Top 10

10. JAMES FIGURINE
Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake
I almost didn’t put this in the ten slot because I was worried I’d later think it was a mistake to rate is so highly. You know what? That is a lame reason for lying about how much I love this album right now. Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake -- and not any of the above albums -- is the most frequently listened album on my iPod to date; I was shocked to find this out when I checked the stats. I guess it just bleeped and blooped its way right to my heart.

9. ONEIDA
Happy New Year
It took this, the eight album from Oneida, before they finally broke through with me. This was the just the right album at the right place and the right time. My musical taste is as wide open now as it has ever been, and Oneida’s smorgasborg of musical styles all sautéed with heavy repetition was just what I have been craving. All that is great about Oneida can be experienced in eight minutes. if you missed this album you owe it to yourself to check out “Up With the People.”

8. BAND OF HORSES
Everything All The Time
Everyone has a sweater or a hoodie that will always remain part of the rotation, no matter how many newer, higher quality, more stylish articles of clothing they add to their wardrobe. For me it’s this ugly ass mustard-coloured Guess sweater I have had for years. Terri hates the damn thing, but I love it. It’s reliable, comfy, and of course warm. This year, Band of Horses is the musical equivalent to my reliable sweater. It's maybe the least ground-breaking album I have ranked in my top ten, and that’s okay. I can go to this album in any mood, any time and always be satisfied with what I get.

7. THE LIARS
Drum's Not Dead
If for some strange reason I was made to pick one album that was released in 2006 to hear one more time before never being able to hear any music released in that year again for the rest of my life, I would pick this album. Why? Because all the rest of what is on my list I am convinced I would eventually hear something similar again. Not the Liars, though; they beat to their own drum and what a wonderful beat it is.

6. RAISING THE FAWN
Maginot Line
Call The Maginot Line the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind of this year’s list. I used to call serious bullocks on the concept that movies releases early in a year have very little chance of winning Academy Awards. I take it back -- it is very hard not to have a cloudy memory of the great albums I heard at the start of 2006. However, The Maginot Line never strayed far from my mind. This, for those who like that sort of thing, is the best Canadian album of the year, according to me.

5. JOANNA NEWSOM
Ys
In previous years I have opted to leave out late-year releases in fear of overreacting and skewing my list. I refuse to do that with Ys; I still have regrets about leaving The Go! Team and Animal Collective off previous lists and I know that I would be adding Newsom if I did it again. There are a few albums in my top ten that aren’t the type I will listen to all the time, and that’s okay. Some albums are absolutely brilliant but better saved for the optimum moment when you can fully appreciate that. For all the other times, I have hundreds of albums to choose from; for these times I could probably count on my appendages the number of albums -- such as Ys -- that will fit the bill.

4. THE THERMALS
the body the blood and the machine
This is the first of two Sub Pop releases that managed to crack my top ten. I adored Fuckin’ A, but never would have considered it a top ten type of album. By somewhat embracing a concept and becoming a two piece, the Thermals found a maturity in their music that allowed the music to climb a few rungs higher than ever before. There isn’t one thing that the Thermals do considerably better than most bands; in fact most of what they do might be worse. As a whole, however, they are second to very few.

3. OH NO! OH MY!
Oh no! Oh My!
This will be succinct: there isn’t a better, more catchy, infectious indie-pop album that was released in 2006. Honestly, it wasn’t even that close. And now is when I toot the TWM horn and say that we were on this one in the very beginning, and so it is with great satisfaction that I have been watching the popularity of this great band continue to grow. It's my third rated album this year, but of my top ten albums this is the one I’d be most confident in recommending to any random person on the street.

2. CANDY BARS
On Cutting Ti-Gers in Half and Understanding Narratation
How much I struggle in making my year-end list is an oft-discussed topic on the TWM site, and there is no better proof of that than Candy Bars this year. This album bounced all over my top ten before eventually nestling in the two spot. When I reviewed On Cutting Ti-gers in Half and Understanding Narration, Daniel Martinez’s vocals consumed me and I couldn’t do anything without thinking about these songs. I probably haven’t gone more than a couple weeks all year without gravitating back to this, and I can’t say that about very many albums this year.

1. THE HOLD STEADY
Boys and Girls in America
As I write this, I don’t know if Pitchfork is going to decide to go with Boys and Girls in America as their number one album. Part of me hopes they don’t. In short, this is the album Hold Steady fans always knew was going to happen eventually. This wasn’t a year where one album stood out above the rest, but it was the incredible consistency, song writing and unmatched replay value of Boys and Girls in America that separated it from the pack. It didn’t hurt that “First Night” is also the best song of the year, in this writer’s opinion.