It’s a letdown compared to ’05, but any year that leads with a Hold Steady album can’t be all bad.

1. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
   • A stone-cold classic and in my top ten of all time. Somewhere or other.
2. Tapes N Tapes – The Loon
3. Arab Strap – The Last Romance
4. The Diableros – You Can’t Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts
5. Annuals – Be He Me
6. Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche
7. The Mountain Goats – Get Lonely
   • Holy crap, why did I have this so low. #2 for sure.
8. Yo La Tengo – I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass
   • Best album title ever.
9. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
10. French Kicks – Two Thousand
    • About six spots too low.
11. Norfolk & Western – The Unsung Colony
12. Sufjan Stevens – Songs for Xmas
    • Xmas album or not, it’s great.
13. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say that I am, That’s What I’m Not
14. Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That
15. Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
    • Seriously, what’s wrong with me? Should be right after Get Lonely.