My Top Ten (or 20) Albums of 2006 - Part 1 (20-11):

What an amazing year for music, I had to do 20. This year I will be counting down backwards (oh the drama!), starting with 20-11. The top ten will be posted shortly with more detailed reviews and album art, stay tuned! I will also include links to their myspace pages so you can sample some tunes.

20. The Stills - Without Feathers

This album probably would have been better if I had not alreay owned their previous effort Logic Will Break Your Heart. With this album The Still re-envented themselves, the results where not as good. It's still good, but get Logic... first.

[check them out]

19. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier

Just good ol' rock and roll from Jack White, Brendan Benson, and two thirds of The Greenhornes. It's a superband that actaully spent some effort writing their songs and assembling their album.

[check them out]

18. Matisyahu – Youth

A Hasidic Jew, hip-hop, reggae artist ... How can you go wrong? Seriously, it's good... Maybe you just have to listen to beleive...

[check him out]

17. Snowden – Anti-Anti

I have a love and hate relationship with this album. I love it because of it's hypnotic guitar, powerful rythems, and the brilliant combination of that slick 80's new wave feel and the grungyness of post-punk. I hate it because it may have ruined Interpol for me.

[check them out]

16. Ben Harper - Both Sides of the Gun

This is a two disc album, disc one is an personal, emotional, acoustic ballad record. Disc two is a political, passionat funk-rock record. A wonderful display of both sides of Ben Harper.

[check him out]

15. Half-Handed Cloud - Halos + Lassos

Wimsical synth-pop music; chipper, falseto, and delightfully off-key vocals; 19 short songs; and two of my favorite things, theology and sarcasim; all this makes for one great album.

[check him out]

14. Thom Yorke - The Eraser

While it isn't the overal mind blowing, eye-opening experience a new Radiohead album is, it is still a wonderful journey through a beautiful soundscape. If you find Radiohead unaccessable, you might enjoy Thom's solo album. It's easier to listen to and easier to understand, but not as interesting.

[check him out]

12. Ani DiFranco – Reprive

Ani combines a strong sense of politcal and social justic with a creative brand of "folk" rock that only she can bring. Her passionate vocals make you believe she really could change the world. Reprive is no difrent on that reguard, but she has also turned a little more introspective with this one, and is even using some electric insturmentation!

[check her out]

12. Beck – The Information
Beck is a creative genious, and this album may be his best. It seems he has taken everything he learned from Sea Change and Guero and melded them into something completely new. It's folky, psycadelic, electronic, and minimalistic all at the same time. Even the cd packaging screams post-modern. It comes with a blank cd booklet (with only Beck's name on it) and four sheets of stickers so you can design your own.

[check him out]

11. The Essex Green - Cannibal Sea

The Essex Green pull off a 60's acoustic pop-rock in a way that sounds completly new, completly original, and still so familiar. The fun lyrics and the pleasant vocals of both Chris Ziter and Sasha Bell make this one of the most enjoyable listens if the year. To fully experience this one buy it, pop it in your car, and go for a drive.

[check them out]