Best music of 2006

Started: 2007-01-22 20:38:57

Submitted: 2007-01-22 21:02:31

Visibility: World-readable

In 2006, I rediscovered music. I gave up on commercial radio sometime in the last millennium; it had the advantage of playing music I hadn't heard before, but had the nasty habits of playing the same two songs over and over again, annoying DJ prattle, and (of course) commercials.

(Not being able to sample my music first hurt my willingness to plunk down US$15 or US$20 for an album with only one hit single; far too many albums suffer from the Chumbawumba effect. Back in the good old days of Napster (the first Napster) downloading an entire album to see if it was any good required very little effort; in most cases, I bought the album. Then the RIAA began their campaign of terror, suing first file-sharing websites and ultimately their customers. I responded in the only reasonable way: I stopped buying music.)

Last year I discovered All Songs Considered, an online NPR show (also available as a podcast, which is how I listen to it) dedicated to new and interesting music. With a worthwhile, commercial-free venue for discovering music, I started buying -- and enjoying -- again.

So here's my current, entirely-biased top-n list of music from 2006:

1. Dirty on Purpose: Hallelujah Sirens
2. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
3. Dashboard Confessional: Dusk and Summer
4. BT: This Binary Universe
5. Asobi Seksu: Citrus
6. Sean Lennon: Friendly Fire
7. The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America
8. Michael Brook: RockPaperScissors

(Subject to change as I keep listening to music released in 2006. Void where prohibited.)