(Wednesday, December 20)

Top 25 Albums of 2006 - Part 3 (of 4) : The Honorable Mentions

Welcome to part 3 of my 4 series post on my Top albums for 2006. You can read part 1 here (Most disappointing Albums of 2006) and part 2 here (most overrated albums of 2006). There is nothing more to really say about this mini list except that all these albums were in the running for top 25, and all got pushed off the list for various reasons. All are great albums and I would say certainly worth the purchase there just wasn't room on my list this year for them

Part 3 - The Honorable Mentions

Born In The UK - Badly Drawn Boy

Usually I rate Badly Drawn Boy's albums really high in my lists, this CD was by no means a disappointment but just didn't have a place in the top 25 this year. It is a relatively new CD compared to everything on the list besides the Incubus and John Legend, and it will probably grow on me more this year so that is the reason I decided that it should still be a runner up. Hour of the Bewilderbeast and the About a Boy Soundtrack both grew on me a lot (like most REM CDs) after a few weeks, and I enjoy the album as of now, so I thought it needed a place here if not on the top 25.

Death By Sexy - Eagles of Death Metal

It was really really hard not to put these guys in the top 25 just because they fucking rock. Peace Love And Deathmetal (their first album) made the 2005 list, and this one just barely got pushed off of this year's list. I think one of the reasons these guys make such good music is just that they don't take them selves too seriously and it just honestly sounds like they are having a blast every song they play. No matter if it is about banging young groupies (I Gotta Feelin) or chasing whatever with whatever (Chasing the Devil) these guys scream rock and roll that you don't really hear of anymore since the hair band days.

Continuum - John Mayer

Every time I think Mayer has turned into the "Good Prince of Pop" he comes back with some amazing guitar and lyrics that makes me question again if they really had to put up the guys in 'The Office' singing Karaoke to 'You Body is a Wonderland'. The CD has it's low points (Slow Dancing in a Burning Room is kinda lame) that is probably the only reason it didn't get into the top 25, but "Belief" is probably one his better songs lyrically in his career, and while I still love the original a lot more, the Axis Bold As Love cover is a pretty good Hendrix cover. I usually don't like Hendrix covers (this includes Mayer's Wind Cries Mary) but this one is pretty good. In Repair is kinda bleh, but then you have a song like Stop this Train to balance it out. While not as "guitar-y" as the other songs the lyrics are great, and it sounds like pretty damn sincere writing.

Once Again - John Legend

I have a feeling that if this CD would have come out in early 2006 i would have had it on the list, only because his other CD Get Lifted took some time and a bunch of spins to grow on me. This came out in October and I the first single Save Room is great. The whole CD almost seems to be him saying sorry to some chick named Maxine. I can only assume he cheated on her and wants her back, I assume this because of his lyrics on Get Lifted. Regardless, the man has soul and can play the piano that should be enough to warrant at least one pass through of the album.

Empire - Kasabian

I really enjoyed Kasabian's debut, and Empire was really good, but not as good as their self titled. Still I gave it a good number of spins this year. The album was released a good couple of weeks earlier in the UK before it was released here and we were actually over in the UK and I almost picked it up there, but the conversion rate was a total suck and it would have been like $25 in USD so I said screw it i will wait for it to hit US itunes. I am not sure what singles have come of it, but if I had my choice Shoot The Runner, Seek and Destroy and Apnoea would be my 3 favorite songs. Great CD for workout music. Barely fell short of the List.

	Backroom - the Editors
The first time I heard this I thought it was a good mix of Interpol with the Doves. Which is 90% of a good thing. It really is not as fast or upbeat as the Doves, but also not as dark as Interpol. A lot of rolling base lines, decent lyrics and a good lead vocal voice. The record is kinda melancholy, but still pretty good for cold rainy day programming.

Boneclouds - Mason Jennings

I had heard a couple of Mason Jennings songs before this album and they were fair, but none really amazed me, this CD was very good though. I think someone emailed me this as a recommendation and I am very glad that they did. Highlights for me are Jackson Square which sounds autobiographical and is a pretty good story about him and some chick I guess. If you are looking for a Lost style teaser for tomorrow's big top 25 list the track title of the first song of this album matches the track title of the first song on one of the top 25 albums on tomorrow list. Also, this is all Hurley's dream and at the end of the entire story he will wake up after falling asleep working the Cluckin' Chicken drive through. He will then be turn around and hand the food to the people waiting in the drive through and it will be Sawyer and Kate in drop top convertible and don't even guess what their license plate will read! Oh those witty writers!!11!

Rocco Deluca and the Burden - I Trust You to Kill Me

Jack Bauer Loves these guys, why don't you? you got something against America? This is another CD I bought on a whim just because I heard Kiefer Sutherland put a lot behind these guys (don't ask me why I think Sutherland has good taste in music because honestly I have no clue about his tastes, but I know he always stops the terrorists and is a great shot and willing to succumb to a heroin addiction to get the Salizars for the sake of America, so that is enough to at least warrant a first listen). It really is a great CD though. You don't hear to much slide guitar (esp electric slide), and it all seems to work pretty well for DeLuca and his band. I really enjoy Bus Ride and Soul (esp the beginning break).

Beck - the Information

It is cool when an artist has an idea (like Beck with this albums art cover 'make your own' cover) the neat thing about Beck that he has the backing of people in the industry to carry it out because of his previous success. The Information was a great cd, but I don't think it was as good as Guero, still it holds its own with songs like Elevator Music and Think i'm in Love are both standouts. Towards the End of the CD it start to get some like Sea Change (my least favorite Beck Album), but the firs thalf of the album is so supurb I considered it for the Top 25. Alas it is pushed to the Honorable mentions.

Light Grenades - Incubus

I have REALLY been enjoyng this CD as of late. Most of Incubus' CDs are hit or miss with me. Their last CD was good (A Crow Flew to the Murder) but some of their other Albums (Science) were not anything I would listen to more than once. Light Grenades sounds like they experiemented more and really it sounds focused in parts and abstract as hell in others, but it is still very good. The 4 songs need to be listened to in sequence at all times, I don't know why but they all seem to flow together well (and yes the first song and second song are a tie in, but the later two also just kinda fit. Much like the John Legend I bet if I had a few more months to listen to this I would probably have put it into the top 25. Great Album.