best albums of 2006
Adam Bunch's top 10:
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10
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Danielson
Ships
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Danielson's squeaky, jolty, folkpop is an acquired taste, but Ships is not only his most ambitious project to date, it's also probably his most accessible. Big and weird and a helluva lot of fun.
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09
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The Starlight Mints
Drowaton
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The Starlight Mints's third album found them in fine form this year. Drowaton has more of their typically generous instrumentation and oddball lyrics, along with a darker undertone than their previous efforts. Plus, there's "Rhino Stomp", which is quickly becoming one of my favourite instrumentals of all-time.
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08
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Mates of State
Bring It Back
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With big organs, big drums and big, shouted, vocal hooks, the husband and wife duo that is Mates of State manage to sound unique and strangely familiar at the same time. Bring It Back is the kind of album that you find yourself coming back to over and over again.
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07
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The Flaming Lips
At War With the Mystics
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It's no Soft Bulletin, but The Flaming Lips's latest record still deserves to be considered among the best records of the year. There are some silly moments, granted, and sometimes the boys do get a little carried away with the knobs and dials - but there's also "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" and "The W.A.N.D."
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06
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Jim Noir
Tower of Love
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A child of the 60's born in the 80's, Jim Noir doesn't hesitate to wear his influences on his sleeve. As a result, his debut album, Tower of Love, sounds somewhere between Pet Sounds and the softer stuff on Revolver. And while you've heard it all before from a million different bands, you've rarely heard it this good.
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05
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Snowglobe
Oxytocin
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Maybe it's not surprising, given that Snowglobe have made Athens, Georgia their adopted home, that their second disc, Oxytocin sounds quite a bit like an Elephant 6 record. (There's even a saw.) What is surprising is just how well their quirky country-tinged pop stands up to comparison with the bands that have influenced them.
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04
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Rock Plaza Central
Are We Not Horses?
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The most creative concept album of the year belongs to Rock Plaza Central, whose Are We Not Horses? disc tells the story of a group of mechanical horses who think that they're real horses and fight on the side of the humans in an epic battle between heaven and earth. Not nearly as nerdy as it sounds.
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03
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The Mooney Suzuki
The Maximum Black EP
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Originally one of the rock revival's most underrated acts, The Mooney Suzuki were guilty of 2005's greatest disappointment: the abysmal Alive & Amplified. This year, they returned to their roots with The Maximum Black EP - a re-release of their self-titled debut short-player plus a handful of bonus tracks. Raw and catchy in a Who-meets-Stax kind of a way.
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02
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Belle & Sebastian
The Life Pursuit
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I've never quite been able to love Belle & Sebastian, but that all changed this year when I heard The Life Pursuit. It's a bit of a departure - abandoning their trademark depressively twee sound in favour of a kaleidoscope of influences - and it's their finest record to date.
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01
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The Pipettes
We Are The Pipettes
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When I first heard of The Pipettes - how they didn't write their own songs, wore polka-dot dresses, and revived the sixties girl group sound - I assumed they were all gimmick. They're not. We Are the Pipettes is a half-hour of near pop perfection. And it's the best record of the year.
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Joel Armato's top 10:
10 Post War - M. Ward
09 Step It Up - The Bamboos
08 Get Lonely - The Mountain Goats
07 Boys and Girls In America - The Hold Steady
06 Robbers & Cowards - Cold War Kids
05 Donuts - J Dilla
04 This Vital Chapter - The Panda Band
03 Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards - Tom Waits
02 Writer's Block - Peter Bjorn & John
01 Comfort of Strangers - Beth Orton
Christine Beals's top 10:
10 Danielsom - Ships
09 Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings
08 Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
07 The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
06 Islands - Return to the Sea
05 Cat Power - The Greatest
04 The Ravonettes - Pretty in Black
03 Mates of State - Bring it Back
02 Built to Spill - You in Reverse
01 Starlight Mints - Drowaton
Jennifer Hall's top 10:
10 The Submarines - Declare a New State
09 Built to Spill - You in Reverse
08 Mates of State - Bring it Back
07 Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings
06 Cat Power - The Greatest
05 Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
04 The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
03 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
02 M. Ward - Post War
01 "Marie Antoinette" Soundtrack
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