Without further ado here is my official TOP 10 ALBUM LIST OF 2006
That’s right kids. You’ve waited all year to know who I think deserves a spot in the top 10, and here it is in all it’s glory. Feel free to argue, shout, and disagree, but know deep in your heart of hearts that I am right.

10. Soul Position - Things go Better with RJ & Al
9. Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
8. The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine
7. Tapes N Tapes - The Loon
6. Man Man - Six Demon Bag
5. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
4. Islands - Return to the Sea
3. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I am Dreaming
2. Beirut - Gulag Orkestra
1. TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

okay dokey. this was a tough list. specifically for 7 - 10. lots of other albums could have made it into these slots. Arizona - Welcome Back Dear Children; Peter Bjorn & John - Writer’s Block; Grizzly Bear - Yellow House; Swan Lake - Beast Moans; Pinback - Nautical Antiques; Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche; Two Gallants - What the Toll Tells…. the list goes on and on.

but i guess that is what makes the top 10 so challenging. gotta place some limits. Like not including EP’s. MYKE.

Brief Explanations:
Soul Position: I love RJD2, and this is no exception. Commercial rap was weak this year. but this is good stuff.
Final Fantasy: I have a soft spot for the violin and Owen wields it like a sword. Great show too.
The Thermals: Not typically my style, but it is so good, that genre aside, it blew me out of the water. short, fast, and angry.
Tapes N Tapes: Indie-darlings. Hip, but you can’t debate that they are on point.
Man Man: The one band that I am really bummed that I haven’t seen yet. Amazing album from start to finish.
Band of Horses: I liked Carissa’s Weird, and I like this. Fast or slow it doesn’t matter, all the songs are great.
Islands: AMAZING live and so much better than the Unicorns. Poppy, rappy, instrumentally. It’s all there.
Sunset Rubdown: Per’s got a crush on Spencer Krug and why not? He is the total package. Unique with a capital “U”.
Beirut: One man bands appeal to me. Something about all that talent bottled up in one person. This kid had “it”. Whatever “it” is.
TV On The Radio: No words to describe. A near perfect album. What rock should be.

In honor of all the great bands that produced beautiful tunes this year I put together a Best of 2006 mix that I hope you all will enjoy. It is hosted on YouSendIt and hence will be active for 7 days or 100 downloads. Whatever comes first. Enjoy and let me know what you think. I broke the file up into two zipped files for slightly easier downloading:

Best of 2006 - I (60mb)
Best of 2006 - II (72mb)

ps. myke is the only other of my friends that takes nerdy music as serious as I. so it is only right that he has his top 10 published as well:
10) belle and sebastian- The life persuit
9) beirut - gulag orkestar
voxtrot - mothers, sisters, daughters, and wives (EP)
7) man man - six demon bag
6) figurines - skeleton
5) joanna newsom - ys
4) tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain
3) band of horses - everything all the time
2) sunset rubdown - shutup i am dreaming
1) islands - return to the sea