The purpose of this feature is to give you an unbiased and diverse look at what the StonerRock.com Community thought were the best albums released in the year 2006. Well, as diverse as possible considering that we`re mostly die-hard heavy rock fans! We`ve provided a total of 4 lists to ensure as much diversity as possible. The first list was compiled from a poll (via our Top 26 Albums of 2006 contest) conducted among the general members of the StonerRock.com Community, the next list is from an individual StonerRock.com Community Member (the winner of the Top 26 Albums of 2006 contest), and the final 2 lists were compiled by the staff here at StonerRock.com. We hope these lists provide new fans with ideas for which albums they should pick up first and the die-hard fans with a list of great albums that they`re missing out on.
A great many of the albums listed below are available for purchase in our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store. Those that are available will be linked directly to that album in the store or you can just click here to go to the main page of the store. Sorry for the shameless self promotion but it`s the sales from the store that keep StonerRock.com online - if it weren`t for those sales we wouldn`t be able to bring you this feature. Please support StonerRock.com by doing some of your record shopping with us.
And now onto the feature, starting with the StonerRock.com Community Top 26 Albums of 2006.
StonerRock.com Community Top 26 Albums of 2006
Between January 1st and 31st, 2007 we ran a competition on StonerRock.com that our community members could enter by submitting their "Top 26 Albums of 2006" lists. This was run like a poll with very strict rules. There were hundreds of lists submitted this year and we painstakingly went through every list and compiled a master list and then alloted points based on a strict and fair criteria. We won`t reveal our system for determining the points because we don`t want people to cheat the next time we run a poll/competition like this but we will guarantee that this list is very accurate and gives you an almost perfect representation of what albums the StonerRock.com Community favors.
- Mastodon - Blood Mountain (4,528 pts)
- Melvins - A Senile Animal (4,375 pts)
- Om - Conference Of The Birds (3,675 pts)
- The Sword - Age of Winters (3,209 pts)
- Isis - In the Absence of Truth (3,007 pts)
- Witch - Self Titled (2,711 pts)
- SunnO)))/Boris - Altar (2,571 pts)
- Boris - Pink (2,299 pts)
- Colour Haze - Tempel (2,226 pts)
- Wolfmother - Self Titled (2,054 pts)
- Nebula - Apollo (1,967 pts)
- Tool - 10,000 Days (1,906 pts)
- Jesu - Silver (1,478 pts)
- Red Sparowes - Every Red Heart Shines Towards the Red Sun (1,433 pts)
- Eagles Of Death Metal - Death By Sexy (1,375 pts)
- Los Natas - El Hombre Montaña (1,273 pts)
- Black Cobra - Bestial (1,246 pts)
- Pentagram - First Daze Here Too (1,225 pts)
- Dixie Witch - Smoke & Mirrors (1,208 pts)
- Sasquatch - II (1,092 pts)
- Place of Skulls - The Black Is Never Far (1,069 pts)
- Slayer - Christ Illusion (1,055 pts)
- Scott Reeder - TunnelVision Brilliance (1,028 pts)
- Comets on Fire - Avatar (1,020 pts)
- Fu Manchu - Hung Out to Dry EP (1,009 pts)
- Lair of the Minotaur - The Ultimate Destroyer (985 pts)
Click here to view the Community Top Albums Master List - Contains all albums that were voted for by StonerRock.com Community Members in the "Top 26 Albums of 2006" contest....
Click here to view the Community Top 26 Albums of 2006 - Contains all of the individual entries submitted to our Top 26 Albums of 2006 contest!
Contest Winner`s Top Albums of 2006 List
In a random drawing Jess Waller (aka Vanman) of the USA was selected as the lucky winner of our "Top 26 Albums of 2006" contest. As part of his prize (which also included his choice of $260 worth of stuff from our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store) his "Top 26 Albums of 2006" list that he submitted is being included as part of this feature so here it is:
Jess Waller`s Top 26 Albums of 2006
(Top 25 Albums of 2005 Contest Winner)
Top honors of 2006, well it was a close one. Huge fan of Big Business, huge fan of (The) Melvins - didn`t want to spark up the "the" or not to "the" debate on that one, and also a huge fan of Mastodon. A Senile Animal was so damn good it didn`t leave the cd player for about three months. This made me dig up the old Melvins stuff, which to my suprise much has grown legs and walked off with other people... Mastodon didn`t let me down with the new release. These guys continue to amaze me. Witch took me for a suprise with their out of nowhere release. Bitchwax, Scissorfight, Dixie Witch and Nebula came through as expeced as well. Big Business has had me since I had seen them open for High on Fire - can`t wait for the 2007 release. Kylesa was dirty as usual. I probably will get some shit for this one...I was at first a nonbeliever of The Sword then I checked out a live show. Solid. The younger kids there - it was an all ages show - didn`t know what to do since it wasn`t spastic, those that understood seemed to be down with it. Kalas was a bonus since no High on Fire release was out in 2006 - weird to hear Pike "sing." Tom Waits - nuff said. Isis won me back with the new album since I had gotten tired of them up to that point. Another band I wasn`t all that keen on at first was Dragonforce. Seeing them live sparked the interest and captured my interest with the new release. Scott Reeder, the man can do no wrong. For an explanation of the live Melvins release, just see above same with Mastodon`s Call of the Mastodon. Eagles of Death Metal is a guilty pleasure because it is just silly but you can have a good time listening to it and the ladies dig it. Danava took a few listens but grew on me, I must see them live. Boris has been hit or miss for myself but Pink was on. I was glad to hear a new Maiden release that was worth more than a few spins but I do tend to get lost in it, still, glad they can still do what they do. Los Natas is good to turn to when I can`t pick anything right off the bat to listen to. El Hombre Montana was bueno. Yeah, I know, 36 Crazy Fists...give em a chance and see em live, they know how to have a good time. Christ Illusion from Slayer had its moments, just wish they would go back to Angel of Death type shit for an entire album. Tool didn`t all together bore me with 10,000 Days plus the album packaging was great. Closing out the top 26 of 2006 is Wolfmother. Sloppy live? Yeah. "Trendy" and "Hip"? Maybe. But the new album showed me that rock can be seemingly halfassed and people within the mainstream can still get into - and that is a glimmer of hope to me.
- Melvins - A Senile Animal
- Mastodon - Blood Mountain
- Witch - Self Titled
- The Atomic Bitchwax - Boxriff
- Scissorfight - Jaggernaut
- Dixie Witch - Smoke & Mirrors
- Nebula - Apollo
- Big Business - Tour EP II
- Kylesa - Time Will Fuse Its Worth
- The Sword - Age of Winters
- Kalas - Self Titled
- Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
- Isis - In the Absence of Truth
- Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage
- Scott Reeder - TunnelVision Brilliance
- Melvins - Houdini Live 2005
- Mastodon - Call of the Mastodon
- Eagles Of Death Metal - Death By Sexy
- Danava - Self Titled
- Boris - Pink
- Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death
- Los Natas - El Hombre Montaña
- 36 Crazy Fists - Rest Inside the Flames
- Slayer - Christ Illusion
- Tool - 10,000 Days
- Wolfmother - Self Titled
Arzgarth`s Top 26 Albums of 2006
(Arzgarth is the Editor-in-Chief of StonerRock.com)
As always, there weren`t many surprises in the top picks of the StonerRock.com community list, except that it turns out more people were listening to The Sword than bitching about them on the internet. Good for them. While Age of Winters didn`t retain its allure, it was still a strong debut and I`m looking forward to hearing what the band can come up with next.
What I liked about this list is what came after the Top 26 (and no, not because The Brought Low, my number one pick, eeked in at number 27). There`s a ton of good music out there, and judging by the votes, it`s being heard by you. In addition to the albums that made my list, bands like Valkyrie, Devil to Pay, Causa Sui, Reino Ermitaño, and La Ira de Dios had strong showings. There are some gems buried in the community list - even at the very end of it.
As for my list, as always, it represents what I keep listening to, long after the reviews are written (excluding reissues). Both The Brought Low and Harvey Milk took their time recording new material, but Right on Time and Special Wishes are worth the wait. Sasquatch proves that Europe (the continent, not the band) doesn`t have a lock on classic heavy rock. Cable`s Last Call is not only a fitting epitaph for a band that gave it their all, but also a testament to the spirit of this community – their live set was recorded at the benefit we held for Solace`s Kenny Lund. And Ogre? Shit, I`d move up to Portland, Maine just so I could see them more often
I could go on, but (a) you get the point and (b) this damn feature is late enough as it is.
- The Brought Low - Right on Time
- Harvey Milk - Special Wishes
- Sasquatch - II
- Cable - Last Call
- Ogre - Seven Hells
- Old Basford - Red Mist
- Colour Haze - Tempel
- Melvins - A Senile Animal
- Dixie Witch - Smoke & Mirrors
- Dragonauta - Cabra Macabra
- Village of Dead Roads - Dwelling in Doubt
- Monkey3 - 39 Laps
- Wooly Mammoth - The Temporary Nature
- Bible of the Devil - The Diabolical Procession
- Hypnos 69 - The Eclectic Measure
- Antler - Nothing that a Bullet Couldn`t Cure
- Asteroid/Blowback - Split CD
- Mammatus - Self Titled
- Husky - Circle the Wagons
- Intronaut - Void
- Isis - In the Absence of Truth
- Dexter Jones` Circus Orchestra - Morbyn Outtakes
- Motherboar - Raise the Death Toll
- The Black Angels - Passover
- The Atomic Bitchwax - Boxriff
- Nitroseed - Molt
Dan & Melanie`s Top 26 Albums of 2006
(aka El Danno & Hellmistress. Dan and Melanie are the owners of StonerRock.com - They are married business partners who spend 24 hours a day together so their lists are always combined into one)
So... We hear there`s been some sort of controversy about the legitimacy/falseness of half of the bands on our list this year. Oh well, as far as we`re concerned all of these albums kick-ass all over the place in every sense of the word ROCK.
- Mudhoney - Under a Billions Suns
- Om - Conference Of The Birds
- Eagles Of Death Metal - Death By Sexy
- Wolfmother - Self Titled
- Priestess – Hello Master
- The Atomic Bitchwax - Boxriff
- Baby Woodrose - Love Comes Down
- Hypnos 69 - The Eclectic Measure
- Various Artists - Sucking The 70`s II: Back In The Saddle Again
- The Sword - Age of Winters
- Colour Haze - Tempel
- Fu Manchu - Hung Out to Dry EP
- Golden Pig Electric Blues Band - Hitchhiking to Oblivion
- The Brought Low - Right on Time
- Monkey3 - 39 Laps
- Starchild - Born Into Eternity
- Nebula - Apollo
- Danava - Self Titled
- The Mos Generator - The Late Great Planet Earth
- Sasquatch - II
- Melvins - A Senile Animal
- Witch - Self Titled
- SunnO)))/Boris - Altar
- Isis - In the Absence of Truth
- Mastodon - Blood Mountain
- Los Natas - El Hombre Montaña
