2006 in music.

Motion City Soundtrack's Commit This to Memory won 2005. Let's see who wins 2006. Everyone drink some water and take a breather, sheesh.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 2006:
Mary J. Blige - The Breakthrough (cont. from 2005)
Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable (cont. from 2005)
Il Divo - Ancora (cont. from 2005)
Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the 50s
Jack Johnson - Curious George
Jaheim - Ghetto Classics
High School Musical Cast - High School Musical
Ne-Yo - In My Own Words
Juvenile - Reality Check
Prince - 3121
TI - King
Rascal Flatts - Me and My Gang
Godsmack - IV
Tool - 10,000 Days
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way
AFI - Decemberunderground
Busta Rhymes - The Big Bang
Nelly Furtado - Loose
India Arie - Testimony
Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
Various Artists - Now! Vol. 22
LeToya - LeToya
Rick Ross - Port of Miami
Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
Danity Kane - Danity Kane
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Beyonce - B'Day
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
Ludacris - Release Therapy
Evanescence - The Open Door
Rod Stewart - Still the Same
Diddy - Press Play
Hannah Montana - Hannah Montana
Various Artists - Now! Vol. 23
The Game - Doctor's Advocate
Jay Z - Kingdom Come
Incubus - Light Grenades
Ciara - The Evolution
Young Jeezy - The Inspiration

Billboard chart-topping singles of 2006:
Mariah Carey - Don't Forget About Us (cont. from 2005)
D4L - Laffy Taffy
Nelly - Grillz
Beyonce - Check On It
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Ne-Yo - So Sick
Sean Paul - Temperature
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
Rihanna - SOS
Chamilionaire - Ridin'
Shakira - Hips Don't Lie
Taylor Hicks - Do I Make You Proud
Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous
Fergie - London Bridge
Justin Timberlake - SexyBack
Ludacris - Money Maker
Justin Timberlake - My Love
Akon - I Wanna Love You
Beyonce - Irreplaceable

What are your top three albums for 2006? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:
1. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
2. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
3. J Dilla - Donuts

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

Wow I forgot about Taylor Hicks

 

A truly bizarre list of chart toppers right there.

 

remainder of the top 15:
4. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
5. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
6. Manchester Orchestra - I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child
7. Jay Reatard - Blood Visions
8. Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos - The Dust of Retreat
9. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
10. The Killers - Sam's Town
11. Tool - 10,000 Days
12. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
13. Thursday - A City By the Light Divided
14. Loose Fur - Born Again in the USA
15. Rise Against - The Sufferer and the Witness

honorable mentions:
Albert Hammond Jr. - Yours to Keep
Alexi Murdoch - Time Without Consequence
Alexisonfire - Crisis
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Beyonce - B’Day
The Black Angels - Passover
The Black Keys - Magic Potion
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Built to Spill - You In Reverse
Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards
Converge - No Heroes
Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer
The Dear Hunter - Act I
Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse
The Format - Dog Problems
The Fratellis - Costello Music
Frightened Rabbit - Sing the Greys
Gomez - How We Operate
Have Heart - The Things We Carry
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Isis - In the Absence of Truth
Jay Z - Kingdom Come
Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out
Lamb of God - Sacrament
The Mars Volta - Amputechture
Mewithoutyou - Brother, Sister
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Mogwai - Mr. Beast
The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Norma Jean - Redeemer
Pete Yorn - Nightcrawler
Planes Mistaken For Stars - Mercy
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
Russian Circles - Enter
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Underoath - Define the Great Line

stuff to check out:
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Ciara - The Evolution
Destroyer - Rubies
The Game - Doctor’s Advocate
Mutemath - Mutemath
Rick Ross - Port of Miami
The Roots - Game Theory
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation

 

very odd time for commercially successful music. i never would have guessed Now!'s hold lasted this long.

 

1. The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
2. Aereogramme - My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go
3. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Young Machetes is the final surreal Blood Brothers album, a perfect finale, full of high pitched yelps, stream of consciousness lyrics, and their brilliant blend of post-hardcore, electronica and almost grindcore like intensity. Utterly unique and absolutely an acquired taste, but I love them and this.

Aereogramme were a Scottish kind of heavy, post-metal esque band (they did splits with ISIS), but their final record is a much more restrained and delicate alternative rock record, that sounds much more like The Cure. Beautiful vocals and lyrics here.

As the other two are band's final records, third place is a perfect debut, full of that arrogance of your first record. Witty and sharp, it's a great catchy punk record, and when a lot of British bands were sounding distinctly American in this sort of time, it was great to hear a band ferociously English, "You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham..."

Honourable Mentions;

AFI - Decemberunderground: Would have been my actual AOTY in 2006, no doubt.

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade: This would probably have run it close, actually. Both they and AFI moved slightly away from their kind of gothy, theatrical punkier stuff, and turned it into something more arena rock-y.

Olafur Arnalds - Eulogy for Evolution: A beautiful collection of neo-classical songs, composed on piano and strings. Gorgeous background music.

Planes Mistaken for Stars - Mercy: Another great uncomfortable record from Planes, a dirty, bluesy, post-hardcore album that sounds like nothing else in the genre.

The Matches - Decomposer: A really fun pop-rock record that moves into all sorts of different directions and styles.

J Dilla - Donuts: A fantastic collection of instrumental hip-hop beats, nothing on here gets past the two minute mark, and just a wonderful collection of creativity.

Frightened Rabbit - Sing the Greys: A lot better to follow, but this is a fun little debut from Frightened Rabbit, before they took the massive step up in two years time.

Fightstar - Grand Unification: A great bit of melodic post-hardcore music, wearing it's influences on it's sleeve, but a great passionate little record. Gets surprisingly heavy too.

Thursday - A City by The Light Divided: Thursday moving into slightly more slower, shoegazey directions, but still able to get really really loud when they need to.

Converge - No Heroes: "Plagues" might be my favourite riff in heavy music.

Red Sparrowes - Every Red Heart Shines Towards the Sun: An instrumental concept album about Mao's Great Leap Forward, complete with song titles so long they'd make an emo band blush.

Yndi Halda - Enjoy Eternal Bliss: A wonderful British post-rock album, with classical elements that make the songs soar.

Get Cape Wear Cape Fly - The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager: I thought this guy was going to be huge, but never quite managed to make the leap forward. This is a lovely little collection of intimate electronicy folk songs though.

Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me: Don't want to give any points to this, but this album means / meant a lot to me.

 

1. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
2. Islands - Return to the Sea
3. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

Grizzly Bear had diminishing returns with every album after this one, but their first full band record is amazing beginning to end. Islands is close with a pretty great trackliat throughout and two of the best songs of the year. And the Hold Steady album is probably an easy #1 if I were a little less of a p4k worshipping asshole at the time. One of the great opening lines ever.

Excruciating cut honorable mentions:

Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
Beach House - Beach House

^Best Wolf Parade adjacent album and an increasingly underrated Beach House album

Amazing highlights but also some filler:

TV On the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Tapes 'N Tapes - The Loon
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
JT - FutureSexLoveSounds
Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae

Didn't listen until more recently but for sure worth an HM:

J Dilla - Donuts

Embarrassed that I’ve yet to give it a front to back listen:

Clipse

 

1. Lil Wayne - The Dedication 2 (One of my favorite mixtapes ever)
2. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
3. As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions

ALSO
Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (not giving it points but like most people on this site i'd be kidding myself if I didn't acknowledge how important this album was to me. Damn 2006)
Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now (probably would have been my number 1 in 2006)
AFI - DECEMBERUNDERGROUND
Underoath - Define the Great Line
Thursday - A City by the Light Divided
Atreyu - A Death-Grip On Yesterday
Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness
New Found Glory - Coming Home
J Dilla - Donuts
J Dilla - The Shining
John Mayer - Continuum
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Alexisonfire - Crisis
Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Manchester Orchestra - I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child
The Arrogant Sons of Bitches - Three Cheers For Disappointment!
The Early November - The Mother, The Mechanic and the Path
Saosin - Saosin
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Set Your Goals - Mutiny!
Senses Fail - Still Searching
Plus 44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating
This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain
Birdman & Lil Wayne - Like Father, Like Son
Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
The Killers - Sam's Town
The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out

 

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
2. Iron Age - Constant Struggle
3. Spankrock - Yoyoyoyoyo
4. Drudkh - Blood In Our Wells

 

Y'know I thought of the whole this is 'all arbitrary anyway' commentary when trying to rank my top 3, but I don't want to waste a top 3 spot on something that most people won't vote for given the circumstances. But here goes

 

1. My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade
2. Silversun Pickups – Carnavas
3. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
------------------------------------------------------------
4. ** Brand New – The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me **
5. Deftones – Saturday Night Wrist
6. Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
8. John Mayer – Continuum
9. Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
10. Switchfoot – Oh! Gravity
11. Snow Patrol – Eyes Open
12. The Killers – Sam’s Town
13. Taking Back Sunday – Louder Now
14. Mutemath - Mutemath
15. Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
16. The Kooks – Inside In/Inside Out
17. Incubus – Light Grenades
18. Head Automatica - Popaganda
19. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
20. Beck – The Information
21. Portugal. The Man – Waiter: “You Vultures!”
22. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
23. Copeland – Eat, Sleep, Repeat
24. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds
25. Thursday – A City By The Light Divided
26. AFI - Decemberunderground
27. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
28. Drive-By Truckers – A Blessing and A Curse
29. Mastodon – Blood Mountain
30. Eagles Of Death Metal – Death By Sexy

Honorable Mention:
+44 – When Your Heart Stops Beating
Angels & Airwaves – We Don’t Need To Whisper
Army Of Anyone – Army Of Anyone
As Tall As Lions – As Tall As Lions
Audioslave – Revelations
Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
The Black Keys – Magic Potion
Blue October – Foiled
Boysetsfire – The Misery Index: Notes From The Plague Years
Breaking Benjamin – Phobia
Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards
Cursive – Happy Hollow
Cute Is What We Aim For – The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch
The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
The Early November – The Mother, The Mechanic & The Path
The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics
Foo Fighters – Skin and Bones (Live)
The Format – Dog Problems
From First To Last – Heroine
Goo Goo Dolls – Let Love In
Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
Guster – Ganging Up On The Sun
Hot Chip – The Warning
Jack Johnson – Jack Johnson & Friends – Singalongs & Lullabies for the film Curious George
Jet – Shine On
Keane – Under The Iron Sea
Lucky Boys Confusion – How To Get Out Alive (EP)
Lupe Fiasco – Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor
The Mars Volta – Amputechture
Manchester Orchestra – I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child
Matchbook Romance – Voices
mewithoutYou – Brother, Sister
New Found Glory – Coming Home
Papa Roach – The Paramour Sessions
Pete Yorn – Nightcrawler
Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That
Placebo – Meds
Plain White T’s – Every Second Counts
The Rapture – Pieces Of The People We Love
Ray LaMontagne – Till The Sun Turns Black
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Don’t You Fake It
Rise Against – The Sufferer & The Witness
The Roots – Game Theory
Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
Sparta – Threes
Stone Sour – Come What(ever) May
The Strokes – First Impressions Of Earth
Sugarcult – Lights Out
The Sword – Age Of Winters
Tenacious D – The Pick Of Destiny
Thom Yorke – The Eraser
Tokyo Police Club – A Lesson In Crime
Tom Petty – Highway Companion
Tool – 10,000 Days
Underoath – Define The Great Line
Yellowcard – Lights And Sounds
Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

Checking Out for First Time In Full (artist name, respective 06 album):
Albert Hammond Jr.
Alexisonfire
Atreyu
Beirut
The Black Angels
The Blood Brothers
Bring Me The Horizon
Built To Spill
Bullet For My Valentine
Clipse
Converge
Damien Rice
Dashboard Confessional
The Dear Hunter
Destroyer
Dierks Bentley
The Elms
Fightstar
The Fratellis
Frightened Rabbit
Gomez
Helmet
Jay Reatard
Loose Fur
Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s
The Matches
Mat Kearney
Norma Jean
Planes Mistaken For Stars
Saosin
Saves The Day
Senses Fail
She Wants Revenge
Shiny Toy Guns
Sunset Rubdown
Taylor Swift

 

1. The Elms – The Chess Hotel
2. Copeland – Eat Sleep Repeat
3. mewithoutYou – Brother Sister
4. Mutemath – S/T
5. Manchester Orchestra – I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child

Honorable Mention
As Tall as Lions – S/T
The Early November – The Mother, The Mechanic, and The Path
Fair – The Best Worst Case Scenario
The Format – Dog Problems
Gasoline Heart – You Know Who You Are
House of Heroes – Say No More
Jars of Clay – Good Monsters
Mat Kearney – Nothing Left to Lose
New Found Glory – Coming Home
Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope
Switchfoot – Oh Gravity
Underoath – Define the Great Line

 

I had the Manchester Orchestra album tagged as the wrong year, clearly! That’s a great album, my favourite of theirs.

 

i definitely thought virgin was 07, damn

 

interesting. this has always been my least favorite grizzly bear album. i’ll give it another run this week

 

i had it mentally as 07 too but apple music said otherwise and when i double checked (it’s wrong a ton) it turned out to be right.

 

1. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex / LoveSounds
2. Fightstar - Grand Unification
3. Manchester Orchestra - I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child

So many great records across 2006, but these are the ones I've probably listened to the most outside of bn

 

That Snow Patrol record rules as well. I remember listening to the outro to Open Your Eyes for the first time and it blowing me away.

 

1. Rx Bandits - …And the Battle Begun
2. The Loved Ones - Keep Your Heart
3. Less than Jake - In With the Out Crowd

4. The Lawrence Arms - Oh Calcutta
5. None More Black - This is Satire
6. Ignite - Our Darkest Days
7. Dead to Me - Cuban Ballerina
8. Rise Against - Sufferer & the Witness
9. Gatsby’s American Dream - S/T
10. AFI - Decemberunderground

 

I have that CD somewhere around but I don't think I've listened to it in probably over a decade. I remember liking Hands Open.

 

YES! Heard it today and was like wow this is so much better even than I remember. Tough to leave it out of my Top 10.

 

1. John Mayer - Continuum
2. Butch Walker - The Rise and Fall…
3. Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer

I love John Mayer’s first two albums, but Continuum is his quantum leap forward. Such a soulful, classic-sounding record, packed with dynamite playing and incredible songwriting. I’ve said before that, if I were to make a list of the 100 songs I most wish I’d written, “Stop This Train” and “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room” would probably both be on that list. And stuff like “In Repair” and “Gravity” wouldn’t be far off.

The Rise and Fall came out that July and I proceeded to play it exhaustively (probably 2-3 times per day) until school restarted in the fall. It’s still one of my favorite summer albums – a loose, glammy, extremely catchy set of songs that sounds especially good played really loud in a car in the summertime. This one tends to be a lower-ranked Butch album among most fans, but I’ve got a soft spot for it because it was 1) the first new Butch Walker album to come out after I became a fan; and 2) the album he was touring that summer when I saw him live for the first time (also my first rock concert, period).

I knew when Dashboard Confessional announced a record called Dusk and Summer that I was going to love it, given how much I love both of those things. Though sometimes maligned, this record does an incredible job at capturing the sound of summer – from the big, sunny rock songs to the stripped down title ballad that sounds like how a late August evening feels. An extremely important album to me, for a variety of reasons (as covered here).

Excruciating cuts:

Mat Kearney - Nothing Left to Lose: I always loved how Kearney blended elements of folk-pop with hip-hop/spoken word music on this album. He never really attempted quite the same sonic pairing again, and I don’t think he ever made an album this good again, either.

Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way: A well-deserved winner of the Grammy Album of the Year award, in a decade where the academy mostly passed over younger/more current artists in favor of aging stalwarts. Also the best record The Chicks ever made, pairing their deep country chops with a more rock-oriented sound. “Not Ready to Make Nice” remains an earthshakingly important song.

The Hold Steady - Boys & Girls in America: One of those albums that, to me, just epitomizes the sound of summer. My favorite Hold Steady record by a mile. The gleaming keys, the big guitars, the stories about quirky characters fucked up on various substances. A masterpiece.

The Killers - Sam’s Town: In terms of pure songs, I think this is the best Killers record. I also think it’s produced in such a claustrophobic way that it suffocates the writing a bit, but I still love it. “Read My Mind” and “Why Do I Keep Counting” are two of my top five Killers songs.

Josh Ritter - The Animal Years: My favorite era of Josh Ritter. He was just writing circles around pretty much everyone else. “Girl in the War” and “Thin Blue Flame” especially are such towering songwriting achievements.

Snow Patrol - Eyes Open: “Chasing Cars” is the big hit, and also maybe the ninth best song on the album. I’m partial to “It’s Beginning to Get to Me,” one of the best “We’re going to try to sound like U2 here” songs of the decade.

Keane - Under the Iron Sea: Keane goes dark. I remember this one turning me off a bit at first, because it doesn’t have the bright tunefulness of Hopes & Fears. I’ve come to appreciate it more over the years for having some of their best songs – including, IMO, their very best, “A Bad Dream.”

Vince Gill – These Days: It seems almost insufficient to list this album just once, since it’s effectively four very different (and all equally brilliant) albums packaged as one. I just revisited this one last week, and Gill’s mastery of songcraft across different modes is pretty second to none. A masterpiece.

Also loves:

Will Hoge - The Man Who Killed Love: Raucous, loud, and immediate. Not my favorite Will Hoge record, but probably the one that best captures the energy of his (wonderful) live show.

Boys Like Girls - Boys Like Girls: These guys opened up for Butch Walker when I saw him that summer, and I remember hearing “Thunder” for the first time and falling in love with it immediately. One of two occasions where I saw an opening act that eventually became a big, big star.

Sister Hazel – Absolutely: Completely overlooked, but a little master class of melody and loose, energetic roots rock.

Guster - Ganging Up on the Sun: The last of a killer three-album run from these guys. “Satellite” is the “hit,” but I’m partial to “Dear Valentine.”

As Fast As - Open Letter to the Damned: Speaking of Butch’s openers, these guys burned the house down. I lost track of them completely after this record, but I still love it – a loud, fun, charismatic collision of southern rock and power pop.

Switchfoot - Oh Gravity: I remember being disappointed in this one at the time, but it’s grown on me

over the years. Not quite the arena-filling opus that Nothing Is Sound was, but it reclaims some of the messy scrappiness of their earlier records, and includes one of their 2-3 greatest songs, “Awakening.”

Goo Goo Dolls - Let Love In: The last great Goo Goo Dolls record for me. They’re in full radio rock mode here, but luckily, their radio rock songs are amazing. Still adore “Feel the Silence” and “Stay With You.”

Damien Rice – 9: I don’t know if it’s knowing what happened with Damien’s career after this point, or the fact that this album reminds me of a very melancholy winter, but I think it’s one of the saddest records I’ve ever listened to. These songs just sound so desperately lonely to me.

Honorables:

The Weepies - Say I Am You: “World Spins Madly On” is just a one-of-a-kind little masterpiece of a song. No wonder everyone wanted it on their TV show soundtrack.

The Format - Dog Problems: A devastating breakup album rendered in extremely catchy songs. “If Work Permits” is one of the scene’s great closing tracks.

Josh Kelley - Just Say the Word: Josh Kelley’s career has been a constant search for the right niche, ranging from radio pop to dusty folk to mainstream country to soulful adult contemporary. This is one of his better records, even if it’s an identity crisis that mashes up his pop and folk sides simultaneously.

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade: Man, I wish more bands from this era of the scene had tried shooting their shot with their own versions of American Idiot. To my ears, a complete level-up for MCR.

Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift: It’s a rough sketch of what she would become, but it also has at least five of the best pop-country songs of the decade. Right from the jump, she was better than everyone else making that kind of music.

Gomez - How We Operate: I fell in love with this one back in 10th grade. “See the World” remains a playlist staple for me.

Landon Pigg – LP: This guy had a knack for hooks and surprisingly uplifting breakup songs. “Can’t Let Go,” “Great Companion,” and “On the Other Side” were always my favorites.

Chad Perrone - Used to Dream: Has never been my favorite Chad Perrone record, but it does include “Breathe” and “Like Riding a Bike,” two of my favorite songs.

The Damnwells – Air Stereo: These guys were always criminally underrated. I always liked to think they picked up where The Wallflowers left off after Rebel, Sweetheart.

Alexi Murdoch - Time without Consequence: Gorgeous, entrancing, occasionally experimental folk music. “Orange Sky” is an all-time great summer evening song.

Ray LaMontagne - Till the Sun Turns Black: I liked each LaMontagne record a little less than the one that came before it, but there’s still a lot of magic on this one. “Lesson Learned” is the standout.

 

1. Alexisonfire - Crisis
2. Thursday - A City By the Light Divided
3. The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes

Honorable Mentions:
Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
Have Heart - The Things We Carry
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Mewithoutyou - Brother, Sister
Underoath - Define the Great Line
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now
Norma Jean - Redeemer
Senses Fail - Still Searching
Incubus – Light Grenades

Amazing year. Also the year that I started to discover my own musical identity largely in thanks to many of these albums.

 

1. Bomb the Music Industry - Goodbye Cool World
2. Defiance Ohio - The Great Depression
3. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

Joanna Newsom - Ys
J Dilla - Donuts
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
The Lawrence Arms - Oh Calcutta!
The Format - Dog Problems
Manchester Orchestra - I'm Like a Virgin...
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor
The Roots - Game Theory
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Lil Wayne - Dedication 2
Birdman & Lil Wayne - Like Father, Like Son
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Owen - At Home with Owen

Shoutout to one of my favorite songs ever too:

 

Holy shit, Girl Talk's Night Ripper. Wow that one takes me back to college in a very good way.

still irks me that All Day isn't on Spotify