Preview of Music Round-up

As I prepare to announce the best albums I heard this past year I began to think about what value my list might have in the broad continuum. Throughout the past few weeks I have seen a multitude of best-of lists to the point that it's kind of hard to understand if they really mean anything. They are all simply based on our own personal tastes and opinions and they are all continually changing, of course. There's no way that the list of albums that I give today will stay in that specific order.

Take last year's list for example. I've discovered that the Sufjan Stevens album is far from perfect and I hardly listen to it anymore. The Fiery Furnaces album is pretty much impossible to listen to without completely wanting to smash your stereo (although I do like the album that came out this year, though it won't be on the final list for 2006). I must've gotten caught up in all the hype when I put that Spoon record on the list whilst leaving Emiliana Torrini's wonderful offering on the sidelines. And Josh Rouse's Nashville turned out to be the real best number one record of 2005, although I'm sure if I look back and contemplate all of this some day in the near future that opinion will most likely change again.

Anyway, the whole point to all of this is that take each best-of-end-of-the-year-lists as a temporary fancy of those who wish to impart their love of music onto the world.

Just a few things to consider before we start. I try to keep my list somewhat limited to albums that came out in 2006, but it's practically impossible to listen to every album that came out in any year and it's definitely impossible to get a real feel for the record without spending some quality time with it. So if I happen to pick up an album from the last couple of years that is absolutely better than anything that I've listened to this year then I have to put it on the list. Also, if I discover an artist for the first time and I simply love them to death then that record will end up on the list as well.

So that's the criteria. That's where I'm coming from and I love music so...enjoy.