Summation

Here we are again. I know I haven't listened to everything I wanted to this year, but this is as close as I'm going to get before next May.

Top 10 Albums:

1.Rock Plaza Central – Are We Not Horses Alright, maybe the Neutral Milk Hotel worship is a little too obvious, and maybe Chris Eaton too often sounds like Isaac Brock's nerdy little brother, but when the album comes together this well, it just doesn't matter. Beautiful songs, harrowing violin and a perfect atmosphere.
2.Joanna Newsom – Ys At parts, the most beautiful, moving and awe-inspiring album in years. The string arrangements can sometimes sound a little too stale, but never enough to be its detriment. Only #2 on this list because I favor underdogs.
3.Boris – Pink Amazing balance between noise and rock. Above all else, this album is full of great moments. A great introduction, fantastic transitions, the drums dropping out in “Just Abandoned Myself.”
4.Beirut – Gulag Orkestar Effortlessly conjures images of nostalgia and locales this 20 year old one-man-band could not possibly yet know. A brilliant start to what should be a great career.
5.Xiu Xiu – The Air Force Xiu Xiu keeps growing, and becomes more intriguing than on last year's somewhat misstep La Foret. Becoming more traditional art-rock, but, as Trent Reznor has shown, relying on emotional torture can only keep one afloat for so long.
6.Man Man – Six Demon Bag Tom Waits is a schizophrenic band leader putting on the written-in-house musical at a soon to be condemned asylum. In the best way possible.
7.Islands – Return to the Sea Don't call it a Unicorns comeback; the best quirky lo-fi-cum-hi-fi pop album in a year flooded by them. Still the most creative pop song structures around.
8.Kind of Like Spitting – Thrill of the Hunt Hearing a favorite musician getting a second wind and taking full advantage of it is a beautiful thing. Ben Barnett sounds refreshed and more creative here than he has in years.
9.Micah P Hinson – The Opera Circuit Folksy Texan with an amazing voice and vision nails it. Eric Bachmann's saxophone playing and horn arrangements are merely the icing on the cake. The delicious, delicious icing.
10.The Thermals – The Blood, The Body, and the Machine An album of irresistible power hooks, nearly unlimited energy, and one of the few overtly religious albums in recent years to not be lyrically embarrassing (far from it, at that).

Honorable Mention:

Swan Lake – Beast Moans Starts off straddling the line between disjointed and aimless, falls after the halfway mark in an altogether disappointing manner. At least the half that works more than lives up the supergroup potential.



EPs/Singles:

1.Jesu – Silver [Also one of this year's best releases, period.]
2.Micah P Hinson – The Baby and the Satellite
3.Okkervil River – The President's Dead
4.Xiu Xiu – Tu Mi Piaci
5.Sigur Ros - Saeglaopur

25 Best Songs (In no order whatsoever):

Swan Lake – All Fires
The Knife – Neverland
Micah P Hinson - Jackeyed
Islands – Where There's A Will, There's A Whalebone
Asobi Sesku – Exotic Animal Paradise
Alias & Tarsier (ft. Doseone) – Luck & Fear
The Thermals – Here's Your Future
Boris – Just Abandoned Myself
The Lovely Feathers – Photo Corners
Band of Horses – The Funeral

Rock Plaza Central – My Children, Be Joyful
Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
TV on the Radio – Wolf Like Me
The Decemberists – Sons and Daughters
STAR – Switchblade Heart
Belle + Sebastian – Suki in the Graveyard
Beirut – Postcards from Italy
Man Man – Black Mission Goggles
Liars – It Fit When I Was A Kid
Xiu Xiu – Vulture Piano

Joanna Newsom – Sawdust and Diamonds
The Black Heart Procession – Not Just Words
Jesu - Silver
Kind of Like Spitting – Thrill of the Hunt
Human Television – 10 Minutes

One-Offs:

Best Pop Single – Gnarls Barkley - “Crazy”
Best Cover Song – Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (Joy Division)
Worst Cover Song – Rascall Flats - “Life Is A Highway” (Tom Cochrane)
Best Album Artwork – Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
Best Opening Track – The Thermals - “Here's Your Future”
Biggest Letdown – Thom Yourke – The Eraser
Biggest Most Awesomest Sugar Rush of Pure Glee – I'm From Barcelona – Let Me Introduce My Friends
Why. - Lady Sovereign
Highest Catchiness to Terribleness Ratio – Chamillionaire (ft Krazie Bone) - “Ridin'”
Most Horrifically Insufferable Rock Single – Hinder - “Lips of an Angel”
OH DEAR GOD WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME – Gwen Stefani - “Wind It Up”
Most Likely To Give Kevin Shields A Gigantic Erection – Asobi Sesku - “Exotic Animal Paradise”
We Read The Stats And We've Settled For Less - Death Cab For Cutie

2006 was a pretty good year for music, 99% of which was not discussed here. 2007 is already shaping up to be a great year, with new releases by Jesu, Explosions in the Sky, and the Arcade Fire in the next three months, to name a few.