good list...i have the same one and two in reverse ordersonic youth, ghostface, yo la tengo should be higher...islands a little high for my tastemission of burma?

intriguing. Not what I was expecting. While the midlake album isn't entirely perfect, i thought maybe a spot at 49 , and beirut?Such is life. I Think that bonnie prince billy album is tremendously overrated and the less said about hold steady the better, but I seem to be alone on that one. Surprised not to see Yellow House place higher. IMO it's one of the more original and captivating albums of the year. Ys has nothing on it. An unpopular opinion, but still it's mine.

between the site's list and the staff picks, this is a lot to take in at once. another bunch of great, overlooked records in an unexpected order. back-pats all around.more stuff i was surprised didn't make the cut: sunset rubdown, the coup, dabrye, lupe fiasco, the decemberists.

I'll take 5 out of 10...can't believe Lupe didn't make it tho.

girl talk was decent, but not good enough to make this list. not with the other albums that got cut.

Hip-Hop overrepresented? If it didn't seem so opaque, I would suggest spliting list into Top-Hop, Top-Everything else.Number formatting looks nice though.

Generalization.... Girl Talk = hip-hop for rock kids

I don't think the Girl Talk record is horrible by any stretch. Overall, it's a little too "project-ey," but there's some interesting/great/fun stuff on there.

"Clipse at #1 = How very Pitchfork of you."Because only Pitchfork liked Clipse this year...

Why is it that when Pfork likes a record that every other site is trying to be like them?

I unlike the internet masses didn't really feel The Clipse album, but can't argue with the consensus. It did teach me how to cook and sell some bricks though.

Where the hell is Mew? Islands and the Pipettes? Screw Pitchfork -the Pipettes suck. It's a very predicatable formula for your 1-10. Stick TV on the Radio right there at #2 but by no means give it #1...because honestly it's not likeable enough to be in the top 10. Neko Case? Another staple artist that looks great in the top 10. Oh, and how dare you NOT put Bob Dylan and Tom Waits in the top 10!!! Plus, Joanna Newsome -we all know that album is overrated but hey, everyone else loves it! And of course at #1, an album no one else will put there.I love you prefix!!!

Vakill at #18 = how very ... unlike any other website with a year-end list.

i haven't even heard half of our top 10. i am a bad music nerd.

i didn't mind the girl talk record, but if that thing was in the top 50 i'd be annoyed.

There's really no convincing me that this flimsy ass Blow record was better than YYY's.

OR = OF

Even Rhymefest over Lupe is an L.

Actually, I thought the blow record was far superior to the mediocre yeah yeah yeahs record.And that roots record was good, but not great, as was lupe, whereas the rhymefest record was interesting and superior lyrically.

and now its become okp hour here on prefix.

Fabulous intro... I like the list for the most partTom Waits is definitely deserving, and I'm not really upset to see Clipse at #1... I didn't have it in my Top 10, but different tastesGreat to see Man Man that high... Only surprises were that both The Elected and Josh Ritter didn't get on the list, seeing that they both got 8.0

No Sunset Rubdown makes me sad. Where are all the Bowie lovers ready to embrace their new king? Does no one else think its a better album than "Apologies to the Queen Mary" AND "Destroyer's Rubies"? Am I really all alone?

Andrew you shut the HELL up about Xiu Xiu!!! For serious...

Some of you guys are acting like whiny babies. I've been trying to trade some of you guys to Stylus or Pfork but they ain't haven't it.

It's definitely a list, I'll give it that. There's definitely some records on there that I will have to check out, and I think its pretty interesting to see so many hip-hop records alongside the indie jams...How exactly does a staff writer get his own Top 10?

whatever MK. You're w.0.that Islands record is great. It just came out too early in the year.I like other Cat Power records more but I still dig the Greatest.Sub-par rapping from Nas is still better than 99% of the best stuff from the other rappers.

i still hate nas' selection of beats.

me likey that beat on 'money over bullshit'.

yes, but i hear songs like "if i ruled the world" or "nas is like" and wonder what an entire album of beats that match his flow would sound like. im excluding illmatic from this discussion, of course.

To me Loose Fur is a huge omission. As are albums by Sunset Rubdown, Glissandro 70, Feu Therese, Glenn Kotch, Wooden Wand, Six Organs of Admittance, OOIOO, David Pajo, Califone, Tortoise (Box set!), or anything avant-garde. I'm sorry, the Liars album does not count, its aweful!!!

Guillemots - Through the Windowpane deserves much more attention, Junior Boys should be in the top ten.in response to the above post, i don't think anyone could claim hip-hop is stale, it's probably the most exciting and alive genre of music there is right now. but that doesn't mean there isn't a tremendous amount of misogyny surrounding it and within it, it's very possible to enjoy the music and be off-put by some of the lyrics or the videos. the complete objectification of women in your typical video and in many tracks - most vividly seen in the rampant association of the female body with cars - is a serious culture problem. the "truth" that makes hip-hop such a vital form of expression does not need to simultaneously idealize these hyper-male dehumanizing fantasies. it weighs even heavier on the mind when you are a fan of the music, i mean if fans and critics don't demand higher standards than things won't change. i love the clipse album and i realize that "dirty money" is part of creating a believable environment for the record, just like the coke references and the beats themselves, but that doesn't mean it can't also bother me that they perpetuate a huge inequality in our society that spreads beyond just hip-hop.

Good list, with lots of good records. But the lack of Decemberists and Midlake renders it meaningless, unfortunately.Serious question to the Prefix folks: Do you all seriously believe that "The Crane Wife" is not one of the 50 best albums released in 2006? This BOGGLES my MIND.

Thanks for the list, some great stuff on there that I missed. Going back to rock it out. Clipse album is solid, don't take any heat for putting it up so high.

watsup no love 4 the juggaknots album Use Your Confusion, no where in sight 0-50, no wins ya'll aint got no love 4 BSlim/Queen Herawin, and the Brewin-shame,shame,shame

i liked use your confusion, but i think it suffers from the awesomeness of its forefather...kinda like how godfather part III, outside of sofia coppola's complete inability to act, is a pretty great movie, but it will never be regarded as such.

BTW, f*** you. you little trailer trash don't know shit bout hip hop. Real hip hop is a message from the hood to the media. Hip Pop is what u listen to. Hip Hop is different from Hip Pop. Nas does Hip Hop. the pretigeous magazine are naming Nas' album as the best album of the year. because it reminds people not to forget where hip hop came from. USA Today, named it # 1. Newstand #1. New York times #1. Allhiphop.com #1. So your opinion is stupid.