Top Twenty Tuesday: Best Albums of 2006, Part One
December 19th, 2006 | by Scott |That’s right, I said top 20. That’s because I could not limit the number of albums that I absolutely loved these past 12 months to just 10. There has been some great music churned out recently. There are a million best of lists out there. This, my friends, is the definitive one:
20. Sandi Thom–Smile, It Confuses People: This one makes it on the virtue of the sugary goodness of “I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker.” Thom was a starving British artist. Too poor to tour, she decided to do a virtual tour from her basement. That led to a recording deal and one of the more upbeat, foot-tap worthy, offerings of the year. Download This: I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)
19. Neil Young–Living With War: Young churned out this angry, political soaked record on the fly but the passion and intensity keeps the power of this record afloat. It’s no cheery record and will not withstand the test of time. But for now, it’s tremendous protest music. Download This: After The Garden
18. Jars of Clay–Good Monsters: A thin year for Contemporary Christian Music has a couple of bright spots. One was this veteran group blessing us with another stellar outing. There is nothing new here as they explore the same ground that has served them well for over a decade. Download This: Oh My God
17. Roseanne Cash–Black Cadillac: All the pain, anger and heartbreak of loss channeled into one poetic tour de force. This is an album that captures the the complexity of grief and managing relationships in a fallen world. This is an album that ranks up there with the best that anyone in her family has ever recorded. And that says a lot. Download This: God Is In The Roses.
16. Bruce Springsteen–We Shall Overcome: The fact that the Boss sits at number 16 is testament to how much great music has been churned out this year. I’ve long been a fan of folk music and Pete Seeger is one of my favorite voices of protest music. The melding of Rock’s Poet Laureate with Seeger’s tireless words of activism conspired to produce a disc that I’ll still be listening to when I’m Seeger’s age. Make sure you get the re-released version with extra tunes. Download This: Bring ‘Em Home
15. the august–Thistle, Sparrow and the Tall, Tall Grass: This mesmerizing debut from these Chicago area folk rockerss might be higher on my list but their album came out less than two weeks ago. If this is any indication of the music that they will bless us with then I will be a fan for years to come. Jacky Dustin’s voice is compelling and silky smooth. Download This: Sugar Momma
14. Yusuf Islam–Another Cup: He will always be Cat Stevens to me. That melancholic voice that I grew up listening to is back with his first pop recording in 28 years. It’s like he never left. If you love vintage Stevens, you will love the sound of his voice cranking out those same profound nuggets of searching for truth, even if you don’t like his destination. Download This: Maybe There’s A World
13. Kate Campbell–For The Living Of These Days: Campbell is a revelation as she parlays a love for hymns, traditional and contemporary, into a disc of unsurpassed beauty and meaning. Listen to this offering and you will come face to face with a Jesus of incomparable grace and mercy. Download This: God of Grace and God of Glory
12. Hem–Funnel Cloud: You will not find a more ethereal voice than that of Sally Ellyson. This album is a further indication that they are the heir apparent to all things Timmons and display the sleepy Americana that would make the Cowboy Junkies proud. Fall into that sweet vocal and allow those elaborate strings to wash over you and you will fall in love with these masters of haunting folk-rock. Download This: Not California
11. Derek Webb–Mockingbird: This is the one Christian album in the last 10 years that made me stop mourning the passing of Rich Mullins. This is a wake-up call for the church to be the in-breaking of the Kingdom. A welcome breath of fresh air in the derivative world of CCM. Download This: A King and a Kingdom
Tomorrow I will be back with the 10 best albums of 2006. Any thoughts about the first 10? Any guesses about what you will see in the next post?