The Best of 2006
So here's it is's. My definitive guide to the best albums, EPs, compilations, songs, and disappointments of the past year. Enjoy.
The Top 50(+) Albums of 2006!
50. Murder By Death - In Bocca Al Lupo
49. End of a Year - Sincerely
48. RX Bandits - ...And the Battle Begun
47. Sinking Ships - Disconnecting
46. Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
45. Planes Mistaken For Stars - Mercy
44. The Loved Ones - Keep Your Heart
43. Mr. Lif - Mo' Mega
42. These Arms Are Snakes - Easter
41. Toys That Kill - Shanked!
40. Yo La Tengo - I'm Not Afraid of You, and I Will Beat Your Ass
39. Fifth Hour Hero - Not Revenge...Just a Vicious Crush
38. The Riverboat Gamblers - To the Confusion of Our Enemies
37. Strike Anywhere - Dead FM
36. Armalite - Armalite
35. Cursive - Happy Hollow
34. BigWig - Reclamation
33. Built to Spill - You in Reverse
32. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
31. Dead to Me - Cuban Ballerina
30. Russian Circles - Enter
29. The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red-Eyed Soul
28. Latterman - ...We Are Still Alive
27. J Dilla - Donuts / The Shining
26. TIm Barry - Rivanna Junction
25. None More Black - This is Satire
24. P.O.S. - Audition
23. New Mexican Disaster Squad - Don't Believe
22. Thursday - A City By the Light Divided
21. Envy - Insomniac Doze
20. Government Warning - No Moderation
19. Outkast - Idlewild
18. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
17. The Falcon - Unicornography
16. Bomb the Music Industry! - Goodbye Cool World
15. Shook Ones - Facetious Folly Feat
14. The Evens - Get Evens
13. Fucked Up - Hidden World
12. Isis - In the Absence of Truth
11. Tool - 10,000 Days
10. Lucero - Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers
9. Converge - No Heroes
8. Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
7. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
6. The Roots - Game Theory
5. The Hope Conspiracy - Death Knows Your Name
4. The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
3. The Hold Steady - Boys & Girls in America
2. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
1. The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!
Honorable Mention: Lion of Judah - Universal Peace, Owen - At Home With Owen, Das Oath - The Mini LP, Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds, Blacklisted - ...The Beat Goes On, Ignite - Our Darkest Days, Shearwater - Palo Santo, Crime in Stereo - The Troubled Stateside, Defiance, Ohio - The Great Depression, Dozer - Through the Eyes of Heathens, Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury, Nas - Hip Hop is Dead, O Pioneers!!! - Black Mambas, No Trigger - Canyoneer
The Top 25 Songs of 2006!
25. Blood Brothers - "Spit Shine Your Black Clouds"
24. Streetlight Manifesto - "Riding the Fourth Wave"
23. BigWig - "Last Song, Last Call"
22. Outkast - "Morris Brown"
21. Mr. Lif (f/Aesop Rock & El-P) - "Take, Hold, Fire!"
20. Defiance, Ohio - "Condition 11:11"
19. The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations"
18. The Falcon - "When I Give the Signal, Run!"
17. Bomb the Music Industry! - "King of Minneapolis, Pt. I-IV"
16. Rhymefest (f/Ol' Dirty Bastard) - "Build Me Up"
15. The Roots (f/Malik B & Dice Raw) - "Here I Come"
14. Fucked Up - "Two Snakes"
13. TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
12. Clipse - "Trill"
11. Dead to Me - "Cause of My Anger"
10. The Evens - "Everybody Knows"
9. P.O.S. - "Stand Up (Let's Get Murdered)"
8. Strike Anywhere - "Prisoner Echoes"
7. Built to Spill - "Goin' Against Your Mind"
6. Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack"
5. Tool - "Rosetta Stoned"
4. The Bronx - "History's Stranglers"
3. Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
2. The Flaming Lips - "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"
1. Ghostface Killah - "The Champ"
The Top 4 EPs of 2006!
4. Fake Problems - Spurs & Spokes/Bull>Matador
3. Versoma - Life During Wartime
2. Off With Their Heads - Hospital
1. The Ergs! - Jersey's Best Prancers
The Top 4 Compilations/Live Albums/Reissues of 2006!
4. Botch - Unifying Themes Redux
3. Against Me! - Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!!
2. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards
1. Adult Swim & Stone's Throw Records - Chrome Children
Best Show(s) of 2006!
(tie) Lifetime w/ The Bronx & The Loved Ones @ The 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
(tie) Strike Anywhere & The Lawrence Arms w/ Smoke or Fire, None More Black, & Dead to Me @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY
Most Overrated Album/Artist: Set Your Goals - Mutiny!. I'm sorry, guys, I just don't get it. New Found Glory made this album about 4 or 5 times over around the turn of the century, and we all made fun of our little sisters for liking them. This album, simply put, sucks. Their lead singer sounds like some weird mix between Tom DeLonge and Tony Civarelli. Speaking of CIV, perhaps the most disturbing part of this ordeal is this band's presumptuousness to take their name from CIV's only full-length. For shame, kids. For shame.
Most Underrated Album/Artist: Outkast - Idlewild. Where's the love here?! This album is great. I mean, yeah, it's not Stankonia or Aquemini or even Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, but it's still not without its highlights. "Morris Brown", "Mighty O", "Chronometrophobia", and "N2U" are all great Outkast tunes. Just because Dre wasn't doing his faux-jazz noodling all over the place, everyone seemed to think that the band was regressing and that it wasn't as good. Here's a tip, kids, The Love Below was easily the inferior part of that album, the music part of it was fun, but Andre 3000 is an incredible MC and a pretty lousy singer. If Outkast needs singing, they can easily have Sleepy Brown or Cee-Lo sing a hook any day of the week. Get over your delusions of artistry, and just fucking love this album like you would have if The Love Below had never been made.
Biggest Disappointments: Aside from the fact that Eric Ozenne's new project; The Strange Young Heroes, is still MIA, the following albums were disappointments for the following reasons:
Jay-Z - Kingdom Come
When "Show Me What You Got" came out, I was noticably disappointed, but I listened to that damn song until it grew on me. And by the time Kingdom Come hit the tubes, I snatched it up quickly, and instantly wondered what the hell had happened to HOVA. I should have realized it when he started calling himself the CEO of Hip Hop, doing commercials for Hewlett-Packard and Budweiser Select, and having Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick star in his video. Despite a couple of hot tracks ("30 Something", "Lost Ones", and "Beach Chair" even despite its appearance by the ever-boring Chris Martin), this album sounds boring and phoned-in. Jay doesn't sound like he's having any fun at all, and as a result, I didn't have any fun, either. Jay's one verse on Nas' "Black Republican" is better than anything on this album, and Nas still outdoes him on the track. I guess it's just proof that the retired should stay that way.
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - So Divided
I really wanted to love this album too. Even when everyone didn't like Worlds Apart, i stuck by these guys because I was such a huge fan of their early work. But dear God, this album could not have been less interesting to me. I overlooked the pretentious intro track, and I found myself toe-tapping along to "Stand in Silence", but I after that, everything just fell apart. Eight new tracks and one garbled, boring Guided By Voices cover later, I tossed this album to the curb and resigned my faith in the Trail of Dead.
The Living End - State of Emergency
No fancy guitarwork, no rockabilly stance, no flashy solos of any kind, but a metric shit-ton of heavy-handed political ranting. I was a huge fan of Modern ARTillery. Hell, I was a fan of all of their full-lengths up until now, but I just couldn't enjoy this record. Every song sounded like it was trying to break into Modern Rock radio while riding American Idiot's coattails.
Biggest Surprises: The following albums caught me off gaurd. Perhaps because I keep spelling "Guard" wrong.
Blacklisted - ...The Beat Goes On
Alright, so they just sound like The Hope Conspiracy's younger brothers, but they do a damn good impression. Bellies full of fire and heads full of NYHC tough-guy-osity, these cats delivered a solid album's worth of larger than life blastbeats and Iggy Pop-Gone-Metal guitars.
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
I'd have a long explanation here, but I know that deep down you all dig this album and you understand exactly what I would write. And if you deep down truly don't like this album, let me know what it's like not to have fun anymore.
Fucked Up - Hidden World
Holy hell! I had passed this album up so many times before actually getting it, that I truly hate mysef for doing so. I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I listened to this album for the first time, but whatever it was, it wasn't what I heard at all. I've tried to call them a hardcore band, I've tried to call them a rock band, I've tried to call them a crust band. I can't figure it out. The closest I've come is "experimental street punk". Now, I'm aware that Fucked Up is a lot like Veronica Mars, in that I can't accurately describe them in a way that might make you want to chek it out. "They're like a mix between Crass and the Bouncing Souls, being fronted by the lead singer of Poison Idea with 8 minute long songs," I'd say to you. "Eh...Pass," you'd probably say back. "But that chick that plays the viola in the Arcade Fire plays on the album!" I'd plead. "You're not helping, dude," you'll say before walking off. So let's just skip all that and you just take my word for it, this album is fucking awesome.
Most Anticipated for 2007:
Against Me! - New Wave
Dilligner Four - The Civil War
Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Living With the Living
Aesop Rock's new joint
Chuck Ragan's solo record
The Top 50(+) Albums of 2006!
50. Murder By Death - In Bocca Al Lupo
49. End of a Year - Sincerely
48. RX Bandits - ...And the Battle Begun
47. Sinking Ships - Disconnecting
46. Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
45. Planes Mistaken For Stars - Mercy
44. The Loved Ones - Keep Your Heart
43. Mr. Lif - Mo' Mega
42. These Arms Are Snakes - Easter
41. Toys That Kill - Shanked!
40. Yo La Tengo - I'm Not Afraid of You, and I Will Beat Your Ass
39. Fifth Hour Hero - Not Revenge...Just a Vicious Crush
38. The Riverboat Gamblers - To the Confusion of Our Enemies
37. Strike Anywhere - Dead FM
36. Armalite - Armalite
35. Cursive - Happy Hollow
34. BigWig - Reclamation
33. Built to Spill - You in Reverse
32. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
31. Dead to Me - Cuban Ballerina
30. Russian Circles - Enter
29. The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red-Eyed Soul
28. Latterman - ...We Are Still Alive
27. J Dilla - Donuts / The Shining
26. TIm Barry - Rivanna Junction
25. None More Black - This is Satire
24. P.O.S. - Audition
23. New Mexican Disaster Squad - Don't Believe
22. Thursday - A City By the Light Divided
21. Envy - Insomniac Doze
20. Government Warning - No Moderation
19. Outkast - Idlewild
18. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
17. The Falcon - Unicornography
16. Bomb the Music Industry! - Goodbye Cool World
15. Shook Ones - Facetious Folly Feat
14. The Evens - Get Evens
13. Fucked Up - Hidden World
12. Isis - In the Absence of Truth
11. Tool - 10,000 Days
10. Lucero - Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers
9. Converge - No Heroes
8. Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
7. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
6. The Roots - Game Theory
5. The Hope Conspiracy - Death Knows Your Name
4. The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
3. The Hold Steady - Boys & Girls in America
2. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
1. The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!
Honorable Mention: Lion of Judah - Universal Peace, Owen - At Home With Owen, Das Oath - The Mini LP, Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds, Blacklisted - ...The Beat Goes On, Ignite - Our Darkest Days, Shearwater - Palo Santo, Crime in Stereo - The Troubled Stateside, Defiance, Ohio - The Great Depression, Dozer - Through the Eyes of Heathens, Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury, Nas - Hip Hop is Dead, O Pioneers!!! - Black Mambas, No Trigger - Canyoneer
The Top 25 Songs of 2006!
25. Blood Brothers - "Spit Shine Your Black Clouds"
24. Streetlight Manifesto - "Riding the Fourth Wave"
23. BigWig - "Last Song, Last Call"
22. Outkast - "Morris Brown"
21. Mr. Lif (f/Aesop Rock & El-P) - "Take, Hold, Fire!"
20. Defiance, Ohio - "Condition 11:11"
19. The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations"
18. The Falcon - "When I Give the Signal, Run!"
17. Bomb the Music Industry! - "King of Minneapolis, Pt. I-IV"
16. Rhymefest (f/Ol' Dirty Bastard) - "Build Me Up"
15. The Roots (f/Malik B & Dice Raw) - "Here I Come"
14. Fucked Up - "Two Snakes"
13. TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
12. Clipse - "Trill"
11. Dead to Me - "Cause of My Anger"
10. The Evens - "Everybody Knows"
9. P.O.S. - "Stand Up (Let's Get Murdered)"
8. Strike Anywhere - "Prisoner Echoes"
7. Built to Spill - "Goin' Against Your Mind"
6. Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack"
5. Tool - "Rosetta Stoned"
4. The Bronx - "History's Stranglers"
3. Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
2. The Flaming Lips - "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"
1. Ghostface Killah - "The Champ"
The Top 4 EPs of 2006!
4. Fake Problems - Spurs & Spokes/Bull>Matador
3. Versoma - Life During Wartime
2. Off With Their Heads - Hospital
1. The Ergs! - Jersey's Best Prancers
The Top 4 Compilations/Live Albums/Reissues of 2006!
4. Botch - Unifying Themes Redux
3. Against Me! - Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!!
2. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards
1. Adult Swim & Stone's Throw Records - Chrome Children
Best Show(s) of 2006!
(tie) Lifetime w/ The Bronx & The Loved Ones @ The 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
(tie) Strike Anywhere & The Lawrence Arms w/ Smoke or Fire, None More Black, & Dead to Me @ The Hook, Brooklyn, NY
Most Overrated Album/Artist: Set Your Goals - Mutiny!. I'm sorry, guys, I just don't get it. New Found Glory made this album about 4 or 5 times over around the turn of the century, and we all made fun of our little sisters for liking them. This album, simply put, sucks. Their lead singer sounds like some weird mix between Tom DeLonge and Tony Civarelli. Speaking of CIV, perhaps the most disturbing part of this ordeal is this band's presumptuousness to take their name from CIV's only full-length. For shame, kids. For shame.
Most Underrated Album/Artist: Outkast - Idlewild. Where's the love here?! This album is great. I mean, yeah, it's not Stankonia or Aquemini or even Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, but it's still not without its highlights. "Morris Brown", "Mighty O", "Chronometrophobia", and "N2U" are all great Outkast tunes. Just because Dre wasn't doing his faux-jazz noodling all over the place, everyone seemed to think that the band was regressing and that it wasn't as good. Here's a tip, kids, The Love Below was easily the inferior part of that album, the music part of it was fun, but Andre 3000 is an incredible MC and a pretty lousy singer. If Outkast needs singing, they can easily have Sleepy Brown or Cee-Lo sing a hook any day of the week. Get over your delusions of artistry, and just fucking love this album like you would have if The Love Below had never been made.
Biggest Disappointments: Aside from the fact that Eric Ozenne's new project; The Strange Young Heroes, is still MIA, the following albums were disappointments for the following reasons:
Jay-Z - Kingdom Come
When "Show Me What You Got" came out, I was noticably disappointed, but I listened to that damn song until it grew on me. And by the time Kingdom Come hit the tubes, I snatched it up quickly, and instantly wondered what the hell had happened to HOVA. I should have realized it when he started calling himself the CEO of Hip Hop, doing commercials for Hewlett-Packard and Budweiser Select, and having Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick star in his video. Despite a couple of hot tracks ("30 Something", "Lost Ones", and "Beach Chair" even despite its appearance by the ever-boring Chris Martin), this album sounds boring and phoned-in. Jay doesn't sound like he's having any fun at all, and as a result, I didn't have any fun, either. Jay's one verse on Nas' "Black Republican" is better than anything on this album, and Nas still outdoes him on the track. I guess it's just proof that the retired should stay that way.
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - So Divided
I really wanted to love this album too. Even when everyone didn't like Worlds Apart, i stuck by these guys because I was such a huge fan of their early work. But dear God, this album could not have been less interesting to me. I overlooked the pretentious intro track, and I found myself toe-tapping along to "Stand in Silence", but I after that, everything just fell apart. Eight new tracks and one garbled, boring Guided By Voices cover later, I tossed this album to the curb and resigned my faith in the Trail of Dead.
The Living End - State of Emergency
No fancy guitarwork, no rockabilly stance, no flashy solos of any kind, but a metric shit-ton of heavy-handed political ranting. I was a huge fan of Modern ARTillery. Hell, I was a fan of all of their full-lengths up until now, but I just couldn't enjoy this record. Every song sounded like it was trying to break into Modern Rock radio while riding American Idiot's coattails.
Biggest Surprises: The following albums caught me off gaurd. Perhaps because I keep spelling "Guard" wrong.
Blacklisted - ...The Beat Goes On
Alright, so they just sound like The Hope Conspiracy's younger brothers, but they do a damn good impression. Bellies full of fire and heads full of NYHC tough-guy-osity, these cats delivered a solid album's worth of larger than life blastbeats and Iggy Pop-Gone-Metal guitars.
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
I'd have a long explanation here, but I know that deep down you all dig this album and you understand exactly what I would write. And if you deep down truly don't like this album, let me know what it's like not to have fun anymore.
Fucked Up - Hidden World
Holy hell! I had passed this album up so many times before actually getting it, that I truly hate mysef for doing so. I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I listened to this album for the first time, but whatever it was, it wasn't what I heard at all. I've tried to call them a hardcore band, I've tried to call them a rock band, I've tried to call them a crust band. I can't figure it out. The closest I've come is "experimental street punk". Now, I'm aware that Fucked Up is a lot like Veronica Mars, in that I can't accurately describe them in a way that might make you want to chek it out. "They're like a mix between Crass and the Bouncing Souls, being fronted by the lead singer of Poison Idea with 8 minute long songs," I'd say to you. "Eh...Pass," you'd probably say back. "But that chick that plays the viola in the Arcade Fire plays on the album!" I'd plead. "You're not helping, dude," you'll say before walking off. So let's just skip all that and you just take my word for it, this album is fucking awesome.
Most Anticipated for 2007:
Against Me! - New Wave
Dilligner Four - The Civil War
Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Living With the Living
Aesop Rock's new joint
Chuck Ragan's solo record