2006: The Year In Music

2006 – Luciano Pavarotti gives his last ever performance, singing “Nessun Dorma” at the Turin Winter Olympics opening ceremony. “Top of the Pops” broadcasts for the last time on BBC Two, having aired for 42 years. Pluto is reclassified as a dwarf planet. Google purchases YouTube. I really struggled to find major news this year … so let’s hope there were some major music releases!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – Check On It (Beyoncé feat. Slim Thug and Bun B)

You’re about to see a lot of classics in 2006’s Billboard hits list. “Check On It” is not one of those classics.

Beyoncé released “Irreplaceable” in 2006, but otherwise it was a tame release year by her standards. “Check On It” has a nice beat but it’s nothing crazy.

9 – SexyBack (Justin Timberlake feat. Timbaland)

Justine Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds” album has lots of songs I like, from the title track to “LoveStoned” and “What Goes Around”, but there’s only one real front-runner for best song.

“SexyBack” is arguably his most iconic song. The production is insanely catchy, and I can’t help but dance along.

8 – Ridin (Chamillionaire feat. Krayzie Bone)

This song is a bit of a joke. Catchy joke, though, but I wouldn’t choose to listen to it start to finish.

7 – Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)

Gnarls Barkley is the collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green. They cooked up something nasty with “Crazy”.

It’s produced so well, sung so well, and it’s still a mainstay on radios almost two decades later.

6 – Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield)

I must be living under a rock, as “Unwritten” has well over a billion Spotify streams yet I’m sure I haven’t heard it before.

It’s quite developed for a Pop song. I think I like the pre-chorus best of all.

5 – Hips Don’t Lie (Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean)

Shakira Shakira!

“Hips Don’t Lie” is a worldwide phenomenon. It remains a global hit to this day.

4 – You’re Beautiful (James Blunt)

Oh good … it’s James Blunt.

“You’re Beautiful” isn’t a bad song by any means. Unfortunately, it has become something of a joke.

3 – Promiscuous (Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland)

Timbaland once again doing god’s work in 2006.

I don’t consider “Promiscuous” a classic, but it’s definitely RnB done right.

2 – Temperature (Sean Paul)

Sean Paul once again brings his unique Jamaican Rap stype to “Temperature”. I don’t hate it.

It feels emptier than some of the others, but the chorus is pretty catchy.

1 – Bad Day (Daniel Powter)

The ultimate mid-00’s cheese.

Daniel Powter gives a great performance in “Bad Day”. It’s a bit of a meme song now, but it’s written well.

FAVOURITE – “Crazy” (Gnarls Barkley)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “Check On It” (Beyoncé feat. Slim Thug and Bun B)

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (Arctic Monkeys)

This was the big hit from “Whatever People Say I Am”, and the song that put Arctic Monkeys on the map.

You can’t listen to “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” without getting swept away by the relentless currents of Garage Rock.

9 – Welcome To The Black Parade (My Chemical Romance)

Sure, it’s a bit cliché, but there’s no denying “Welcome To The Black Parade” hits hard.

The chorus is one hell of an earworm, and that slower intro is the stuff of pop culture legend.

8 – Lazy Eye (Silversun Pickups)

“Lazy Eye” is a good Alt Rock song. I’m a bit surprised it made the best songs of 2006 list, though.

7 – Emily (Joanna Newsom)

“Emily” is a 12-minute opening to Joanna Newsom’s album “Ys”. She leaves nothing off the table.

The lush orchestration and dense lyrics are immense.

6 – Knights Of Cydonia (Muse)

… Is it sacrilegious to say I enjoy “Knights Of Cydonia” more than “Bohemian Rhapsody” on some days?

It’s the same kind of epic, anthemic Rock piece that closes an album, and the cosmic “No one’s gonna take me alive” bridge feeds so well into the heavy rock finale. What a tune.

5 – Vicarious (TOOL)

TOOL can do no wrong in my eyes.

“Vicarious” is the opener to “10,000 Days”, and it’s awesome. It’s dirty and visceral, much like “The Pot” – another song from the album that should’ve been in this top ten.

4 – Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)

For the first time in god knows how long there’s a song that made both the most popular and the highest-rated list.

I won’t be adding anything new here. It’s just as awesome as when I heard it an hour ago.

3 – Wolf Like Me (TV On The Radio)

I know TV On The Radio from “DLZ”, a song that featured in Breaking Bad. “Wolf Like Me” is their most popular song and I can see why.

It starts off strong with a catchy drumbeat, so I wish the chorus was stronger. The switch-up halfway through definitely caught me off-guard.

2 – Jesus Christ (Brand New)

Good lyrics, simple songwriting, an effective package. “Jesus Christ” makes its point and makes it well.

1 – A Certain Romance (Arctic Monkeys)

“I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” will always be the more famous track, but there are days when I think “A Certain Romance” is the best song on the album.

It has possibly my favourite Alex Turner vocal and lyric performance, and it’s a perfect way to end the album.

BEST SONG OF 2006 – “Knights Of Cydonia” (Muse)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – The Black Parade (My Chemical Romance)

Every emo on earth loves My Chemical Romance and “Welcome To The Black Parade”.

The rest of “The Black Parade” is more Alt Emo Rock, which isn’t my thing particularly but it has its moment.

4 – Black Holes And Revelations (Muse)

Disclaimer – I’m a big Muse fan. “Black Holes And Revelations” is my favourite album of theirs. I pretty much love every song.

“Soldier’s Poem” is a bit naff, but otherwise bangers like the first four tracks and “Knights Of Cydonia” make this the best Space Rock album of all time.

3 – Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)

It’s borderline offensive how none of the songs from “Back To Black” made either the Billboard or high-rated top ten. There are some absolute classics here!

The title track, “Me & Mr Jones”, “Rehab”, “You Know I’m No Good”, “Tears Dry On Their Own” and “He Can Only Hold Her” are tracks I revisit often.

2 – Ys (Joanna Newsom)

All five songs on “Ys” are over seven minutes, with the average song length being about eleven minutes. That could be exhausting for some.

When I was listening to “Ys”, however, I was fully in it. Joanna Newsom’s lyrics and vocals are entrancing, and her songwriting is so ahead of its time.

1 – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (Arctic Monkeys)

It’s going to be tough to choose the Best Album of 2006 – “Whatever People Say I Am” is yet again one of my favourite albums ever.

It perfectly captured that raw, boyish energy of mid-00’s Rock, and some of the songs like “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”, “Mardy Bum”, “When The Sun Goes Down” and “A Certain Romance” are British classics. What a debut from the Arctic Monkeys.

BEST ALBUM OF 2006 – “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” (Arctic Monkeys)

Usually I’d go for the Muse album, but for the sake of this list I feel the objective best pick would be the Arctic Monkeys.

Final Thoughts

So many classics from 2006. They weren’t all zingers, but this was a trip down memory lane.

Overall Grade: B+

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: