Best Liberal Music '06

The other day I read a "Best of" conversation about the best music of the year between music critics on Slate.com. I was left seriously unsatisfied - I disagree with about 80% of the albums and 85% of the singles and later someone says they weren't that hot on Neko Case's most recent album (when "Hold On, Hold On" is fucking amazing). So I'm beginning the countdown to the New Year with my first "Best of" list... my favorite albums of 2006. Here they are in no particular order, with special apologies that no album or artist associated with Timbaland made my list:

• Brazilian Girls, "Talk to La Bomb" - These guys are nuts. Their first album was a sort of Euro/loungy mix. This record, however, rocks harder, which I am all for.
  
• M. Ward, "Post War" - M. Ward's music sounds like you're listening to an olde-time radio show, but this album is a little sweeter and more refined than his previous ones. The title track is emotional and "Chinese Translation" is up-beat (with backing vocals by Jim James).
  
• Flaming Lips, "At War with the Mystics" - I'm giving this album extra credit based upon my love for their entire body of work. It's a lot like their usual work in that it sounds a lot like a modern Pink Floyd album. They also manage to write some songs that are timely and rocking.
  
• Pretty Girls Make Graves, "Elan Vital" - This album is the opposite of Brazilian Girls; PGMG usually plays edgy post-punk, but this is more experimental and varied in its sound. They're very good at writing songs that are both catchy and completely unpredictable.
  
• Tapes 'N Tapes, "The Loon" - People sweat bands like the Arctic Monkeys, but this group is much better. This album is a nice mix of hard-rocking and laid-back tunes.
  
• Wolfmother, "Wolfmother" - I'm gonna combine this and the Cold War Kids' album. Both of these groups are veeery derivative, but I like them anyway. Wolfmother is a throwback to "power trios," and CWC sound like an old band with a slightly new twist. Sometimes it's better to do an old thing well than a new thing that's crappy.
  
• Cold War Kids, "Robbers & Cowards"
• The Draft, "In a Million Pieces" - I've mentioned them before; hard-rocking with a slightly softer edge.
  
• Ray Lamontagne, "Til the Sun Turns Black" - His voice is AMAZING. Album's more orchestrated than his debut. Just as soulful though.
  
• The Roots, "Game Theory" - Darker sound than their last album, Tipping Point, it's also more cohesive.
  
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Show Your Bones" - This is another band that went from a stripped-down sound to something more complex. There are at least 4 amazing songs on this album (and I'm not even including the most popular song "Gold Lion"); I could listen to "Way Out" or "Turn Into" on repeat for 8 hours and not get sick of either one.
  

So there's my list. Feel free to gripe away about all the unworthy albums that I included or the amazing ones that I overlooked. You will note that I'm not great with the hip-hop, so I'd especially appreciate suggestions in that department.