Music of 2006
I'd like to start by saying that there are way too many albums I didn't have a chance to listen to, for one or more of the following reasons:
1. I only found out about them once everyone else posted their Best Of 2006 lists.
2. No one else had them, so I couldn't download them. (For the record, I do own physical copies of more than half of the albums on my list, which I consider to be a fair ratio.)
3. I was too busy listening to the records that I was already in love with.
4. I wasn't ready to admit they might actually be worth listening to.
Some of the albums I'm referring to are:
Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time
Sparrows, Swarm and Sing - O'Shenandoah, Mighty Death Will Find Me
Cale Parks - Illuminated Manuscript
The Wayward - The Wayward
Pyramids - Following the Tracks, Forcing Motion Through Phases
Red Sparowes - Every Red Heart Shines Toward The Red Sun
Saves The Day - Sound The Alarm
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
Mission Of Burma - The Obliterati
Mogwai - Mr. Beast
Liars - Drum's Not Dead
With that said, my goal for next year is to listen to every last obscure post-rock/screamo album and indie nonsense from the Pitchfork Top 50, regardless of its enjoyability.
25 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2006
25. Tiger Stripes - 13 Black Cats Playing Rainy Day In The House Under A Sea Of Ladders Are Luckier Than Me
24. My America Is Watching Tigers Die - Narratives
23. Moneen - The Red Tree
22. The Early November - The Mother, The Mechanic, and The Path
21. An Albatross - Blessphemy (of the Peace-Beast Feastgiver and the Bear-Warp Kumite)
20. Man Man - Six Demon Bag
19. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
18. Annuals - Be He Me
17. Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope
16. Aloha - Some Echoes
15. Cursive - Happy Hollow
14. The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
13. Joanna Newsom - Ys
12. Owen - At Home With...
11. The Mars Volta - Amputechture
10. Make Believe - Of Course
9. Kevin Devine - Put Your Ghost To Rest
8. Fear Before The March Of Flames - The Always Open Mouth
7. Some Girls - Heaven's Pregnant Teens
6. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
5. Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me
4. Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth
3. mewithoutYou - Brother, Sister
2. Mono - You Are There
1. Daughters - Hell Songs
I did a lot of evolving this year, and I listened to a lot of new music. Many of the bands I started listening to in 2006 are now my favorite bands. I have Lauren Kaufman, James Watson, and various members of damnyoukazaa to thank for helping to expand my musical palette in 2006.
TOP TEN BANDS I GOT INTO IN 2006
(Excluding Bands That Have Albums on My List)
Broken Social Scene
Owls (as well as the extended family of cap'n-jazz-related bands.)
Botch
Animal Collective
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Sufjan Stevens
Minus The Bear
Hella
Modest Mouse
Sigur Ros
Albums To Look Forward To In 2007
The Fall Of Troy - Manipulator
Explosions in the Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone
Settlefish - The Quiet Chior EP
Glassjaw - TBA
Say Anything - TBA
The Locust - New Erections
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Circle Takes The Square - TBA
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Hot Cross - Risk Revival
Minus The Bear - TBA
The Dillinger Escape Plan - TBA
Idiot Pilot - Wolves
and who knows what else, maybe Animal Collective, The Mars Volta, Sufjan Stevens, Daughters, Pelican, Radiohead, Circa Survive, The Good Life, Okkervil River, The Weakerthans, Eisley, The Starting Line, The Number Twelve Looks Like You.