Best of 2006 - Part 1

Another year is almost complete, so of course that means it's time to start rolling out this year's list. It seemed to start out a little slowly, but I'd say it turned out to be a pretty good year for new music...not that many great albums, but a lot of good stuff. In fact, it was difficult narrowing this down to only a top 50, but here goes...

50. Califone - Roots and Crowns
49. Joseph Arthur - Nuclear Daydream
48. Pernice Brothers - Live a Little
47. Ms. John Soda - Notes and the Like
46. Alejandro Escovedo - The Boxing Mirror
45. Richard Buckner - Meadow
44. M. Ward - Post-War
43. Envelopes - Demon
42. Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers
41. Roseanne Cash - Black Cadillac

Yes, there are three artists in the 50-41 range who used to be mainstays in my top 10, and who account for 3 of my previous 10 #1 albums. What can I say? Times change, my tastes change, and old favorites remain close to my heart despite the fact that new ones have grabbed most of the attention...kind of like when your parents told you they don't love you any less after your younger sibling was born. Actually, I wouldn't know, since I'm that younger sibling.

Stay tuned for the rest of the list...