Stereogum has released the results of its 2006 readers’ poll:
30. COLD WAR KIDS – Robbers & Cowards (Downtown) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Hospital Beds”
29. FINAL FANTASY – He Poos Clouds (Tomlab) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “The Arctic Circle”
28. BOB DYLAN – Modern Times (Sony) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Thunder On The Mountain”
27. CLIPSE – Hell Hath No Fury (Re-Up Gang / Star Trak) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Ride Around Shining”
26. THE KILLERS – Sam’s Town (Island) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “When You Were Young”
25. LIARS – Drum’s Not Dead (Mute) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack”
24. THE THERMALS – The Body, The Blood, The Machine (Sub Pop) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “A Pillar Of Salt”
23. YEAH YEAH YEAHS – Show Your Bones (Interscope) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Cheated Hearts”
22. TAPES ‘N TAPES – The Loon (XL) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “Insistor”
21. GIRL TALK – Night Ripper (Illegal Art) Amazon – MP3: “Hold Up”
20. REGINA SPEKTOR – Begin To Hope (Sire) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Fidelity”
19. MIDLAKE – The Trials Of Van Occupanther (Bella Union) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Roscoe”
18. SUNSET RUBDOWN – Shut Up I Am Dreaming (Absolutely Kosher) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “Stadiums And Shrines II”
17. GNARLS BARKLEY – St. Elsewhere (Downtown) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Crazy”
16. THOM YORKE – The Eraser (XL) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Harrowdown Hill”
15. HOT CHIP – The Warning (Astralwerks) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Over And Over”
14. BELLE & SEBASTIAN – The Life Pursuit (Matador) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “Another Sunny Day”
13. BEIRUT – Gulag Orkestar (Ba Da Bing) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “Postcards From Italy”
12. CAT POWER – The Greatest (Matador) Amazon – iTunes
MP3: “The Greatest”11. JENNY LEWIS WITH THE WATSON TWINS – Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “Handle with Care”
10. M. WARD – Post-War (Merge) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Magic Trick”
9. THE KNIFE – Silent Shout (Mute) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “We Share Our Mother’s Health”
8. BAND OF HORSES – Everything All The Time (Sub Pop) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “The Funeral”
7. DESTROYER – Destroyer’s Rubies (Merge) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: European Oils”
6. NEKO CASE – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (Anti) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “Star Witness”
5. THE DECEMBERISTS – The Crane Wife (Capitol) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “The Crane Wife 1 And 2”
4. JOANNA NEWSOM – Ys (Drag City) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: Joanna Newsom – “Emily”
3. GRIZZLY BEAR – Yellow House (Warp) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “On A Neck, On A Spit”
2. TV ON THE RADIO – Return To Cookie Mountain (Interscope) Amazon – iTunes – Stream: “Wolf Like Me”
1. THE HOLD STEADY – Boys And Girls In America (Vagrant) Amazon – iTunes – MP3: “Chips Ahoy”
That’s a whole lot of indie rock. How many of those bands sound exactly like Modest Mouse? I count at least three.
And the Killers? Really?
Is there anybody out there who has actually listened to a Joanna Newsom album all the way through? Without strangling a household pet? Just curious…
I appear to be in a very select minority who finds that Hold Steady album dull as dirt. I just don’t get it, and believe me, I’ve tried. I kept thinking I was missing something and so would go back and listen again. It just never clicked. I must be dumb.
Does listening to Newsom in bed, falling asleep midway through the album and waking up to it being finished count? If not, then no, I haven’t. And I like her. Just not over the course of an entire album.
Along the same lines, that Knife album is borderline unlistenable. What annoying vocals.
I listened to the Hold Steady on a listening station at the record store after hearing everyone go on and on about how it was the greatest album ever and whatever, and it totally bored me. What’s supposed to be so great about it? Just at that one listen I couldn’t tell the difference between their vocal-heavy guitar rock and the mallternative stuff played on the radio. What’s the difference?
Joanna Newsom makes me want to kill people. Seriously. I don’t like a single thing about her and have actually questioned the sanity of people who like her( I kid).
And I once fell asleep at a Belle & Sebastian concert. I took that as a sign and have never listened to them since.
The Cold War Kids… I think I might have heard of them before… hmm….
i agree about Newsom, it’s impossible to listen to the entire album in one sitting without going mad, but i’m absolutely in luv with “Emily”, and actually listened to it 3 times in a row. It’s so frosty and beautiful, not to mention a great song to placate a cranky teething 9-month year old.