Top 10 Albums of 2006

After hours of toiling over my list, this is what I've come up with. Of the albums on which I have unabashedly spent so much time (and money), here are my favourites:

Number Ten - The Blow
I heard "Parentheses", and I immediately knew that Paper Television was for me. Jona Bechtolt has concocted something really special here, and Khaela Maricich's vocals float along perfectly atop his fantastic beats and instrumentation. My newfound electro-pop obsession continues...




Number Nine - Joanna Newsom
I anticipated that this would be my favourite album of the year, and perhaps a year down the road it will be. I've already written about Ys, and I do think that it's truly brilliant. To be honest, I didn't think that it'd be this far back. I'm a sucker for quirky vocals, and Joanna Newsom delivers the goods over delicately plucked harp strings and a fantastic score by Van Dyke Parks.


Number Eight - TV on the Radio
What hasn't already been said about this album? Tunde Adebimpe and the gang have pretty much reinvented modern rock music with this album. "Wolf Like Me" easily wins track of the year, and while every track stands tall on its own, the album as a whole towers. Extremely unique and inspiring - I can't get enough of this record.



Number Seven - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
As Wells pointed out in his Top 10, the first Yeah Yeah Yeahs LP is a better album. It's meaner, grittier and harder. That said, this album is still absolutely incredible. "Way Out" trumps half of their output, and "Honeybear" is a hell of a track. The "Gold Lion" remix is also the soundtrack to one of the best nights of my life (thanks Wells & Jamie). Amy and I saw them at Roseland this year, and I don't think that I've ever seen a better set.

Number Six - Tokyo Police Club
Young, creative, and fucking talented. These guys are just too much fun to listen to, and seeing them at Osheaga was definitely one of the highlights of the year. Every song on the EP is completely different, yet they all share the same energy. The synths on this album are incredible, and Tokyo Police Club have single-handedly reaffirmed by belief in indie-rock.



Number Five - Thom Yorke
I should've seen my obsession with electronica coming years ago - I'm one of the two people I know that lists Kid A as their favourite Radiohead album. Thom Yorke's first solo effort comes very close to the frigid beauty of his aforementioned masterpiece, and only time will tell which is truly his greatest work. I love every single song on this album.


Number Four - Ratatat
While it was Ratatat's self-titled offering that initially caught my attention, Classics is at the very least it's equal. I have a feeling that "Wildcat" will always remind me of driving around in Oakley's SUV on the day I bought the only copy at Fred's (instilling great jealousy in the meantime), and just cruising. No vocals, lots of synths and some digitized guitar riffs makes for an album that will be a fixture in my car for years to come.

Number Three - Hot Chip
The Warning and The Eraser were definitely spun more than any other albums at my office this year. The vocals, while often insightful, are rarely intrusive, and lend themselves to Hot's Chip's electronic palette beautifully. If you're into programming, this is a great one to get lost in. I think that the sectors of my iPod where the title track and "Colours" have been stored are damned near close to unreadable from being accessed so many times.

Number Two - Beirut
Chances are that if you've called me on a Sunday morning over the past couple of months, you'd hear this in the background while I was cooking french toast. This is my favourite feel-good album of the year, and I stick it on whenever I'm by myself. "Scenic World" is an absolute gem, and I have a feeling that I will have a lifelong love affair with this album.



Number One - Islands
What can I say about Return to the Sea that I haven't said the thousand times people have read "Islands Are Forever" on my rainbow t-shirt? I am so obsessed with this band that I can't even comprehend it. I mean, I not only deemed it newsworthy when Nick got a haircut, but I even considered following suit. I pretty much idolize him in every way, and I think that Islands now are capable of more than The Unicorns ever achieved. This one's on everyone's list, but I think that this is the only position that it can fairly occupy on mine.

That's it for now....

-Mark
xoxo