Here I go, sliding in just under the buzzer and well after Christmas... sigh... I'll do better next year. Anyway, after reading tons of 'em I thought I'd assemble my top ten albums of the year list! The ten albums that on one level or another never really left my ears in 2006. It really wasn't THAT great of a year for music, but that was fine with me since #1 (no surprises here) seemed to overpower pretty much everything.

Anyway, here we go with some good, old-fashioned ego... as I assume that you'll remotely care what my ten favorite records of the year were.


10. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Yet more geeky, hyper-literate soft rock from the Pacific Northwest's lords and masters of geeky, hyper-literate soft rock. It doesn't quite pack the punch of Picaresque, but the mournful moping of Victorian-era wannabe losers just never seems to get old. Even if you hate the music, that overwhelming feeling of "I could kick this band's ass" always makes you feel a little warm and fuzzy... and despite what Yo La Tengo may have you think, they're #2 on that list.



9. The Thermals - The Body The Blood The Machine

Jangly, whiny pseudo-punk taking on the religious fundamentalists, always a winner at parties. Theme records usually become rather tiresome after about the first four or five songs, but this one manages to hold your attention for the full 35 or so minutes of its run time. "The Body..." has an old-school "indie rock" feel to it, which I guess means that it sounds like Built To Spill. It's captivating, poppy and preachy, which is how I like to sum up an evening with me after a few beers, before too many beers arrive and the first two disappear.


8. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

I'm not sure exactly when it was that Ghostface went from bit-player in the Wu-Tang Clan to every white college kid's favorite MC, but it certainly seems to have happened. Fishscale is loaded with rhymes that feel classic when compared to the sea of mediocrity that seems to have engulfed hip-hop. Of course, the gritty, soulful underground feel of his past work shines through, but never feels stale. I wish someone would have told me ten years ago that Ghostface would be making some of the most exciting music on the planet, then I probably wouldn't have put that old Wu-Tang shirt in the yard sale.

7. Primal Scream - Riot City Blues

I can't remember the exact review that Pitchfork Media gave this record, but I'm pretty sure that it's numerical score (on a scale of 1-10) was less than 1. This, of course, was more than enough to get me to buy the album immediately. Odds are that if Pitchfork hates an album and describes it as stupid rock music, I'm going to love it. Of course I did, and I defy anyone to tell me that "Country Girl" wasn't the best single of the summer... take that Gnarls Barkley.



6. The Subways - Young For Eternity

More dumb rock n' roll, but this time it's from another country! The Subways made the record that Jet or Oasis or at least someone we'd heard of should have. Big licks, sing along choruses and an absolutely fantastic song about some chick named Mary make this one of the ultimate records of 2006. There's something to be said for songs about rock n' roll, not rock songs, but rock songs about rock songs and the people that love rock songs. In 2006 there was no better song about rock chicks who love rock songs than "Rock & Roll Queen."


5. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther

The "playing with your navel record of '06" winner! Midlake made 2006's best album for a drive. Not a drive where you actually intend to get anywhere in a hurry, but the kind of drive where you mistakenly take the wrong exit and are just to nonplussed to give a damn. It's perfect for an evening at home, in the dark, with a glass of bourbon and a smoke. However, "It Covers the Hillsides" has all of the charm of a Belle & Sebastian sing along. I guess, like anything else, you take from it what you put in it.


4. Cat Power - The Greatest

With James Brown now feelin' good up in heaven, who's left to bring hot buttered soul to the masses? Well, apparently it's Cat Power. I once heard the first track of this album mistaken for Norah Jones, a pretty accurate comparison. It's like Norah Jones without all of the Norah Jones hype (and without stealing much deserved awards from Bruce Springsteen). It's comfortable, relaxing piano music that may just inspire you to light the fire, pour a glass of Hennessey and unleash the fury of your loins... or in my case, the mild temperament of your loins.


3. M. Ward - Post-War

As the least popular member of that whole Bright Eyes/My Morning Jacket/Rilo Kiley crowd, M. Ward seemed destined to be the Jeff Lynne of the organization. However, a near classic album showcased in a year of weak outputs from his cohorts (save Jenny Lewis) allowed Mr. Ward's talents to shine a little more brightly. This album is near perfection from start to finish with one of the catchiest songs of the year in "Magic Trick." It's also worth mentioning that the video for "Chinese Translation" absolutely rocks.


2. Tom Waits - Orphans

Three discs, three moods, each one clearly as Tom Waits as hell. Orphans is a collection of Waits' songs that could have or should have been passed on to the general public long ago. Fortunately for us, he decided to take the time to slap them together (in an extremely neat package) and hand them over, just in time for Christmas! Tom Waits has a way of making you feel cooler than you actually are, so be warned... just because you've learned the words to these songs doesn't give you the go-ahead to put on a pork pie hat and head off to impress the ladies... it just doesn't work, trust me.

1. The Hold Steady - Boys & Girls in America

Unfortunately, no one stood a chance this year after The Hold Steady dropped a new release in early October. Filled with stories of lost love, gained love, missing friends, drunken nights and one especially moving encounter in the chill out tent, Boys & Girls in America is a seminal rock masterpiece that will struggle to find peers for years to come. The only unfortunate drawback to listening to this record is that somehow, some way, it still doesn't capture the power of seeing the band live... THAT is truly amazing.


That, my friends, brings an end to the best records of 2006 (in my humble opinion). Let the bashing commence, point out things I've forgotten. For the record, I didn't "forget" The Seeger Sessions, Ringleader of the Tormentors, Rabbit Fur Coat or any of the other records that clearly had a real shot at making the cut... they just simply didn't make it. Maybe next year we can build on a top 20, or get all bloated and rock a top 50 list like Rolling Stone (although, if I'm forced to include My Chemical Romance for lack of fifty quality albums, you can forget it).