OK so best albums of 2006;
For me hands down my favorite album and concert was Band of Horses...(interesting how for me my favoerite disc was also my favorite concert with the Decemberists)
Band of Horses to me does it all....sincere heart on your sleeve stuff , but not cloying....interesting lyrics that stand up after repeated listenings.. I dont know that they bring in anything all that new and the lead vocals are perhaps a little too much the sound of the band , which might make the next album difficult to build upon, but the songs are so damn good that I cant stop listening to it...
second best album for me would be cat Power the greatest....wherein our heroine pulls together a tight nashville band to bring out all the nuances of her insecure songwritting abilities...Though I like bits of her earlier work a great deal, this album is consistent all the way through and agin the songs are the main strength...
Sure the band is professional ( to a fault for some) but for me its about the songs and though I have a soft spot for the nashville sound , I dont think it matters with this record...her doing all the songs solo like her show at Lees did just that and though it had a few weak moments , those renditions were very strong too...
Albums by Sparklehorse, decemberists , M.Ward (thanks Kyle)and Neko Case all worked for me this year and though I have multiple albums from these bands, and though they dont offer anything new from their old sounds ...they can keep cranking them out if they keep up the consistently high quality songs.....
I will add more albums later.....we should all try for 10 as some of our lessor faves might be good for others amongst us...