And now, via//chicago's favorite ten albums of the year that was two thousand and six...
10. Food & Liquor - Lupe Fiasco (Atlantic) [buy it here]
This past year saw Lupe shoot from cameo appearances with Kanye to critically acclaimed rapper in his own right, dropping a thrilling debut album filled to the brim with hooks and charisma.
Check Out: "I Gotcha", "Daydreamin'"
9. Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own Pet (Ecstatic Peace) [buy it here]
Teenagers from Nashville out spazz and rock people twice their age on this hyper debut. Lead singer Jemina Pearl is the most engaging frontwoman this side of Karen O, alternately playful and frightening.
Check Out: "We Will Vacation, You Can Be My Parasol", "Adventure"
8. Destroyer's Rubies - Destroyer (Merge) [buy it here]
While he wasn't writing winning pop songs for the New Pornographers or taking part in other Canadian indie supergroups, Dan Bejar found time to drop his most stunning and fully-realized album to date.
Check Out: "European Oils", "A Dangerous Woman Up to a Point"
7. Fishscale - Ghostface Killah (Def Jam) [buy it here]
Who knew that the most engaging Wu-Tang member a decade on would be Ghostface? This was the first of two albums he dropped in the '06, but this was the clear-cut winner - full of his usual insane street tales packed with both lyrical and production punches.
Check Out: "Be Easy", "9 Milli Bros."
6. Pink - Boris (Southern Lord) [buy it here]
Japanese doom metal masters alternate between plodding brutality and in-the-red distortion attacks on this thriller, finally gaining them the American audience they deserve.
Check Out: "Farewell", "Woman on the Screen"
5. Drum's Not Dead - Liars (Mute) [buy it here]
The highly experimental trio moves to Berlin and records a concept album about the duelling creative forces battling inside and names them "Drum" and "Mt. Heart Attack", awesomeness ensues. When the beautiful "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack" emerged from the primal squall for the first time, I could have sworn I saw God.
Check Out: "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack", "It Fit When I Was a Kid"
4. Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio (4AD/Interscope) [buy it here]
One of the most exciting young bands on the planet finally makes good on the promise shown on the early releases, crafting an absolute stunner of an album that practically demands repeated listens. The choruse of "Province" alone makes this journey an essential one.
Check Out: "Wolf Like Me", "Province"
3. Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady (Vagrant) [buy it here]
It may be a little more slickly produced and a little less of a concpet album, but this is just as thrilling as Separation Sunday. The backing band is as punchy as ever and Craig Finn's lyrics only get better and better, this is the best straight-ahead rock album heard all year.
Check Out: "Stuck Between Stations", "Chillout Tent"
2. Carnavas - Silversun Pickups (Dangerbird) [buy it here]
Channelling Gish-era Smashing Pumpkins through an indie kid filter, this California band fuzzed and riffed their way through a space-trip that was never short on thrills or hooks.
Check Out: "Future Foe Scenarios", "Lazy Eye"
1. Blood Mountain - Mastodon (Reprise) [buy it here]
The best active American metal band has been progressing by leaps and bounds with each successive album, culminating in this absolute killer of a disc that is destined to change the face of the genre. Crushing menace with the technical skills to back it up, this is the album that anyone who questions the validity of "heavy metal" in 2006 needs to hear immediately.
Check Out: "Capillarian Crest", "Bladecatcher"
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