Top 40 Albums of 2006

It was difficult compiling this top 40 because I'm generally opposed to pigeon-holing albums into ranges. Depending on my mood, an album could rate in the top 10 and then a week later be relegated down the table and vice versa. That said, the general trend is more or less correct with albums that have a better position than others deserving it in the overall scheme of things. So with rambling aside, let us examine the records in the 21-30 slot.

30. Lamchop - Damaged

Country and soul household poetry. " Lambchop seem to roll around the Middle Tennessee countryside like a giant blob, absorbing every musician in their path. But Wagner is a very disciplined songwriter, and Lambchop are a very disciplined blob."
[Pitchfork]

Official site






29. Jonanna Newsom - Ys

Allegory and arcane referenced folk. "The people who hear this record will split into two crowds: The ones who think it's silly and precious, and the ones who, once they hear it, won't be able to live without it."
[Pitchfork]

Wikipedia






28. Califone - Roots & Crowns

Bluesy and soulful. "It is old and new, dirty and clean, alienating and accessible, sweet and ugly, organic and industrial, doting and vicious. It is one of the most quintessentially American records imaginable."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







27. Juana Molina - Son

Experimental electronic folk. "An album of highly varied moods and textures. Molina's a bit of a stealth artist, actually, sneaking into the deeper recesses of your brain after mesmerizing the lobe that wants only easy pleasure."
[Pitchfork]

Official site






26. Espers - Espers II

Big-freak folk. "II is a perfectly balanced record, and its arrangements are so exact and delicate that it almost feels like one buzz of a doorbell or ring of a telephone could send the whole thing toppling over, splattering into useless bits."
[Pitchfork]

Official site






25. Herbert - Scale

Idiosyncratic high-end sampledelia jazz disco. "Sophisticated and whimsical, joyful and yet tinged with sadness, Scale is one of this year's great albums."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







24. Islands - Return to the Sea

Disprate pop. "A sprawling, gorgeous collection of pop songs...all wrapped up in the richness of the production: unusual instrumentation and tiny flourishes create dense compositions that demand repeated listening."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







23. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped

Sleek and slippery avant-garde pop. "An album that sounds beautifully invigorated and goes down smoothly."
[Pitchfork]

Official site








22. The Flaming Lips - War Of The Mystics

Space rock. "The sounds are certainly interesting...the best guitar rock they've produced since Clouds Taste Metallic."
[Pitchfork]

Official site








21. Mastodon - Blood Mountain

Complex and dense metal. "If Blood Mountain, their brilliantly upsized and unrelenting third album, doesn't confirm their position as the greatest big-time metal crew on earth, I demand a state-by-state recount."
[Pitchfork]

Official site







Coming soon: the top 20 records of 2006!