#10: Phobia by Breaking Benjamin: Breaking Benjamin is another one of those bands that needed to follow up a big release by not having a letdown in 2006. We Are Not Alone did well in 2004 and 2005, with hit singles coming off the disc in So Cold and Sooner Or Later. In 2006, however, it was clear that these guys could create more than just one solid disc. Phobia was one of the year's best discs because it was so well put together. The Diary Of Jane tore up the rock charts and set a good pace for the disc as a whole. Tracks like Evil Angel and Dance With The Devil provided some great mid-tempo stuff, while Here We Are and You provided some solid slower songs. But it's the edgy, up-tempo stuff like The Diary Of Jane, Breath and Unknown Soldier that made this disc truly great. The lyrics were solid, the vocals were great, and the music was superb. All in all, Phobia was certainly not a letdown, and it definitely showed some great movement forward for Breaking Benjamin. It was easily one of the year's best discs.
#9: Don't Drink The Water by Playdough: Hip hop has been well-represented on this year's list, and Playdough continues that trend. Don't Drink The Water combines all the great elements of hip hop and makes for one incredible disc. Tracks like Up To Date and Dang! start the disc off in the right direction, while Emergency Broadcast makes for an excellent track to introduce people to Playdough. Meanwhile, the addition of Kevin Max's vocals on Sandal Sole create an intriguing combination, while the title track offers a pulse-pounding pace. Include the fact that all of these tracks are extremely well-written and Playdough does an incredible job as a rapper, and Don't Drink The Water clearly not only one of the year's top hip hop discs, but one of 2006's best discs in general.
#8: The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance: My Chemical Romance is one of those artists that gained mass popularity with their last CD. But, of course, with mass popularity comes a large minority of people who also hate the band or their music. With The Black Parade, the hope was certainly to keep old fans happy while drawing in a lot of new fans. But what came out with this disc was an incredibly different disc from anything My Chemical Romance (Or other bands like them, for that matter) have ever done. The title track and lead single, Welcome To The Black Parade, introduced listeners to an incredibly different sound from the band. The theatrical vibes of the disc were something that hadn't been done well since Queen was around years ago. The entire disc, in fact, had a very theatrical flavor to it. Tracks like Dead! and Mama played the theatrics up to perfection, while other songs like Disenchanted and Famous Last Words toned them down a bit and still created some incredible songs. Overall, The Black Parade had to be one of the year's best discs, and the complete transition from the typical "emo" sound to the new stylings truly made My Chemical Romance out as one of the year's best bands.
#7: Eyes Open by Snow Patrol: Everyone knew about Snow Patrol in 2006. Between Hands Open being released as a free Single of the Week on iTunes earlier this year and Chasing Cars getting huge recognition from it's time on Grey's Anatomy, the band simply became well-known. And yet, Eyes Open was much more than just a two-song disc with some other crap thrown in. The disc opens with the upbeat You're All I Have, which sets the disc on a solid path. After Hands Open and Chasing Cars, the disc travels into some more obscure sounds, yet still manages to hit with great songs. Tracks like It's Beginning To Get To Me, Open Your Eyes and Shut Your Eyes make the disc quite an intriguing blend of songs. Great lyrics, great music and solid vocals all come together on Eyes Open to create a superb disc from a band that blew up in 2006, out of the realm of obscurity and into the hands of the masses.
#6: Long Trip Alone by Dierks Bentley: Dierks Bentley has simply become one of the biggest names in country music. His first disc did relatively well, with hit singles What Was I Thinkin' and How Am I Doin' propelling sales. On his last disc, Modern Day Drifter, Dierks showed country fans that he has the ability to be around for many years to come. Tracks like Lot Of Leavin' Left To Do, Come A Little Closer and Settle For A Slowdown all made big impacts in the country music realm. And on Long Trip Alone, Dierks continued the trend. He manages to blend together tracks seamlessly. He can create tracks like Every Mile A Memory and That Don't Make It Easy Lovin' Me that have a more modern rock edge to them and mix them perfectly with more traditional tracks like Can't Live It Down and Band Of Brothers. Throw in an entire disc of great writing (Especially on the disc's highlights: Long Trip Alone, Soon As You Can and The Heaven I'm Headed To) to go with Dierks' vocal talents and the great band he works with, and Long Trip Alone is quite simply the year's best country disc.
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