Now that we're 1/4 of the way through the year, list all the 2006 releases worth listening to so far:

Ricardo Villalobos - Achso
Hot Chip - The Warning
Booka Shade - Movements
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Ghostface - Fishscale

worth listening to, because they're quite good:

Alex Smoke - Paradolia
Love is All - 9 times that same song
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Nathan Fake - Drowning in a Sea of Love
Kaito - Hundred Million Lightyears

..and probably a lot more (the knife, morrissey, etc) that I haven't given proper attention to yet

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Marit Larsen - Under The Surface
The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Johnny Boy - Johnny Boy
Casey Dienel - Wind Up Canary
The Knife - Silent Shout
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

(Reissues: Cluster - Cluster 71, This Heat - S/T, Fred Neil - S/T, the 3 Bridget St. John ones, Eno/Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, Arthur Russell - First Thought Best Thought...)

For me the best releases so far are...

Sparks - Hello Young Lovers
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Liars - Drums Not Dead
V/A - Tropiciala: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound
V/A - New York Noise 2 (not nearly as good as volume 1 though)

And an honorable mention for Boris's Pink, which I heard this year.

Seconding:
Scott Walker, The Drift

Grandaddy - The Fambly Cat

Band of Horses - Everything All the Time

Clogs - Lantern

Ellen Aillen & Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles

and with some misgivings,
Wisely, Parador
KT Tunstall, Eye to the Telescope

Skream - Skreamism Vol. 1
Rhythm and Sound - See Mi Yah Remixes #1&2
Claro Intelecto - Warehouse Sessions Volume 1
Pinch - Qawwali
Vex'd - Bombardment of Saturn

Fishscale
Mr. Beast
Fox Confessor
The Life Pursuit
Silent Shout
Pink
Drum's Not Dead

Second:

Liars
The Knife
Band of Horses
Loose Fur
B & S

P.S. Raise your hands if you don't think that "Fishscale" is going to end up in your year end top 5.

And adding:
Young People
Flaming Lips
Shearwater
Two Gallants

what does The Knife sound like?

Robyn – robyn (thanks to ILM, this is by far my most played album of this year)

White Rose Movement - Kick
Acid Casuals – Omni
Lemon Jelly – '64-'95
Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
Gomez – How We Operate
Adem – Love and Other Planets
Placebo – Meds
Liars – Drums Not Dead
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness – Fear Is On Our Side
The Secret Machines – Ten Silver Drops
Artic Monkey – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I’m Not

you mean a bunch of people liking the same album?

I would like someone to explain the appeal of Villalobos though, I continue to be mystified by the love for what just sounds like intricate but tedious microhouse (although a 4 minute edit of 'Duso' would be cool).

Also Sascha Funke Boogy Bytes Vol.02 on bpitchcontrol sounds good so far.

2006 albums victory brothers leanne kingwell huck johns axe bahia dale watson penny dale voivod korpiklaaniaquamarine toby keith carrie underwood - some hearts (2005) pentagram jesus h christ and the four hornsmen of the apocalypse tyr redhill EP (2004) falkenbach jamey johnson shooter jennings riverside - simple life (2005)shannon brown - cornfed lucas mccain flyleaf hank davison band *the rough guide to bhangra dance* hacienda brothers atomic bitch cabruera - proibido cochilar: sambas for sleepless nights irma thomas hard-life rebel meets rebel b-tar EP (2005) daj e-40 kayla lociecero the tiptons - drive oddysey band dahlia Wakefield, *Close To Home*: uncle billy's smokehouse - tracks (2005) mardo rhonda towns red swan - cold winters dawn shawn camp - fireball nacao zumbi - futura jessica lurie - licorice and smoke (2005) southwind lee roy parnell - back to the wall *rollerball* crucified barabara dc snipers - missile sunset

Ellen Allien and Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Booka Shade - Movements
Destroyer - Rubies
Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Hot Chip - The Warning
The Knife - Silent Shout
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
Stereolab - Fab Four Suture

victory brothers/ leanne kingwell /huck johns /axe bahia /dale watson /penny dale /voivod /korpiklaani /*aquamarine* /toby keith /carrie underwood /pentagram/ jesus h christ and the four hornsmen of the apocalypse/ tyr/ redhill EP /falkenbach /jamey johnson /shooter jennings /riverside /shannon brown /lucas mccain /flyleaf /hank davison band /*the rough guide to bhangra dance* /atomic bitch /cabruera /irma thomas/ hard-fi /the tiptons / oddysey band /dahlia Wakefield/ uncle billy's smokehouse / mardo /rhonda towns red swan /shawn camp -/ nacao zumbi /jessica lurie /southwind /*rollerball* /crucified barabara

3 listens and it's album of the year material. They started out as the next Pizzicato Five with more production fizz and have gone and made an electro-tech album which liberally fuses parts of today's techno with all 3 Daft Punk albums and the filter-disco likes of Moony and DJ Falcon. There are 4 instrumentals (for the purists) that will not sound out of place down Fabric and the pop songs are killer twee summer jams.

Vetiver - To Find Me Gone. Start w/ thsi per request. Terririfc album. Doesn't deviate too much from the forst, maybe a bit more muscle. Great songs.

Espers II - Far and away my favorite of the year so far. Just a amazing, powerful album.

Cat Power - The Greatest.

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

Danielson - Ships

I didn't know you had a blog, Sundar, but now I do (btw I'm seeing Bill Frisell's trio here next month).

Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis -- Technical metal, must have tolerance for Meshuggah.

I haven't heard much this year, mostly usual suspects; frontrunner's Belle and Sebastian, T.I. just a hair off that, that's all I see approaching greatness. Pleasant surprise: National Eye - Roomful of Lions

**really good

Destroyer
Espers
The Knife
Casey Dienel
Sunset Rubdown
Young People
Flaming Lips
Shearwater
Two Gallants

The Speakers
Beirut
Basia Bulat
Ghostface Killah
Jamie Radford
Grizzly Bear

Can't wait for that Thom Yorke to leak though.

Honorary mention goes to Sweden's wonderful I'm From Barcelona--very pleasant surprise there.

FYI: Denmark's MEW is on their way to a US release. It's about freaking time!

"Plan B's album is a belter."

Also I really like He Poos Clouds by Final Fantasy.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=51437562