NME's 50 Best Albums of 2006

NME's 50 Best Albums of 2006

Original Source →

50.

The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out
January 23, 2006
Critic Score
74
18 reviews

49.

Absentee - Schmotime
August 27, 2006
Critic Score
74
6 reviews

47.

Wolfmother - Wolfmother
October 31, 2005
Critic Score
73
19 reviews

They’re songs infused with bite and bile, quite ridiculous, very bombastic – and let’s make this point one more time – utterly, utterly thrilling.

46.

Semifinalists - Semifinalists
April 10, 2006
Critic Score
80
1 review

45.

Bob Dylan - Modern Times
August 29, 2006
Critic Score
86
25 reviews
Dylan's voice is the star.

44.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas
March 7, 2006
Critic Score
76
15 reviews
[Has] the unmistakable feel of an instant classic.

43.

Beck - The Information
October 3, 2006
Critic Score
73
22 reviews

If Beck gets better as he gets madder, this is definitely his best since ‘Midnite Vultures’ – maybe even since ‘Odelay’.

42.

The Automatic - Not Accepted Anywhere
June 19, 2006
Critic Score
70
10 reviews

41.

Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control
January 24, 2006
Critic Score
75
13 reviews

38.

Metric - Live it Out
October 4, 2005
Critic Score
74
17 reviews
Despite questionable lyrics, it's a much more cohesive album.

37.

Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own Pet
March 27, 2006
Critic Score
69
18 reviews

36.

Datarock - Datarock Datarock
April 4, 2005
Critic Score
70
9 reviews

35.

¡Forward, Russia! - Give Me a Wall
May 15, 2006
Critic Score
70
9 reviews

34.

Albert Hammond Jr. - Yours to Keep
October 9, 2006
Critic Score
70
19 reviews
An intimate, frequently beautiful and consistently surprising record that gets better with every listen.

33.

The Bronx - The Bronx (II)
July 4, 2006
Critic Score
66
5 reviews

32.

Lily Allen - Alright, Still
July 13, 2006
Critic Score
77
25 reviews
If the pop dreams get slightly tarnished by the graffiti put-downs of 'Not Big' (her ex has a 'size problem') and 'Alfie' (her brother smokes too much dope) then that's not too worrying. With a personality this size, this isn't the last time you'll be hearing from her.

30.

Cat Power - The Greatest
January 24, 2006
Critic Score
80
26 reviews
Not quite the greatest per se, but bloody close.

28.

Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors
April 3, 2006
Critic Score
73
28 reviews
'Ringleader Of The Tormentors' sees Morrissey not only in wonderful voice, but more flamboyant and alive than at any time in his solo career.

27.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
June 28, 2005
Critic Score
78
20 reviews
A veritable swoon of a record.

26.

Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
November 13, 2006
Critic Score
81
24 reviews
'Jarvis' never quite gathers an irresistible momentum like his past glories did. There isn't a bad song on here, but there are several which don't fulfil their full potential.

25.

Mogwai - Mr Beast
March 7, 2006
Critic Score
77
26 reviews
A monster of a record.

24.

Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops
April 25, 2006
Critic Score
76
23 reviews

23.

The Knife - Silent Shout
February 17, 2006
Critic Score
79
18 reviews

22.

The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
April 4, 2006
Critic Score
80
27 reviews
It's astonishing how the band are unafraid to take on Serious Issues yet remain so much fun.

21.

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
May 16, 2006
Critic Score
74
23 reviews
When it comes down to it, it ain't gonna change your world any.

20.

The Streets - The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living
April 10, 2006
Critic Score
70
25 reviews
The beats and lyrics get better with each listen.

19.

The Longcut - A Call and Response
June 12, 2006
Critic Score
65
8 reviews

17.

The Futureheads - News and Tributes
June 13, 2006
Critic Score
75
20 reviews

16.

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
October 27, 2006
Critic Score
82
23 reviews

15.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser
July 10, 2006
Critic Score
75
25 reviews

14.

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
September 12, 2006
Critic Score
87
27 reviews
Odd, addictive, unsettling and beautiful.

12.

The Killers - Sam's Town
October 3, 2006
Critic Score
64
23 reviews
The Killers are still as flashy, unintentionally funny, and flagrantly affected as ever.

11.

Howling Bells - Howling Bells
May 8, 2006
Critic Score
83
6 reviews

10.

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
October 23, 2006
Critic Score
74
19 reviews
‘The Black Parade’ is an ostentatious concept-album-cum-rock-opera about death, and it’s about to turn the late MCR into the biggest band on the planet.

9.

Kasabian - Empire
September 19, 2006
Critic Score
70
20 reviews
There's going to be a hearty scrap between this lot, Muse and the Monkeys when album of the year time comes round.

8.

The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
December 30, 2005
Critic Score
65
23 reviews

It remains a challenge to crack their ice-cool exterior, to really feel things as they feel – but does that matter? The Strokes are, and have always been, a band that looks great at arm’s length – and consequently, ‘First Impressions Of Earth’ remains, in the best way, untouchable: the first – indeed, maybe the last – word in New York City cool.

6.

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
April 24, 2006
Critic Score
79
29 reviews

4.

Hot Chip - The Warning
June 13, 2006
Critic Score
79
24 reviews
It's far too early to say whether they will reach the same lofty heights, but there's something of New Order in Hot Chip. There's the same mix of art school-meets-working man demeanour, an unabashed acknowledgement of the debt popular music owes to clubland and a wry lyrical conceit.

3.

Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
July 3, 2006
Critic Score
75
30 reviews

Muse have made a ridiculous, overblown, ambitious and utterly brilliant album, with more thrills than their previous three put together.

2.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
March 28, 2006
Critic Score
76
26 reviews

Though they’ve shed the cheap – but undeniably fun – Day-Glo immediacy of ‘Fever…’, it’s been replaced by a range of expressions that most artists will only stumble upon by their fifth release.

1.

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
January 23, 2006
Critic Score
83
26 reviews

Essentially this is a stripped-down, punk rock record with every touchstone of Great British Music covered

Original Source: http://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/2006
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