In no particular order:
(I probably only bought about 5 albums released in 2006 during 2006, but that's another story)

Lou Rhodes - Beloved One. Ex Lamb vocalist's folky debut. Very fine indeed. Pity it didn't snag the Mercury.

Bic Runga - Birds (was this year, right?). A real mood album, sounds fantastic, not as slick as Beautiful Collision.

Luke Haines - Off my rocker at the art school bop. Auteurs front man, he's still got it.

Cerys Matthews - Never said goodbye. A lot better than you might expect for someone who once fronted Catatonia.

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever you say etc. Justifies the hype. I think it's a great debut, be very interested in where they go from here.

Honourable mention: Scout Niblett - Kidnapped by Neptune. I got this this year but was it a 2005 release? Great album - Steve Albini at the desk, raw and heavy then tender and quiet. Veers unpredicatably...


Will have to get round to checking out the Decemberists and Joanna Newsom, maybe in 2008 ;-) Nice to see Nina Nastasia get a mention, her other work is spell binding, check out Dogs today.

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kidnapped by neptune is great indeed but is an early 2005 release indeed... as for nina nastasia, i've been listening to 'run to ruin' a lot lately and i absolutely loves it...

...oh, and yes, yes, yes to newsom and decemberists

bort: Cerys Matthews - Never said goodbye.

Yeah it was a very good album, i hope you've checked out Cockahoop cos its even better. I saw her live during the week, amazing one of the best gigs of the year and i tried to sell a ticket for her vicar street show here for a tener and no one was interested. And in general there doesn't seem to be that much interest in her, why i don't know cos she's got the best female voice out there today.

simple kid - "SK2"
peter bjorn and john - "writers block"
emily loizeau - "l'autre bout du monde"
vanessa and the o's - "la ballade d'o"
midlake - "the trials of van occupanther"

emily loizeau is an anglo-french piano-playing singer: her music is cabaret + pop + frenchness + black humour + catchy tunes - not too dissimilar to regina spector.

vanessa and the o's: vanessa is a french singer, and she made this album with james iha of the smashing pumpkins. the album sounds like the velvet underground and nico.

I find it very hard to decide on these lists but here's one:

1. Sunset Rubdown - Shut up I'm Dreaming
2. The Immediate - In Towers and Clouds
3. Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldier (Just for the Olympia gig)
4. Guillemots - Through the windowpane
5. My Morning Jacket - Okonokos (Just because I can't nominate Z)

Other albums of note: The Young Knives, YYY's, The Walkmen, TV on the radio, Pretty girls make graves, Tapes'n'Tapes, Joanna Newsom, Swan Lake etc.

NPR's Listeners Top 10 2006.
Another 10......
You can also listen to a track from each album, which is nice....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6557143

The Guillemots - Through the Window Pane
Sleepy Jackson - One was a Spider one was a Bird
Band of Horses - Everything all the time
TV on The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Broken Social Scene - BSS

The Frank And Walters - A Renewed Interest In Happiness (pure class)
Camera Obscura - Lets Get Out Of This Country
The Immediate - In Towers and Clouds
Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
Simple Kid - SK2

The hold steady - boys and girls in america
Lambchop - Damaged
Gullimots - through the window pane
simple kid - sk2
broken social scene - bss

Nothing that hasn't been mentioned already i think;

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Neil Young - Living With War
Band Of Horses - Everything all the time
Midlake - Trials Of Van Occupanther
and lastest but not leastest and probably mostest
Joanna Newsom

speaking of which, big dissapointment to see she has announced UK gigs next year but no sign of a Dublin gig. Anybody hear anything?

Its annoying but I think she is touring with a 40 piece orchestra (poss more) so she'd have to book a reasonably sized venue for it. She wouldnt pull big crowds here so thats why she didnt do a show here me thinks

hey my top five albums of this year are
1. Band of horses - everything all the time
2. black angels - passover
3.The decemberists - the crane wife
4. Rock Central Plaza - We are not horses
5.tHE Asteroid #4 - an amazing Dream

I'm Looking forward to the new shins album next year, also the re issue of on avery island by the neutral milk hotel, there is gonna be a bonus disc of extra tracks!!

She's been touring in the States with a 5-piece band, and she's doing a handful of shows with full orchestras in the UK next month but I think a full proper European tour is to follow later, maybe March or April.. presumably either on her own or with the band again. Did anyone notice that she was in the 'What's Hot' bit of the Irish Times Saturday magazine last weekend? I can imagine the majority of their readers scratching their heads somewhat at her unique style..

Doing it for me this year:

Arctic Monkeys - Is Alex Turner the best British songwriter since Morrissey ?

Foo Fighters - In Your Honour

The Killers - Sam's Town.

Can't get my head around putting 'em in order yet, but here goes...

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Toumani Diabate - Boulevard de l'Independence
Islands - Return To The Sea
Tapes 'n' Tapes - The Loon
M Ward - Post War

Of course, tomorrow it'd be a different 5...! Love it!

Sunset Rubdown - Shut up i am dreaming
TV on The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
Forward Russia - Give Me A Wall
What Made Milwaukee Famous - Trying To Never Catch Up
The Russian Futurists - Me, Myself and Rye

howya Goat man,

If you like Beirut n want to check out more balkan type stuff, check out taraf de haidouks (http://mintayyy.blogspot.com/2006/12/taraf-de-haidouks.html) or Bratsch, both really good. And the North Strand Klezmer Band here in Dublin.

Theres a balkan music festival on in cork on paddys weekend too, but i knows nowt more about that so far.

Nice one Daragh, will check those out!

Got the Hawk And A Hacksaw album recently, sounds promising on the first couple of listens...