Albums:
1. My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me The Workhorse
2. The Roots - Game Theory
3. Parts & Labor - Stay Afraid
4. Young Dro - Best Thang Smokin'
5. Beyonce - B-Day
6. T.I. - King
7. John Legend - Once Again
8. Asobi Seksu - Citrus
9. Witch - Witch
10. Ne-Yo - In My Own Words
11. The Evens - Get Evens
12. Karmella's Game - The Art Of Distraction
13. Trae - Restless
14. Blaq Starr - I'm Bangin'
15. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
16. Fat Joe - Me, Myself & I
17. Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
18. Lil Boosie - Bad Azz
19. J-Zone & Celph Titled Are...The Boss Hog Barbarians - Every Hog Has Its Day
20. Birdman & Lil Wayne - Like Father, Like Son
21. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
22. Little Clayway - Still Movin' Independently: The Takeover
23. DJ Khaled - Listennn...The Album
24. Shareefa - Point of No Return
25. Labtekwon - The Ghetto Dai Lai Lama V. 777

When I started this little OCD personal canon exercise last month, I knew I'd have to go back a few years before I start getting some interesting now-and-then perspective, but I'm definitely starting to feel that a little here. I probably wrote more album reviews in '06 than I have any other year of my humble little freelancing career to date, at least 40-50, most of them for Stylus. But since I was kind of digging around for albums noone else there wanted to review, I ended up hearing more random shit I'd probably never buy of my own free will otherwise, and less of the artists I really want to hear albums by, which is what I've kinda tried to focus more on the past couple years since then. So out of all those albums I reviewed that year, I think 3 of them are on this list now, and 8 albums I heard more recently or at some point after the end of '06, that I missed while I was spending time reviewing lesser albums.

Singles:
1. Ciara - "Promise"
2. Pink - "Who Knew"
3. Justin Timberlake f/ T.I. - "My Love"
4. Rich Boy f/ Polow Da Don - "Throw Some D's"
5. Evanescence - "Call Me When You're Sober"
6. Chamillionaire f/ Krayzie Bone - "Ridin'"
7. T.I. - "What You Know"
8. Killers - "When You Were Young"
9. Remy Ma - "Conceited"
10. Fergie - "London Bridge"
11. Chris Brown - "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)"
12. Young Dro f/ T.I. - "Shoulder Lean"
13. Lloyd f/ Lil Wayne - "You"
14. Birdman and Lil Wayne - "Stuntin' Like My Daddy"
15. Beyonce - "Irreplaceable"
16. Foo Fighters - "No Way Back"
17. Diddy f/ Nicole Scherzinger - "Come To Me"
18. DJ Khaled f/ Paul Wall, Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Rick Ross and Pitbull - "Holla At Me Baby"
19. Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
20. Robin Thicke - "Lost Without You"
21. Ne-Yo - "When You're Mad"
22. John Legend - "Heaven"
23. Kelly Clarkson - "Walk Away"
24. Muse - "Knights of Cydonia"
25. Keyshia Cole - "Love"
26. Notorious B.I.G. f/ Twista, Bone Thugs N Harmony, 8Ball & MJG and Swizz Beatz - "Spit Yo Game (Remix)"
27. Ne-Yo - "So Sick"
28. Fergie f/ will.i.am - "Fergalicious"
29. Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg - "Buttons"
30. Cassie - "Me & U"
31. All-American Rejects - "Move Along"
32. Pink - "U + Ur Hand"
33. Lil Wayne - "Hustler Musik"
34. Ray Cash f/ Scarface - "Bumpin' My Music"
35. DJ Khaled f/ Kanye West, Consequence and John Legend - "Grammy Family"
36. Ghostface f/ Ne-Yo - "Back Like That"
37. Omarion - "Entourage"
38. Beyonce f/ Slim Thug and Bun B - "Check On It"
39. Paris Hilton - "Nothing In This World"
40. Fall Out Boy - "A Little Less 16 Candles, A Little More 'Touch Me'"
41. Young Dro - "Rubberband Banks"
42. Yung Joc f/ Nitti - "It's Goin' Down"
43. Jamie Foxx f/ Ludacris - "Unpredictable"
44. Twista f/ Pitbull - "Hit The Floor"
45. E-40 f/ Keak Da Sneak - "Tell Me When To Go"
46. The Killers - "Bones"
47. Beyonce - "Ring The Alarm"
48. Snow Patrol - "Hands Open"
49. Vanessa Hudgens - "Come Back To Me"
50. Pussycat Dolls f/ will.i.am - "Beep"

As so-so as I feel about '06 in terms of albums, I really think it was a standout year for singles, probably one of the best of the decade. One thing that's fun about looking back after a couple years is getting a little more hindsight about which artists were real at the top of their game. Great year for Polow Da Don, great year for T.I., although I've kinda softened on "What You Know" after 3 years of big slow majestic Southern rap anthems that arrived in its wake. The one thing I went back and added that wasn't on my original '06 list at all was "Bones," which in retrospect is one of my favorite Killers singles, and Gnarls Barkley, which I liked and burnt myself out on when it was first out so much that by the time it was a hit I was over it, but in retrospect still appreciate.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 3:41 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.