The Sluts Present: Our Top 10 Albums Of '06

With commentary!

Skye:
The Hourly Radio - History Will Never Hold Me (The best new band I've heard this year)
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (Discotasticstompathonicmetallurgicwonderness)
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (Just. Great.)
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit (I don't need to say anything about how fab they are)
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of this Country (Sweet, lovely, devastatingly gorgeous)
The Kooks - Inside in/Inside Out (Not that Kooky, but excellent Friday night fodder)
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (Rise Up With Fists a contender for best song of the year)
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas / Isobel Campbell - Milkwhite Sheets (can I cheat and count these as one? Purely belter, these two)
The Delgados - The BBC Sessions (Delgados take on California Uber Alles one of the best moments. Ever.)
Lily Allen - Alright, Still (Trash, but awesome)

*Honourable mentions to the new Dylan, Bril's Airless Alarm and the
remastered reissue of Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds.

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Jen:
Art Brut - Bang Bang, Rock & Roll (I don't think it is possible for me to get sick of this album, or seeing them live. It is witty art rock without the pretension but instead, a ton of humour.)
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
(It took me about 20 seconds to fall in love with the song 'Fake tales of San Francisco' but a few turns to get into the album. It wasn't until I saw these 19 year old British punks at Webster that I actually understood what all the fuss was about.)
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (Brilliant and inspiring.)
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (A hauntingly beautiful album. Enough said.)
The Head Set - Way Past Used (This album storms out at you with the one two punch of 'Enemies' and 'Hollywood' and continues on with catchy, intelligent, solid rock tracks. I was so happy to finally get my hands on this album after dancing to these songs all year long live.)
The Hourly Radio - History Will Never Hold Me (Why aren't you in love with The Hourly Radio yet? This group have perfected their live show into not just a concert, but an all around art experience with fog and lights. It is nothing flashy, but still has a brilliant effect on the listening experience. The single 'Crime Does Pay' might just be one of my favourite songs of the year. Who knew Brit rock could come from Texas?)
Belle & Sebastian- The Life Pursuit (I don't think Belle & Sebastian will ever get half of the credit they deserve. There is a reason this album made the top ten of so many people's list this year.)
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (With songs like 'O Valencia' and 'Sons and Daughters', this album is definitely the stand out of the year.)
Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head (I love Nellie because she might seem like an airhead but her lyrics actually betray her calculating and discerning intellect. Her songs are all so different, daring and witty and her voice...)
The Gaskets - Loose Change (I love every single song on this album. It is smart, catchy, fun and just damn excellent music. Their live show is also not to be missed. Luckily, they'll be releasing a DVD soon, so all of you not able to see them in person will get the chance to experience some of the joy that is a Gaskets concert.)

*Honourable mentions:
Locksley - Locksley (A definite surprise. Barely half-way through the first song I knew I would be hooked on this band.)
We Are Scientists- With Love and Squalor (One of my favourite live acts. WAS are always so funny and endearing, both in person and on their ridiculously maintained website. With Love and Squalor has so many excellent tracks, it's difficult to pick a favourite.)
Robbie Williams- Rudebox (Yes, I like this album. And no, I don't care if you don't. 'Rudebox' is a song sure to get you on the dance floor and Robbie's version of Manu Chao's 'Bongo Bong/Je Ne T'aime Plus' is so damn catchy, you'll find yourself hard pressed not to hit the rewind button after it is finished. Working with the likes of the Pet Shop Boys, Lily Allen, New York hip hop DJ Mark Ronson and producer William Orbit, Rudebox is certainly interesting and daring though, admittedly, perhaps not always clever.)
Hot Chip- The Warning (This could be called a great album for the track 'Over and Over' alone.)

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Matt:
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (Am I being predictable? I don't care. A completely unique, moving and heartfelt piece of work. The album of the year, hands down.)
Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head (I wouldn't expect anything less than genius from Nellie and that's what we got. One of the best sophomore releases of all time.)
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (The album that turned a few insanely talented bratty kids into a few mega-rich and ridiculously over-exposed insanely talented bratty kids. First band worthy of the enormous hype in quite some time.)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (The band jumps leaps and bounds without ditching their core sound. Probably my most played LP this year. It never got old and probably never will. 'Turn Into' will fall extremely high on my list of favorite tracks of the past 12 months.)
The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love (Love. Love. Love. They can do no wrong.)
The Sounds - Dying To Say This To You (Long live these Swedes! If you don't feel Maja's energy, you are sorely missing out on something extraordinarily brilliant. This album radiates fun.)
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (Wow. I was fearful this would be a big disappointment. In actuality, it was a massive surprise. A giant leap foward... Stellar!)
M. Ward - Post-War (Unbelievably gifted troubadour that won my heart this year, in a big way. If only I discovered his brilliance sooner!)
Beck - The Information (Perfect follow-up to Guero. This is Beck at his finest. The stickers didn't hurt either.)
The Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops (Who knew 8 songs was all that could be needed to completely blow you away? 'Alone Jealous & Stoned': possibly the best opening track of the year, if not, the last few)

*Honorable Mention: The Knife - Silent Shout (I hated this at first but by August I was listening to it on a daily basis), The Gaskets - Loose Change (TMS faves, making me proud all year), Joan As Policewoman - Real Life (In addition to being a great interviewee, this album shines with grace. Beautiful), Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds (I just can't get enough, disgustingly talented), The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off (Proof they are still one of the best bands around), The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out (Catchy as all hell; a glorious debut)