So it's a new year, and hopefully it will be yet another year which throws out some great music. This year there was a more than a handful of great albums released, by established and new artists, and quite a few that for me will be personal favourites for years to come. There were artists that were releasing work that developed their sound and style; artists who courted new aspects of reinvention, transformation, or elaboration, and artists who introduced themselves with an assured first album. It can be said, that it was a good year for music.
Therefore, as a new year means another 'albums of the year' list, there was some consideration put into the following list of personal favourites of the year. I decided to add my own 'quirky' (also see 'wacky' and 'zany') categories, as in a best of year 'awards' list found on music websites and magazines, for this list. It just had to be done, and there's no apologies I'm afraid...sorry [ah, shit].
Albums of 2006
Early contender of the year
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas
Best solo album
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Best genre 'unclassifiable' album
Warren Suicide The Hello
Creativity (craziness) award
The Mars Volta - Amputechture
Best rock album
The Futureheads - News and Tributes
Best 'dirty' rock/metal album
Eagles of Death Metal - Death By Sexy
Best rockabilly album
Dan Sartain - Join Dan Sartain
Best Mike Patton' album
Peeping Tom - Peeping Tom
Best Swedish album
Tobias Froberg - Somewhere In The City
Best country/blues album
Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Best country/bluegrass album
Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World
Best alt-country/folk album
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go
Getting back the 'old magic' award
Tom Petty - Highway Companion
Best compilation
Strange Country
Best Drive-By Truckers album
Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing & a Curse
Best album I haven't heard, but want really want to
Ton Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Best 'have no image to host' album
Joanna Newsom - Ys
These albums are all loved in one way or another - they all make me slightly moist - and I think they are the stand out albums of the year. Of course I've missed some notable albums out, but these were the albums chosen by gut-instincts and multiple listens.
For the next coming months we can look out for new releases from Arcade Fire (Neon Bubble, 5th March), The Klaxons (Myths of the Near Future, 29th January), Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues Tour (29th January), Kings of Leon (TBC, April) and Grinderman (5th March), as well as the usual batch of albums that come unannounced and leap into your life.
Well, for now...on to 2007!
Therefore, as a new year means another 'albums of the year' list, there was some consideration put into the following list of personal favourites of the year. I decided to add my own 'quirky' (also see 'wacky' and 'zany') categories, as in a best of year 'awards' list found on music websites and magazines, for this list. It just had to be done, and there's no apologies I'm afraid...sorry [ah, shit].
Albums of 2006
Early contender of the year
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas
Best solo album
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Best genre 'unclassifiable' album
Warren Suicide The Hello
Creativity (craziness) award
The Mars Volta - Amputechture
Best rock album
The Futureheads - News and Tributes
Best 'dirty' rock/metal album
Eagles of Death Metal - Death By Sexy
Best rockabilly album
Dan Sartain - Join Dan Sartain
Best Mike Patton' album
Peeping Tom - Peeping Tom
Best Swedish album
Tobias Froberg - Somewhere In The City
Best country/blues album
Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Best country/bluegrass album
Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World
Best alt-country/folk album
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go
Getting back the 'old magic' award
Tom Petty - Highway Companion
Best compilation
Strange Country
Best Drive-By Truckers album
Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing & a Curse
Best album I haven't heard, but want really want to
Ton Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Best 'have no image to host' album
Joanna Newsom - Ys
These albums are all loved in one way or another - they all make me slightly moist - and I think they are the stand out albums of the year. Of course I've missed some notable albums out, but these were the albums chosen by gut-instincts and multiple listens.
For the next coming months we can look out for new releases from Arcade Fire (Neon Bubble, 5th March), The Klaxons (Myths of the Near Future, 29th January), Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues Tour (29th January), Kings of Leon (TBC, April) and Grinderman (5th March), as well as the usual batch of albums that come unannounced and leap into your life.
Well, for now...on to 2007!
