popbytes’ top ten fave albums of ’06!

good morning everyone – oh yes it’s the very last friday of 2006! i’m so looking forward to ’07 – i’ve got a few plans in the works and i’m feeling really positive at the moment! i finally finished my top ten favorite albums of the year post (ok i kid you not – from start to finish through all the hemming & hawing – this post took close to eight hours!) i’m not a music critic by any means – these are albums (like last year) that found themselves stuck (over & over again) in my CD player & ipod – and definitely are albums i’ve crusaded to those who know me personally – sometimes i feel like a ‘music’ dealer! i’m all ‘yo – get a listen to amy winehouse – you have to hear the brazilian girls – oh you’ll love the latest basement jaxx…’



the funny thing is after running this site for over three years i’ve been increasingly inundated with pitches from bands & various marketing companies to post about whatever they’re pimping at the time and most of the time i’m pretty hard to pitch – especially when it comes to music – i only post on what i like and i just run this blog for fun – yes i make a drop of money from the few ads i run but it’s not enough to quit my day job (not that i want to) popbytes has never been about making a buck – this year i had some amazing things happens because of the site (like interviewing the indigo girls or meeting up with the scissor sisters) and that’s what really makes dealing with this site on a daily (stressful) basis all worth it! anyways you can just go and read the top ten list below with a few honorable mentions as well as albums i can’t deal with! (i’m sorry beyonce) popbytes over & out for now…xxoo!

AMY WINEHOUSE [back to black] gosh something about this album just struck a nerve with me – it’s way different than anything else at the moment – she’s raw & messy but damn she made a kick-ass album – landing the #1 spot! this super cool album hasn’t even been released in the states yet (such a shame – we always have to wait for the good stuff) she’ll be coming around this way march! don’t worry you’ll be hearing plenty more about ms. winehouse here on popbytes… ESSENTIAL TRACKS: tears dry on their own, rehab, back to black PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † AMY WINEHOUSE – REHAB – HOT CHIP REMIX! † AMY WINEHOUSE – YOU KNOW I’M NO GOOD – VIDEO † AMY WINEHOUSE’S REHAB LILY ALLEN [alright, still] oh lily! i totally fell head over heels in love with her – it was one of those albums that i played once and was immediately hooked – the album gets a proper US release january 30th! i was thrilled when i got to catch her first LA concert a few months back – i worked my ass to get into that show – and it was totally worth it! hopefully she’ll be able to keep things together as she starts to work on her second album which is always a tricky thing! finally let’s keep our fingers crossed for ms. allen – who lost her dog recently – i hope maggie may finds her way back to lily! ESSENTIAL TRACKS: littlest things, alfie, LDN PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † LILY ALLEN DOES JIMMY KIMMEL! † AIR VS LILY ALLEN MASHUP – WOO HOO! † LILY ALLEN – LITTLEST THINGS – VIDEO † LILY ALLEN WAS AWESOME AT HER LA SHOW! † EVEN MY DOG WANTS TO SEE LILY ALLEN! † LILY ALLEN – LDN – VIDEO! † YOU MUST LISTEN TO LILY ALLEN! NELLY FURTADO [loose] a solid third release from ms. furtado – and many thanks to producer timbaland who for sure helped make this album hot – from beginning to end – it just flows! i’m a big fan of albums that sound ‘complete’ rather than just a bunch of songs tossed together – an album must feel whole from start to finish and this is a fine example of one that does! ESSENTIAL TRACKS: promiscuous, all good things (come to an end) PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † NELLY FURTADO @ THE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS † NELLY FURTADO – SAY IT RIGHT – VIDEO † NELLY FURTADO – ALL GOOD THINGS – VIDEO † NELLY FURTADO – NO HAY IGUAL – VIDEO † LISTEN AS NELLY FURTADO GETS AFRAID BASEMENT JAXX [crazy itch radio] i’ve always been a huge fan of basement jaxx and this album is one of the most eclectic of the year – groups that mash up a variety of styles and vibes but still manage to sound cohesive are winners in my book! plus it has a real ‘theatrical’ feel which i always enjoy – this (and all the other albums on this list) is a total recommend! ESSENTIAL TRACKS: hey u, lights go down, take me back to your house PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † BASEMENT JAXX – TAKE ME BACK TO YOUR HOUSE – VIDEO † BASEMENT JAXX – CRAZY ITCH RADIO † BASEMENT JAXX – HUSH BOY – VIDEO INDIGO GIRLS [despite our differences] this is the ninth studio release from two of my favorite gals ever – they’ve been making beautiful and soul stirring music since 1985 – i can barely express how i feel about amy & emily – this past year when i got to interview both of them – probably one of the coolest things that ever happened because of running popbytes! i love all their albums and this latest one fits right in amongst all the others! ESSENTIAL TRACKS: lay my head down, i believe in love, rock & roll heaven’s gate PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † POPBYTES INTERVIEWS THE INDIGO GIRLS! † MY INDIGO GIRLS SWING BY LOS ANGELES! † INDIGO GIRLS GO WEST COAST! † ROCK & ROLL HEAVEN’S GATE † INDIGO GIRLS – DESPITE OUR DIFFERENCES † GHOST (DEMO VERSION) JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE [futuresex/lovesounds] just like nelly furtado – mr. timberlake can also thank producer timbaland who helped to mount JT’s sophomore solo effort! he had been gone from the music scene for quite a while but he came back with a very relevant sound and managed to nab a spot on this list – i think everyone was holding their breath on this one but a huge sigh of relief was heard once justin proved that he could indeed bring sexy back! ESSENTIAL TRACKS: what goes around comes around, sexyback, my love PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – MY LOVE – VIDEO! † JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – FUTURESEX/LOVESOUNDS † JUSTIN’S ‘WHAT GOES AROUND…’ – FAN VIDEO! † JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – NEW ALBUM COVER! † JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – SEXYBACK VIDEO † JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – UK OR US? SCISSOR SISTERS [ta-dah] one of the coolest bands out there today – not to mention they’re all completely (filthy) gorgeous! i have crushes on both jake shears and babydaddy – this album was the follow-up to their hugely succesful debut self-titled album – this album has a different vibe but it still works – i must also mention my pal gillian who first told me about the band – and her birthday is on the 31st! go gillian – go gillian – it’s your birthday! this year was great for popbytes and SS – not only did i get to interview jake – i also got to meet the band and chat with them when they taped an appearance on ‘passions’! lastly i have to mention ‘making ladies’ which is a b-side from the album – it’s the best song – please do search around for it! ESSENTIAL TRACKS: land of a thousand words, she’s my man, kiss you off PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † SCISSOR SISTERS & PASSIONS + ME! † SCISSOR SISTERS – LAND OF A THOUSAND WORDS – VIDEO † POPBYTES INTERVIEWS JAKE SHEARS! † SCISSOR SISTERS ON DANCING W/ THE STARS! † JAKE SHEARS TALKS TO POPBYTES! † SCISSOR SISTERS GET REMIXED! † SCISSOR SISTERS VS DURAN DURAN † SCISSOR SISTERS @ FASHION ROCKS † SCISSOR SISTERS TA-DAH PROMO PICS † SCISSOR SISTERS – I DON’T FEEL LIKE DANCIN’ VIDEO BRAZILIAN GIRLS [talk to la bomb] this album was great when i first heard it but it wasn’t until i saw them play live this past halloween – it was one of the most incredible concerts i had ever been to! they took me on a journey – i unfortunately was by myself (and sober) but the music just took me over – i danced my ass off! it was one of those forget about everything moments (that i rarely have) my buddy victoria first told me about them – and she was all ‘dude – you need to see them live’ and hot damn she was so fucking right! i’m so bummed – they’ll be playing at irving plaza in NYC on new year’s eve – so to any of my east coast pals – if you have no plans as of yet you need to investigate snagging tickets to this show – it’d be the perfect way to ring in 2007! ESSENTIAL TRACKS: sexy asshole, all about us, jique, le territoire PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † BRAZILIAN GIRLS – JIQUE – VIDEO † BRAZILIAN GIRLS BLEW ME AWAY! † BRAZILIAN GIRLS’ JIQUE CHRISTINA AGUILERA [back to basics] ok i’ll admit when i first heard this double disc release from xtina – i was not impressed but it totally grew on me! it’s probably the most polished album of the year – her voice is impeccable – it has that whole thrown back vibe going on – i much prefer the first disc to the second one – but girlfriend really shined this year! i hope she’ll continue to grow as an artist – as long as nothing fucked up sidetracks her ass – i think she’ll have a very long career – who would have thought that ms. aguilera would land on top of the ‘teen queen’ pile? i’d still love to see her hanging with britney – even if they don’t become BFF ms. spears should take note of how lady christina does things… ESSENTIAL TRACKS: ain’t no other man, hurt, still dirrty, on our way PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † CHRISTINA AGUILERA GETS WAXED IN LONDON! † CHRISTINA AGUILERA – HURT – VIDEO! † CHRISTINA AGUILERA – BACK IN THE DAY REMIX † XTINA VS CURTIS MAYFIELD MASHUP! † AIN’T NO OTHER MAN JUNIOR VASQUEZ REMIX † CHRISTINA AGUILERA – BACK TO BASICS – LEAKED! † XTINA AND HER ‘AINT NO OTHER MAN’ GWEN STEFANI [the sweet escape] oh that ms. stefani is so damn sneaky! i really didn’t like this album when i first heard it but gosh it became like poison ivy around here – i couldn’t stop myself from putting it on once i got into the groove of it all – for being a quick tossed together album she managed to make it work! (and don’t forget she gave birth to adorable baby kingston) i’ve been torn inside for weeks whether to include this album in the top ten but the facts are that i’ve completely fallen in love with gwen’s sweet escape – some may find this whole outing annoying but i swear if you just give it a chance – i think you might start to feel the same way i do! (plus she’s the most fashionably cool person on this list) ESSENTIAL TRACKS: orange county girl, yummy, 4 in the morning PREVIOUSLY ON POPBYTES † I LIKE GWEN STEFANI’S ‘THE SWEET ESCAPE’ † GWEN STEFANI – WIND IT UP – VIDEO † GWEN STEFANI & HER ‘SWEET ESCAPE’ † NEW GWEN STEFANI – ‘WIND IT UP’ & LISTEN! † GWEN STEFANI CRASHES INTO BLUR