Best albums of 2006

RYAN'S PICKS:10. The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off

Although people have long since stopped caring, The Walkmen have matured into a very, very good rock band. Their recently publicized enthusiasm for Harry Nilsson and John Lennon (they released a song-by-song cover of the two's ill-fated Pussy Cats collaboration this year) indicates a strong interest in songcraft and a commitment to being experimental without becoming unlistenable. It doesn't have an obvious hit on it, but I'd rather listen to a band of adults writing real songs and trying new things then most of the crap that passes for "innovative" these days.

9. The Clipsen - Hell Hath No Fury

Endlessly delayed, preposterously overhyped and lavishly praised by critics (assuming you consider "the gangsta Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" to constitute praise-which I don't) the sophomore LP was bound to disappoint. Truth be told, it's not as good as Lord Willin', and it's a less satisfying experience than the We Got It For Cheap mixtapes. The Neptunes' production, while producing some bona fide gems like "Wamp Wamp," is uneven and occasionally just bizarre. But despite it all, this is still a very good album, and more than that, a disarmingly personal and heartfelt one (by rap standards). I am of the mind that we can expect much greater things from Malice and Pusha T, but to their credit, they've delivered a quality album and overcome the sophomore jinx.

8. Lillix - Inside The Hollow

Perhaps I could argue that the fact that Lillix are the only Canadian band on this list should be taken as a sign of just how awful Canadian music truly is, but I don't want to diminish their achievement. This is a really good album, point blank. The thing I find so exciting about Inside The Hollow is the impression it creates of a band becoming themselves. When Lillix started out, they were a carbon copy of all the other girly pop-punk acts out there, vastly inferior to Avril and even Fefe Dobson. Since then, they have clearly been working their asses off and doing their homework. Inside The Hollow shows rapid development and a wide range of influences, as evinced by the masterful disco-punk of "Sweet Temptation (Hollow)" or the way they skilfully contrast melancholy piano with propulsive drumming on "Little Things," the album's best track. If Lillix could go from being non-entities in 2003 to an electrifying new act in 2006, one can't help but wait to see what they do next.

7. TV on the Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

Like The Walkmen, TV on the Radio have been largely passed over by the indie hype machine that once lionized them. Although they were championed as next big things when they came out a few years ago, it's difficult to see how anyone thought they could be really popular. Their music is just too weird. I have actually heard people wonder why a "black band" makes such "white music," and that sort of attitude is more or less why TV on the Radio are doomed to obscurity. Bands aren't supposed to be avant-garde and soulful, heavy and funky, romantic and twisted, atmospheric and austere. Those contradictions make TV on the Radio great.

6. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

As far as rap goes, 2006 was pretty dismal. But when there's nothing left to believe in.believe in Dennis Coles. He hasn't had much commercial success, but at this point there is almost certainly no Wu-Tang member or affiliate who commends more respect from both serious hip-hop fans and dilettante critics alike. With Fishscale, he continues to deliver the bizarre yet meticulous raps, supported by top-notch beats, that earned him such respect in the first place. Although it has less of a unique character than any of his previous outings, you can't argue with a consistently satisfying album by one of the world's greatest rappers.

5. Cat Power - The Greatest

Chan Marshall is the Ghostface Killah of the minimalist indie chick singer-songwriter world. In other words, they're both consistent as hell. While not as innovative as You Are Free (by now one of my favourite albums of the new century), The Greatest has a unique charm all its own. In recent interviews Chan Marshall has expressed a new sense of calm and happiness that she used to lack (which explains why she did shit like hide during live performances, or let Richard Avedon photograph her pubes), and you can hear that coming through on the record. There is a profoundly relaxed and intimate air to The Greatest, the sound of Marshall getting comfortable in her own skin, that allows listeners to enjoy her beautiful songs in a new way. Granted, that means the tension and dread that underlined songs "Nude As The News" or "Names" is absent, but in its place we have one of our best singer-songwriters finally enjoying herself. I'd say she deserves it.

4. T.I. - King

In the rap game, nobody wins any prizes for modesty. The distinction isn't between the humble and the arrogant, but between those braggarts who can back up there outlandish braggadocio and those who can't. Tip Harris is in the former category. After years of slowly working his way into the minds of rap fans everywhere, he finally blew up in 2005 with huge singles like "Bring 'Em Out" and "You Don't Know Me." King was his chance to finally deliver a classic album and cement his status as a rap icon. Long story short: he did it. The closest comparison I can think of is The Blueprint, because both that album and King rocketed their creators into a different stratosphere of rap music. If you don't believe me, consider that, in 2005, T.I. was often lumped in with other prominent young Southern rappers like Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, Lil' Flip and David Banner. Nobody would do that now, because with King T.I. entered new territory, the same real estate occupied by a select few: the likes of Jigga, Nas, Cris, 50 and Eminem.

3. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That

Hailing from the affluent Parisian suburb Versailles, Phoenix are a hard band to like. They party with Air, mix with fashion's elite, date Sophia Coppola (not all of them). Chances are you'll either envy them or flat out hate them. But just because a band might be insufferable French dicks doesn't mean you can't love their music. It's Never Been Like That is a very exciting and unique record, each song goes in a different direction but their newly tight playing and dipshit French playboy personae manage to hold things together. The lyrics are about as insightful as ESL lyrics usually are, but charming and honest as well. What's most remarkable is the album's versatility: you could play this at home while doing homework, at the gym while working out, in the club, or even in the jeep on the way to the club.