Top 10

10. ERIC BACHMANN
To The Races
Simple acoustic guitar need not be simple. It can be accompanied by great lyrics, and a Springsteen-like voice. A late entry to my Year End Best of list, but nonetheless a very notable one. Has replayability written all over it.

9. JOANNA NEWSOM
Ys
An album named after an ancient mythological city was always going to be strange. Especially if that album only contained five songs, yet was over seventy minutes in length. And featured a harp. The most surreal experience of the year. Surreal, yet beautiful.

8. BUTTLESS CHAPS
Where Night Holds Light
A terrible band name, a decent enough album title, but an excellent album. Don’t be put off by the band name, the only one worse than Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. in 2006. Some of the best harmonies of the year, and crescendos that outdo Chris Martin.

7. THE HOLD STEADY
Boys and Girls in America
Genuinely brilliant lyrics, matched by wonderful music. Any other band would have had trouble topping the brilliance of Separation Sunday, but not The Hold Steady. They more than deserve the acclaim.

6. JENNY LEWIS
Rabbit Fur Coat
Rilo Kiley frontwoman takes a break, teams up with singing twins. Sounds like an odd combination, but it works so, so well. Who needs a band anyway? Clever lyrics, radiant singing by some of the hottest women in the music business.

5. LILY ALLEN
Alright Still
The Arctic Monkeys had the best British debut album of the year. That was until Lily Allen came along. Funnier than Alex Turner, with all the sing-along qualities. And ‘Smile’ is definitely going to be the vengeful break-up song of many girls (and guys) for years to come.

4. HOWLING BELLS
Howling Bells
Championed by Britmag NME, but yet to receive widespread acclaim, Howling Bells released the most brooding record of the year. Dark, haunting, beautiful, scary, a mix-and-match of superlatives that gives a new bleak perspective on life with every listen.

3. SWAY
This Is My Demo
2006 wasn’t a big year for rap or hip-hop. It was the year, the scene lost J Dilla, but also the year Sway won an award for Best Hip-Hop artist without even releasing an album. But when he did, what an album it was. It stuck two fingers up at the industry, at modern Britain, while retaining both its charm and its humour.

2. PAUL SIMON
Surprise
Talent doesn’t die. It stays with people into old age. Your looks may go, but skill never fades. Many veterans released albums this year: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Elton John, and an awful record from Sting. But the granddad of songwriting proved he still had it in him, even with the pension book in the post.

1. SETH LAKEMAN
Freedom Fields
Folk had two great records in 2006. One was the widely-acclaimed Ys, the other was from a young man from Devon. Lakeman’s third album is his best so far, and that’s saying something, when you listen to his two magnificent previous efforts. Q Magazine hailed him numerous times throughout the year, and then forgot about him in their year-end best of list. Probably so they could put the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes and Kasabian in higher positions. True genius.