Top Fifty Records of Two Thousand and Six and Other Lists of Interest

There's no other way to close out a year in blogland without a list, so I've risen to the challenge and cobbled one together right here. I'm hesitant to call it definitive though, you could ask me again tomorrow and all the albums might be switched around. And I don't really have anything set in stone either so there's no sense asking me why, say, #28 is placed higher than #31. I don't know. It just felt right, how's that as an answer? The other reason why it can't possibly be definitive is because I'm but one man trying to get a grip on (seemingly) billions of records being released on a daily basis. So if you're wondering why I didn't list something totally bitching that came out this year, it's most likely because I just haven't heard it. Maybe I'll get to it in 2007. Or 2008. I'll try to hear it before I die, that much is certain. The other note about the list is that I only included albums I reviewed on the site...my personal list may vary slightly, but not by much. Anyway I included other albums I thought were good but just didn't review for whatever reason (okay sometimes it's an obvious reason) at the end, along with some reissues, compilations, splits and videos that I enjoyed. All that said, thanks for visiting and reading throughout the year, and have a happy and safe holidays/Christmas/New Year. Regular updates should return on January 3rd, hopefully I'll see you then.

Top 50 Records of 2006
01. OM – "Conference of the Birds" (Holy Mountain)
02. Six Organs of Admittance – "The Sun Awakens" (Drag City)
03. Sun Ra and His Space Arkestra – "What Planet is This?" (Leo Records)
04. Girl Talk – "Night Ripper" (Illegal Art)
05. Joanna Newsom – "Ys" (Drag City)
06. Wolf Eyes – "Human Animal" (Sub Pop)
07. No-Neck Blues Band & Embryo – "EmbryoNNCK" (Staubgold)
08. Tony Conrad – "Joan of Arc" (Table of the Elements)
09. Whitehouse – "Asceticists" (Susan Lawly)
10. Wolves in the Throne Room – "Diadem of 12 Stars" (Vendlus)
11. Pandit Pran Nath – "Raga Cycle: Palace Theatre, Paris 1972" (Sri Moonshine)
12. Peter Brotzmann, Marino Pliakas & Michael Wertmuller – "Full Blast" (Jazzwerkstatt)
13. Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano – "The Beloved Music" (Family Vineyard)
14. Skullflower – "Tribulation" (Crucial Blast)
15. Joseph Hammer – "Joe & Joe" (LAFMS)
16. MV & EE with the Bummer Road – "Mother of Thousands" (Time-Lag)
17. Sunn O))) – "La Mort Noir Dans Esch/Alzette" (Southern Lord)
18. Birchville Cat Motel – "Our Love Will Destroy the World" (PseudoArcana)
19. Wolf Eyes & Anthony Braxton – "Black Vomit" (Les Disques Victo)
20. Nachtmystium – "Instinct: Decay" (Battle Kommand)
21. Ashtray Navigations – "Four More Raga Moods" (Ikuisuus)
22. Darkthrone – "The Cult is Alive" (Peaceville)
23. Orthodox – "Gran Poder" (Alone Records)
24. Sunn O))) & Boris – "Altar" (Southern Lord)
25. Daniel Menche – "Concussions" (Asphodel)
26. Vodka Soap – "Un Chand Pyramdelier" (New Age Cassettes)
27. Boris – "Vein" (Important)
28. Keiji Haino & Sitaar Tah! – "Animamima" (Archive/Important)
29. Ettrick – "Sudden Arrhythmic Death" (American Grizzly)
30. Graveyards – "Unmarked Graves" (Editions Brokenresearch)
31. Nath Family – "Sounds of the Indian Snake Charmer Vol. 2" (Hanson Records)
32. Hototogisu & Burning Star Core – “Hototogisu & Burning Star Core” (Drone Disco)
33. Ash Pool – "Genital Tomb" (Tour de Garde)
34. Maniacs Dream – "Zanzibar" (Lal Lal Lal)
35. The Melvins – "A Senile Animal" (Ipecac)
36. Paul Flaherty – "Whirl of Nothingness" (Family Vineyard)
37. Kolumkilli – "Cyprus" (Pasalymany Tapes)
38. Graveyards – "Bare Those Excellent Teeth Vol. 1" (Editions Brokenresearch)
39. Hototogisu & Prurient – "Snail on a Razor" (Hospital Productions)
40. Waves – "10" (American Tapes)
41. Jandek – "Glasgow Monday" (Corwood)
42. Flaherty, Corsano & Yeh – "A Rock in the Snow" (Important)
43. Hototogisu – "Chimärendämmerung" (De Stijl)
44. Samara Lubelski – "Quartet" (Sloow Tapes)
45. Emerald Cloud Cobra – "Genou" (Self-released)
46. Damion Romero – "Negative" (PACrec/P-Tapes)
47. GHQ – "Cosmology of Eye" (Time-Lag)
48. Hisato Higuchi – "Dialogue" (Family Vineyard)
49. Zaimph – "Sexual Infinity" (Hospital Productions)
50. Dove Yellow Swans – "Live During War Crimes #2" (Release the Bats)

Worthwhile compilations and splits
Bone Awl/The Rita - "Split" (Klaxon)
Double Leopards/Mouthus/Sunroof! - "Crippled Rosebud Binding" (Music Fellowship)
OM/Current 93 - "Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun (Blackship Shrinebuilder)" (Neurot Recordings)
OM/Six Organs of Admittance - "Split" (Holy Mountain)
Sunn O)))/Earth - "Angel Coma" (Southern Lord)
Various Artists - "Aryan Asshole Records Compilation Volume One" (A.A. Records)
Various Artists - "California" (RRRecords/Troniks/Ground Fault)
Various Artists - "Creelpolation 1" (Creel Pone)
Various Artists - "Not Alone" (Durtro/Jnana)
Various Aritsts - "Portland" (RRRecords)
Various Artists - "Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound" (Soul Jazz)
Various Artists - "Graag Trag" (Sloow Tapes)

Reissues/single artist compilations
Ariel Kalma - "Osmose" (Beta-Lactam Ring)
Bone Awl - "Bog Bodies/Magnetism of War" (GoatowaRex)
Bone Awl - "...So, I Must Take From the Earth" (Hospital Productions)
Boris - "Dronevil Final" (Inoxia Records)
Conrad Schnitzler - "Trigger Trilogy" (Important)
Any and all Creel Pone reissues
The Dead C. - "Vain, Erudite and Stupid: Selected Works 1987-2005" (Ba Da Bing!)
Electric Wizard - "Pre-Electric Wizard 1989-1994" (Rise Above)
Il Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - "Azioni 1967-69" (Die Schachtel)
Hototogisu - "Some Blood Will Stick" (Important)
Leviathan - "The Speed of Darkness" (Viva Hate Records)
Loren Connors - "Night Through: Collected Works 1976-2004" (Family Vineyard)
Masayuki Takayanagi New-Direction-Unit In Concert - "Axis/Another Revolvable Thing Parts 1 & 2" (Doubtmusic)
The Orkustra - "The Orkustra" (RD Records)
Solar Anus - "Skull Alcoholic: The Complete Solar Anus" (tUMULt)

DVD/video:
"Fun From None: Live From the No Fun Fest 2004 & 2005" (Load Records/No Fun Productions)
Ira Cohen's "The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda" (Bastet)
Skaters - "Diminishing Shrine Recycles" (Self-released)

Not reviewed but enjoyed:
Å – "Å" (Die Schachtel)
Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno – "Starless & Bible Black Sabbath" (Alien8 Recordings)
Celestiial – "Desolate North" (Bindrune Recordings)
Clipse – "Hell Hath No Fury" (Jive)
Dem Franchize Boyz – "On Top of Our Game" (Virgin)
Earth – Live Hex; In a Large City on the North American Continent" (Archive)
Ghostface Killah – "Fishscale" (Def Jam)
Justin Timberlake – "FutureSex/LoveSounds" (Jive)
Lupe Fiasco – "Food & Liquor" (Atlantic)
MF Doom – "Metal Fingers Presents Special Herbs The Box Set Vol. 0-9" (Nature Sounds)
Nurse with Wound – "Soundpooling" (ICR)
Os Mutantes - "A Divina Comedia Ou Ando Meio Desligado", "Mutantes" & "Os Mutantes" (reissues) (Universal/Polydor Brazil)
The Pyramids – "Birth/Speed/Merging" (reissue) (EM Records)
Seven Depressions – "Pillar to Post/Mauled by a Deer" (Heavy Tapes)
Ste-Sophie "Item A-B/C-D" (Self-released)
Various Artists – "Congotronics 2: Buzz'n'rumble from the Urb'n'jungle" (Crammed Discs)
White Rock – "The Exploder" (Our Mouth)