Hundreds of albums cross my desk each year and I do my best to listen to every one at least twice. My slavish need to give every album I receive a shot means that I'm always one of the last to post my year-end best of list. It also means that I spend a few days assembling the list of my favorite albums and twice as many days after that shaving the list down before I decide about how many albums I will write.
I always begin thinking that I'll write something about my 100 favorite albums of the year; however, 22-hour days still don't provide enough time for me to pontificate about my top 100.
Accordingly, I've narrowed the list down to 75 albums this year and will only write something about the top 50; however, I would be remiss if I did not at least mention albums No. 75 to No. 51.
This will therefore be a column in four parts. Today's installment will focus on No. 75 to No. 51. The second and third parts will turn their respective gazes on albums No. 50 to No. 35, and No. 31 to No. 11. Finally, part four will unveil the top 10 albums in a little more detail.
One last note before I begin the list. I've done my best to avoid including albums that, while readily available, have not been released in North America officially. Lily Allen, The Magic Numbers, and The Shins are examples of discs likely to appear on the 2007 list. (In fact, two of the three are definitely on the list and have a strong chance at the top 10 next year.)
My favorite albums of 2006.
75. Jeremy Enigk, World Waits
74. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
73. The Divine Comedy, Victory For the Comic Muse
72. Jim Noir, Tower of Love
71. Jonny Lives!, Get Steady
70. The Roots, Game Theory
69. Joseph Arthur, Nuclear Daydream
68. Josh Rouse, Subtitulo
67. Sandi Thom, Smile... It Confuses People
66. Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
65. Ben Kweller, Ben Kweller
64. Graham Coxon, Love Travels At Illegal Speeds
63. Eagles of Death Metal, Death By Sexy
62. Pat Green, Cannonball
61. The Rapture, Pieces of the People We Love
60. Teddybears, Soft Machine
59. The Living End, State of Emergency
58. Thom Yorke, The Eraser
57. TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain
56. Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam
55. Long Blondes, Someone to Drive You Home
54. The Streets, The Hardest Way to Make An Easy Living
53. Gomez, How We Operate
52. Tom Waits, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards
51. Joshua Radin, We Were Here
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