2006 - The Blogging Year



2006 brought with it the beginning of #1 Hits From Another Planet, which sorta turned finding cool new music into a job for me more than a hobby. Given this, there was a huge increase in the amount of music I was listening to this year. And, while not as amazing as 2005, there were plenty of winners, including a new wave of stuff from Denmark (which has continued to prove fruitful in 2007 as well). The crown jewel of 2006 was definitely the Delays' You See Colours, simply one of the best pop albums of all time. Scissor Sisters also released a quality (if not as magnificent as their debut) follow-up, which was easily my most anticipated of the year. Enough about 2006, though, get ready for the countdown of top 50 singles and top 20 albums of 2007 starting next week!

Delays - This Town's Religion
Scissor Sisters - The Other Side
The Alpine - Don't Touch The China
Under The Influence Of Giants - Ah Ha

2005 - The Perfect Year



Musically, 2005 was absolutely flawless. It was the year I discovered Scandinavian music in a major way as well as some fantastic groups from the UK and US. Three of my favorite albums ever (Ark's State Of The Ark, Mo's Night At The Zoo and Melody Club's Face The Music) were all first bought in the first half of the year, as well as releases by Bodies Without Organs, The Sounds, Do Me Bad Things, Elkland, Surferosa, Don Juan Dracula, The Lovemakers, Robyn... I could go on. It was just magical, really, and definitely inspired me to start up this blog in early 2006. The four tracks posted below alone make up for one of the best blocks of music you could find anywhere, and those aren't even all my favorite songs!

The Ark - This Piece Of Poetry Is Meant To Do Harm
The Mo - Howl In The Jungle
Melody Club - Killing A Boy
The Callahan - The Melody That Counts

2004 - The Breakthrough Year



2004 was the musical turning point for me. Before then, I had stuck mostly to what was popular in the States, but with the discovery of the Scissor Sister's debut album everything changed. I wore that record out that summer and, through the band, I also discovered The Ark, which readers of this blog will know is my favorite band ever. I quickly snapped up the first two Ark albums and became dangerously obsessed. The Killers also provided rare coolness from my home country, along with all sorts of up and coming "indie" bands like Franz Ferdinand, Keane and Snow Patrol. Nellie McKay is perhaps the oddity in this list, and was released before any of the others this year. A pity she couldn't keep up the momentum she started with her fantastic debut. As great as 2004 was (and it was amazing), it couldn't even prepare me for what was coming next...

Scissor Sisters - Music Is The Victim
The Ark - Hey Modern Days
The Killers - Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
Nellie McKay - Waiter

2003 - The College Year



I think this was the year that I really started to listen to music critics and got into some more "mature" music as a result. Naturally, though, my favorite stuff from this year still retained an uber-pop edge. I am baffled by the fact that Thicke blew up so big this past year with his boring Lost Without You when his debut in 2003 was so much better. I'm also baffled by how far away The White Stripes and Outkast have gotten from my favorites list after they had the two best albums of 2003 with Elephant and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Ditto for Kelis, actually. God it's depressing how these artists couldn't keep my attention for longer. Still, at least they left us with some amazing tunes.

Outkast - Behold, A Lady
The White Stripes - Hypnotize (the shortest song, yet SO hooky)
Kelis - Keep It Down
Thicke - Lazy Bones (pure energy)

2002 - The New Superstars Year



2002 was, at the time, a really good music year for me. I had found what I thought to be the next wave of pop superstars in these four artists (granted, Shania was already kinda up there), given than all four of them released unbelievably strong commercial pop releases. The great tragedy is, they've all crashed and burned (to me at least) with their subsequent releases (particularly Justin and Christina, both of which I can't stand now). Still, these albums continue to impress upon relistening even today and have got a ton of unreleased gems that could have been massive if released as singles. Shania's track especially sounds like a lost powerpop 80's classic. I always forget how distinguished her bubblegum pop is.

Justin Timberlake - Last Night
Shania Twain - Thank You Baby! (For Makin' Someday Come So Soon)
Christina Aguilera - Make Over
Daniel Bedingfield - James Dean (I Wanna Know)