By Paul V.

It’s that time of year again, where we look back at the sounds of ’06. Once again, my ears mainly tuned into the underground electronic world and eclectic indie rock scene, which is where I found some of the most refreshing and interesting new music. These are the favorites that held up for me all year:

Gnarls Barkley
St. Elsewhere
Dangermouse and Cee-Lo stepped outside their regular roles to make a genuinely instinctive, love-fueled record that zings with an enthusiasm for all spectrums of music, laced with some astonishing songwriting and Green's haunting, sorrowful voice. Hands down, “Crazy” was the pop single of the year.
Download: “Smiley Faces”

My Chemical Romance
Welcome To The Black Parade
Simultaneously brutal and hilarious, MCR waved bye-bye to their lesser Emo peers, and crafted their first big, fat, overbaked concept album—and it was stunningly good. The mid-70’s-inspired riffs and prog-rock hooks were huge, but so was their heartfelt execution.
Download: “Teenagers”

Beck
The Information
There's nothing here that Beck hasn't done before, but he sounded surprisingly fresh doing it again. By turning his gaze back on himself, he created a record that deftly summarized (and even critiqued) his own past. Despite the album’s stylistic shifts and breakdowns, his collision of dirty loops and polished pop remains ace.
Download: “We Dance Alone”

Dixie Chicks
Taking the Long Way
Our Texas terrors embraced the depth and fury of classic rock while remaining true to their down-home roots. Credit producer Rick Rubin for aiming for the storytelling sounds of Sheryl Crow or Tom Petty. And with their spirituality and unapologetic spunk intact, they remained heroines of the truth seeker.
Download: “Not Ready To Make Nice”

Cansei De Ser Sexy
CSS
These 20-something hipsters from São Paulo Brazil crafted an edgy, syncopated, tuneful, post-punk club record, sounding like a brilliantly wrong fusion of Tom Tom Club, Le Tigre and The Fall. It’s a gleeful throwback to early-’80s art-school pop that was endearingly frantic, chaotic and wholly infectious.
Download: “Alcohol”

Hot Chip
The Warning
Their second album continued to meld their wonky electronics with pillow-soft melodies and lyrics that managed to weave strange violence into gorgeously soulful songs. Their landscape of unique-sounding electronica just continues to develop and thrive with a superhuman sheen.
Download: “Over & Over”

Brazilian Girls
Talk to La Bomb
Brazilian Girls (who ain’t Brazilian, or girls—except for singer Sabina Sciubba, who is actually Italian) returned with a totally delicious second album. The BG’s palette is a completely European, cosmopolitan and lounge-inspired cocktail sound that kept our feet edging from the bedroom to the dance floor, and back.
Download: “Jique”

Goldfrapp
Supernature/We Are Glitter
In a more perfect world, Goldfrapp would be a massive band in America. That is, if most Americans’ taste in pop music were more Champagne and less Bud Lite. Both of their releases offered a 10-ton, neon lightning bolt of tasty glitter-glam, throbbing electro treats, and Alison’s angelic, vixen-purr vocal prowess.
Download: “Fly Me Away”

The Gossip
Standing in the way of Control
This lo-fi trio from Portland got more sounds and soul out of their raw, unpolished sessions than every other artist on this page. Singer Beth Ditto, an out-and-proud dyke, has the most massive voice you’ll hear all year: Think Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin fronting a stripped down, dance-punk band. Simply amazing.
Download: “Standing In The Way Of Control”

The Knife
Silent Shout
These Swedish siblings created a curious, monolithic and haunting electronic record, washed in minor keys and icy cold melodies—but somehow managed to make the whole thing feel warm, beautiful and elegant. If you can imagine Nina Hagen or Siouxsie Sioux getting busy with Aphex Twin, give this a shout.
Download: “We Share Out Mother’s Health”

The Raconteurs
Broken Boy Soldiers
What made this a treat was getting to hear the über-talented Jack White in an actual band setting. With his Detroit buddies, they traversed through FM rock history: British blues, R&B, Mod pop, psychedelia and Americana. Props to Brendan Benson for adding his keen bubblegum sensibilities to White’s raw fuzz.
Download: “Level”

Silversun Pickups—Carnavan
This L.A. band (named after the liquor store on the corner of Sunset and Silverlake Boulevard) updated the anthemic but gauzy heavy-rock sounds of Veruca Salt and The Smashing Pumpkins with their own twist. Thankfully, they stripped it down and added plenty of distorted guitar leads and spacey, laid-back soundscapes.
Download: “Little Lover’s So Polite”

Scissor Sisters—Ta-Dah
Our beloved Scissor Sisters still reside in that strangely enticing netherworld, where it's 1974 forever and a cheap thrill or soaring pop high lurks ‘round every corner. This slightly more mature and focused follow-up tossed layer upon layer of flamboyance, sparkle and Jake Shears’ dazzling falsetto into the effort.
Download: “The Other Side”

The Teddybears—Soft Machine
Sweden’s Teddybears dropped an amalgam of multi-genres and styles: electro-rock, dancehall, power-pop, Krautrock and new wave. Somehow, it all flowed completely naturally, like a genius iPod mix, and you know a band is hip when a bunch of their tracks end up on various TV shows and commercials.
Download: “Yours To Keep”

Justin Timberlake
FutureSex/LoveSounds
Timberlake left `N Sync so far behind here that it’s hard to view him as the same person. The Timbaland beats showcased the master back on his game, ranging from pseudo-funk, to post Purple-Rain Prince, to Timba's very own take on pop. Add in the nice use of strings, synths and Justin’s vocals and what a winner.
Download: “My Love”

TV On The Radio
Return to Cookie Mountain
With TVOTR becoming more of a band and less a studio project, their second disc was a cluster of live drums, sampled horns, ambient debris and thunderous typhoons of dense guitar noise. They proved that something new can indeed be done with indie rock—something engagingly odd, unsettling and beautiful.
Download: “Wolf Like Me”

Five Honorable Mentions:
Nelly Furtado—Loose • Pink—I'm Not Dead • The Presets—Steamworks
The Rapture—Pieces of the People We Love • Shiny Toy Guns—We Are Pilots