Despite releases by a ton of my favorite bands, there's hardly been anything that's really excited me or that I've really loved and wanted to listen to over and over.

The Jenny Lewis is my top pick right now, almost by default. I played the Belle And Sebastian a lot when it first came out. But practically everything else on my list I've had to force myself to put on and listen to. I've had no desire to grab them and listen to them, unlike with past albums.

It's really a toss-up.
It's been a pretty great year.

So far, these are all vying for my top spot:
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Tom Zé - Estuando O Pagode
Def Leppard - YEAH! (seriously)

And these might compete, before all is said and done:
Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Juana Molina - "Son"

If I were counting reissues/releases from dead people it would be:
Arthur Russell - "First Thought Best Thought".

At the moment, it's M. Ward - Post-War, but I doubt that'll last. It's a very good album, but I just have a feeling that I'll start to get tired of it after a while. A few songs are already starting to wear a little thin ("Magic Trick", an early favorite). He's not really doing anything new or different with it, just doing what he's always done, maybe better than ever. Also, the video for "Chinese Translation" that's on the CD is really good.

I really, really hope some better albums come out this fall. As good as that M. Ward album is, in previous years it would have just rounded out my top 20, maybe top 10 at best.

neko case

M. Craft - 'Silver & Fire'

Wolfmother - s/t
Twilight Singers - Powder Burns
Mogwai - Mr. beast
Pink Mountaintops - Axis of Evol
Damone - Out Here All Night
Dead Celebrity Status - Blood Music
Murder By Death - In Boca Al Lupo
Black Angels - Passover
Brian Posehn - Live: In Nerd Rage
Oh The Horror - Hands Pressed Against the Glass
Valient Thorr - Total Universe Man
Brightback Morning Light - s/t
Bright Light Fever - Evening Owl
Giant Squid - Metridium Fields
Sikth - Death of a Dead Day

Are all in the running

seeing everybody else's lists makes me feel old and out-of-touch.
I don't buy records like I used to.

"the life pursuit" belle & sebastian

Probably The Strokes or The Arctic Monkeys.

TV on the Radio - Retrun to Cookie Mountain

Most of my favorite records this year (i.e. the records I've been listening to) have been from the 60s (e.g. David Axelrod) and 70s (e.g. Arthur Russell)...
and like, Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass...

So don't feel so bad. I'd like to say you're good company.

front runner right now is tv on the radio. however, these are still quite in the running:
the roots - game theory
the mystery jets - making dens
the kooks - inside in inside out
james dean bradfield - the great western
plan b - who needs actions when you got words
mono - you are there
pilate - sell control for life's speed

Paper Airplane Pilots - Western Automatic Music

as if it could be anything else...

battle between:

Band of Horses
B & S
Wolfmother
The Strokes
Black Angels

just got TVOTR, so the jury's out.

Right now I really like:
Back Room by the Editors and Skelliconnection by Chad Van Gaalen
Post War by M. Ward and To The Races by Eric Bachmann are in the running.
Both Return to Cookie Mountain by TV on the Radio and Gang of Losers by The Dears will be in my top 10 at the end of the year as well.

has anyone here given TVOTR a decent listening and just concluded that it isn't good?

'Cause everyone i've recomended it to in real life has been absolutely owned by it.

It is the best record of the year, all opinions and tastes aside, i mean...it has EVERYTHING.

This is up there for me as well. It's great.

Ima gonna halfta revisit some and there's others coming down the pike.

Mono-Are You There
Jeremy Enigk-World Waits
despite it's possible dispute of release Ane Brun-(can't remember album name off hand)
Helios-Eingya
The Format-Dog Problems

Those are all runners for the top spot. Dog Problems is probably just a neck ahead of the others though. Only because I have listened to it over and over again with weeks without listening to something other than NPR.

TI
Strokes
Springsteen
Lucero
DBT

That MMJ live album is sick as well.

i don't love it like a lot of people. it sounds like a more cautioned approach to "desperate youth", which is fine. a couple tracks do kill though, like "wolf like me".

I've not bought all the ones I intend to buy for 2006, but here are some of my favorites of the year so far
(see bold for my current #1 pick -- which will be no surprise to those from chat, heh):

Belle and Sebastian – Life Pursuit
Lilys - Everything Wrong Is Imaginary
The M's - Future Women
The Minders - It's a Bright Guilty World
Snowden - Anti-Anti
Kelley Stoltz -Below the Branches
The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off

Mastodon - Blood Mountain

A work of art.

Dalen, I thought you were into the Slayer