I agree that Studio 1 is awful, I did like The Sweet Escape rather a lot though. :D

11. SNOW PATROL - EYES OPEN (8 out of 10)

 

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Released 01-May-2006

 

1. You're All I Have 8

2. Hands Open 8

3. Chasing Cars 10

4. Shut Your Eyes 8

5. It's Beginning To Get To Me 8

6. You Could Be Happy 9

7. Make This Go On Forever 9

8. Set The Fire To The Third Bar-Feat. Martha Wainwright 8

9. Headlights On Dark Roads 7

10. Open Your Eyes 8

11. Finish Line 6

Bonus Tracks

12. - 0

13. In My Arms 8

14. Warmer Climate 7

 

You Could Be Happy

 

Snow Patrol 4th album (although most people assume it is their second), had by the end of November overtaken the Arctic Monkey's debut to become the biggest selling album of the year so far. It is a very solid (if not spectacular) set of songs, and is similar in its anthemic musical content to their previous breakthrough, the Coldplay, U2, Keane style of rock album 'Final Straw'.

 

Highlights include the monster worldwide hit 'Chasing Cars', the uptempo rockers 'Hands Open' & 'Open Your Eyes', the ballads 'You Could Be Happy' & 'Make This Go On Forever'and the Americana of 'Set The Fire To The Third Bar' with Martha Wainwright.

10. CORINNE BAILEY RAE - CORINNE BAILEY RAE (8 out of 10)

 

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Released 27-Feb-2006

 

1. Like A Star 9

2. Enchantment 9

3. Put Your Records On 10

4. Till It Happens To You 7

5. Trouble Sleeping 8

6. Call Me When You Get This 8

7. Choux Pastry Heart 9

8. Breathless 9

9. I'd Like To 7

10. Butterfly 8

11. Seasons Change 6

 

Choux Pastry Heart

 

It becomes self-evident the moment you hear her sing the very first note that it’s a slice of sublime Billie Holiday blues delivered with a voice that pins you, in the most persuasive of ways, a voice that floats up effortlessly, full of caress, subtly and the very purest quality. Musically, this album has echoes of Sade, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack & Alicia Keys at their best.

 

The album opener and limited release debut single 'Like A Star' is a sublime slice of laidback grooves that is perfect for late night listening. The momentum is continued with the dreamy ballad 'Enchantment' that carries her unpretentious vocal skills with ease. While the second single 'Put Your Records On' was the perfect introduction to the masses; and the sophisticated, yet haunting 'Choux Pastry Heart' with its melodic magic.

9. CHRISTINA AGUILERA - BACK TO BASICS (8 out of 10)

 

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Released 14-Aug-2006

 

Disc One - Modern

1. Intro (Back To Basics) 6

2. Makes Me Wanna Pray 9

3. Back In The Day 8

4. Ain't No Other Man 10

5. Understand 9

6. Slow Down Baby 8

7. Oh Mother 8

8. F.U.S.S. 6

9. On Our Way 7

10. Without You 7

11. Still Dirrty 7

12. Here To Stay 8

13. Thank You (Dedication To Fans...) 1

 

Disc Two -Retro

1. Enter The Circus 5

2. Welcome 9

3. Candyman 10

4. Nasty Naughty Boy 8

5. I Got Trouble 6

6. Hurt 10

7. Mercy On Me 9

8. Save Me From Myself 8

9. The Right Man 10

 

Candyman (Live performance)

 

Paying tribute to the music that inspired her, pop icon Christina Aguilera released her third studio album proper, 'Back To Basics'. A double-disc modern take on vintage jazz, soul and blues from the 1920s, '30s and '40s, the album is wildly inventive with a throwback style creating a sound that's gritty and raw.

 

The album is split into two separate discs with DJ Premier and Charles Roane producing the first CD with a more contemporary sound; and Linda Perry co-writing/producing the (stronger IMHO) second CD, which contains more authentic sounding retro music. This album has been a perfect introduction to Christina's new alias... good-bye Xtina, hello Baby Jane.

 

Highlights from the album include the Mary J Blige gospel style 'Makes Me Wanna Pray', 'Understand' & 'Back In The Day'; the first single 'Ain't No Other Man'; the 2nd World War/Glenn Miller era harmonies of all-girl groups on 'Candyman'; this albums' classic ballad 'Hurt'; the 1920s burlesque 'Nasty Naughty Boy', the emotional tribute to her husband 'Save Me From Myself' & the orchestral wedding-song closer 'The Right Man'.

 

With this album, derogatory comparisons with one-time fellow pop-princess Britney Spears now seem incredibly, incredibly stupid.

8. SCISSOR SISTERS - TA-DAH (9 out of 10)

 

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Released 18-Sep-2006

 

1. I Don't Feel Like Dancin' 10

2. She's My Man 9

3. I Can't Decide 8

4. Lights 10

5. Land Of A Thousand Words 8

6. Intermission 5

7. Kiss You Off 9

8. Ooh 8

9. Paul McCartney 9

10. Other Side 9

11. Might Tell You Tonight 6

12. Everybody Wants The Same Thing 7

Bonus Track

13. Transistor 5

 

Kiss You Off (live performance)

 

Scissor Sisters deliver their follow-up album 'Ta-Dah', which is, more eclectic 1970s Bee Gees, Elton John, Disco, ELO sounding, brilliant, life-affirming pop, and includes the Elton John collaboration lead single, the feverishly exhilarating No.1 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing' than their debut. However some of the playfulness of their debut has been lost to make a stronger & more consistent follow-up.

 

Apart from the first single, highlights include the uptempo tracks ('She's My Man', 'Lights' 'Ooh' & 'Paul McCartney'); Ana's Debbie Harry-esque vocal showcase 'Kiss You Off'; and the very different late Roxy Music/early Duran Duran sounding 'Other Side'.

7. TAKE THAT - BEAUTIFUL WORLD (9 out of 10)

 

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Released 27-Nov-2006

 

1. Reach Out 8

2. Patience 10

3. Beautiful World 7

4. Hold On 7

5. Like I Never Loved You At All 9

6. Shine 10

7. I'd Wait For Life 10

8. Ain't No Sense In Love 8

9. What You Believe In 8

10. Mancunian Way 9

11. Wooden Boat 8

Bonus Track

12. Butterfly 8

 

Shine (Live performance)

 

Take That's comeback album is produced by US rock producer John Shanks, whose credits include Bon Jovi, Alanis Morissette, Anastacia, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge amongst others, and has an appropriately modern orchestral rock sound. It is stocked full of strong radio friendly AOR tracks that will ensure that is album sells long into 2007. This album sees all four members of the band taking lead vocal duties. Indeed Gary only sings lead on half the album.

 

Highlights include Gary's lead single 'Patience'; Mark's uptempo ELO inspired 'Shine' (the 2nd single), Howard's heartfelt Oasis-lite 'Mancunian Way'; Gary's wedding ballad 'I'd Wait For Life' & most surprisingly Jason's Nick Drake/Crowded House folky 'Wooden Boat'.

6. THE PIPETTES - WE ARE THE PIPETTES (9 out of 10)

 

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Released 17-Jul-2006

 

1. We Are The Pipettes 8

2. Pull Shapes 10

3. Why Did You Stay? 8

4. Dirty Mind 10

5. It Hurts To See You Dance So Well 9

6. Judy 9

7. A Winter's Sky 9

8. Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me 10

9. Tell Me What You Want 8

10. Because It's Not Love (But It's Still A Feeling) 10

11. Sex 9

12. One Night Stand 7

13. ABC 8

14. I Love You 9

 

We Are The Pipettes (unplugged)

 

Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me & Dirty Mind (live performances)

 

This fantastic independently released debut album featured the wonderful singles 'Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me' and 'Pull Shapes'.

 

Imagine three chanteuses that front the group producing timeless pop in the vein of 50s doo-wop, owing more than a small nod to the likes of Phil Spector's produced girl-groups The Crystals, Ronettes, etc; The Shangri-Las; 1980s girl-groups attitude (Bananarama, Kirsty MacColl & Fuzzbox) and the Grease Soundtrack, but with musical string-laden backing from the likes of 1990s Brit-poppers Pulp and Gene. This album which takes the idea of bubble-gum-pop and turns it into an art-form, 'We Are The Pipettes' is full of classically formed and catchy melodies with choruses that linger in the brain long after the CD stops playing. Guaranteed to put a smile on anybody's face, this is a collection of songs that deserve a far greater reception than what radio & the music channels provided. Yet again, only BBC Radio 2 & Radio 6 gave this album an outlet (The rest of the channels were too busy hyping EMI's new signing Lily Allen at the time).

A brilliant read Rich! :D I haven't heard many of these, but they are good reviews all the same, I agree 100% with what you say about Snow Patrol. Scissor Sisters was a bit of a disappointment for me though :(

5. ARCTIC MONKEYS - WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT (9 out of 10)

 

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Released 23-Jan-2006

 

1. The View From The Afternoon 9

2. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor 10

3. Fake Tales Of San Francisco 9

4. Dancing Shoes 9

5. You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Looking Straight At Me 7

6. Still Take You Home 7

7. Riot Van 9

8. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured 8

9. Mardy Bum 10

10. Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But... 7

11. When The Sun Goes Down 9

12. From Ritz To The Rubble 8

13. A Certain Romance 10

 

A Certain Romance (live)

 

Fake Tales Of San Francisco

 

The most anticipated debut (and fastest selling) album of 2006 and ultimately the Nationwide Mercury Music Award winning album. This Sheffield band shot out of the Net in November 2005 via their debut single 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' and produced a very strong debut album not least thanks to some very strong lyrics and a superbly distinctive vocal delivery (imagine George Formsby being a teenager in the punk era) by Alex Turner.

 

This album is simultaneously an all-time classic, yet very 21st Century. The lyrics paint a very good picture of what teenagers get up to on drunken nights out, going to the clubs, eyeing up fit girls, bored vandalism and rows with the missus.

 

Musically energetic yet tight, like a cross between early Oasis, The Smiths & Franz Ferdinand, this album will stand the test of long after the NME led hype has disappeared. To their credit the band have kept a very low media profile, whilst headlining festivals that they were perhaps not ready to do this early in their career. Whether they are able to push on from this fantastic debut album remains to be seen, but for now enjoy the music.

4. THE FEELING - TWELVE STOPS AND HOME (9 out of 10)

 

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Released 05-Jun-2006

 

1. I Want You Now 8

2. Never Be Lonely 10

3. Fill My Little World 10

4. Kettle's On 9

5. Sewn 10

6. Anyone 7

7. Strange 7

8. Love It When You Call 9

9. Rose 8

10. Same Old Stuff 7

11. Helicopter 9

12. Blue Piccadilly 9

Hidden track. Miss You 7

 

Rose (live)

 

Sewn (Live T in the Park)

 

The debut album by The Feeling, strikes the perfect balance between The Beatles/Beach Boys/Crowded House vocal harmonies and MOR 1970s sounding power-pop of ELO/Supertramp/10cc/Wings thanks to a very strong selection of songs that are both summery and radio friendly.

 

This album has the right balance of introspective ballads 'Sewn', 'Strange', 'Rose'; midtempo toe-tappers 'Never Be Lonely', 'Fill My Little World', 'Kettle On'; and rockers 'I Want You Now' & 'Love It When You Call'.

 

All four singles released made my Yearend Top100, and I can assure you this debut is bold and confident, and is certainly a guilty pleasure worth having in your record collection.

3. AMY WINEHOUSE - BACK TO BLACK (9 out of 10)

 

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Released 30-Oct-2006

 

1. Rehab 10

2. You Know I'm No Good 9

3. Me & Mr Jones 6

4. Just Friends 7

5. Back To Black 10

6. Love Is A Losing Game 10

7. Tears Dry On Their Own 10

8. Wake Up Alone 9

9. Some Unholy War 7

10. He Can Only Hold Her 7

11. Addicted 8

 

Rehab (Live performance)

 

Tears Dry On Their Own (Later - Jools Holland performance)

 

On Amy's second album the songwriting has grown and she has stretched her self, vocally she is in a new league breaking loose with Aretha-style vocal stylings on 'Just Friends' or going gospel on the opening single 'Rehab'. 'Love Is A Losing Game' is pure classic modern songwriting: brief, to the point and drenched in emotion. Other highlights include the Nas inspired 'Me and Mr Jones', the beautiful 'Wake Up Alone' and 'You Know, I'm No Good' - the personal epiphany that you can behave just as badly as all those guys that have messed you around and stamped all over you.

 

Although most of this album has a retro 1960s jazz/soul feel to it, what 'Back To Black' Amy confirms, beyond any reasonable or unreasonable doubt, is that she is the real deal and what a truly remarkable talent she is.

2. ROBBIE WILLIAMS - RUDEBOX (9 out of 10)

 

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Released 23-Oct-2006

 

1. Rudebox 9

2. Viva Life On Mars 9

3. Lovelight 10

4. Bongo Bong & Je Ne T'aime Plus 8

5. She's Madonna 10

6. Keep On 10

7. Good Doctor 5

8. The Actor 8

9. Never Touch That Switch 6

10. Louise 8

11. We're The Pet Shop Boys 7

12. Burslem Normals 8

13. Kiss Me 8

14. The 80's 10

15. The 90's 10

16. Summertime 9

Bonus Track

17. Dickhead 8

 

The 80's

 

The Actor

 

Rudebox - The Album (8+ mins of song clips)

 

In 2006 Britain's biggest act of the last decade, made the best album of his career (since his debut 'Life Thru A Lens') and definitely the most musically adventurous. This album is a huge improvement over the competent, yet rather dull 'Intensive Care' album which did not possess any classics, and dropped like a stone after Xmas 2005.

 

You know things are interesting after the wonderfully challenging 1st single 'Rudebox' which samples Sly & Robbie features Robbie (sort of) rapping. This album features collaborations with Pet Shop Boys, William Orbit, Lily Allen and Mark Ronson, and includes future classics such as 'She's Madonna'; 'The 80's'; 'Keep On'; 'Viva Life On Mars' and 'The 90's'. Robbie has never sounded more alive, and 'The 80's' is surely Robbie's lyrical highpoint of his career so far. From an artistic perspective is will be a tragedy if the relative lack of sales for this album impacts on his sense of experimentation for his next album.

Thisispop's Album of 2006 is:

 

 

1. NERINA PALLOT - FIRES (10 out of 10)

 

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Released 24-Apr-2006

 

1. Everybody's Gone To War 10

2. Halfway Home 8

3. Damascus 9

4. Idaho 10

5. Learning To Breathe 10

6. Mr King 9

7. Geek Love 10

8. Sophia 10

9. All Good People 10

10. Heart Attack 7

11. Nickindia 8

 

Idaho (AOL Sessions)

 

Mr King (AOL Sessions)

 

Learning To Breathe (AOL Sessions)

 

Everybody's Gone To War (AOL Sessions)

 

Sophia (Live)

 

Despite Nerina Pallot's upbringing including a classical music scholarship to an English boarding school, her music is very much crafted with a guitar as it is with a piano. Drawing influence from classic singer/songwriters Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Carole King and Carly Simon just as much as from The Beatles & Bob Dylan as well as more contemporary acts Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Aimee Mann, Rufus Wainwright and Sarah McLachlan, 'Fire' demonstrates the phenomenal talent of Nerina.

 

From the successful revival of the protest song with 'Everybody's Gone To War', to one of the finest end-of-affair songs you will ever hear, 'Damascus', to the gorgeous uplifting coming-of-age pop splendour of 'Learning To Breathe', through to the truly magnificent and beautiful 'Idaho'. Nerina proves herself to be an exciting young British talent with plenty of scope for the future. This album is stocked full of classic songs and she deserves to be as successful with this fantastically varied album as the act whom she once supported, James Blunt.

 

Sadly, the great British public have yet to have given this album the acclaim it has received in critics quarters. The likes of broadcasters/music writers David Hepworth & Stuart Maconie have showered this album with praise. Hopefully with the release of the 3rd single 'Learning To Breathe' on January 8th 2007, this album will catch fire like 2005 album releases by The Editors & Hard-Fi did at the beginning of 2006.

To recap here is the results of my Top25 Studio Albums of 2006.

 

I have also included the albums Metacritic ratings http://www.metacritic.com/music/ (out of 100) for a comparison:

 

1 Nerina Pallot - Fires 78

2 Robbie Williams - Rudebox 51

3 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black 81

4 The Feeling - Twelve Stops And Home 55

5 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 83

6 Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes 69

7 Take That - Beautiful World 68

8 Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah 71

9 Christina Aguilera - Back To Basics 69

10 Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae 67

11 Snow Patrol - Eyes Open 65

12 Keane - Under The Iron Sea 60

13 Sandi Thom - Smile…. It Confuses People 63

14 Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental 75

15 P!nk - I'm Not Dead 68

16 Thom Yorke - The Eraser 77

17 David Gilmour - On An Island 67

18 Morrissey - Ringleader Of The Tormenters 73

19 Embrace - This New Day 56

20 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium 74

21 Gwen Stefani - Sweet Escape 56

22 Prince - 3121 67

23 Orson - Bright Idea 51

24 All Saints - Studio 1 37

25 Lily Allen - Alright, Still 76

 

Hi ThisIsPop, i have and like these albums in your countdown :D

 

4 The Feeling - Twelve Stops And Home 55

5 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 83

8 Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah 71

11 Snow Patrol - Eyes Open 65

12 Keane - Under The Iron Sea 60

19 Embrace - This New Day 56

20 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium 74

23 Orson - Bright Idea 51

25 Lily Allen - Alright, Still 76

I like reading other's opinion of my favourite albums of the year, its interesting to note that my favourite album track from The Feeling (Strange) only gets 7/10 from you. Vive La Difference!

Great Chart :D

 

Glad to see Rudebox so high