The following are the top 100 songs of 2006, as dictated by Rolling Stone. I've included my quick thoughts after hearing these songs... some for just the first time.
This blog post was down for awhile, but now it's back... and this time with hyperlinks! (you're welcome).100"Skinny Boy" Amy Millan
I had not heard of Amy Millan before. Rolling Stone was right when they mentioned she sounds similar to Mazzy Star (which isn't a bad thing). Overall, on a first listen… I don't mind it (B-).
99"Baby Let's Have a Baby Before Bush Do Somethin' Crazy" The Coup with Silk E
I have not heard of "The Coup" or "Silk E" before… and I have a feeling I might be saying this about quite a few artists on this list. Definitely an interesting title… not sure how that will hold up for him/her in the future. I think more soul should be played on the radio, and I detect a hint of vintage Gladys Night here (B-). The Coup's Myspace
98"Take Control" Amerie
Sweet! An artist I've heard of… and we're only three songs in! Although not having as much "jelly" as Beyonce, she is a solid R&B performer. This song though, is mediocre. (C) Amerie's Myspace
97"Automatic Lover" Teddybears
I don't get it… techno with repeating lyrics does not equal coolness. This might be a great tune for some, but I doubt it (especially not for a top 100 list). (D-) Teddybear's Myspace --> --> -->[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
96"If I Was in El Dorado" Oakley Hall
A mixture of 70's rock that once in awhile combines with 00's rock. The fiddle really gives the song some "twang" which helps(?) this seven and a half minute jam. Their name made me think of a great 80's duo… but this song quickly gets you away from that thought. (C) Oakley Hall's Myspace
95"Don't Feel Right" The Roots
I've been a fan of The Roots for a few years now (so was whoever stole my Roots CD too!). The beat of this song (thanks to ?uestlove) is awesome. More people should listen to this song/group. (A-). The Roots' Myspace
94"Stuntin' Like My Daddy" Lil' Wayne and Birdman
Cash Money ya'll! It's tough to not like a song by the same crew that brought us "Still Fly". A solid effort, but nothing ground breaking (C+). Lil Wayne's Myspace
93"Saving Grace" Tom Petty
Tom Petty is back, and sounds very good. This song really makes me want to go driving with no real destination in mind. (A-) Tom Petty's Myspace
92"I'm Shipping Up to Boston" Dropkick Murphys
Irish/Boston punk done well. It is hard to confuse the Murphys with a lot of other bands. A punk song stew with a liberal amount of accordion and a dash of pan flute (maybe?). (B-) Dropkick Murphys' Myspace
91"Buttons" The Pussycat Dolls
A song, and group, that has been everywhere during 2006. Eye-candy for sure, but do any of the other "Dolls" have the chops to be lead vocalist? The addition of Snoop was a great touch and fit in the song pretty well. (B) Pussycat Dolls' Myspace
90"Britney's Silver Can" James Kochalka Superstar
A f'ing stupid song about Britney Spears from some dude that isn't nearly as funny as he thinks. Having "Justin Timberlake" repeated about 92 times at the end of the song… was that ever funny when they were recording this? This is about as funny as a game of bloody knuckles. (F) Myspace that doesn't have this song
89"Show Me" John Legend
The whole "Once Again" album is solid, so it's hard for me to pick one (or two) to make the list. "Show Me" is a solid choice though. (B+) John Legend Myspace
88"The Greatest" Cat Power
A quiet song that isn't overpowered by vocals or backing music. Her voice is a bit haunting (I don't want to bring Mazzy Star up again this early!), but the result is fantastic. (B+) Cat Power's Myspace
87 "U +Ur Hand" Pink
Some of Pink's stuff I don't mind ("Family Portrait" ), while some is hard to stomach ("Stupid Girls")… this is somewhere in between. (C) Pink's Myspace
86 "The Saints are Coming" Green Day and U2
A good song for a good cause. Billie Joe Armstrong and Bono make an interesting duo/couple though. (B-) U2's myspace
85 "Well Thought Out Twinkles" Silversun Pickups
I've been hearing a lot about this band lately, with many comparisons to Smashing Pumpkins. The music sounds somewhat similar, but the lead singer doesn't quite match Billy Corgan. I am digging this song though, mainly because it rocks but doesn't sound like every other rock song. Also check out their song "Lazy Eye" (B) Silversun Pickups' Myspace
84 "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" Panic! At the Disco A lot of the PATD songs sound similar (besides having extremely long titles), which makes the lyric "swear we'll shake it up, if you swear to listen" from this song a bit of a false promise. The music is okay, but losing ground with me pretty quickly. (C+) PATD's myspace
83 "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint
Has a New Orleans-flare to it, but doesn't really grab me. It's not a good sign when the trombone is the best part of the song. (C-) Elvis Costello's myspace
82 "London Bridge" Fergie
A rather annoying song… that's supposedly referencing a sexual act. I say, "Fergie, stick with the Dirty Sanchez… if it's good enough for Screech, it's good enough for Fergie Ferg." (C-) You probably already have this one bookmarked
81 "Temperature" Sean Paul
A solid summer hit by Sean Paul. I can tolerate this song in small doses… but know that other people think a lot higher of this song than me. (B-) Sean Paul's myspace
80 "I'm Free" Pimp C
Hey! Tom Petty makes another appearance in the top 100… this time it's for a "Free Fallin" sample. I'm not sure who Pimp C is, but if it wasn't for the Petty sample I'm not sure if the song would be as nearly hyped. (C) Pimp C of UGK's myspace
79 "It's Going Down" Yung Joc with Nitti
Not the most elaborate rap song of the year, but Yung Joc did enough for it to become a huge dance club hit. It's good to see he mixed it up by losing the "o" in "Young" to differentiate him from the rest of the "Young's". (C+) Yung Joc's myspace (over 500K friends!)
78 "That's How I Got To Memphis" Solomon Burke
Not sure how this one made it on the top 100 list… unless it was supposed to be on the top 100 of 1934. I'm also not sure who this guy is, but he sounds old (aka- the old dude in church that sings way too loud, but thinks he's hitting all the notes). (D)
77 "Trapped in the Drive-Thru" "Weird Al" Yankovic
I'll start off by mentioning when I was a little kid, my parents bought me most of the Weird Al tapes… probably says something about who I am today! This is an extremely funny (& long) parody of R. Kelly's "Trapped in a Closet". Definitely worth a listen/laugh (especially if you hate the R. Kelly opus). (A- (for comedic value)). Al's page, minus this song
76 "Fire Department" Be Your Own Pet
Another band that has been getting a lot of the "indie-buzz" lately. The punk-ish song holds up well, at least after one listen anyway... I might have to look a little more into "Be Your Own Pet" in 2007. Be Your Own Pet's page
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The first 25 took me a while and the rest might take a little longer... while I've heard of more songs in the upcoming rankings, I'll have to do more hunting for songs I haven't heard of before. Unfortunately, as you can tell if you clicked on some of the links... not all of the songs listed are on that group's website/myspace/etc.
The reviews are probably biased a little bit by what I particularly like to listen to... but with a pretty wide variance in musical genres, hopefully it won't be too skewed.
Let me know what your thoughts are... agree, disagree, etc.