As we approach the end of the year I think its only timely that we do an annual round up of music that floated my boat, rocked my world etc etc during 2006. Thinking back when I did this last year, for some reason it all seemed a lot easier. Has this year really been lean pickings for the music fan, well actually no. Its been a year where my music buying habits have changed though. My online purchasing has gone through the roof as I get older and lazier, and for some bizarre reason I have upped my intake of 7” vinyl that has continued to enjoy its novelty resurgence (and long may it continue). Still in whatever form it took this year, 2006 has managed to provide me with six good albums to rate as my Six from ’06.

In no particular order my favourites come home to roost as follows…

I’ll start with Mike Monday’s Smorgasboard. A real mixture of lighthearted and darkly shaded aspects of electronica blended together to create one of the finer dance music releases of the year. Although to call it a dance music album is perhaps painting it with too narrow a brush stroke. There is no denying this album will make you move with its quirky scattershot of samples and found sounds but that doesn’t make it a thing of mere novelty. Instead it’s a well rounded selection of bleeps and beeps that don’t wear thin and continue to entertain long after the original purchase date.

Another one that loitered in my CD player long after its expected sell by date was Alt Delete’s Digital Penetration compilation. A showcase of talent given the “show and tell” treatment by Alt Delete. A selection of indie disco so raw it bleeds. Lo-fi production, frantic loose guitars and the Casio beat box that someone left in the cupboard under the stairs all dusted off and slung together with the subtlety of an explosion with the wreckage left behind being yours for the perusal. Wiry, agile and young this is the sound of now with speed in its gums and sick down its trousers.

There were a number of female singer/songwriters working to good effect this year. Regina Spektor’s Begin To Hope was one of many which served to impress this listener. A rapidly maturing yet still slightly kooky approach saw another collection of solid songs hit the shelves. Some have maligned her for her slicker more professional approach to this record. The rough edges present in the rest of her discography are slowly being ground into the smooth surfaces you expect of someone who is so rapidly finding their feet. But for those who say nay, pay them no heed. This is natural evolution at work and sees Regina slotting firmly into the chain. Now if only she could keep all her live commitments…

Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black turned up later in the year with a coincidentally blacker heart than Spektor’s offering. Sassy, streetwise and unashamedly self abusing. Winehouse offered the listener tales of rehab, stoned/coked love, the theft of other women’s boyfriends and other misdemeanours. All delivered with a voice of experience that belies Amy’s tender years. Musically it was wrapped in the finest silk of soul, with a touch of Brill building production about it. At times this is an album that could make your freeze in your tracks. And that’s coming from someone who traditionally treads unsure in terms of this type of music.

Gnarls Barkley is my next choice with the album St. Elsewhere, the teaming of rapper/singer Cee-Lo and all round production nutter Danger Mouse. A collection of experimentalist soul/dance/funk and electronica. Held together with Cee-Lo’s incandescent soul voice. You might be sick of the song Crazy but don’t let that put you off the rest of this collection. While not everything on here will get under your skin quite as quickly as the single, that’s not to say it won’t manage to impress over the span of a few listens. For a project that in relative terms is still in its infancy it should be exciting to see where they go next.

Finally one from March that I discovered relatively recently stands as my sixth from 2006. Sol Seppy’s The Bells Of 1 2 is yet another female singer/songwriter (they’ve had a couple of good years haven’t they). This is the gentler more ethereal side of the song writing which comes equipped with more than a couple of those pin drop/jaw drop moments. Lovely stuff and despite the seeming absence of promotion it would be a hard hearted individual who would fail to appreciate this as a stocking filler.

So there you have it. That’s my personal best for 2006. Of course as with all things a lot of it depends on the mood you catch me on the day. But these albums are the ones that managed to hold my attention the longest. Of course there were others (Long Blondes, Fratellis, Arctic Monkeys, Metric, Anne Garner to name a few) and on another day they might have sneaked the list. Still that’s music for you, now lets head off into 2007 and see what’s waiting…