly metal. With the over-the-top female vocals, to my ears it has a bit in common with Evanescence, though not as horrid. My guess is they adopted Battle Of Mice as a pet band knowing that no one else would touch the unlovable critters. I'd have thought something like The Knife would have fared well with this magazine instead. Cult of Luna was okay, the long Jesu EP excellent. The presence of Scott Walker is amusing. An American who became a huge British MOR hearthrob in the late sixties, he's had more in common with Mel Torme than extreme music. However, The Drift is indeed an extremely disconcerting, creepy album, and it's cool to have a metal magazine recognize it. Nice job, Decibel.
Decibel Albums Of the Year
01. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
02. Battle Of Mice - A Day of Nights
03. Converge - No Heroes
04. Nachtmystium - Instinct: Decay
05. Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway
06. Jesu - Silver
07. Celtic Frost - Monotheist
08. Enslaved - Ruun
09. Tragedy - Nerve Damage
10. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
11. Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
12. Burst - Origo
13. Isis - In the Absence of Truth
14. Akercocke - Words...
15. Taint - The Ruin of Nova Roma
16. Craft - Fuck the Universe
17. The Hope Conspiracy - Death Knows Your Name
18. Napalm Death - Smear Campaign
19. Planes Mistaken for Stars - Mercy
20. Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death
21. Suffocation - s/t
22. Fucked Up - Hidden World
23. Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage
24. Jucifer - If Thine Enemy Hunger
25. Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
26. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
27. Unearthly Trance - Trident
28. Goatwhore - A Haunting Curse
29. Scott Walker - The Drift
30. Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth
31. Made Out of Babies - Coward
32. Engineer - Reproach
33. Lamb of God - Sacrament
34. Boris - Pink
35. Kylesa - Time Will Fuse Its Worth
36. Protest The Hero - Kezia
37. Cretin - Freakery
38. The Sword - Age of Winters
39. Mogwai - Mr. Beast
40. First Blood - Killafornia
The remaining lists that I pay much attention to are Magnet, The Wire, Pitchfork (check out the Drinking Game a snarky blogger created for the upcoming Pitchfork list) and Stylus. The Pazz and Jop poll doesn't normally come out until February. Hopefully the Jackin' Pop poll will be more speedy. Here's the full annotated Top 40 for Spin.
Here's a few more lists. I'll only list interesting entries that do now show up on many other lists:
Prefix Magazine
12. Islands - Return to the Sea
13. Nas - Hip-Hop Is Dead
18. Vakill - Worst Fears Confirmed
23. Z-Ro - I'm Still Livin'
25. Intronaut - Void
30. Kode9 & the Spaceape - Memories of the Future
32. Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
33. Cappablack - Facades and Skeletons
35. The Melvins - A Senile Animal
38. White Flight
42. Excepter - Alternation
46. Ratatat - Classics
Jim DeRogatis
14. Van Hunt - On the Jungle Floor
20. Album Leaf - Into the Blue Again
Greg Kot
09. Parts and Labor - Stay Afraid
Finally, The Guardian aggregated dozens of UK lists into a definitive top ten. Generally these things have few surprises, but there are a couple. One is the number ten entry, The Fratellis - Costello Music. I've never heard of this album, have you? The other is the number one album that isn't the Fartic Monkeys. See it here.
PlayLouder (Capsule reviews here)
01 Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
07 Archie Bronson Outfit - Derdang Derdang
09 Akira the Don - When We Were Young
13 Mothboy - Deviance
14 Beirut - The Gulag Orkestar
17 Boris - Altar
19 Psapp - The Only Thing I Ever Wanted
30 The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes
37 Black Disco Devil Club - 28 After
40 The Broken Family Band - Balls
41 Casiotone For the Painfully Alone - Etiquette
42 Shoplifting - Body Stories
43 Hanne Hukkelberg - Rykestraße68
44 Candi Staton - His Hands
47 The Brakes - The Beatific Visions
Artrocker's 50 Greatest Albums (To celebrate its first two years and 50 issues, the albums span two years. I listed the most unusual choices. No apparent order).
Coachwhips - Peanut Butter and Jelly Live at the Ginger Wings
The Chap - Ham
Les George Leningrad - Sur Le Traces De Black Eskimo
The Ponys - Celebration Castle
The Mitchell Brothers - A Breath of Fresh Attire
The Chalets - Check In
Test Icicles - For Screening Purposes Only
The Organ - Grab That Gun
The Polysics - Now is the Time
Whirlwind Heat - Types of Wood
Forward, Russia! - Give Me a Wall
The Grates - Gravity Won't Get You High
Towers of London - Blood, Sweat and Towers
Controller.Controller - X Amounts
The Hot Puppies - Under the Crooked Moon
Pet and the Pirates - Wait Stop Begin
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club
Erase Errata - Nightlife
The Blood Arm - Lie Lover Lie
Jeremy Warmsley - The Art of Fiction
Hot Club de Paris - Drop it 'till it Pops
Bromheads Jacket - Dits From the Commuter Belt
Pitchfork Top 50 Albums of 2006
01 The Knife - Silent Shout
02 TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
03 Joanna Newsom - Ys
04 Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
05 The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
06 Liars - Drum's Not Dead
07 Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
08 Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
09 Boris - Pink
10 Scott Walker - The Drift
11 Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
12 Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
13 Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
14 Tim Hecker - Harmony in Ultraviolet
15 Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
16 Beach House - Beach House
17 The Thermals - The Body the Blood the Machine
18 Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
19 T.I. - King
20 Man Man - Six Demon Bag
21 Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own Pet
22 LCD Soundsystem - 45:33
23 Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
24 Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
25 Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
26 Hot Chip - The Warning
27 Califone - Roots & Crowns
28 Cat Power - The Greatest
29 Lily Allen - Alright, Still
30 Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
31 Danielson - Ships
32 Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
33 Mission of Burma - The Obliterati
34 Girl Talk - Night Ripper
35 Herbert - Scale
36 Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light
37 DJ Drama - Lil Wayne - Dedication 2 (Gangsta Grillz) [Bootleg / Unauthorized]
38 Jay Dee - Donuts
39 Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things [Compilation]
40 Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon
41 The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
42 Mastodon - Blood Mountain
43 Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
44 The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes
45 Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
46 M. Ward - Post-War
47 Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
48 The Long Blondes - Someone to Drive You Home
49 Ellen Allien & Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
50 Booka Shade - Movements
Mixmag
02 Nathan Fake - Drowning in a Sea of Love
04 Plan B - Who Needs Actions When You Got Words
06 Claude Vonstroke - Beware of the Bird
07 Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental
09 Zero 7 - The Garden
10 James Holden - The Idiots Are Winning
19 Squarepusher - Hello Everything
20 Four Tet - Remixes
Pop Matters (full lists)
05. The Ark - State of the Ark
10. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - What's Going On
11. Coldcut - Sound Mirrors
12. Rachid Taha - Diwan 2
13. Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way
14. Tanya Stephens - Rebelution
23. Ojos de Brujo - Techari
25. Casey Driessen - 3-D
27. Cibelle - The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves
29. Kelley Stoltz - Below the Branches
36. Quantic - An Announcement to Answer
40. Radio Citizen - Berlin Serengeti
43. Amel Larrieux - Morning
44. Gotan Project - Lunático
46. Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid - The Exchange Session
48. Michelle Malone - Sugarfoot
When it rains, it pours! I expected Scott Walker to top The Wire list, since they worship him. Instead, Burial was the one, which I had first heard about through the Uncut list last month. I liked it, but got bored with it after three listens. But that's they're there for -- to dismiss highly respected art rock like TV On The Radio while espousing the virtues of difficult listening albums that will bore you to death after a few listens. However, there's always some interesting finds deep in the list (Perhaps Om, Reanimator?)
The Wire
01. Burial - Burial [Hyperdub]
02. Scott Walker - The Drift [4AD]
03. Joanna Newsom - Ys [Drag City]
04. Carla Bozulich - Evangelista [Constellation]
05. Wolf Eyes - Human Animal [Sub Pop]
06. Ornette Coleman - Sound Grammar [Sound Grammar]
07. Ekkehard Ehlers - A Life Without Fear [Staubgold]
08. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go [Domino]
09. Om - Conference Of The Birds [Holy Mountain]
10. Phill Niblock - Touch Three [Touch]
11. Scritti Politti - White Bread Black Beer [Rough Trade]
12. Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast [Matador]
13. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped [Geffen]
14. Wolf Eyes & Anthony Braxton - Black Vomit [Victo]
15. The Knife - Silent Shout [Mute/Brille]
16. Christian Wolff - 10 Exercises [New World]
17. Keiji Haino & Sitaar Tah! - Animamima [Archive/Important]
18. Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light [Matador]
19. Arthur Russell - First Thought Best Thought [Audika/Rough Trade]
20. Broadcast - Future Crayon [Warp]
21. Niobe - White Hats [Tomlab]
22. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House [Warp]
23. Reanimator - Special Powers [Community Library]
24. Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky [Durtro Jnana]
25. Excepter - Alternation [5RC]
26. Alexander Tucker - Furrowed Brow [ATP]
27. Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - Azioni [Die Schachtel]
28. Rafael Toral - Space [Staubgold]
29. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale [Def Jam]
30. MV/EE & The Bummer Road - Mother Of Thousands [Time-Lag]
31. Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice - Gipsy Freedom [5RC]
32. Celtic Frost - Monotheist [Century Media]
33. Kieran Hebden & Steven Reid - The Exchange Sessions Vols 1 & 2 [Domino]
34. Ran Blake - All That Is Tied [Tompkins Square]
35. Mordant Music - Dead Air [Mordant Music]
36. Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise [New World]
37. Little Annie - Songs From The Coalmine Canary [Durtro Jnana]
38. Ruff Sqwad - Guns And Roses Volume 2 [Ruff Sqwad Recordings]
39. Volcano The Bear - Classic Erasmus Fusion [Beta-Lactam Ring]
40. Leopard Leg - The Seven Sistered Sea-Secret Of Shh Shh Shh [Upset The Rhythm]
41. Harlassen - A Way Now [Sustain-Release]
42. Text Of Light - Metal Box [Dirter Promotions]
43. Peaches - Impeach My Bush [XL]
44. Robert Ashley - Foreign Experiences [Lovely Music]
45. Charalambides - A Vintage Burden [Kranky]
46. Peter Evans - More Is More [PSI]
47. Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar [Southern Lord]
48. Dabrye - Two/Three [Ghostly International]
49. Chris Corsano - The Young Cricketer [Hot Cars Warp]
50. Josephine Foster - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing [Locust]
Ghostface??? I know I'm going against the original spirit of this post, but I figure after guzzling down over a hundred albums from these lists, I earned a bonus bitchfest. Am I the only one saying WTF ? Fishscale isn't even as good as the Pretty Toney album, which itself wasn't that great. When hip hop CDs were marked down to $1.50 at Tower, there were still tons of both of those albums left. I don't know what I'm missing with these mainstream hip hop albums. I'm listening to them again and again, trying to get why people think they're so great. I like me some hip hop, but only when the music has some fresh creative twist. There is nothing new to my ears with Ghostface, Clipse, Lil' Wayne, The Game or T.I. Apparently it's suddenly become taboo to criticize boring hip hop? Don't wanna lose yer street cred I guess. Screw all that, I'll take my Asa, Cappablack, Roots, Spank Rock, Subtle and Ty. Pet Shop Boys was also an odd surprise. Otherwise, good list.
Stylus (full comments)
01 Ghostface Killer - Fishscale
02 Hot Chip - The Warning
03 The Knife - Silent Shout
04 TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
05 Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
06 Ellen Allien & Apparat - Orchestra Of Bubbles
07 The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America
08 Lil' Wayne & DJ Drama - Dedication 2
09 Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
10 Joanna Newsom - Ys
11 Booka Shade - Movements
12 Guillemots – Through the Windowpane
13 Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
14 T.I. – King
15 Peter Bjorn and John – Writer's Block
16 Justin Timberlake – FutureSex / LoveSounds
17 Asobi Seksu – Citrus
18 Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
19 Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental
20 Lindstrøm – It's a Feedelity Affair
21 Thomas Mapfumo – Rise Up
22 Camera Obscura – Let’s Get Out of This Country
23 Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
24 Liars – Drum’s Not Dead
25 Tom Zé – Estudando o Pagode
26 Annuals – Be He Me
27 Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up I Am Dreaming
28 Scott Walker – The Drift
29 Scritti Politti – White Bread, Black Beer
30 The Roots – Game Theory
31 Monkey Swallows the Universe - The Bright Carvings
32 Thom Yorke – The Eraser
33 J Dilla – Donuts
34 Band of Horses – Everything All the Time
35 The Game – The Doctor's Advocate
36 Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra – Boulevard de L'Independence
37 Marit Larsen – Under the Surface
38 My My – Songs for the Gentle
39 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
40 The Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
41 Burial – Burial
42 Amy Diamond – Still Me Still Now
43 Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
44 Joan as Police Woman – Real Life
45 Califone – Roots and Crowns
46 Espers – II
47 Alan Jackson – Like Red on a Rose
48 Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat
49 Final Fantasy – He Poos Clouds
50 Benoît Pioulard – Précis