Top 100 Songs of 2006

This list can’t be held to just 13. With all the great songs of 2006, I can’t really pare down. There were great singles from pop stars and alternative rockers alike; fantastic album tracks from folk-rockers, countrified ladies and dance producers. When it comes to a great song, I don’t discriminate. Here are my Top 100 songs of the big ’06:

100. “It Overtakes Me” (The Flaming Lips)

99. “Aftermath USA” (Drive-By Truckers)

98. “Gone Away From Me” (Ray LaMontagne)

97. “Slow Dance” (John Legend)

96. “Lived in Bars” (Cat Power)

95. “Say It Right” (Nelly Furtado)

94. “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” (The Flaming Lips)

93. “Ain’t No Reason” (Brett Dennen)

92. “Portland Is Leaving” (Rocky Votolato)

91. “Nausea” (Beck)

90. “Stadium Arcadium” (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

89. “Weed Party” (Band of Horses)

88. “Three More Days” (Ray LaMontagne)

87. “The Talk” (Pablo)

86. “Tell Me in the Morning” (Cold War Kids)

85. “Think I’m In Love” (Beck)

84. “The Captain” (Guster)

83. “Girlshapedlovedrug” (Gomez)

82. “On a Neck, On a Spit” (Grizzly Bear)

81. “Inside Job” (Pearl Jam)

80. “St. Augustine” (Band of Horses)

79. “Breathe” (Alexi Murdoch)

78. “St. Elsewhere” (Gnarls Barkley)

77. “Postcards From Italy” (Beirut)

76. “Engraved Invitation” (Ben Harper)

75. “Living Proof” (Cat Power)

74. “Life Wasted” (Pearl Jam)

73. “Munich” (Editors)

72. “Ooh La La” (Goldfrapp)

71. “Sundress” (Ben Kweller)

70. “Strange Apparition” (Beck)

69. “Smile” (Lily Allen)

68. “Pushover” (The Long Winters)

67. “Promiscuous” (Nelly Furtado)

66. “Also Ran” (French Kicks)

65. “O Valencia” (The Decemberists)

64. “Gone Beyond” (Akron/Family)

63. “Handle With Care” (Jenny Lewis featuring M. Ward, Bright Eyes and Ben Gibbard)

62. “Black Swan” (Thom Yorke)

61. “Bold as Love” (John Mayer)

60. “With a Gun” (The Minus Five)

59. “Who Cares?” (Gnarls Barkley)

58. “Maybe I’m Right” (Pete Yorn)

57. “Made You Feel Better” (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

56. “This is Not What We’ve Become” (Smoosh)

55. “Shadow of a Doubt” (Beth Orton)

54. “Hamoa Beach” (Gomez)

53. “So Much I” (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

52. “Harrowdown Hill” (Thom Yorke)

51. “Been Here Before” (Jeremy Enigk)

50. “Hospital Beds” (Cold War Kids)

49. “A Certain Romance” (Arctic Monkeys)

48. “Steady As She Goes” (The Raconteurs)

47. “Slower Than Gold” (Smoosh)

46. “Hold On, Hold On” (Neko Case)

45. “45” (The Saturday Knights)

44. “My Love” (Justin Timberlake)

43. “Penny on the Train Track” (Ben Kweller)
Ben says he’ll wait for “something good, for something great.” I think I found it.

42. “C’mon” (Guster)

41. “Chinese Translation” (M. Ward)
M. Ward & Neko on one track? Count me in.

40. “El Otro Lado” (Josh Rouse)
My favorite pop troubador went all Spanish this year, but he still writes quiet pop songs better than anyone

39. “Check On It” (Beyonce)

38. “The Crane Wife 1 & 2” (The Decemberists)

37. “Lazy Eye” (Silversun Pickups)
Their soft-to-loud song patterns get old after a while, but this Pickups track makes a great first impression.

36. “The Wait” (Built to Spill)
My favorite sadhappy ballad of the year from an unlikely source.

35. “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” (Johnny Cash)
Knowing Cash was fighting his way through every word only makes it that much more memorable. A powerhouse to the end.

34. “I Was a Lover” (TV on the Radio)

33. “Heaven” (John Legend)
Kanye knows how to find an old soul sample and make it fresh again. I don’t even like R&B anymore, but that’s because there aren’t more John Legends out there.

32. “Rectify” (Beth Orton)
Beth used to be the space-folk rocker Beck now is, but she moved toward acoustic grooves like this. I don’t mind.

31. “Could We” (Cat Power)

30. “Rise Up With Fists!” (Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins)

29. “Soldier Jane” (Beck)
It sounds like Sea Change with a hypnotic beat. When it ends I wonder where the time went.

28. “Ain’t No Other Man” (Christina Aguilera)
Forget Timberlake, Ms. Aguilera’s bringing sexy back. A classic old school/new school mash-up.

27. “Wait For You” (Nelly Furtado)
“Promiscuous” was good, “Maneater” was better, but my money’s on this deep album cut from my favorite female pop star.

26. “In the Sun (Acoustic Couch Rehearsal)” (Joseph Arthur & Michael Stipe)
The original is great, the other versions on this 5-song charity EP are great, but this one stands out for its simplicity.

25. “How We Operate” (Gomez)
Before Sasquatch, I loved this song for the dichotomy between chorus & refrain. Now it just reminds me of the impending hailstorm. But I love it anyway.

24. “The Moon” (Cat Power)

23. “Willie” (Cat Power)
The whole album is jammed with sultry, lilting ballads like this, so it was difficult to pick just one. Willie won me over with its sublte horns.

22. “Better Way” (Ben Harper)
The best song on the best Ben Harper album in many a year also features the most passionate vocals I have heard in ages.

21. “Throw It All Away” (Zero 7)
Who knew Zero 7 (with a little help from Sia) could do jaunty? An unexpected turn, but a welcome one all the same.

20. “Smiley Faces” (Gnarls Barkley)

19. “The Big Guns” (Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins)
This is a long way from Troop Beverly Hills. The star-studded “Handle with Care” has a kitcshy charm, but the harmonies here are undeniable.

18. “Cut the Cards” (Chris Whitley & the Bastard Club)

17. “Wall Street” (Pablo)
The sound of a sunrise—this was the revelation that spurred me to buy the rest of the album sound unheard, a rarity for me.

16. “The Crane Wife 3” (The Decemberists)
I didn’t like their first two albums all that much; a little too parlor-room for me. But after seeing Colin Meloy solo at People Talking & Singing perform this and a few others, I became a fan.

15. “Find a Way” (Smoosh)
I challenge you not to like this song. I don’t care if it has no lyrical content. The voice on that girl is infinitely more interesting than the majority of her elders.

14. “Star Witness” (Neko Case)
I’d like country music a lot more if it all sounded like this. An instant classic on par with “Deep Red Bells.”

13. “In the Morning” (Junior Boys)
The best dance pop song this year is the soundtrack for that nether world where night turns into morning. Not that I’d know anything about that.

12. “Incinerate” (Sonic Youth)
I always thought I didn’t like this band. Then they went and made “The Empty Page.” Now this. Maybe it’s time to reconsider.

11. “Mountain Side” (Chris Whitley & the Bastard Club)
A Flaming Lips cover of all things, this is a loud and raw send-off for the late great Whitley.

10. “Satellite” (Guster)
Dreamy soundscapes and a steady pulse make this an absolutely perfect song for driving home on a late summer evening.

9. “Just a Thought” (Gnarls Barkley)

8. “The Funeral” (Band of Horses)

7. “The Great Salt Lake” (Band of Horses)
“The Funeral” was my first love, but I eventually left it behind for this slow-grower. The video sealed it for me: late summer, friends & fun.

6. “The W.A.N.D.” (The Flaming Lips)
Possibly my favorite Lips song ever, and that’s saying something. Fuzzy, crunchy and great for snapping fingers.

5. “So Far We Are” (The French Kicks)
Probably the most “summery” of songs on this list—the opening riff alone makes me smile.

4. “Long Time” (The Roots)
Any song that combines nostalgia with a touch of melancholy is generally enough to win me over, but this adds a serious groove.

3. “Wolf Like Me” (TV on the Radio)
This song has no business being on this list. I never liked the band, the rest of Cookie Mountain is just okay, but man is this song a house afire.

2. “Unemployable” (Pearl Jam)
I got this pre-release date and haven’t stopped playing it since. My favorite PJ album cut since “Do the Evolution” in ‘98.

1. “Crazy” (Gnarls Barkley)
The most ubiquitous song of ‘06 was also the best. All those cover versions (Ray LaMontagne’s is fantastic) only made the original better.