2006 in Music: Is That All There Is?

It's 2007 already, but in typical style, I never got around to posting the third annual obligatory yet needless list of the top albums of 2006. What is an album anymore, anyway?

1. The Hush Sound - Like Vines. I have to credit Jen for bringing this one to my attention. Just a great album with strongly crafted melodies, split vocals between male and female, and excellent production. Hope to hear much more soon.
2. The Beatles - Love. I really enjoyed hearing these tracks remixed and remastered.
3. The Feeling - Twelve Stops and Home. Good harmonies, with songwriting and production reminiscent of ELO - and that's a good thing.
4. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere. "Crazy" is one that will be with us for a long time. Almost single-handedly created an indie soul genre.
5. Tilly and the Wall - Bottoms of Barrels. Strong, hook-filled, well-produced. Plus the tap dancing percussion is completely original.
6. Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors. Just the fact of a new album is pretty much enough to guarantee Morrissey a spot on any of my lists. Exactly what you would expect, and that's just fine.
7. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under the Covers, Vol. 1. Hate to include a covers disc, but this brought two of my favorites together and posed the question of whether to keep multiple versions of the same song by different artists on the iPod (answer: yes). Looking forward to a volume two.
8. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife. The band ventured into prog-rock territory with hints of Yes and Rush, leaving behind some of the melodic turns but not abandoning their literacy. What I consider a weaker Decemberists album is still better than 90% of the stuff out there. Plus, you gotta love the whole thing with Stephen Colbert.
9. Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. - The Land of Pure Imagination. Great to hear an ex-Jellyfisher making music (where are you, Jason Falkner?) and not just on a Moog. Lush pop.
10. Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers. Not the earth-shattering power-pop/blues summit that I expected, but promising nonetheless.

Honorable mention to Nellie McKay for finally releasing her second album, The Ditty Bops, and The Scissor Sisters. I may be leaving something great out, but I can't recall too many others making a big impression this year.

Looking over the list, I can't think that 2006 was a banner year for music. Maybe 2007 will have more to offer.

And here's last year's list.