I Rock Cleveland's Year End Extravaganza Bonanza Part 1: 2006's Top Albums

First things first. This is I Rock Cleveland's top albums of 2006. It's not a list of what I think you think the top albums should have been. I advertise myself as a Rock and Indie blogger, and as a result, the top albums list is rock heavy. Additionally, I don't share an affinity for what I like to call Diet Indie (or Indie-Lite, or Post Hall and Oates Rock) with many in the blogosphere. When I get around to the top 40 singles of 2006, you'll see a lot more variety, and truth be told, there may even be some of that Diet Indie. Hey, a good song can't be denied. My criteria for choosing the top albums of 2006 was pretty simple. It had to come out in 2006 and I had to be able to listen to and enjoy that album without hitting the next button. If you've got a couple clunkers on your cd, it's not going to make my list. Finally, when we look back at 2006, I think a lot of us are going to be in agreement that this was either a year in transition, or even worse a bad year for music. Few albums successfully combined high art with high rock. Ok, there may not have been any albums that rocked with all due hardness and all due intelligence. So, when I'm left to choose between artistically ambitious and something that stimulates my rock and roll soul, I'm going to choose the latter each and every time. That is why The Black Angels are my top pick for 06. The haters will claim that they're no more than Velvet Underground retreads. I say, let the haters hate, it's their loss. The Black Angels put out the most intense and compelling rock record this past year, and it was loud, droning, psychedelic rock and roll. I Rock Cleveland's Top 10 of 2006: 1. The Black Angels - Passover 2. 120 Days - 120 Days 3. The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine 4. The Black Keys - Magic Potion 5. Film School - Film School 6. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Fear Is On Our Side 7. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am... 8. Favourite Sons - Down Beside Your Beauty 9. Isobel Campbell - Milk White Sheets 10. Beaten Awake - Let's Get Simplified Honorable Mention: The Drones - Gala Mill, Siversun Pickups - Carnavas, IV Thieves - If We Can't Escape My Pretty, Houseguest - High Strangeness, American Princes - Less and Less, Archie Bronson Outfit - Derdang, Derdang, Mission of Burma - The Obliterati, Catfish Haven - Tell Me, Fields - 7 From The Village, Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery, Forward Russia - Give Me A Wall, Ladyhawk - Ladyhawk, Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds, Swan Lake - Beast Moans, Trainwreck Riders - Lonely Road Revival, The Magic Words - Junk Train, The Low Frequency In Stereo - The Last Temptation Of..., Darker My Love - Darker My Love