I kinda lost track of this whole thing towards the end, lol, but I got to 100 as I always try to … I’m gonna strip all the “NEW” tags out and accept that I can’t write something about everything for once, hehe … I rejigged the top spots quite a bit these past few days listening to a few of my faves over again. The ones at the top are just those ones that I see myself listening to over and over again in the future. As has become the norm this decade, I’ve gotta say, infinitely better year for music than it was for movies.

1. 15 Minutes Ago – Jessica Lombard
   Not many people will have heard of this girl; I don’t even know quite how I first came to know of her. But from listening to a few of her quite stripped down (production-wise) songs on MySpace, my heart leapt when I found this album on iTunes. It’s wonderfully produced, the words reach right inside you, and her voice is just astonishing. Think Jewel only, 12 years old (somewhere along the line I’d changed that to 15 in my head – I’m even more amazed having just read that again on CDBaby …) Final note: It just gets better every time I listen to it, either as a whole or track by track … this girl simply amazes me.
2. Je sais que la terre est plate – Raphaël
   Of course, I knew I’d love this one, the guy is a musical god as far as I’m concerned. His sound is slightly different yet again, though perhaps not as stark as the switch between albums 1, 2 and 3 … here, he finally gets use of the full Bowie band and the production skills of Tony Visconti but his is the voice that shines through. I adore “Adieu Haiti”, “Sixieme Etage” (continuing his flair for appeasing those of us whose French isn’t exactly top notch with a catchy series of “oh-oh”s :)) and “Tess”. Like Caravane it’s short at 35 minutes, but it feels much much longer and I could listen to it twice over in one sitting anyway. Final note: The guy is just a god.
3. Music of the Spheres – Mike Oldfield
   The first few bars had me hmming over its overwhelming similarity to Tubular Bells which I list among the greatest albums ever made, and I’m sure there are negative reviews out there to that effect. But though that similarity can’t be denied, the feelings this filled and left me with are completely different from Bells … it’s the most reverential work of art I’ve seen, heard, or witnessed in years. It’s music to bow down to almost. I don’t think I even want to hear anything better this year.
4. The Ocean and Me – Sophie Zelmani
   It seems mad to me still putting this above Music of the Spheres but it also seems absolutely right. I’ve listened to it 4 times now trying to figure out just what it is that makes it the best album I’ve heard this year and what makes it so different from Sophie’s other albums, but I’m still stumped. I just get lost in it. There’s this massive theme I’ve started to notice in my life this year of water and the ocean and stuff too, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it lol. Anyway – “Wind Took My Sail” and “Love” are stunning tracks. Final note: I decided the other 3 are just marginally better than this one, but it’s still an amazing album.
5. Nightmare Revisited – Various Artists
   Holy Shit The artist list for this really didn’t impress me so much as the basic idea of it on which basis I still knew I’d love it … but damn … this is probably the greatest concept album since War of the Worlds. Normally I’m picky about changes when I believe the original is perfect as is, but aside from a couple of instrumentals that go on a little too long, this thing is simply flawless. I love how the “Closing” track by Danny Elfman makes this a kind of “checking in on” Jack and co., but it’s Sally’s Song by Amy Lee that really blew me away most of all. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t make this the centrepiece of my Halloween last week. Oh well, there are still a good number of tracks here that will get plenty of playtime in December
6. Join With Us – The Feeling
   So close to pipping the Oldfield album, this was. It peters out at the end with a bunch of tracks that could easily be removed and render it a practically perfect 45 minuter. But no matter – the greatnesses here are huge … like Supertramp and ELO plus a little bit more, it just leaves you with a smile on your face.
7. Volume One – She and Him
   Zooey Deschanel sings. Seriously do you need any other reason to listen? Okay … because it’s LOVELY. Okay? I love it anyway
8. Camp Lisa – Lisa Loeb
   First off, I haven’t posted my review of it yet … but f*k* Camp Rock LOL … anything even approaching positive comments I had for that movie vanished entirely on listening to this gem. Secondly, forget Vanessa Hudgens or the B-52s’ albums as the most fun you’ll have listening to music in 2008. Lisa Loeb … I think I Loeb You hehe. This had me laughing, crying, everything, and it really takes a lot to make me feel so much over the whole camp thing.
9. Safe Trip Home – Dido
   
10. I Know You’re Married, But I’ve Got Feelings Too – Martha Wainwright
    I liked her first album but I’ve kinda stuck on listening only to the first track in iTunes ever since … this one has a much greater chance of having total regular rotation. It sounds so much like her mother and aunt the McGarrigle sisters in places it’s uncanny, I’m not sure if this is deliberate or that she’s just naturally grown into the family shoes (her first album really wasn’t so recognisable). “So Many Friends” is my fave so far.
11. Off With Their Heads – Kaiser Chiefs
    Well, dang, I feel dirty. My pithy soundbite here was to be aside from the lunatic cheering on one of the bonus tracks for Mark Ronson playing the tambourine, plus my general aversion to this band on the whole, it would be a fool who didn’t recognise this as one of the best albums of the year. Now I just found out Mr. Ronson actually produced the thing. I’ve gotta say … I’m pleasantly shocked.
12. Day After Tomorrow – Joan Baez
    Really beautiful, and more importantly, a real album … there seems to be a lot of singin’ about Mary toward the end as I recall but I can’t wait to listen again. This just put a huge smile on my face and left me practically unaware of the concept of stress.
13. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today – David Byrne and Brian Eno
    Hmm … I gotta admit, I can’t remember why I liked this one so much – that’s what happens when I put off posting here for so long I guess, lol – but I know that I loved it, I’ll certainly find the time to revisit it before December comes.
14. Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis
    Like the Watson Twins’ and Paul Weller albums – this girl is just 100% reliability, she knows how to put an album together. “Godspeed” is wonderful.
15. Fire Songs – The Watson Twins
    I really liked their work with Jenny Lewis a couple of years ago and this doesn’t disappoint as a follow-up. It’s perhaps not an album I’ll play a lot ... but like the Paul Weller album, it’s just one of those records whose quality you just can’t deny.
16. Harps and Angels – Randy Newman
    Addition: I’m moving this up after listening to the live version he did for public radio. This thing has some deceptively complicated tunes on it. [...] I kinda sniggered as the album began as I often do snigger at Randy Newman after Family Guy or whatever did the parody of his typical style of song. But it’s a real album that makes me happy, and “Feels Like Home” is the best final track of the year next to Duffy’s “Distant Dreamer”. Edit: Ack, I just discovered that that song is actually an oldie … the good news is that I discovered this because I have the sheet music for it (from the movie Michael, apparently) ... whatever, it’s still a beautiful song.
17. A Winter Symphony – Sarah Brightman
    It’s been a great year for Christmas albums and though this isn’t my favourite of the bunch, it’s the one that impressed me the most. Brightman’s voice is beautifully captured and the song selections and variations are amazing.
18. Connie Talbot’s Christmas Album – Connie Talbot
    In short, exactly what I longed for from her first album last year – an all-out cheesy Christmas classic with some surprisingly “proper” tracks included to boot. Her “Do You Hear What I Hear?” is possibly the best I have ever heard, and with “Ave Maria”, she shows that she’s not going to disappear like the gimmick she might first appear to be.
19. 4:13 Dream – The Cure
    
20. Funplex – The B-52s
    The most fun album of the year so far. Like John Waters meets Shampoo or something, and B-52s-ey all the way
21. At Mount Zoomer – Wolf Parade
    (thanks to Cinematically Correct for the recommendation) I liked this – reminded me of Arcade Fire’s first album “Funeral” and as such, I really hope they have the success they need to make the sound they clearly want to be making. It’s certainly more rhythmically interesting than the bulk of what I’ve heard this year, s’just the production quality didn’t seem to be quite there for me.
22. Backwoods Barbie – Dolly Parton
    Her voice is just beautiful – I still haven’t really got onto the major binge of her back catalogue that I’ve been planning ever since I saw The Best Little Whorehouse…, but it’ll be happening soon I’m sure. The title track is cheesily beautiful, “Better Get to Livin’” is awesome, but it’s the cover of “Drive Me Crazy” here that leapt out of the blue and made my day, I’m crazy for it lol.
23. 22 Dreams – Paul Weller
    Not really my cup of tea but I can’t deny it’s an incredible production. I love the allusions to childhood imagery, of course. Definitely will listen to it again.
24. The Age of the Understatement – The Last Shadow Puppets
    Someone mentioned Scott Walker in a Newsnight Review of this and I was almost immediately sold, lol, and I wasn’t disappointed. If there’s a reason this doesn’t remain in my top ten till the end of the year, then it’s only that I’m jealous I didn’t come up with it first. Huge.
25. The Seventh Tree – Goldfrapp
    I’m having trouble believing that this album came from the same people who gave the world Supernature, lol. This is just so cute, exactly the kind of candyland pop I adore the most. The lead sounds like Cathy Dennis in places, and the songs like something the Poole sisters of Alisha’s Attic would conjure. I can’t wait to listen to it more.
26. Rockferry – Duffy
    Was very surprised how right the hype was on this one – even the comparison on Newsnight Review to Dusty Springfield which really put me off. It is simply a perfect album.
27. We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things – Jason Mraz
    All I can remember from Mraz’s last album (I haven’t heard the first) is “Wordplay”, but I’m quite sure I liked it all. This definitely struck me as even more catchy, though. His voice is gorgeous, almost girlish at times. I adore “Lucky”, it’s like my life right now
28. I Stand – Idina Menzel
    I’m not sure if I’ll listen to it as much as I’ve found myself listening to “Still I Can’t be Still” (and I hadn’t even heard of “Here”, an album which apparently came between that and this) ... but “Gorgeous” and “I Feel Everything” in particular are almost certain to be on my best of year playlists.
29. Smilers – Aimee Mann
    It’s growing on me As with “Forgotten Arm”, I really wasn’t so sure of this on a first listen but the story kind of eats into you and it makes more sense and sticks in the ears more with every listen.
30. Enfants d’hiver – Jane Birkin
    
31. Breakout – Miley Cyrus
    I’ve been growing to love the whole Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus thing all year and this was a great capper to all that. The songs as usual are about 50 / 50, half just about acceptably standard pop and half simply perfect IMHO – “Bottom of the Ocean” in particular caught me at the exact right moment – like literally within hours of when I needed it the most … “This is it. Let go. Breathe …”
32. Sweet Bells – Kate Rusby
    
33. I Don’t Wanna Go to School – The Naked Brothers Band
    hehe. I loved their song/s on the iCarly soundtrack but I couldn’t have imagined the grin I had on my face listening them for an album’s worth. Such a beautifully clear lead vocal and a good two-thirds of instantly memorable songs. “I’ll Do Anything” is my fave so far, almost certain to go on the end of year playlist.
34. The Circus – Take That
    
35. Happy Smiles – t.A.T.u.
    
36. Identified – Vanessa Hudgens
    So well produced and supercatchy. Reminds me of the Rachel Stevens / Holly Valance / Dannii Minogue type Poole / Dennis composed albums we don’t seem to have had in a long while. Actually thinking now maybe this deserves “most fun album” over the B-52s. I’m not sure, they’re both electric
37. Momofuku – Elvis Costello and the Imposters
    Finally! I think I got so tired of being disappointed with Elvis Costello releases that I’ve probably deliberately missed the last handful – but this is the Elvis Costello that I love and this, too, will likely only grow on me as the year goes on.
38. My Paper Made Men – Amy Studt
    I feared initially that this would be a lot like the first album – I’d shout from the hills how I loved it but in the long run the playcount has really only settled on three songs, “Ladder in Your Tights”, “Misfit” and “Just a Little Girl” (two of which happened to be from a Poole pen – edit ooh and “Under the Thumb”! of course, which is also a Karen Poole song lol … so not a bad album at all in fact …). On a first listen this is definitely more fun in its first half, but that’s not to say that on a second, third, and fourth listen since I didn’t let it run all the way through. “Nice Boys” is a song I object to on a personal level but if they don’t release it to conquer the charts while the sun is shining then they’re crazy (whoever “they” are lol). It’s Shampoo-tastic lol.
39. Forth – The Verve
    Very nice sound. I can’t wait to listen to this one again, it came in a night of major catching up but it was certainly one of the best of the bunch.
40. A Mad and Faithful Telling – Devotchka
    It’s a couple of weeks since I listened to this so the memory’s not so great but I remember it was fairly catchy while I thought it’d be annoying, Devotchka being tied in my brain to Little Miss Sunshine still, though I quickly remind myself the music was one of the few things I liked about that movie.
41. Bittersweet World – Ashlee Simpson
    It’s Ashlee, you probably know what to expect. On a first listen none of these songs really stand out to me as awesome, not even in the sense that “I Am Me” or “L.O.V.E” or “Autobiography” have become fixtures on my most-listened-to tracks in iTunes. But I’ll listen to it over and over ‘cos I have a very angry teenage girl in me sometimes lol.
42. To Be Loved – Joan As Police Woman
    I think I liked this more than her first album, but I’ve only listened to each of them once so I can’t really stand by my opinion. She was a lot of fun when I saw her live supporting Rufus Wainwright. Her studio work seems pretty stoic by comparison. This is almost certainly too low for now, hopefully I’ll get a chance to listen again before the year is out.
43. Liverpool 8 – Ringo Starr
    Not as good as “Choose Love”, but it’s as competently done as you’d expect from an ex-Beatle working with Dave Stewart.
44. Pocketful of Sunshine – Natasha Bedingfield
    I had to think about whether this was original enough to count as a new album ‘cos it’s kind of a mishmash of b-side-y songs and parts of Nb after that album failed to set the US aflame or something. I decided yes, there are enough original songs here – the Nb songs are always worth hearing again. And frankly, for “Freckles” alone it’s worth it.
45. Home Before Dark – Neil Diamond
    I just saw a short concert on BBC interactive with some songs from this and already I’ve started to think again about my kneejerk reaction to the album, it’s possible it’ll really click with me one day and I think it’s “One More Bite of the Apple” and “Slow it Down” that hold the key. For now, I’ve gotta say, it does feel a little passionless and a bit too much like someone trying to use the perfect “12 Songs” too much as a template instead of trying something original again.
46. What A Night! A Christmas Album – Harry Connick, Jr.
    
47. Ode to J. Smith – Travis
    I was really surprised to see Travis release a new album so soon following their perfect last, and I pretty much knew right away that it couldn’t live up to the promise shown there. This has the potential to grow on me though, and I’ll certainly give it the chance.
48. Let It Go – Will Young
    Dang again … I can’t remember this one much but I know there was at least one song on it that really grabbed me. That and I’m always pleasantly surprised by this guy.
49. Alas I Cannot Swim – Laura Marling
    It’ll need another listen, ‘cos I wasn’t quite in the mood for it at the time … certainly interesting and of course, girl voices are the best
50. Viva La Vida – Coldplay
    The already overplayed title single is of course irresistible – I wanna jump around just about every time I hear it. But like all their best standalone songs, the album just feels lost around it. It’s rarely anything but “nice”. It’s possible it’ll grow on me, and certainly worth it for Viva … but it’s far from great.
51. Everything is Borrowed – The Streets
    It opens amazingly with the title track but quickly becomes way too scattered in ideas. I found it odd how the other night on Newsnight Review they were all having issues with Mike Skinner’s voice as some kind of barrier to the gold that lay “beneath” it … I absolutely adore his voice and he burrowed his way into my heart again within seconds of the first track starting. It may grow on me with future listens – I think it’s certainly better than The Hardest Way … but not a patch on A Grand Don’t Come for Free.
52. Chinese Democracy – Guns ‘N Roses
    
53. Perfect Symmetry – Keane
    
54. Funhouse – Pink
    
55. Perfectly Clear – Jewel
    For some reason I was led to believe this wasn’t so good and I came to it with particularly low expectations. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it … I don’t know … she’s in the shadow of Jessica Lombard now, I think – but she’s still Jewel
56. That Lucky Old Sun – Brian Wilson
    Now here’s a voice I do have a problem with. I really cringed when I heard Brian Wilson had a new album coming out. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Beach Boys … Pet Sounds is one of the greatest albums ever and all that … but Brian Wilson’s voice is just not the same these days. His christmas album a few years back was just gutwrenchingly embarrassing. Now I’m not saying this is as bad as that ... musically, in fact, it’s pretty stunning and it really gels as an album in the very nitpicky way I get about what albums “should” be … but his voice … it just sounds so wooden and strained. He has to be given kudos for trying … but it just really pulls me away from what could’ve been a perfect album with another voice.
57. Adam & Joe’s Song Wars Volume One – Adam & Joe
    lol – I had to debate with myself whether this counted as an album … and yes, why not? I hadn’t realised till only recently that Adam & Joe were doing their 6 Music show so this served as a nice catchup to the podcast. I didn’t laugh as much as expected, some of their stuff is just really really unfunny … but when I did laugh, it was big laughs. The radio show or podcast is well worth checking out.
58. Divinidyll Tour – Vanessa Paradis
    This is one of those CDs I have to have a little argument with myself over including as I try to stick to Albums (with a capital A) for this list … but the Vanessa live CDs have always been among the best and genuinely worth purchasing with the versions of songs on them often getting more play time in my iTunes. This is no exception. While it starts with some of the songs and styles that made me less than excited for Divinidyll the album (another that really could never live up to the one that came before it, Bliss), almost making me relieved I didn’t haul myself across Europe to see her in June, eventually I found myself feeling pretty jealous of the audience. When she sings Varvara Pavlovna – a song I haven’t heard in years since my record must’ve gone in an eBay or similar purge – I almost felt like I was with them. Much more embracing than the album.
59. A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas – Kristen Chenoweth
    
60. Down to Earth – Jem
    hehe, I feel like I’m on a loop. I wanna say, here’s another that could never live up to its predecessor. But I gotta admit, I’ve really only listened to one track from “Totally Woken” like over and over so I can’t say that for certain. This is definitely the kind of music I like, and another listen might open it up to me more … but nothing really grabbed me the first time, and some of it I found kinda embarassing, really.
61. Melody – Sharleen Spiteri
    Of course, I wanted to like this just because of it’s title (and, I might add, the way the title appears on the cover, hehe) – but it’s never much more than catchy. I can’t wait to hear more from her though, ‘cos it’s cool that she made something so different from the Texas stuff and managed to pull off the “old” sound without sounding as godawful corny and fake as Mark Ronson and co … though that said, I’d still sooner recommend “She and Him”.
62. Death Magnetic – Metallica
    Clearly, not my kind of music. But I’ve been pretty big on the Guitar Hero stuff lately and it does leave you with a slightly increased appreciation for this kind of stuff. It didn’t hurt me like once upon a time I’d have thought it would – let’s leave it at that, lol.
63. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust – Sigur Rós
    The beat might be faster but I honestly still found this mostly as dreary a dirge as anything they’ve produced. As I do with Jack Johnson I feel there’s a time and a place for Sigur Rós and for me it was the end of Vanilla Sky (which makes me hmmm … maybe the reason so many people like these guys is they constantly remind them of Tom Cruise plummeting to his death LOL). I’ll admit to getting a few goosebumps on whatever track it is the orchestra totally soars … but while some people I’m sure find this blissfully relaxing, I just get more irritated each time the lead opens his mouth.
64. iCarly: Songs from and Inspired by the Hit TV Series – Various
    It’s a compilation, I usually don’t allow those – but it’s a good compilation, the dialogue snippets are hilarious and even the non-Miranda songs are surprisingly enjoyable (I could definitely get into The Naked Brothers). The Miranda songs turn out to be all covers, but they show her voice improving vastly since recording the theme song (which features here in an extended version). I really hope she gets to do a full solo album some time.
65. The Informer – Jools Holland
    
66. Jennifer Hudson – Jennifer Hudson
    
67. Some People Have Real Problems – Sia
    
68. Radio:ACTIVE – McFly
    McFly have really grown on me this year, to the point where, when they did their live thing for the London 2012 party a few weeks back, I actually started to agree with those who had proclaimed them “the new Beatles” a few years ago. The album isn’t much special, but it’s amazing how they’ve turned me around from utter hate lol.
69. The Block – New Kids on the Block
    
70. The Slip – Nine Inch Nails
    Less scary-noisy than last year’s Year Zero and, weirdly enough, I liked it more than the much more ethereal and ambient Ghosts. One of my favourite songs of theirs, and the one that really introduced me to them in Natural Born Killers, is Burn, and this album pretty much stands up to it all over.
71. Flavors of Entanglement – Alanis Morissette
    Mostly meh, but again, it’s the girl voice. Nothing stands out quite as much as Thank You or Ironic or whatever but, big BUT, I absolutely love, love, love “In Praise of the Vulnerable Man”. It’s so corny, but someone kinda had to write it, and that that someone turned out to be Alanis … it’s just perfect.
72. The Cosmos Rocks – Queen + Paul Rodgers
    
73. Arena – Todd Rundgren
    
74. Bring Ya To the Brink – Cyndi Lauper
    It’s dancey which as a rule I hate; but I love when the tunefulness bursts through, and those incidences are frequent enough for me to listen again given the opportunity. Can’t think of a lot more to say than that.
75. Dig Out Your Soul – Oasis
    
76. Third – Portishead
    It takes some adjusting to, but I’m surprised to say that I found some of this pretty lovely. Again, I’ve not a lot more to say. It’s mid-June and I’m just tying up the loose ends, I wouldn’t normally listen to this type of thing.
77. Sunday at Devil Dirt – Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
    Since getting into Belle and Sebastian a couple of years ago I’ve been really wanting to listen to Isobel Campbell’s solo stuff – I really hope this is just a bad intro to it. While it’s a really nice album, her voice is pretty much swamped by the Leonard Cohen-ish tones of Lanegan, and I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
78. Little Dreamer – Beth Rowley
    It’s kind of gone out of my head already, but a pleasant enough listen while it lasted. Very well produced and like I’ve said already, girl voices are the best
79. Phoenix – Asia
    About what I expected from this band even though I haven’t yet got around to taking in their back catalogue. They sound exactly like the era they were born in and though I can’t be certain, I’m pretty sure that fans will be pleased.
80. 11 – Bryan Adams
    Meh. Standard Bryan Adams. I love the guy ‘cos he did the Spirit songs but most of his other stuff sounds the same to me. It’s still very catchy though.
81. Accelerate – R.E.M.
    LOUD! This almost gave me a headache lol. It has its moments, but really, it’s just too loud for me. I can’t say the title doesn’t warn, I guess.
82. 19 – Adele
    Standard well-produced female vocals. I’m just a sucker for girls’ voices so this is probably too high already.
83. It Is Time for a Love Revolution – Lenny Kravitz
    Everytime I listen to him I have to remind myself he produced Vanessa Paradis’ wonderful first and only fully English language album, always a good way in. And this album definitely has its moments, particularly “A Long and Sad Goodbye”
84. Lessons to be Learned – Gabriella Cilmi
    Another perfectly listenable girl voice to join the crowd … I’ve literally nothing more to add on that. It was better than I expected.
85. Discipline – Janet Jackson
    I could do without the computer voice stuff, seems like trying way too hard to be cool to me. I seem to recall this had some nice songs on it somewhere, but it’s a while since I listened and it didn’t exactly rock my world or anything.
86. Simple Plan – Simple Plan
    I was sure I’d listened to Simple Plan before and liked them but my itunes library is telling me it’s only been their movie soundtrack presences that have reached my ears till now. It’s a little unintentionally hilarious in its whininess as I think is to be expected from this kind of band … but I don’t know, I kinda liked it.
87. Ghosts – Nine Inch Nails
    Would make a great movie soundtrack … not really iPod material … but it’s a lot healthier than the deafening “Year Zero”.
88. Sleep Through the Static – Jack Johnson
    Meh. Nothing wrong with it … but I think I said in my review of the movie, there’s a time and a place for Jack Johnson and for me I think Curious George was it.
89. Black Ice – AC\DC
    
90. Watershed – KD Lang
    Hmm. This really didn’t make much of an impression on me at all. Positioned here with the benefit of the doubt lol, I’ll maybe listen to it again some time.
91. Dig Lazarus Dig! – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
    It’s at the bottom for now but don’t worry, it won’t stay that way. This is as up and down as anything Nick Cave has done – the one thing I don’t understand is why it hasn’t been released under the Grinderman name, since to me it sounded much more like “them” than “regular” Nick Cave lol if that even makes sense.
92. Consolers of the Lonely – Raconteurs
    Fun, but nothing special. I’d happily let a track from it play if it cropped up in iTunes Party Shuffle soe time.
93. A Little Bit Longer – Jonas Brothers
    Probably unfairly low because I listened to it in the same night as The Naked Brothers’ CD … I love all the Disney pop stuff and this was no exception but the beautiful voice of The Naked Brothers just blew it entirely out of my mind. I’ll probably give it another shot some time.
94. A Hundred Million Suns – Snow Patrol
    
95. Jukebox – Cat Power
    I forgot to add this to the list when I listened to it ages ago. I can’t remember a lot about it except, nice voice but completey unremarkable. Meh.
96. Last Night – Moby
    Standard Moby. Which for me isn’t too exciting. It seems to me this guy dropped off the map for a while, and to come back with just exactly the same thing he was doing, seems like a decade ago now, that’s practically become a joke in the meantime, is incredibly lazy. I just can’t listen to the same loop unadorned for more than a handful of repetitions, no matter how amazing a sound it is, I’m sorry.
97. E=MC² – Mariah Carey
    I have no problem with Mariah Carey, matter of fact I’d really love to love her. But there’s really nothing new on this album, and the title too temptingly invites ridicule, especially when she starts talking about “That Casablanca movie” in ways that indicate she (or her writers) has clearly never seen it.
98. Circus – Britney Spears
    
99. Hard Candy – Madonna
    Appalling. (Really, that’s all I have to say.)
100. Anywhere I Lay My Head – Scarlett Johansson
     Seriously, I did not think I’d hear anything this year worse than Madonna … seriously. This starts out like, “crap, did I download a fake again?” – but it progresses to being simply hilarious midway. But by the end, I just felt sorry for her. It’s so bad it made me feel good about my own album, lol. That Bowie was involved is just insult to injury lol.Eeps, I’ve added quite a few since last updating this post so I’m bumping it to the front page even though the top spot hasn’t changed (and I still don’t see it doing so either, for the record) ...
101. Seaside Rock – Peter, Bjorn & John
     

1. Honorable mention must go to some of the “best ofs” which I’m usually not so enamoured of. Janis Ian released a 2-disc set to accompany her autobiography “Society’s Child” which contained the gem of a song, “Ginny, the Flying Girl”. Belle and Sebastian released their “BBC Sessions” – more interesting than mindblowingly fantastic but still worth a listen. But my musical highlight of the year had to be the live music I discovered in Second Life ... Kim Seifert and Harmonia Trefoil in particular I have come to regard as very good friends, but there are too many to mention like Keiko Takumura, MichelleD Ecksol, who have really opened my eyes to how much great music there is out there to discover.

Yuck. I can’t apologise enough for being a whole month late with this one, it should’ve come up at the end of June and in my defense the songs have been playing in the pink pod thing on the front page since around about then And it is only a month lol. So before it gets any later, I’m just gonna rush through these things. It’s been an amazing year so far and blah blah blah Sorry if I repeat myself here from my albums post, like I said I’m just getting it out of the way.

1. Fire from 15 Minutes Ago by Jessica Lombard
– I could pick just about anything from this album but this was the last one to really stand out to me in a way I hadn’t heard before. It’s kind of unfair to focus on her age but you kinda can’t help it at the same time, it continues to amaze me that this girl only just entered her teens, and the leap from those first MySpace recordings I heard earlier this year to this album which is among the best produced I’ve heard this year just blows my mind.

2. I Feel Everything from I Stand by Idina Menzel
– It was between this and “Gorgeous”, but, as with the Jessica Lombard song this is the one that most recently resonated with me. I get this song completely ‘cos I feel so much sometimes it’s infuriatingly hard to put into words. And that opening line, “Like a prima ballerina, I tip toe tip toe around you constantly …” ... wow. That and Idina rocks of course

3. Without You from Join With Us by The Feeling
– Hmm, now of all the songs whose impact has changed in this list since I made the list, this is the one that actually seems more apt. I love this album so much, but the snare on this track is just something else, I’m convinced I must be like autistic or something ‘cos I get such a kick out of its timing in the chorus lol.

4. So Many Friends from I Know You’re Married But I Have Feelings Too by Martha Wainwright
– McGarrigle-tastic hehe. This track is the definition of kooky to me. “I have lost so many friends I have gained so many memories …” Ugh, I know my playlists usually have some kind of hidden meaning in them, that’s the whole point of it to me; but this is just weird.

5. The Great Beyond from Smilers by Aimee Mann
– “Go Honey Go”. Oh god. I actually haven’t listened to some of these songs since making the list and I’m scared to listen to this one now ‘cos I know it’s gonna make my cry something frightening. I imagine this song being used to phenomenal effect in a movie some day. I’m actually amazed nobody has started working yet on a movie based on Aimee’s last two albums, come to think of it.

6. My Three Sons from Momofuku by Elvis Costello and The Imposters
– I loved this album because it was the Elvis Costello I originally fell in love with before he started to do more alternative projects (nothing against that, I’ve just really missed the old him). This track is ironically the one that least resembles that Elvis on the album but it’s beautiful in its own way. I just love this kind of tenderness I can believe in.

7. She Ran from My Paper Made Men by Amy Studt
– Ba-da-da—bow. I was really worried this album would veer off on a massive tangent from the Poole-and-Dennis-like stuff of the first what with how long it’s taken her to release it, so tracks like this were a pleasant surprise. Again, it’s really an album I could pull anything off for this list.

8. Adieu Haiti from Je Sais Que La Terre Est Plate by Raphaël
– Another album I could just pick anything from, but this one has a whole lot of English in it, hehe, so it just about wins out. Really whenever I mention Raphaël I just end up wanting to say the same thing so I’m just gonna say it: seriously if you’ve never listened to his stuff, give some of it, any of it, a try, even if you don’t speak a word of French; it’s all amazing, and it really doesn’t matter where you start, I honestly think he’s the best musician working today.

9. Lucky from We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things by Jason Mraz
– Sigh. It was about me and my princess. No more But I’ll stand by it as a wonderful song about how wonderful love can be; about how much more, in fact, there can be in a relationship between a boy and a girl than just plain old love.

10. Freckles from Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield
– Oh it’s so freakin’ corny but I crave it constantly and I almost don’t wanna hear from anybody who doesn’t need to be told what this song has to say from time to time. I love it. This also featured on the iCarly compilation which makes it even cuter and cooler

11. Sweet Darlin’ from Volume One by She and Him
– Like I said for the album – it’s Zooey Deschanel singing, what else is there to say?! This is by far the best track on a really fun and honest album.

12. Distant Dreamer from Rockferry by Duffy
– The perfect way to end an album and this playlist (we’ll call the next one a bonus). Seriously as this one played the first time I listened, I had it on my iPod so I couldn’t see where I was on the album. And like the whole song, ‘cos I’d loved the album up to that point, I was just begging it, “please be the last song!!” ‘cos so many albums go on past the point where they should end. And it turns out that it was the last track after all. No song I’ve heard so far this year states my current philosophy better.

13. Amazing Grace (for me Melody) by Kim Seifert
– Okay, unless you listen to it in the pink pod thing you won’t hear this one, lol; though you can hear Kimmee sing “Amazing Grace” just about any day she performs in Second Life since she usually finishes her last set by dedicating it to someone. I’ve become an obsessive nut over her and Harmonia in SL since this performance but still, words can’t express how much it meant to me that she did this; even having looked into the whole SL live music thing and realised that the whole “naming your audience” thing is really just another tool to keep ‘em coming and keep ‘em tipping etc … I don’t care. Kimmee is such a special person and she’s been really nice to me outside her shows too; Harmonia too; and these 3 minutes were where it all began for me.

Final update including the (mostly disappointing, gotta be said, outside of Josh Groban) Christmas albums. Still no sign of Shelly Poole’s new album, but that’s just something to look forward to this year There’s definitely some of these I wanna listen to again and might move up or down but I’m pretty happy with the general look of it. So much good this year, and so many surprises too.

1. Chrome Dreams II – Neil Young
2. This Is The Life – Amy MacDonald
3. Snakehouse – The Cliks
4. The Fragile Army – The Polyphonic Spree
5. Neon Bible – Arcade Fire
6. Magic – Bruce Springsteen
7. Hey Eugene! – Pink Martini
8. Zeitgeist – Smashing Pumpkins
9. X – Kylie Minogue
10. Pocket Symphony – Air
11. The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo – The Puppini Sisters
12. Into the Wild – Eddie Vedder
13. Made of Bricks – Kate Nash
14. Voilà – Belinda Carlisle
15. Beauty and Crime – Suzanne Vega
16. Breathing Room – Jenna von Oy
17. Seastories – Minnie Driver
18. The Boy With No Name – Travis
19. American Doll Posse – Tori Amos
20. The Turn – Alison Moyet
21. Shine – Joni Mitchell
22. Icky Thump – The White Stripes
23. Songs of Mass Destruction – Annie Lennox
24. Year Zero – Nine Inch Nails
25. Shotter’s Nation – Babyshambles
26. The Pirate Queen – Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
27. Brave – Jennifer Lopez
28. Versatile Heart – Linda Thompson
29. Are You Listening? – Dolores O’Riordan
30. Divinidyll – Vanessa Paradis
31. Release the Stars – Rufus Wainwright
32. The Good, the Bad & The Queen – The Good, the Bad & the Queen
33. Life in Cartoon Motion – MIKA
34. The Magic Position – Patrick Wolf
35. Theology – Sinéad O’Connor
36. Nb – Natasha Bedingfield
37. The Best Damn Thing – Avril Lavigne
38. Pictures – Katie Melua
39. Change – Sugababes
40. Family Tree – Nick Drake
41. Keren Ann – Keren Ann
42. It Won’t Be Soon Before Long – Maroon 5
43. New Moon – Elliot Smith
44. Memory Almost Full – Paul McCartney
45. Yours Truly, Angry Mob – Kaiser Chiefs
46. Stardom Road – Marc Almond
47. Noel – Josh Groban
48. Live in Concert 2006 – Barbra Streisand
49. Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired By the Film Knocked Up – Loudon Wainwright III
50. The New Album – LazyTown
51. Awkward Annie – Kate Rusby
52. The End of History – Fionn Regan
53. Raising Sand – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
54. Maths and English – Dizzee Rascal
55. Just Me – Tiffany
56. Long Road Out of Eden – The Eagles
57. In Rainbows – Radiohead
58. Planet Earth – Prince
59. Over the Rainbow – Various Artists
60. Lost Highway – Bon Jovi
61. Not Too Late – Norah Jones
62. Grinderman – Grinderman
63. Blackout – Britney Spears
64. Family – LeAnn Rimes
65. Stay – Simply Red
66. Trip the Light Fantastic – Sophie Ellis-Bextor
67. Disney Channel Holiday – Various Artists
68. Testify – The Simpsons
69. Over the Rainbow – Connie Talbot
70. Don’t Look Away – Kate Voegel
71. Carry On – Chris Cornell
72. Black Rain – Ozzy Osbourne
73. Dignity – Hilary Duff
74. Yes, I’m a Witch – Yoko Ono
75. Music for Lovers – Nancy Wilson
76. Drastic Fantastic – KT Tunstall
77. Dick at Nite – Richard Cheese
78. Lee Mead – Lee Mead
79. Como Ama Una Mujer – Jennifer Lopez
80. Panic Prevention – Jamie T.
81. Light at the End of the World – Erasure
82. D’Elles – Celine Dion
83. Volta – Bjork
84. Twelve – Patti Smith
85. Eat Me, Drink Me – Marilyn Manson
86. Send Away the Tigers – Manic Street Preachers
87. Wild Hope – Mandy Moore
88. Into White – Carly Simon
89. Favourite Worst Nightmare – Arctic Monkeys
90. Hand Built by Robots – Newton Faulkner
91. It’s Christmas Of Course – Darlene Love
92. Introducing Joss Stone – Joss Stone
93. This Time – Mel C.
94. Another Side – John Barrowman
95. Sex Change – Trans Am
96. The Mix Up – Beastie Boys
97. Teo and Tea – Jean Michel Jarre
98. Version – Mark Ronson
99. Robyn – Robyn

1. Christmas Song – Mannheim Steamroller

A few days late on this but it’s been playing in the pod thing on the front page since Saturday, minus “Bonnie et Clyde” which I’ll add ASAP. Also it’s iMixed here minus the Vanessa Paradis song.

This was originally a 75-minute playlist like the last one, I always figure if you pass the 45 minute mark you might as well run to full CD length, lol, even if it’ll never see a shiny platter … but I think I found a new way of doing this now. Make the 75-minute playlist, but cut it back to an hour. There’s always something in the way of the flow and in this case it was LazyTown’s “We Will Be Friends”, Enchanted’s “That’s How You Know” and High School Musical 2’s “You Are The Music In Me”. I love all those songs, but they didn’t fit in to the following at all.

I think this is a gorgeous playlist, even if I do say so myself. I guess I said this last year, and I’ll probably say it next year and the year after, but what can I say, I’m so excited by music, and this year was no exception.

1. Once Upon A Time by Air from Pocket Symphony
– Loads of nice tunes on this album, hard to pick just one of them. Kind of like the Charlotte Gainsbourg album they contributed to last year, just, err, without her.

2. Digital Ghost by Tori Amos from American Doll Posse
– I wasn’t sure about this album at the start, it all felt too disjointed, but song by song there isn’t a bad moment and if I weren’t so obsessed with albums being albums (don’t ask me to elaborate on that, ‘cos I’m still figuring it out myself; all I know is, I know when an album works for me lol), this would probably be at the top of the list this year. This one’s been on my mind for months.

3. Sensitized by Kylie Minogue from X
– If you can relate to how excited I was by both this and Belinda Carlisle’s two (one French, one English) versions of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Bonnie and Clyde” this year, I think we’re basically in sync. I more than love this track, it’s more like an addiction.

4. I Lied by Jenna Von Oy from Breathing Room
– This whole album has really grown on me, but I loved this song right from the start. It reminds me a little of Alisha’s Attic, most particularly, “She Ain’t Missin’ You” which I will never forget breaking into a laughter that completely surprised me following a “break-up” (inverted commas ‘cos I’ve kind of smudged that “relationship” out of history). It’s just hilarious, between the L in AnnaSophia’s “possibilities” during “Keep Your Mind Wide Open” and Jenna’s “about … you” here, I’ve been spoiled for cute girl noises this year lol.

5. If the Lights Go Out by Katie Melua from Pictures
– Say what you will about Katie Melua, I’ve laughed at all the gags from Dead Ringers to last week’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks. But she’s put out a lot of instantly catchy and unforgettable songs for just three albums, and this is one of them for me. Can’t get enough of it.

6. Birds by Kate Nash from Made of Bricks
– I’ve told a few people about this song and the best summary I’ve come up with, it’s a chavvy love song, and it’s beautiful. I mean, really seriously beautiful. “Right – Birds can fly so high / and they can shit on your head, yeh? / They can also fly into your eye and make you feel well scared / But when you look at them and you see that they’re beautiful / That’s how I feel about you” (“she said … ‘waaaaaaaaaaaaat?’ lol) Screw the comparisons to Lily Allen … even if they’re right, there’s easily room enough for two of these type of girls.

7. If I Had a Heart by Joni Mitchell from Shine
– The most difficult album of the year, but this one had me at hello, it’s the satisfying gelling of chords on the word “cry”, I love it.

8. Oh Yeah by The Cliks from Snakehouse
– I seem to have a gift of stumbling across some of my favourite artists as support acts. It began with Raphael at a Vanessa Paradis concert – then Iva Fruhlingova at, who knew? a Raphael concert, lol. And now this. I think I might’ve died without ever knowing of these guys if it weren’t for the Shelly Poole gig in September, which we arrived for geekishly early, these guys have a massive following but their time slot had changed, so we were among around 10-20 people to witness their set that night. Every single one of their songs is as good as this one. I only found out later on that Lucas Silveira, the lead singer, is a trans man, which makes the whole discovery even cooler On the night I actually couldn’t figure out for sure what any of them was.

9. Bonnie et Clyde by Belinda Carlisle from Voilà
– I was actually in full swing of rediscovering the wonders of Belinda Carlisle when I found her MySpace page and the news of this album which came out way back in February. The original (as you should’ve gathered from what I wrote about Sensitized) is one of my favourite songs, and pretty much any cover would thrill me slightly. But I love how different this take is.

10. Versatile Heart by Linda Thompson from Versatile Heart
– I’d never heard of Linda Thompson till I heard the relevant Radio Lab podcast (which I’ve been loving this year) which featured a story about her. The album as a whole doesn’t measure up to this title track, but it’s all good, and sometimes, as Bob Dylan is always saying, one song’s all you need.

11. Society by Eddie Vedder from Into the Wild
– I can’t wait to see this movie, and this song, in addition to it being (yes, I’ve noticed) one of the few male singers on the list, let’s just say, I’m interested in my inner workings that made this selection without me even noticing all that.

12. Let’s Start a Band by Amy MacDonald from This Is The Life
– the whole album is astonishing, the way it builds and then peaks and then … simply never stops, it’s exhaustingly wonderful

13. Emmenez Moi by Vanessa Paradis from Divinidylle
– overall, I’ve gotta say, this album was disappointing, but following Bliss was always gonna be hard (I expect the same from Shelly Poole’s followup to “Hard Time…” next year) But I keep listening to this one. It reminds me of the end of a Tarantino movie or something.

14. Section 24 (The Fragile Army) by Polyphonic Spree from The Fragile Army
– another artist I really mightn’t have happened upon were it not for a very specific live performance, in this case on TV on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Just pure energy

15. The Way by Neil Young from Chrome Dreams II
– My favourite track from this album is “Ordinary People” and I just realised now that having cut the list back by 15 minutes, I could now have included it anyway and still fit the list on one disc I don’t much fancy streaming a fifth of a whole album through the pod thing, though, so I’ll leave this really heartbreakingly light track from my favourite album of the year.

I wasn’t initially going to write about this one but having just raved on about Natasha Bedingfield’s album I think it’d be wrong not to talk about the second listen of this one. I heard about this album relatively late, I think – I really didn’t have any idea it was coming till a couple of weeks ago, if that – but in the short waiting time I’ve had, I was extremely excited about it, a sort-of concept album from Tori sounded just terrific. My first listen, though, was a bit iffy. It’s cool to hear just about every side of Tori’s style in one place, it’s a great showcase for her, but as a result, obviously, it’s not an immediately easy listen and it doesn’t flow as an album as perfectly as, say, “Under the Pink”. It’s basically as sonically schizophrenic as it sounds, Tori singing 23 songs as 5 different characters about just about everything under the sun.

On a second listen though, even though I still don’t think it flows great as a whole, and there are too many songs as far of my idea of a perfect album goes (but that’s just me) ... on a song by song basis, I really can’t complain. There are definitely gems here – even the kind-of obvious “Yo George” demands further listens, and at least she gets it out of the way early and quick (just over a minute in length – I guess when even I’m getting tired of Bush-gibe songs, though, it must be pretty darn trite). I won’t be listening to this all in one go many more times, but I think just about every one of its tracks are tracks I’ll never skip while shuffling iTunes.

BTW I realise I’ve given this 4 ‘discs’ (I promise I’ll think of a less cheesy rating system than this in the future, lol – I have to use a separate thing from the movie ratings ‘cos of how WordPress nests my categories) and Natasha Bedingfield’s 5 while this goes to the top of the year’s list, that’s just my crazy working – I just personally got a huge kick from Nb, while this is just more of a song-by-song, production-wise, etc perfection and it’s no “Under the Pink”, ‘cos, like, y’know … what is?

I guess I’m really writing about this for one reason (two if you count my promise at the beginning of the year to write more about music) – there was a point somewhere around the middle of this album I found myself thinking, “Can I really put this above Rufus Wainwright’s new album in my list of the year so far?” It truly struck me – considering the Wainwright release is definitely not one of his best – as being that good. I wasn’t keen on the first single that came from it, “I Wanna Have Your Babies” – but the first track here absolutely blew me away (“”If it’s weird for girls to give guys flowers / Then maybe that’s a reason to / You’re not climbing up my ivory tower / So I’m coming down for you.” – hmm, wonder why I like that lyric? :)), and though the feeling dulls slightly towards the end (mainly due to the seemingly endless stream of “bonus tracks” separated by silence), it barely lets up for a second. Natasha Bedingfield falls for me somewhere between P!nk and Milla Jovovich, but there’s something else about her voice, it’s just so consistently, astonishingly assured, I think with this album she has easily become one of my favourite artists. The answer to my question, can I put it up there? is yes … this is just how I like my music right now, it’s simple as that. While you can take your Grindhouse and 300 in the cinema and give me more serious and considered matter to chew on, when it comes to my tunes, I want Avril Lavigne and Natasha Bedingfield, and I can’t wait for Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s new one too. It’s probably incredibly uncultured and dumb, but I say the same for the Tarantino fanboys, so nerrrrrrrrrrrrr

Firstly, I need to say, this album definitely made me love Rufus again. I’d sort of gone off him recently in one of those sort of stupid, “actually, he’s okay, it’s just the majority of his fans that piss me off, so I’m out,” sort of deals. That combined with the concert I went to of his that was just very disappointing in a lot of ways (again, not entirely to do with the man himself). What I’d hoped for from this album, following the extremely self-indulgent “Want” project (“Want Two” in particular – not saying they weren’t great albums, but sometimes the classical stuff was a little overwhelming), was the most unabashed pop Rufus is able to deliver. For the most part, I can’t complain. It starts brilliantly – “Do I Disappoint You” sets the hairs on the back of your neck on end within seconds, and it’s followed by my absolute favourite by far on the album, “Going to a Town” (“I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down – I’m so tired of you, America …”)

The first half of the album is better than the second half, which ends on the hugely disappointing title track, which is about the most pointless song I’ve ever heard – the title of this record evokes so many things, and what the song turns out to be about is just … really, really, pointless. Maybe if it wasn’t the title track, maybe if it came somewhere in the middle of the album, sure, it’s an okay song … but not a title track or finale, not by a long shot. But like I said, for its highlights, I really can’t complain about this album. For better or worse, it’s the best album of the year I’ve heard so far, and I’m sure people will want to crucify me for saying so, but it only narrowly beats out the new Avril Lavigne record in my books.

I’d been avoiding this because in general I dislike compilations no matter how official they may be, but after seeing the episode of the BBC’s Imagine about the Cirque du Soleil show that this album (yes, I’m gonna call this an album, so sue me) is the background to, I just had to check it out.

In short, it’s absolutely extraordinary, a journey through the very best of the Beatles, a story in itself, the story of a band, the story of its fans, the story of the whole time period they occupied, the story of love. It’s so many things, and you can completely lose yourself in it again and again (I’ve listened to it twice already today). I don’t know how anybody could listen to these 80 minutes and deny The Beatles’ brilliance, even genius. The new mixes don’t often differ hugely from the originals aside from sounding spectacularly cleaner etc (I think this might eventually be my first 5.1 audio purchase when I have suitable equipment to play it on), but when they do deviate, they deviate in the most unusual ways and it’s almost ethereal. If you’ve seen any clips of the Cirque du Soleil show (there are some on their site) – heck if you’ve seen the whole show even better (god would I love to) – the experience is even better. You can really see those guys doing their thing in your head as you’re listening. The Beatles music fits their work so well it’s wonder it wasn’t done sooner (I say that even knowing how long the remix process has taken).

That Ringo Starr’s “Octopus’ Garden” is included is the icing on the cake for me, ‘cos it’s one of my favourites and you just never hear it enough. Should I have ever actually seen the show I would’ve almost regretted hearing this recording first, because in the form it appears here, I swear I would’ve be in tears if I wasn’t expecting it.

It’s absolutely incredible, and though technically it’s a compilation, I’ve gotta say, one of the best albums of 2006. You feel the electricity that happened between The Beatles and their fans, you feel their sound developing, you hear them rehearsing, playing, experimenting and when it hits Sgt. Pepper, you can almost feel them become musical gods before your very ears. It’s really, really, really incredible, I wish I had better words to describe it. I hope they filmed the actual show for a future DVD release, or that they put it on tour or something at least.