The Best of (The First Half of) 2006

The Best Albums of 2006...so far. The year is almost halfway through, so this week Jim and Greg will run down the records that are currently in the running to making the top ten.

The Best of 2006 So Far
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The Best Albums of 2006 (So Far)

While most pop culture mavens wait until the end of the year to tally their favorites, Sound Opinions is so list-crazy, that we've decided to take 2006's half-way mark as an opportunity to take stock. Here are the albums Jim and Greg are loving so far:

Jim DeRogatis:

  1. Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  2. Van Hunt, On the Jungle Floor  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  3. Misson of Burma, The Obliterati  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  4. Wolfmother, Wolfmother (Interscope)
  5. The Bellrays, Have a Little Faith (Cheap Lullaby)
  6. Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll (Downtown) (hear Jim and Greg’s interview with Art Brut)
  7. Belle and Sebastian, The Life Pursuit (Matador) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  8. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  9. Dilated Peoples, 20/20 (Capitol)
  10. Alejandro Escovedo, The Boxing Mirror (Back Porch Records) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  11. The Flaming Lips, At War with the Mystics (Warner Bros.) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  12. Grandaddy, Just Like the Fambly Cat (V2) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  13. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  14. Prince, 3121 (Universal/Motown) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  15. The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers (V2) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  16. Secret Machines, Ten Silver Drops (Reprise) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  17. The Strokes, First Impressions of Earth (RCA) (hear Greg’s original review and interview with Julian Casablancas)
  18. The Subways, Young for Eternity (Sire)
  19. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, Under the Covers Vol. 1 (Shout Factory)
  20. Neil Young, Living with War (Reprise) (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)

Greg Kot (in no particular order):

  1. Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll  (hear Jim and Greg’s interview with Art Brut)
  2. Love is All, Nine Times That Same Song
  3. Ghostface Killah, Fishscale  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  4. Neil Young, Living With War  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  5. Dirty on Purpose, Hallelujah Sirens
  6. Parts and Labor, Stay Afraid
  7. Alejandro Escovedo, The Boxing Mirror  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  8. Mission of Burma, The Obliterati  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  9. Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  10. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Rabbit Furcoat  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  11. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  12. Anthony Hamilton, Ain’t Nobody Worryin’  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  13. Mary J. Blige, The Breakthrough  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)
  14. Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther
  15. Van Hunt, On the Jungle Floor  (hear Jim and Greg’s original review)

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!