I know it is a little late to do an end-of-year list (I think after January is the cutoff), but since I am almost finished with the challenge, I thought it was appropriate for me to give my impressions of what was 2006 (I’ll try to keep the descriptions as short as possible):

Honorable Mentions:
Beck: Information
Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped
Cold War Kids: Robbers & Cowards
M. Ward: Post-War
Ghostface Killah: Fishscale
The Magic Numbers: Those the Brokes
Tokyo Police Club: A Lesson in Crime
T.I.: King
Belle and Sebastian: The Life Pursuit

** UPDATE **
My brother pointed out an egregious omission of Johnny Cash’s American V: A Hundred Highways. I would have to rank that at about 5 (tied with Neko Case, seems appropriate enough)…

Now the list:

20. Scott Walker: The Drift
I have to be honest, I downloaded this album on one of my iTunes spending sprees without having any expectations whatsoever. After listening to it a couple of times the only real solid conclusion I could make was that it is the strangest album I own. It is a very complex and avant-garde album both musically and lyrically (have to be in that frame of mind to listen). To put it into perspective, here is a snippet of a review I read about it:
Like a malcontent Santa Claus, Scott Walker’s gift to the music world this year was a sack of coal-black art songs, dumped center-stage and set on fire.
Notable Songs: Cossacks Are; Cue; Buzzers

19. Man Man: Six Demon Bag
The most fucking craziest band ever. Paul was lucky to see their performance live when they came to Lubbock and commented to me about how insane they were, so I immediately got the album. This band is definitely trying to bring back Eastern European gypsy music, and it is working.
Notable Songs: Skin Tension; Feathers; Push the Eagle’s Stomach (wtf?!?)

18. Peter Bjorn and John: Writer’s Block
Listening to Peter Bjorn and John (yes no commas) is like taking a trip back to the cheerful times when the Beach Boys and the Monkeys ruled America. Soft Euro Pop accompanied with (sometimes) whistling provide catchy upbeat tunes that anyone can relax and jam out to on a lazy Sunday.
Notable Songs: Amsterdam; Roll the Credits; Paris 2004

17. Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury
Hyped up early as the best hip-hop album in a long time, Clipse’s Hell Hath No Fury clearly doesn’t meet those ridiculous expectations, but still comes out swinging hard. Pusha-T and Malice, like on their first album, compliment each other’s styles very well. Both do a great job twisting their flows and coming up with great references along the way. In addition, the Neptune’s production of the album leads to some VERY interesting combos between minimalist beats with brash rhymes.
Notable Songs: Wamp Wamp; Mr. Me Too; We Got it for Cheap

16. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton: Knives Don’t Have Your Back
It seems like every six months, Emily Haines pairs up with a different band. Whether it is supplying the vocals to the Canadian groups Metric or Broken Social Scene, she is always in command with her mysterious vocals. The album she makes here with the Soft Skeleton is very dark, filled with dissonance and harshness in every song. Definitely an interesting shift in her style.
Notable Songs: Doctor Blind; The Lottery; Our Hell

15. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins: Rabbit Fur Coat
Another lead singer, this time for the alt-country band Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis delivers a stellar 1st solo album with backup vocals supplied by the Watson Twins. If it was worth something, this was my favorite album at the beginning of the year when it was released in January!
Notable Songs: The Big Guns; You Are What You Love; Handle With Care

14. Super XX Man: X and Collecting Rocks
A fairly unknown singer/songwriter from Portland, Oregon, Scott Garred (aka Super XX Man) consistently delivers amazing albums. He released two albums this year: X- his 10th album and Collecting Rocks which reworks some of his songs from his previous albums. If you like soft-guitar with personal lyrics, then Super XX Man will not disappoint.
Notable Songs: Collecting Rocks; Bottle Caps; Baby Song

13. Lupe Fiasco: Food & Liquor
Like most people, I first heard him on the UNDERRATED Kanye West song “Touch the Sky” rhyming a verse. I was skeptical when I heard that he was coming out with an album (I thought I couldn’t handle 10+ consecutive songs from him), but I was pleasantly surprised with his witty rhymes and his storytelling ability. This is a great pick if you enjoy rap that isn’t all about bitches and hoes.
Notable Songs: Pressure; Kick,Push; American Terrorist

12. Cat Power: The Greatest
Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) comes out with her 6th album with a definitely different tone and southern style with a lot of slow tempo ballad-like songs in this album. From a singer who is infamous for her stage-fright and breakdowns, she delivers a composed album.
Notable Songs: The Greatest; Empty Shell; Where Is My Love

11. Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope
Regina is back with her cryptic/light-hearted lyrics about topics ranging from cancer to relationships to America. Definitely her best album to date with some of the sweetest songs that you have ever heard.
Notable Songs: Samson; On the Radio; Apres Moi; Edit

10. Nouvelle Vague: Bande a Part
I first heard this band when they were featured and interviewed on NPR in August. If you aren’t familiar with them, they are a French new-wave (or bossa nova) band who covers 60′s/70′s/80′s songs with guitar, percusion, and French female singers. The original songs musicality is concealed, but you can still make it out. What is great about the group is that the singer(s) are unfamiliar with any of the songs, and are handed a sheet with just the lyrics, and they end up singing it how ever they want to sing it. Definitely an original concept!
Notable Songs: Ever Fallen in Love; Human Fly; Dancing with Myself

9. Lily Allen: Alright, Still…
Everyone I introduced Lily Allen to has loved her witty Brit-Pop lyrics and songs. She sings songs about everyday people’s problems (relationship revenge, getting snubbed at a club, drug addicted brother) and she definitely doesn’t idealize any situation. Her lyrics are witty, the beats are upbeat, and you can’t help but smile after listening to any song on her album. I can’t wait to see her live at SXSW and Coachella!
Notable Songs: Knock ‘Em Out; Alfie; Friday Night; Everything’s Just Wonderful

8. Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America
On the label of this album is a review by rollingstone which says “Damn you Hold Steady for being so good!” That pretty much sums up the album. If you need a song about partying/drinking/relationships then this is it. There have been parallels drawn between the band with a young Bruce Spingsteen (which I can see) only the lead singer, Craig Finn, doesn’t really sing as much as he recites.
Notable Songs: Party Pit; Stuck Between Stations; Chillout Tent

7. DJ Drama with Lil’ Wayne: Dedication 2
Best Rap Album of the Year. Period. Even though DJ Drama is currently facing ridiculous CD pirating charges for his development of mixtapes, he still comes out great mixing up popular beats (What You About That, Poppin’ My Collar, Getting Some Head) with random ass samples (one song’s beat is just a racquetball on a court). Lil’ Wayne is also lethal with his rhymes about Post-Katrina life and Ca$h Money extravagance while he makes allusions from Harry Potter to George Bush to 80′s Television shows. When Wayne says that he aspires to be the best rapper ever, you can’t help but admire his enthusiasm for rap and think that he is definitely on his way.
Notable Songs: Cannon; Ridin’ With the AK; What U Kno; Georgia…Bush

6. Bob Dylan: Modern Times
I know this HAS to be #1 on Stephanie Alley’s list, and she would have killed me if it wasn’t in my top 10 (and think she will still kill me by putting him next to Lil’ Wayne)! All in all the Dylan is back in great form with Modern Times. I have to admit, that I haven’t been a fan of the 90′s/00′s Dylan (the album Under the Red Sky left a bad taste in my mouth..it could have been WAY better), but his course voice singing his AMAZING lyrics (yes even the part about Alicia Keys in Thunder on the Mountain) in Modern Times have brought me back. It’s no The Time’s They Are A-Changin’ but still pretty good.
Notable Songs: Thunder on the Mountain; Rollin’ and Tumblin’; Beyond the Horizon

5. Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
One of my favorite female singer-songwriters back in action with Fox Confessor. All of her albums have a similar alt-country sound, but if you keep making great music, why should you alter it? I like how she is a fairly reserved singer, but on some songs she can display her range well (John Saw that Number).
Notable Songs: Hold On, Hold On; Dirty Knife; Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

4. Ratatat: Classics
This is an instrumental group composed of a former guitar player for Dashboard Confessional and some synth player/DJ/producer names E*vax. If you’ve driven in my car you have probably heard at least the song Wildcat. They make relatively simple beats and compose not too difficult of tunes, but the movement and melodic lines in each song is pretty impressive for just a guitar/drum machine/samples. Can’t wait to see them at Coachella!
Notable Songs: Wildcat; Kennedy; Lex

3. T.V. on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
This was actually the album that I submitted to NPR’s All Songs Considered as the best album of the year in November before I started to reevaluate my list. This CD has an amazing layering of sounds from a variety of sources plus the single “Wolf Like Me” was by far my favorite song of the year. If you don’t have “Wolf Like Me” on your iTunes, you need to download it immediately, it is a great energetic song. Also on the album, David Bowie has a cameo in “Province.” And if David Bowie thinks they’re good, you know they’re good.
Notable Songs: Province; I Was a Lover; Wolf Like Me

2. Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveSounds
I know I have received my fair share of criticism for liking this album, but I have to say that I am man enough to say that I like Justin Timberlake (strictly musically of course). This is so different than any other pop album from 2006. The combination between his voice and Timberland’s beats are just golden. Even after the “sexyback debacle” (I liked it, but about 1/2 of America hated it), he was able to comeback strong with “My Love” and “Chopped Me Up.” If only Alphadog was this good….
Notable Songs: Sexyback; My Love; Lovestoned/I Think She Knows; FutureSex/Love Sounds

1. The Knife: Silent Shout
This album brought back my faith in Swedish Electronic music. I know some people will say this is a cop-out because http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/ listed them as their top album of the year, but there is a reason for this: It is so fucking good. I was one of those who HATED any type of Electronic music, but this album got me hooked. I heard the single “We Share Our Mother’s Health” streamed off of pitchfork, and I immediately bought the album and loved it.
Notable Songs: Silent Shout; We Share Our Mother’s Health; Neverland