Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2006…
#6 – Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
Apparently 2006 was a great year for brash young English women, because I’m following Lily Allen’s debut with the classic sophomore album by Amy Winehouse.
Back to Black, inspired by Winehouse’s temporary split from Blake Fielder-Civil, is one of the great breakup albums of all-time, and the greatest example of the neo soul movement that spiked in the 2000s.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2006…
#7 – Alright, Still – Lily Allen
I say this every time I revisit the Decades series, but it’s worth saying again. The best part of Decades is revisiting albums I haven’t listened to in forever and remembering how much I liked (and usually still like) them.
That’s certainly the case for English singer-songwriter Lily Allen’s debut album Alright, Still, which I haven’t played in full for probably a decade and a half. Listening to it today, I was instantly reminded of every lively little nuance, every endearing quirk that made this record such a refreshing blast.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2006…
#8 – Ganging Up on the Sun – Guster
I discovered the Massachusetts-based alternative rock band Guster around 2000, after their third album — Lost and Gone Forever — brought them wider attention. That was an indie delight, with a lo-fi DIY aesthetic that suited its clever songwriting.
Then came 2003’s Keep It Together, on which the band’s co-founder/drummer Brian Rosenworcel used sticks (rather than his hands) for the first time, and Guster proved they could deliver tight pop songs with an edge. That remains my favorite of their albums.
Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2006…
#9 – Highway Companion – Tom Petty
Only three of Tom Petty’s 16 albums were solo releases while the other 13 were recorded with the Heartbreakers. Given that members of the Heartbreakers play on all three of the solo records, it’s arguably a meaningless distinction.
But whatever set apart those solo albums — creative control, general sound, studio atmosphere — it clearly made a difference. As much as I love Petty’s work with the Heartbreakers (including my favorite of his albums, Damn the Torpedoes), I have all three of his solo releases in my Tom Petty Top Five.
I intended to pick up my Decades series this week by moving on to 1987, as I dug into the excellent 1977 lineup a few months ago. Then I realized I somehow skipped the final year of the 6’s. So I’m correcting that oversight over the next several weeks and exploring the albums of 2006.
As usual, I will count down my personal favorite albums from the year before exploring critically-acclaimed and/or commercially successful albums with which I’m less familiar.
Meet Me In Montauk 