Charts >>> 2006 >>> albums



30 Madonna Confessions On A Dancefloor
Madonna's latest release was a full mix of dance, not unlike her last two CDs but still moreso than both. Little downtime was provided within the album as the tracks were fused together with less emphasis on writing and vocals but more on the actual music. Madonna has delivered!

29 Our Lady Peace A Decade
Our Lady Peace have finally released their Greatest Hits CD more than ten years after their first album and it doesn't disappoint. It contains all of their hits plus a few new tracks and they appear in chronological order, which is only logical. From the opening riff of Starseed until the closing of Will The Future Blame Us, there is a complete history of their singles. While I personally think the songs themself don't carry consistancy, it's still a good tracklisting from one of Canada's best bands of the last decade.

28 Fray How To Save A Life
I like them more than Lifehouse and it seems everyone else does too as they have already proven themselves with two big hits from this album. The album does have more to offer if time is given to get into them. I'm still digging but I know I will continue to discover good songs as time passes.

27 Paula Cole Postcards From East Oceanside
The minds behind Paula Cole's music decided that 2006 was the time to release a collection of her songs. I disagree with calling this a Greatest Hits collection since it really only contains a few hits and the rest are unreleased songs and album tracks. I think they left the best album tracks off of This Fire but because I do really love the singles, and the new song Tomorrow I Will Be Yours, I can't complain too much. I hope this isn't the end of the novel for Paula but considering her last original album came out seven years ago, it could be the final chapter.

26 Kate Maki The Sun Will Find Us
I got this album in late 2004 and it was only this year that I've been able to really move into more than just a few songs. As I've begun to involve myself in more alt-country music since I was introduced to it a few years ago, I've been able to appreciate the music on this album more than when I first listened to it. Some of the songs are very old-country sounding while some are more contemparary such as Forever Blue and Someone Better but they all work well from a true artist.

25 Foo Fighters In Your Honor
The Foo Fighter's double CD was an interesting creation considering they were always known for their electric sounds but there have been acoustic recordings from them as well and it was due time to officially record some. I still can't get enough of Best Of You but this double-disc 20-track set has tons more to offer including a pairing with Norah Jones.

24 Jewel Goodbye Alice In Wonderland
Jewel's fifth CD was a return to her routes somewhat. With a touch of country and her usual guitar-pop, it was nice to see that her days of bubblegum popstardom would only last a short while but this CD didn't click with me like her others have. I admit to not giving this one a fair chance because the first single Again And Again also didn't click with me but I guess every artist will have a downside. I still love Jewel and this album does have some upsides.

23 Sarah Slean Day One
Third yearend appearance for this amazing album that recently made it to my Top 10 of all-time list and still being somewhat of a current and because I listened to it regularly in 2006, I thought it deserved another spot.

22 Stabilo Happines & Disaster
Stabilo are your typical pop/rock band with catchy pop/rock songs. There's no reason to dismiss them however because so far every song they've released to radio have been good. Their CD is no different. It's filled with good pop/rock tunes!

21 New Pornographers Twin Cinema
The New Pornographers know how to make good music by not following the standards set by mainstream labels. They make creative songs with interesting titles and instrumentals as well. Fusing together a bunch of different styles and genres, the result is this alternative CD that is a musthave for fans of "indie rock" or rock music in general.

20 My Chemical Romance The Black Parade
I got this CD because of the good reviews I read about it and I'll agree. It is a good CD. Welcome To The Black Parade is an epic and I think comparisons to American Idiot are fitting. I definitely need to pop it in the player more often though.

19 Green Day American Idiot
Aw yes! This album. I still listened to it a bit courtesy of Jesus Of Suburbia and Give Me Novacaine but I also got to know Homecoming a bit more too. I don't think this record will ever get old!

18 KT Tunstall Acoustic Extravaganza
KT didn't release a new official followup to her incredible Eye To The Telescope album but she did put out what I'll call a "transitional album", mostly new songs with a couple tracks from the other. It's good to know that she's still sounding great after over a year since the other one came out, lol!

17 Jason Mraz Mr. A-Z
Another classic in my books. I do love this album. I'm not sure what else I can say about it that I haven't already said before. I do know that my love for this album seems to come and go.

16 Kathleen Edwards Back To Me
I realized recently that this album is better than I originally penned it as. After over a year, it feels more complete a disc for me and somehow feels more stable. I'm very much looking forward to her next recording but this album will do for the time being. Second appearance!

15 Nelly Furtado Loose
Nelly's sound did change with the release of Loose but really not that much. There are a few songs on this album that I can do without but it's a good fun CD and now that Nelly is in the spotlight in a big way, she might make another attempt at making another album similar to her first two, or continue on with what Loose has started.

14 Anna Nalick Wreck Of The Day
Another crossover CD (I didn't latch on to a lot of new music this year...) but this one is deserving. Pop music at its best!

13 Tegan And Sara So Jealous
This album was my #1 album of 2004! I fell in love with it all over again this year. It's just incredible. I LOVE Tegan and Sara and I LOVE this CD!

12 Basement Jaxx Crazy Itch Radio
I haven't gotten a proper dance-oriented album in years. I got this one because of the awesome Take Me Back To Your House and the rest of the CD is pretty good too. Nothing quite jumps out at me quite yet but I am partial to Hey U and Everybody so far.

11 Sarah Slean Orphan Music
Sarah Slean released a mostly live disc in 2006 that contains mostly songs from Day One with a few tracks from her other albums and a couple new songs. The rest of the disc consists of stripped-down recordings of just Sarah and the piano or Sarah and a quartet. The only thing I have with this album is that there are some song duplicates. I like an album of consistancy but when a song repeats itself only a few tracks after it was just on, it doesn't feel right. That and no CD can convey the incredible performance that Sarah puts off.

10 Imogen Heap Speak For Yourself
Imogen's CD is filled with great electronic sounds and music and what makes it impressive is that it's all been produced by Imogen herself with most of the instrumentation by her. Always a good listen!

9 Zero 7 The Garden
Nominated for a Best Electronic Album grammy award, I think this CD should win. I'd consider this album to be more along the lines of the New Pornographers than what I would consider "electronic" music but then again, I don't know much proper electronic music so I can say that my boundaries of what makes that genre have been extended. Highlights of this album include the neat instrumental tracks, This Fine Social Scene and Waiting To Die.

8 KT Tunstall Eye To The Telescope
I talked about KT a lot on this page so I won't bother saying too much more other than that this CD is pretty awesome!

7 Blue October Foiled
I got this album because it was cheap for a CD and I LOVED Congratulations and was just getting into Hate Me. It is a good diverse CD that has some heavy rock songs on it, some good beats and even some lighter stuff.

6 Katie Melua Piece By Piece
This album I got expected some similar stuff to KT Tunstall but she's actually a jazz artist so the album was lighter than I thought but much to my surprise, I actually quite liked it. There are some really good songs on here that work quite well including the hits Just Like Heaven and Nine Million Bicycles but there's also the remake of On The Road Again that I quite enjoy and another favourite Spider's Web.

5 Frou Frou Details
It's kinda odd including this CD here considering it originally came out in 2002. Details was released officially in Canada in 2006 however after being available only as an import up until now so I snagged myself an authentic copy. I do really like this album as it is a mix of some good electronic pop that is different from Imogen's Speak For Yourself but is still very detailed and original.

4 Melissa McClelland Thumbelina's One Night Stand
Melissa released her second album in 2006. I really loved Stranded In Suburbia so matching that would be tough. I'll admit, I still like the first one better but she did do a great job with this CD. Melissa has swayed more toward an alt-country and bluesy sound and less from her pop/rock with a touch of rock and bluesy jazz that was on her first CD. This one is still very good!

3 Dixie Chicks Taking The Long Way
This amazing album is #3 for the year. Why not #1? Well, I'll admit that while I like every song on here, I don't much enjoy listening to the entire thing in one setting. I usually just have to take it a few songs at a time. I'm not sure why. I think the album may actually be too long. There are many gems on here though, some of which make up the best songs of their careers. Very deserved success for the Dixie Chicks and hopefully much more to come!

2 Sarah Harmer I'm A Mountain
I got this CD in early December 2005 and I'll admit that at the first listen, I didn't care for the album. I didn't listen to the entire thing again until just before Sarah performed in Halifax in early September and after that show, I became nearly obsessed with the album. It became a soon-to-be-dusty album to one of my most played. I love it! Sarah went blueglass with this but I do like it. Her cover of Dolly Parton's He Will Be Waiting For Me is amazing as is The Ring and Luther's Got The Blues. She hit the spot!

1 Chantal Kreviazuk Ghost Stories
My favourite CD of the year. This was a long awaited album from Chantal who hadn't released anything for over three years. I wasn't expecting an amazing CD but I got one. The direction she took was a smart one as she sacrificed radio-friendly songs for amazing music and songwriting. I was definitely impressed with the entire album and am sure it will continue to be among my top played discs of 2007 as well.