KEY POINTS:
After much bashing of heads and ears, TimeOut's music reviewers emerged with a consensus - the following are the most outstanding things they've heard in 2006.
1 MINT CHICKS
Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!
(Flying Nun)
The brilliant second album by the Auckland pop-art-punk quartet led by the brothers Neilson - and produced by their Dad - wasn't just a great leap forward from their herky-jerky 2005 debut. It was the sort of record that initially made you think they're really on to something with their whiplash energy and gear-crunching arrangements and then didn't let go. It also came with the refreshing general feeling they're operating in a parallel universe to almost every other approval-seeking New Zealand rock act.
Sure, some of Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! made us think of the bygone era of the Swingers, the Buzzcocks and Devo. But that's because all that fuzzed-up loopiness came with some great tunes, some like the title track - which is surely a breakthrough hit in waiting - harking back even further to rock'n'roll's 1950s beginnings. New Zealand has a fine tradition of brothers leading their bands to greater things. On the evidence of this warped masterpiece - and their mad live shows - the Mint Chicks would seem to be well on the way to just that. - RB
2 ARCTIC MONKEYS
Whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not
(Domino/EMI)
The debut album by the most feted band in Britain was all it was cracked up to be _ excruciatingly English, care of frontman Alex Turner's songs about life on his local dead-end streets. But those were great songs powered by punk, the Mod-rock sensibilities of the Jam, the pop bite of the Buzzcocks, and a spot of ska. That they came and rocked the St James in what was the (indoor) show of the year by a touring act, made us love them all the more. - RB
3 THE KILLERS
Sam's Town
(Island)
On their second album the hirsute Las Vegas band led by rock's most famous Anglophile Mormon, Brandon Flowers, got in touch with their inner Springsteens while still strip-mining the Live Aid era for sounds. It was bombastic, time-warped and brilliantly hook-laden. With songs like these played in their natural arena setting, they'll be sure to make the Big Day Out a much happier place. - RB
4 BOB DYLAN
Modern times
(COLUMBIA)
This engrossing mix of brooding songs alongside crooned ballads and old folk-blues sounds as ancient as the ages but utterly compelling. And has nothing to do with modern times. - GR
5 GNARLS BARKLEY
St Elsewhere
The weirdest thing to hit dancefloors this year came from two seemingly disparate figures, singer Cee-Lo and producer Danger Mouse. Crazy only hinted at the insanity to be found in the rest of this mash-up of hip-hop, gospel, rock, pop and drum'n'bass. - RBy
6 SHAPESHIFTER
Soulstice
(TRUETONE)
On third album local drum'n'bass act take the mainstream by the soles of their feet and make them dance with stirring anthems, rump-rattling electro jaunts, and lush and funky soul. Some of the lyrics are a little cliche, but p digsss is there to rally us and he does a damn fine job. - SK
7 GHOSTFACE KILLAH
FISHSCALE
(Def Jam)
The Wu Tang veteran proved he's still the Clan's smartest storyteller when he turned out this superb fifth album. Complex wordplay, a virtually off-the-cuff delivery and an incendiary soundtrack of 70s funk and soul made up for all the skits. A fishy thrill. - RBy
8 LILY ALLEN
Alright, still
(Warner)
Funny, bitchy and undeniably catchy, the London blagger was a rude reminder that pop and attitude go hand in hand. Pity the exes who wound up as lyrical fodder _ there's nothing quite like a witty put-down over reggae, hip-hop and calypso to make you Smile. - RBy
9 TOM WAITS
Orphans
(Anti/Shock)
Sprawling three-CD collection of cracked ballads, dark tales, mumbled ruminations and heart-aching emotions delivered in that singular voice which sounds like it's been gargling whiskey without disengaging the brain. - GR
10 LITTLE BUSHMAN
The onus of sand
(Little Bushman)
Late entry from genre-creating Warren Maxwell (formerly of Trinity Roots) and a band which reconfigure the spirit of Billy TK and Human Instinct, Band of Gypsys era-Hendrix and other blues-psychedelicists for lengthy workouts which, unlike some of the early 70s music which inspired them, rarely outstays its welcome. Maoritanga-spliff-soul-rock? - GR
11 BONNIE PRINCE BILLY
The letting go
(Spunk/EMI)
The melancholy Will Oldham - aka Billy - recording in Iceland with a local string quartet might suggest misery in spades, but surprisingly this collection is the most musically accessible of his long strange career, although heartaches and gloom still run deep. _ GR
12 MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
The Black Parade
(Warner)
For a concept album about a cancer sufferer called "The Patient" this was an uplifting and inspiring set of songs. My Chem - as they are known to their legions of young fans - are what happens if you take the best of Queen, the passion of punk rock and hardcore, and mainline it with power pop. Even grown ups found themselves hooked. - SK
13 NEKO CASE
Fox Confessor brings the flood
(Shock)
This typically diverse Case album runs from pure guitar-twang pop to classic gospel-infused country and white-soul balladry, yet sounds all of a coherent piece. That's the measure of just how remarkable this one is. - GR
14 JAMES HUNTER
People gonna talk
(Go Records/Elite)
The gentle ease of Sam Cooke stirred with some soft reggae and soul shuffles, plus a touch of jazzy saxophone, makes for the soundtrack to any summer. - GR
15 THOM YORKE
Eraser
(EMI)
Radiohead frontman goes solo for bent and channelled songs/ideas which challenge most listeners but is ultimately persuasive for the richness of lyrical ideas and sonic textures behind the songs. - GR
16 DIMMER
There my dear
(Warner)
With an assemblage of great players, Shayne Carter's Dimmer became a fully evolved band this time round and this third album is proof. The catchy Under the Illusion and gentle shuffle of You're Only Leaving are stand-outs, but best of all is Carter showing his mongrel side on Scrapbook. - SK
17 DON MCGLASHAN
Warm hand
(Arch Hill)
Don McGlashan's first solo album reminded again why he's long been our greatest musical storyteller. It was a collection which unfolded like a mishmash of short stories as it swung from New York to the backblocks of Godzone to 19th-century Tahiti and on tracks like Miracle Sun and the SJD-penned I Will Not Let You Down came with the some of the loveliest tunes of a career not short of them. - RB
18 RACONTEURS
Broken boy soldier
(XL)
Jack White and his Detroit supergroup came on like a fleshed-out and rhythmically unchallenged White Stripes on a fiery album which managed to swing through Led Zep-riffery, country rock ramblings and Beatlesque balladry in a perfectly formed half hour. - RB
19 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Stadium Arcadium
(Warners)
Still on a roll from their great By The Way, the RHCP delivered a daunting double set which allowed for extra doses of everything the band do well from the Hendrix-fired funk which has long been their trademark through to the pensive ballads. - RB
20 THE BEATLES
Love
(EMI)
Although it's fashionable to dismiss this as an anthology remixed, this is a seamlessly psychedelic reconstruction of classic Beatles songs - they sound exactly like themselves, but utterly different. - GR
21 TV ON THE RADIO
Return to Cookie Mountain
(4AD)
Primal, psychedelic and soulful. The odd New York band can be wallowing in a haze of feedback on one song, mixing tense harmonics and off-kilter rhythms the next, and then pulsing towards a frenzied attack on stand-out Wolf Like Me. - SK
22 MASTODON
Blood Mountain
(Warner)
This powerful, brutal and progressive beast of a metal album should be a top 10 contender but metal always gets looked down on, eh? As on previous album, Leviathan, the Atlanta band's Blood Mountain advances and makes them the genre's next big breakthrough threat. - SK
23 DECEPTIKONZ
Heavy Rotation
(Dawn Raid)
Despite a lag in hip-hop sales this year, the second album from South Auckland's finest was a ferocious slammer. Bomb in the Building, Don't [expletive] with Me and Go Home, Stay Home combined hip-hop hooks with street appeal in their most polished work to date. - RBy
24 MIRIAM CLANCY
Lucky one
(Rhythmethod)
Located somewhere between alt.country Americana and subtle folk-rock, Aucklander Clancy brought a wealth of hard-won life experiences to this exceptionally mature and emotionally riveting debut. _ GR
25 TOOL
10,000 days
(Sony/BMG)
From the sprawling 17-minute two parter, Wings For Marie/10,000 Days, to the bludgeoning Rosetta Stoned, and onto contorting and catchy rockers The Pot, Jambi and Vicarious, Tool came up with exactly what the fans wanted _ a potent and menacing epic. As Big Day Out headliners go, they're bigger than Metallica. - SK
26 STEVE ABEL
Little death
(Rhythmethod)
The Auckland singer-songwriter and his supporting players (which included members of Goldenhorse, Pluto, goodshirt and the Tokey Tones) created a dreamy set of parlour-sized country rock and nu-folk balladry, its songcraft reminiscent of Will Oldham and Nick Cave but with a sweet, dark charm of its own. - RB
27 PAUL SIMON
Surprise
(Sony)
With Brian Eno adding sonic effects, Doubting Simon is invigorated on these musically complex meditations which are punctuated by wry middle-class/middle-aged doubts and reservations. - GR
28 STATE OF MIND
Take control
(Uprising)
Unlike Shapeshifter above, Auckland drum'n'bass duo State of Mind didn't cross over because this album is not designed for dancing round the barbie. It's strictly for a late-night dancefloor. You'll be puffed after opener Paint the Walls Black, twirling your fire pois during Sunking, and ready for a lie down at the end of Cheeky Darkie. - SK
29 RODRIGO Y GABRIELA
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
(Shock)
Can heavy metal be played on acoustic guitars? This Mexican duo proved it was not only possible, but that it could be thrilling, intense and loud. - GR
30PAUL MCLANEY
Edin
(Loop)
Prolific local singer-songwriter McLaney went back to the spare essentials for intimate and emotionally engaging songs discreetly coloured by string arrangements from Graeme (Verlaines) Downes. - GR
