Well, everybody does it, and I’m gonna be no exception: it’s year-end list time.

I’ve got three I’ll go to bat for this year:

1. Destroyer - Destroyer’s Rubies
2. The Battles - Tomorrow’s Eager Hands
3. Frightened Rabbit - Sings The Greys

#1: Duh. Like you didn’t see that coming. Yeah, suddenly, everyone loves Destroyer, and that’s fine. Destroyer’s Rubies is a fine album.

#2a: Out of nowhere, I was hit by this disc by the band that’s not that free-form-jazz-or-whatever-instrumental-band-on-Dim Mak. Yes, *this* Battles is so intermingled with the Destroyer ethos that everyone will just roll their eyes at me, but I don’t give a good god damn. I didn’t full-on embrace this disc at first, but damned if it didn’t grow on me somethin’ fierce over the course of the year. A new album, recorded with JC/DC, is due next year, and I’m stoked.

#2b: A coupla guys from Glasgow pulled this one together, and it blew me away. I tried my best to spread the word, but it just didn’t seem to take… I even offered several times to release the disc stateside via CBR. But whatevs. Chances are, you haven’t heard this disc. Chances are, no one you know has this disc. Too fucking bad for you, because it’s fantastic, and original, and, uh, fantastic.

HmmmNow! Interesting (to myself at least) to note how, with each passing year since catbirdseat’s inception, the number of annual catbird album recommendations has decreased:

2002: 47 albums
2003: 44 albums
2004: 35 albums
2005: 30 albums
2006: 19 albums

At this rate, given another few years, I won’t like *anything*.

But seriously, though, this has as much to do with me becoming much more selective, crotchety and cranky as time passes as it does with anything else (for real… there’s some crap on those older lists I doubt I’d go near today, but no apologies), but anyway, really now: this was a pretty shit year for music. And we can blame it on the blogs, on the O.C., on the labels, whatever; but in the end, the fact remains: there was a distinct lack of *really* good stuff in 2006*.

(*And yes, I HAVE heard ________. And ______. And yes, even _______.)