Related Links

• Listen to the Go Do It! Podcast

More Music

• Cowboy Junkies revisit, re-record 'The Trinity Session'
• Review: 3D effects flesh out U2
• CD reviews: Jet Lag Gemini; RTX; Metro Station; We the Kings

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Sure, music's mostly a matter of taste. But when artists can either define or bend their own genres, push boundaries and communicate ideas fluidly, that's where paragons and mysteries and brilliance are discovered.

This was a year full of musical gems, and many albums I am sure could have forced me to rethink my Top 10 list had I spent more time with them, including the latest from Mary J. Blige, Cat Power, Lupe Fiasco and Madeleine Peyroux.

Nonetheless, your trusted Trib critics - and a guest reviewer - have cobbled together lists we think represent the year for us in music. Without further ado, here are the artists, albums and songs our iPods shuffled this year.

Tamara N. Shope, Tribune features writer

1. Regina Spektor, "Begin to Hope" - Soulful, quirky, remarkable. And that goes for both her voice and her piano prowess.

2. Mute Math, "Mute Math"

3. Cold War Kids, "Robbers & Cowards"

4. mewithoutYou, "Brothers, Sisters" - It's the quirkiness of Modest Mouse fused with the poetry and sincerity of the Decemberists - and louder.

5. Beirut, "Gulag Orkestar"

6. Jars of Clay, "Good Monster"

7. M. Ward, "Post-War"

8. Sean Lennon, "Friendly Fire"

9. The Decemberists, "The Crane Wife"

10. The Cardigans, "Superextragravity"

Honorable mentions: The latest efforts from the Handsome Family, Drive-By Truckers and Joanna Newsom.

Best songs of 2006: Brazilian Girls, "Jique"; +/-, "Steal the Blueprints"; Phoenix, "Long-Distance Call"; Joseph Arthur, "Too Much to Hide"; Feist, "Inside + Out (Apostle of Hustle UnMix, live at the BBC)".

The worst of 2006: "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. It's not that it's a horrible song, it's just that I never want to hear it again.

Favorite concerts of 2006: Beck, Mute Math (twice!), Imogen Heap (with Kid Beyond)

Best new artist/group: Even though she's been on the scene a few years, Imogen Heap is nominated in this category for a Grammy, so I'll vote for her. I've also enjoyed seeing the Cold War Kids break out this year.

Albums I'm looking forward to in 2007: Modest Mouse, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank"; Andrew Bird, "Armchair Apocrypha"; Feist, title TBA; Smashing Pumpkins, TBA; U2, TBA. I'm also extremely curious about Michael Jackson's upcoming release.

Paul Maldonado Jr., Tribune music critic

1. My Chemical Romance, "The Black Parade" - New Jersey emo kids make the record of their lives, a concept album about death and mortality that shows off a major Queen jones.

2. TV On The Radio, "Return To Cookie Mountain" - The Brooklyn art-rock quintet serves up a fever dream of dissonant samples and noise guitar.

3. Gnarls Barkley, "St. Elsewhere" - Cee-lo Green and Danger Mouse channel soul music and R&B for a future generation.

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Show Your Bones" - A raw and introspective love letter from Karen O and the boys.

5. The Strokes, "First Impressions of Earth" - Julian Casablancas and Co. still manage to find love/lust while gazing up from the gutter, recovering from last night's bender.

6. Muse, "Black Holes And Revelations" - Prog rock trio hit interstellar overdrive.

7. The Oohlas, "Best Stop Pop" - Is it too soon for Õ90s nostalgia?

8. The Raconteurs, "Broken Boy Soldiers" - Jack White proves he can play nice with others.

9. Thom Yorke, "The Eraser" - Frontman's solo effort offers a respite until Radiohead drops its next disc.

10. Drive-By Truckers, "A Blessing And A Curse" - Southern rock without all the baggage.

10. Tokyo Police Club, "A Lesson In Crime" - This seven-song EP raises delirious expectations for next year's full-length.

Best songs of 2006

1. My Chemical Romance, "Welcome To The Black Parade" - Everybody loves a parade, even one with Death as the grand marshal.

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Gold Lion" - Karen O's vocal calisthenics bring sexy back.

3. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" - Insanity never sounded so freakishly funky or fun.

4. Taking Back Sunday, "MakeDamnSure" - He wants revenge.

5. The Raconteurs, "Steady, As She Goes" - 2 minutes of 3-chord pop-metal bliss.

6. Arctic Monkeys, "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" - Droll Brit club kids offer up a new slangy pickup line.

7. Pearl Jam, "World Wide Suicide" - Seattle grunge godfathers' broadside against Bush's warmongering.

8. Goldfrapp, "Ooh La La" - An invite to the dance floor never sounded so sweet . . . or threatening.

9. AFI, "Miss Murder" - Whoa-oh-oh's introduce a nonstop killer chorus.

10. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Dani California" - The Peppers' decades-spanning love letter to their home state.

The worst of 2006: "London Bridge," Fergie; "Lips Of An Angel," Hinder; "Wind It Up," Gwen Stefani; "SexyBack," Justin Timberlake; "Popozao," Kevin Federline.

Favorite concerts of 2006

Beck at the Kiva Auditorium

One of the best and most entertaining shows I've ever seen in more than 30 years of concertgoing.

Nine Inch Nails/Bauhaus/TV On The Radio at the Journal Pavilion

Trent Reznor's incredible synchronized light show was utterly fantastic on a night of Õ90s, Õ80s and new millennium music.

Panic! At The Disco at the Sunshine Theater

This emo cabaret came complete with a midway, scantily clad dancers and a cello player. Spencer Smith is a tremendous drummer.

Buzzcocks at the Launchpad

Short sharp punk from the real deal. Having a brew with Pete Shelley in the tour bus afterward was a quintessential rock 'n' roll moment.

Best new artist/group: Be Your Own Pet and Lupe Fiasco

Albums I'm looking forward to in 2007: The reunited Smashing Pumpkins' new disc; the untitled disc from the label-less Radiohead; Tokyo Police Club's full-length debut; The Academy Is . . . and Wilco.

Don Walton Jr.,

Bookstore music manager

1. Phoenix, "It's Never Been Like That"

2. Sean Lennon, "Friendly Fire"

3. mewithoutYou, "Brother, Sister"

4. The Strokes, "First Impressions of Earth"

5. The Sword, "Age of Winters"

6. People in Planes, "As Far as the Eye Can See"

7. Sia, "Colour the Small Child"

8. The Roots, "Game Theory"

9. Brian Posehn, "Live In: Nerd Rage"

10. Ghostface Killah, "Fishscale"

11. Dr. Octagon, "The Return of . . ."

Best songs of 2006: "You've Been Good to Us Clouds" by Half-Handed Cloud; "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship; "A Line You Can Cross" by Lansing-Dreiden; "You Don't Have to Shout" by the Robocop Kraus.

The worst of 2006: Does every lame ringtone ever count? If not, then the ringtone for "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas. My biggest letdown was Mike Patton's "Peeping Tom" project.

Best new artist: Lily Allen

Best new group: The Sword

Albums I'm looking forward to in 2007: Bloc Party, "A Weekend in the City"; Ghostface and MF Doom "Swift and Changeable"; Metric, "Grow Up and Blow Away"; Wilco, TBA; Interpol, TBA; Kaiser Chiefs, TBA.