ALBUMS
1. Little Big Town - A Place To Land - 15
2. v/a - Motel Lovers: Southern Soul From the Chitlin' Circuit - 14
3. Trigger Renegade - Destroy Your Mind - 13
4. Flynnville Train - Flynnville Train - 12
5. Aly & AJ - Insomniatic - 11
6. Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift - 9
7. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - 8
8. Gore Gore Girls - Get The Gore - 7
9. The Sirens - More Is More - 6
10. Kid Rock - Rock n Roll Jesus - 5

TRACKS
1. Lil Mama - Lip Gloss
2. Avril Lavigne featuring Lil Mama - Girlfriend (Remix)
3. Tim McGraw - Suspicions
4. Mira Craig - Leo
5. Aly & AJ - Potential Breakup Song
6. Dragonette - I Get Around
7. Megan McCauley - Tap That
8. Lloyd featuring Lil Wayne - You
9. Toby Keith - High Maintenance Woman
10. Shop Boyz - Party Like A Rock Star

REISSUES
1. Charlie Rich - The Essential Charlie Rich
2. v/a - Goodbye Nashville Hello Camden Town: A Pub Rock Anthology
3. v/a - Dirty Laundry: The Soul of Black Country
4. v/a - Art of Field Recording: Volume 1
5. Culture - Two Sevens Clash: The 30th Anniversary Edition

COMMENTS
Top 10 EPs!
1. Jimmie Lee - Layin' Down The Law (Leeco EP)
2. The Fellow Americans - Search For Numb (Big Boom EP)
3 Taylor Swift - Sounds Of The Season (NBC/Big Machine EP)
4. Les Hatepinks - Tete Malade/Sick In The Head (TKO EP)
5. Count Bishops - Rollin' With The Count Bishops (Ace/Chiswick reissue EP '06)
6. Adrian And The Sickness - Adrian For President (adrianrocks.com EP '06)
7. The Hot Rollers - Unicornucopia (Flotation EP)
8. The Michael Ray Cain Reckoning - Aztec GTO And Other Boss Sounds (Del Ray EP)
9. DJ Blaqstarr - Supastarr EP (Mad Decent EP)
10. The Boils - The Orange And The Black: Hockey Anthems (TKO EP)

Album List Down To #150!

Ground Rule # 1: I didn't include any albums that I didn't actually get around to sufficiently hearing, including those I've got copies of but I didn't listen to enough to figure out how much I like them yet (Federation, Kim Richey, Dethklok) and those I never even got ahold of copies of partially because nobody sent me any and also partially because maybe they were Really Big Important News Stories and since I had an editing job in the high-powered world of music business journalism tracking down copies seemed like even more work than I already had even though in several cases the tracks I heard off them sounded really good and sorry if that sounds somewhat passive-aggressive but that's the way it goes (Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Hannah Montana, Rihanna, High School Musical 2, the Eagles, Kanye West, Radiohead.) And as for Lil Wayne, I totally love the guy, but sorry, I just can't keep up his deluge anymore.

Ground Rule # 2: I only included "reissues" below if I can subjectively argue that I listened to them the way I would have listened to "new" music, as opposed to the way I listen to say Keith Urban or Paula Abdul or Youngbloodz or Dr. Hook greatest hits records (which were all more or less useful) or even more archival stuff that I've probably mostly heard before except with songs in a different order than they were this year.

So okay, here goes. Market share for unarguably "country" releases within my top 150 is 25.33%, slightly edging out unarguably "metal" releases' 24.67% (though for fairness' sake, both of those numbers discount country-verging rock by people like Kid Rock, Black Angel, John Waite, and Mississippi Mudsharks, and both also exclude punk/glam/garage-leaning titles by people like the Sirens, the Eat, Black Lips, and Crash Street Kids). Market share for albums released on non-major-distributed indie labels (thus, disqualifying imprints like Big Machine, Show Dog, Wind-Up, Shout! Factory, and Blue Note) is a whopping 69.33%—104 albums out of 150. Only a baker's dozen or so of those, though, would be likely to pass muster as Pitchfork-approved "indie rock" (though big-label releases by Lily Allen, M.I.A., Simian Mobile Disco, the Hives, White Stripes, and Modest Mouse probably would, oddly enough), which may well mean I am properly supporting alternative entrepreneurs in the age of cut-throat mega-merger post-capitalism without kowtowing to any widely marketable bohemian subculture per se'. For eight of the albums below, the only "label" I could come up with was a band website, and for probably at least another ten or so, I have serious doubts that any other artists record for the band's label. So who knows—maybe I'm more indie than you are.

Also, I should add the caveat that I will totally disagree with this list five minutes after I send it, and also that I probably spelled some stuff wrong—for instance I just noticed I'd been calling the Modest Mouse CD We Were Dead Before The Sink Even Sank, which would have been a better title but I fixed it anyway:

11. Jordan Pruitt - No Ordinary Girl (Hollywood)
12. Lily Allen - Alright, Still... (Capitol)
13. Bitches Sin - Essential Sins (Metal Nation)
14. Kosmos - Kosmos (The End)
15. (Various) - Now Party Hits! (Capitol)
16. Necrodemon - Ice Fields Of Hyperion (Open Grave)
17. Jack Ingram - This Is It (Big Machine)
18. (Various) - Hyphy Hitz (TVT)
19. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta! (Side One Dummy)
20. (Various) - The Roots Of Chica: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru (Barbes)
21. The Bellamy Brothers - Jesus Is Coming (Curb)
22. The Rich & Famous - Like A Superstar (therichandfamous.net '06)
23. Blake Shelton - Pure B.S, (Warner Bros)
24. The Eat - It's Not The Eat, It's The Humidity (Alternative Tentacles)
25. Toby Keith — Big Dog Daddy (Show Dog)
26. (Various) - Hot Rod: Music From the Motion Picture (Sony Legacy)
27. The Birthday Massacre - Walking With Strangers (Metropolis)
28. (Various) - Schultze Gets The Blues (Normal/Filmkombinat)
29. Brooks & Dunn - Cowboy Town (Arista Nashville)
30. M.I.A. - Kala (Interscope)
31. Black Angel - O'California (Outsiders Record Company)
32. Megan McCauley - Better Than Blood (Wind-Up)
33. Dirty Sound System - Dirty Space Disco (Tigersushi)
34. Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release (Interscope)
35. Black Angel - O'SantaBarbara (Outsiders Record Company)
36. (Various) - TKO Records 2007 Free Sampler (TKO)
37. George Brigman - Rags In Skull (Bona Fide)
38. Clorox Girls - J'Aime Les Filles (BYO)
39. Bomshel - Bomshel (Curb unreleased promo)
40. Witchcraft - The Alchemist (Rise Above)
41. Cocktail Slippers - Mastermind (Wicked Cool)
42. Cole Deggs & The Lonesome - Cole Deggs & The Lonesome (Columbia)
43. Gentleman's Pistols - Gentleman's Pistols (Candlelight)
44. Joetown - Rock 'N' Roll Man (joetown.com)
45. American Dog - Hard (Colonial Canine)
46. Shooter Jennings - The Wolf (Universal Records South)
47. Dungeons And Drag Queens - Meat N' Potatoes (myspace.com/ddqrocks)
48. Ted Nugent - Love Grenade (Eagle Rock Entertainement)
49. Pumice - Pebbles (Soft Abuse)
50. Robert James - Until Now (Kingsway/Angry Lion)
51. John Anderson - Easy Money (Warner Bros./Raybaw)
52. The Flairs - Shut Up And Drive (Pacific Music '06)
53. Gretchen Wilson - One Of The Boys (Epic)
54. Edible Red - Welcome To My Bad Behavior (Select)
55. John Waite - Downtown—Journey Of A Heart (No Brakes/Rounder)
56. Travis Tritt - The Storm (Category 5)
57. Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior (Shout! Factory)
58. Mustasch - Latest Version Of The Truth (Regain)
59. Divining Rods - Love Letter To The Dead (Divining Rods '06)
60. Gary Allan - Living Hard (MCA Nashville)
61. Sarah Johns - Big Love In A Small Town (BNA)
62. Funny Money - Stick It! (Fizz Donkey)
63. Joy Of Cooking - Back To Your Heart (terrygarthwaite.com)
64. (Various) - The Kings Of Electro Compiled And Mixed By Playgroup And Alter Ego (Rapster)
65. Hearse - In These Veins (Candlelight)
66. Black Lips — Good Bad Not Evil (Vice)
67. A.R.E. Weapons - Modern Mayhem (Defend Music Inc.)
68. Halfway To Hazard - Halfway To Hazard (Stylesonic/Mercury)
69. The Hives - The Black And White Album (A&M/Octone)
70. Big Al Downing - XM Satellite Radio Live (Crazy Music)
71. Axel Rudi Pell - Diamonds Unlocked (SPV)
72. Glenn Stewart - Glenn Stewart (Floodzone Ent. Group)
73. Laidlaw - The Foam Box Sessions (Yessir)
74. Benny Reid - Findings (Concord Jazz)
75. Warfare - Metal Anarchy: Expanded Edition (Castle)
76. Big & Rich - Between Raising Hell And Amazing Grace (Warner Bros,)
77. Brad Paisley - 5th Gear (Arista Nashville)
78. Buck 65 - Situation (Strange Famous)
79. Rissi Palmer - Rissi Palmer (1720 Entertainment)
80. Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride (Arista)
81. The Shop Boyz - Rock Star Mentality (Universal Motown)
82. Tim McGraw - Let It Go (Curb)
83. Supagroup - Fire For Hire (Foodchain/MRV)
84. Stacie Collins - The Lucky Spot (Rev)
85. Tiger Army - Music From Regions Beyond (Hellcat)
86. Baroness - The Red Album (Relapse)
87. David Torn - Prezens (ECM)
88. Crash Street Kids - Chemical Dogs (Hot City Recording Company)
89. (Various) - The Kings Of Reggae Compiled By David Rodigan and Sting International (BBE/Rapster)
90. The White Stripes - Icky Thump (Third Man/Warner Bros.)
91. The Flying Eyes - The Flying Eyes (myspace.com/theflyingeyesmd '06)
92. Lantana - Unbridled (BGM)
93. Sunny Sweeney - Heartbreaker's Hall Of Fame (Big Machine)
94. Pete Berwick - Ain't No Train Outta Nashville (Shotgun)
95. October File - Holy Armour From The Jaws Of God (Candlelight)
96. Devil Doll - The Return of Eve (Lucky Bluebird)
97. Kekal - The Habit Of Fire (Open Grave)
98. Kenny Chesney - Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (BNA/Sony BMG Nashville)
99. Horna - Satahuuto (Moribund)
100. Burning Saviours - Nymphs & Weavers (Transubstans)
101. Korpiklaani - Tervaskanto (Napalm)
102. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (Epic)
103. Maghrebika With Bill Laswell - Neftakhir (Barbarity)
104. Manes - How The World Came To An End (Candlelight)
105. The Greencards - Viridian (Dualtone)
106. Lengsel - The Kiss The Hope (Whirlwind)
107. Chingo Bling - They Can't Deport Us All (Big Chile/Asylum)
108. The Cosmosonics - J.u.n.k. Rock...For Lover$! (Riffhaus)
109. Cruachan - The Morrigan's Call (Candlelight)
110. DHG/Dodheimsgard - Supervillain Outlast (Moonfog/The End)
111. Pretty Donkey Girl - Holly Dolly (Capitol)
112. The Hidden Hand - The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote (Southern Lord)
113. Minsk - The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment (Relapse)
114. Ron Carter - Dear Miles (Blue Note)
115. The Vision Bleak - The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey (Napalm)
116. Altered State - Get Real (Altered State)
117. Moonsorrow - V: Havitetty (Unruly Sounds)
118. Sarah Borges And The Broken Singles - Diamonds In The Dark (Sugar Hill)
119. Pam Tillis - Rhinestoned (Stellar Cat)
120. Dirty Sweet - Of Mavericks & Beggars (Seedling)
121. Mississippi Mudsharks - Train Rolls On (Double Barrel)
122. Labretta Suede And the Motel 6 - Not Food Hungry (myspace.com/labrettasuedeandthemotelsix)
123. Rich Boy - Rich Boy (Zone 4/Interscope)
124. Daniel Lee Martin - On My Way To You (Chin Music)
125. Einsturzende Neubauten - Alles Weideroffen (Potomak)
126. Tesla - Real to Reel (Tesla Recordings)
127. Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Vice)
128. Svartsot - Ravnenes Saga (Napalm)
129. (Various) - Jump In! (Walt Disney)
130. Van Zant - My Kind Of Country (Columbia)
131. Looker - Born Too Late (lookernyc.com)
132. Alvin Lee — Saguitar (Rainman)
133. The Greatest Hits - For A Good Time, Call... (Desert Island)
134. Renegade Rail - Ragged (renegaderail.com)
135. Bobby Bowens - The Rump Shakers (T.S.)
136. Alchemist - Tripsis (Relapse)
137. Sear Bliss - The Arcane Odyssey (Candlelight)
138. Necronoclast - The Plague (Moribund)
139. Red Stick Ramblers - Made In The Shade (Sugar Hill)
140. Crime Mob - Hated On Mostly (Crunk Incorporated/G's Up/Reprise)
141. Rwake - Voices Of Omens (Relapse)
142. Group Doueh - Guitar Music From the Western Sahara (Sublime Frequencies)
143. Blue Cheer - What Doesn't Kill You... (Rainman)
144. Monotract - Trueno Oscuro (Load)
145. Finntroll - Ur Jordens Djup (Century Media)
146. The Aggrolites - Reggae Hit L.A. (Hellcat)
147. Little Rachel With The Lazy Jumpers - There's A New Miss Rhythm In Town (El Toro '06)
148. Bonde Do Role - With Lasers (Domino)
149. Boyz Noize - Oi Oi Oi (Last Gang/Turbo)
150. Zs - Arms (Planaria)