Best albums of the year.

[Rex Kickass]

Post your best albums of the year here.

[bmags]

mine will appear tues. on my website so i'm sure everyone will be antsy as hell for that, huh?

[Kid Gleason]

I don't like these lists. There is no way anybody could have heard every album released this year, not even in your prefered style of music.

 

But of what I have heard, the two best are:

 

The Valentine Failures - Hearts, Halos, Hate: 5 songs (one cover) of blistering energy and killer riffs and vocals.

http://www.myspace.com/thevalentinefailures

 

McRackins - Bat Out Of Shell: Some of the best damn songwriting and layering I have ever heard, and there is no autotune on the backing vocals. The backing vocals and harmonies would make Brian Wilson proud. Beach Boy fans take note of this band on this album.

http://www.myspace.com/themcrackins

[Flash Tizzle]

1 -- J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton, "The Road to Escondido."

 

2 -- Justin Timberlake, "Future Sex/Love Sounds."

 

3 -- The Who, "Endless Wire."

[BobDylan]

Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards

 

Bonnie Prince Billy - The Letting Go

Edited December 18, 2006 by BobDylan

[Brian]

Odd to say, but I don't think I bought one CD this whole year that wasn't blank.

[sox4lifeinPA]

I don't like these lists. There is no way anybody could have heard every album released this year, not even in your prefered style of music.

 

But of what I have heard, the two best are:

 

The Valentine Failures - Hearts, Halos, Hate: 5 songs (one cover) of blistering energy and killer riffs and vocals.

http://www.myspace.com/thevalentinefailures

 

McRackins - Bat Out Of Shell: Some of the best damn songwriting and layering I have ever heard, and there is no autotune on the backing vocals. The backing vocals and harmonies would make Brian Wilson proud. Beach Boy fans take note of this band on this album.

http://www.myspace.com/themcrackins

 

 

Kid, I enjoyed both bands' myspace songs and videos... thanks.

 

 

the only problem i have is that I HATE when band people put on costumes to be anything other than funny or ironic. I'm guessing the McRackins are being the former. The Valentine Failures. however, have no excuse and dress soooooooo lame.

 

 

but like I said, I enjoyed the songs.

[3E8]

I don't like these lists. There is no way anybody could have heard every album released this year, not even in your prefered style of music.

Well put. In the same vein:

 

STANDOUTS:

 

John Mayer - Continuum

Set Your Goals - Mutiny!

 

SOLID:

 

Angels And Airwaves - We Don't Need To Whisper

The Early November - The Mother, Mechanic, and the Path

Saves The Day - Sound The Alarm

Hit The Lights - This Is A Stickup, Don't Make It A Murder

New Found Glory - Coming Home

+44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating

Gym Class Heroes - Cruel As School Children

Gnarles Barkley - St. Elsewhere

My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade

Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

[BobDylan]

Well put. In the same vein:

 

STANDOUTS:

 

John Mayer - Continuum

 

I have to heavily disagree with that pick.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Well put. In the same vein:

 

 

 

SOLID:

 

My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade

 

 

I cant get that title track out of my head. I love that song.........and several others on that album as well.

[Rex Kickass]

Albums I've loved from 2006

 

Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio. One of my favorite bands kick out a serious jam with "Take Me Back To Your House," country so funky that even John Ashcroft would be forced to boogie to it.

 

Bettie Serveert - Bare Stripped Naked. Love this all acoustic album from the Dutch act. Have totally fallen in love with the song "Hell Is Other People."

 

Gnarls Barkley - St Elsewhere. Easily the best pop album to make it big this year.

 

Various Artists - Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited. Surprisingly strong all the way around. I even kinda liked the Cat Power song. Also features the first new Portishead song I'm aware of since 1997.

 

Chiodos - All's Well That Ends Well. If there's such a thing as "classic" scream-o, this would be it.

 

Honorable Mentions: Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche, She Wants Revenge - s/t, Royksopp - The Understanding, Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That, Junior Senior - Hey Hey My My Yo Yo (technically 2005), Someday Never - The Natural Trend of Breathing, Beirut - Mt Wroclai, Rinocerose - Schizophrenia, Billy Bragg Vol 1 (best reissue of the year).

 

So sad the album was so bad: Frank Black - Fast Man, Raider Man, Brazilian Girls - Talk to La Bomb, Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped, Muse - Knights of Cydonia, Jurassic 5 - Feedback.

[CWSGuy406]

I'm biased, but...

 

First Impressions of Earth - The Strokes

[3E8]

I cant get that title track out of my head. I love that song.........and several others on that album as well.

I disliked them before this album. But the new music was an interesting departure that captured me. They seemed to pull from different influences when constructing the songs. Actually the same can be said about my John Mayer pick. That is an amazing soul/blues/R&B fusion.

[Kid Gleason]

the only problem i have is that I HATE when band people put on costumes to be anything other than funny or ironic. I'm guessing the McRackins are being the former. The Valentine Failures. however, have no excuse and dress soooooooo lame.

 

Glad you liked the tunes, that's what's most important. As for the style of dress, yes McRackins have a silly image and get called on it quite a bit. But they have been doing it for almost 15 years now...soooo...who knows?

 

I fail to see the problem with how Valentine dresses though. There is no costume there, and they dress like that from the moment of waking until going to bed. It's not a costume and they dress pretty much like many other people within the style of music. Hell, I dress similar to them.

[sox4lifeinPA]

I fail to see the problem with how Valentine dresses though. There is no costume there, and they dress like that from the moment of waking until going to bed. It's not a costume and they dress pretty much like many other people within the style of music. Hell, I dress similar to them.

 

 

it's so done. it's so processed. it's so expected. that's my problem.

[Kid Gleason]

it's so done. it's so processed. it's so expected. that's my problem.

 

So...is it O.K. for a band to just wear normal t-shirts or plain old shirts? If it's the way you dress, everyday all day, then how is that "so done"? I buy the clothes I like, I spend time in the morning deciding what to wear because I like to dress and appear a certain way. I know these guys walk out the door to go to the store in the same thing they walk on stage with. So, really, what you are wearing now is no different than what they are wearing right now. It's them. It's no different than what Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews wears. They don't have "stage clothes".

[Pauly8509CWS]

Dave Matthews wears. They don't have "stage clothes".

 

Waits to get brought up somewhere...

 

My favorite album of the year, is Sam's Town by the Killers. Love it, and it's better than the two videos they put out off of that album.

[The Critic]

Waits to get brought up somewhere...

 

My favorite album of the year, is Sam's Town by the Killers. Love it, and it's better than the two videos they put out off of that album.

I'm glad you liked Sam's Town, and I'm not kidding or being sarcastic, but they totally lost me with that disc. I loved Hot Fuss, and while I didn't want Hot Fuss Volume II, I was hoping for that same type of feel to the disc. As it turned out, When You Were Young is the only song I really like from that disc.

 

I can't even list any top albums of the year, to be honest. This was a very forgettable year for music IMO.

[sox4lifeinPA]

So...is it O.K. for a band to just wear normal t-shirts or plain old shirts? If it's the way you dress, everyday all day, then how is that "so done"? I buy the clothes I like, I spend time in the morning deciding what to wear because I like to dress and appear a certain way. I know these guys walk out the door to go to the store in the same thing they walk on stage with. So, really, what you are wearing now is no different than what they are wearing right now. It's them. It's no different than what Pearl Jam or Dave Matthews wears. They don't have "stage clothes".

 

Dave Matthews and PJ don't wear pretense. They're not trying to say anything by what clothing they wear (aside from a t-shirt that may say "we hate bush" or something...but then that's saying something that at least has meaning)

 

My problem with the rock star dress code, and you're fooling yourself if you don't think it is....is simply that every guy who wants to be in a marginally famous band has to wear the tight black shirt with the mussy long hair and preferably some form of feminine product, nail polish, eye liner or otherwise.

 

I don't doubt that these guys dress up like this everyday...but there's a fundamental difference between just throwing on some jeans and a t-shirt, because they're classic looking and feeling, and painting yourself up because of some preconceived notion of what a rock star is supposed to look and act like. For punk rockers, it's ironically not punk at all.

 

That being said, I don't expect for you to really listen to what i had to say, but I hope that we can at least understand each other's points. ...and by all means dress how you want to dress Kid. I'm not suggesting conformity... Just don't go up on stage acting like you're setting trends and cooler than anyone in the audience.... it's the guitar, not the eye make up, buddy.

[YASNY]

What the hell. I'm going to throw this out there. If you enjoy the timeless classics like As Time Goes By or Fly Me To The Moon then the album by T. G. Sheppard called 'Classic Love Songs' is great. It is very richly orchestrated and Sheppard sings the tunes without the Sinatra type flair. 'In other words' he sings the songs as they were written without trying to jazz them up. If you like the old standards, give it a listen.

[BobDylan]

Pitchfork ranks the top 50 albums of the year:

 

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feat..._of_2006/page_5

 

#1 - The Knife - Silent Shout

[Texsox]

What the hell. I'm going to throw this out there. If you enjoy the timeless classics like As Time Goes By or Fly Me To The Moon then the album by T. G. Sheppard called 'Classic Love Songs' is great. It is very richly orchestrated and Sheppard sings the tunes without the Sinatra type flair. 'In other words' he sings the songs as they were written without trying to jazz them up. If you like the old standards, give it a listen.

 

Great call. I was going to be the lone voice for George Strait's Somewhere Down in Texas

[bmags]

i've listened to 89 '06 releases this year, wowwww. cutting this down is difficult, after top 5 its like , arbitrary numbering. But i'll do it. PRolly do a top 30. or 35. p4k's list missing we're from barcelona haha, i guess they realized no one cared. The knife? honestly? no way that album was better then ellen allien-apparat or junior boys.

[DBAHO]

I'm glad you liked Sam's Town, and I'm not kidding or being sarcastic, but they totally lost me with that disc. I loved Hot Fuss, and while I didn't want Hot Fuss Volume II, I was hoping for that same type of feel to the disc. As it turned out, When You Were Young is the only song I really like from that disc.

 

I can't even list any top albums of the year, to be honest. This was a very forgettable year for music IMO.

Sam's Town was certainly quite different from Hot Fuss to say the least. But some of the songs on that album such as Bling, For Reasons Unknown, Read my Mind and Sam's Town I really enjoyed, so I would probably just have it in my top 5.

 

Brand New's new album is certainly worth listening to, been enjoying the new Deftones album, and the latest Hold Steady (which I listened to because it got recommended a lot on here) album as well.

 

Oh and Light Grenades as well, that's got some good songs on there.

[YASNY]

Great call. I was going to be the lone voice for George Strait's Somewhere Down in Texas

 

I got lucky to run across that Sheppard album. I started searching for a version of "As Time Goes By' that I would like, as I always thought it was great song but could never find an acceptable version. I heard Sheppard's, then checked out the rest of the album. When I'm in the right mood, I love to listen to it.