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Top 20 most listened records of 2006: another last.fm aided war of words

Following on from my superduper top 10 most listened artists list yesterday, I guess it's only fitting to utilise the whole last.fm charts thing for another sleep-inducing blog, this time double the size and focused on records and albums rather than the artists themselves.

Fairly self-explanatory, I think - sit back, relax, and enjoy the predictable countdown.

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#20 - Foo Fighters: The Colour And The Shape 12 plays

This is probably my favourite Foo Fighters album, mainly for the fact, that, obviously, it features my favourite tracks. I especially like it for the who-cares tracks on it, "Enough Space" and "Wind Up", two crazy rockouts that may be a bit one-sided but they're enjoyable nonetheless. The most complete Foos album to date.

#19 - Muse: Absolution 12 plays

While this is Muse's most wellknown effort, it was actually quite disappointing in my book. A step back from Origin Of Symmetry, it features the most weak album closers in history and it seems that it starts off strong and gets progressively worse. Muse can do much better.

#18 - Idlewild: The Remote Part 12 plays

I was introduced to this band by reading somebody's post on a forum - and I tried them out, and I actually quite like this album. It's a bit straightforward, but it's still good. It borders on some cheesy punk rock stuff at times, but some of it is a bit more mature.

#17 - The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldiers 13 plays

Jack White from The White Stripes makes a new band? Count me in. Rock with a hint of retro.

#16 - Stereophonics: Just Enough Education To Perform 15 plays

This may be the Phonics' best album. Overall, it feels the most polished and finished. It just feels like a natural album for the band. Great tunes here.

#15 - Radiohead: Hail To The Thief 17 plays

This may be the most underrated album I own. It's wildly varied, for a start, features Radiohead tunes from all of their genres (their electronic stuff, their rock stuff, their in-the-middle stuff, it's all here) and they are all topclass. Whats not to like, I ask you.

#14 - Gorillaz: Demon Days 18 plays

It features a bit too much rap and hiphop influences to my liking, but it's every bit as experimental and flat-out awesome as its predecessor.

#13 - Muse: Black Holes And Revelations 22 plays

It's a surprise to see this album so low. It's probably my favourite release of 2006 - maybe I didn't listen to it as much as I thought. That said, it's a great album to listen to on the iPod while travelling, and of course they don't get scrobbled, those plays. Either way, it's definitely a return to form for Muse.

#12 - Muse: Origin Of Symmetry 22 plays

I used to say this was my favourite album of all time. I'm not sure whether it still is. It's still an incredible album, maybe a bit pretentious, but nevertheless pretty freaking awesome, and I'm just not sure whether it deserves the title of "best album evar."

#11 - Feeder: The Singles 23 plays

This is a pretty good compilation of Feeder's greatest hits, that's all that can be said. It's altrock at its purest, most basic, stripped-down form, and its lack of complexity and depth may put off some people. other people will like its simplicity.

#10 - Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand 25 plays

This is definitely a contender for best debut album of all time. Catchy, infectious, and innovative.

#9 - The Verve: Urban Hymns 27 plays

As I said in the last blog, I rediscovered this album this year and wondered why I forgot about it. It's a magnificent work, from euphoric opener Bittersweet Symphony through a golden hitlist of tracks and into a slightly anticlimatic finisher. Great album, it's a pity it ended not a long time after.

#8 - Ash: Cosmic Debris 27 plays

This is a rarity in my collection, not in the sense that not many other people own this, but in the sense that it's quite possibly and ashamedly the only B-Sides collection I own.

#7 - Radiohead: The Bends 29 plays

Yeah, here comes the Radiohead. The Bends is an incredible second effort from Radiohead. I thought sophomore albums were meant to be difficult.

#6 - Radiohead: Amnesiac 31 plays

Surprising to see this one so high. I always thought of this album as a bit of a lacklustre effort - it has some epic, topnotch tracks here, but there's a lot of filler unfortunately. The epic topnotch tracks (Knives Out, I Might Be Wrong, Like Spinning Plates, Packt Like Sardines) help this album uptop.

#5 - Muse: Showbiz 33 plays

Biggest surprise on my list. I have no idea why this is so high. It's probably because my top track (Muse: Agitated) is classed as Showbiz even though it's an early B-side. Either way, a strong debut.

#4 - Ash: Intergalactic Sonic 7's 35 plays

I've been listening to not enough Ash this year, mainly because their albums (1977, Nuclear Sounds, Free All Angels, Meltdown) have vanished somehow and I don't know where they are. Brings back memories.

#3 - Blur: Blur 43 plays

My third most listened album is without doubt one of the best albums of the 90's - it's just a shame that some of Blur's other stuff is classed in a somewhat other light than this one. This sounds like Blur grown up. This sounds like one of the most creative bands in history at the top of their form. And come on, what can beat a few "woohoo"s here and there? Seriously, you NEED this record. There is no filler whatsoever, except for the instrumental 'Theme from Retro'.

#2 - Radiohead: OK Computer 56 plays

THE best album of the 90's, without doubt. I was expecting this one to be top. This album has a particular ethereal theme about it... I'm not sure what it is, but it seems to revolve around some unbelievably atmospheric guitar work, insightful vocals, and a thorough spirit throughout the album from the awe-inducing opener Airbag, featuring guitar overdubbed with what seems like cello, up through a heap of beautiful, unforgettable, spiritually perfect tracks and spiralling into an incredible album closer, and what is the most underrated song in history, The Tourist, a jazzy, bluesy, mellowed-out track that hits its climax with some amazing guitar harmonies. This album is unbelievable. Marvel at the fact that five men in a recording studio made this record. They simply know just how to jerk your heartstrings and play with your emotions while being unsurpassable at what they do : make music.

#1 - Radiohead: Kid A 57 plays

Wellity wellity wellity. Radiohead AGAIN?!!?!! While I don't see this as the group's greatest work, it still managed to secure a spot in the top, just one play ahead of Radiohead's OK Computer. For one thing, this album took a lot of listening for me to get into its groove, mainly because by my standards this was a difficult album, a departure from the usual. I'm not into electronic/experimental/undefinable music in general, and some tracks on this record fall into that category, so it took a lot of repeats to get used to this album. That's probably why it's at the top. But without doubt, this is still an extraordinary record - the opener "Everything in its Right Place" is a huge new direction for Radiohead and it's a great way to introduce you into Radiohead's unique sound in this album... quite simply, this record is essential, and it's probably one of the greatest albums of this century. Probably.

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Another superduper huge blog! w00t for typing excessively. Thanks for reading, if you did, and if no, thanks for at least acknowledging I wrote this thing.