No Depression Board Best Albums of 2006

Any album given a higher numeric rating on this list than titles with
the same number of points is due to that title receiving more votes.
(Point totals and number of votes are given after album titles.)
Otherwise, titles receiving the same number of points are shown
alphabetically by artist.

No Depression Board Best Albums of 2007, Version 4.0

1. Bob Dylan / Modern Times 144 14
2. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood 103 9
3. Bruce Springsteen / We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions 100 8
4. Pernice Brothers - Live A Little 85 8
5. Los Lobos -- The Town & the City 67 7
6. Drive-By Truckers / A Blessing And A Curse 65 7
7. Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America 60 7
8. Josh Ritter – The Animal Years 60 5
9. Minus 5 - Minus 5 (The Gun Album) 59 6
10. M.Ward Post-War 59 5
11. Calexico - Garden Ruin 58 6
12. Rosanne Cash Black Cadillac 55 6
13. Bottle Rockets / Zoysia 53 5
14. Patty Hurst Shifter Too Crowded on the Losing End 52 5
Twilight Singers - Powder Burns 52 5
16. Decemberists—The Crane Wife 50 5
17. Dixie Chicks: Taking The Long Way 50 3
18. Belle & Sebastien - The Life Pursuit 49 5
19. Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3 - Ole! Tarantula 39 4
20. Drams - Jubilee Drive 38 5
21. Old Crow Medicine Show "Big Iron World" 36 3
22. Ben Kweller s/t 35 3
Howe Gelb-Sno Angel 35 3
Lucero - Rebels Rogues & Sworn Brothers 35 3
25. Todd Snider / The devil you know 34 3
26. Gob Iron - Death Songs For the Living 32 3
27. Whigs - Give 'Em All A Big Fat Lip 30 4
28. Cat Power, The Greatest 30 3
Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers 30 3
Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 -- …tick…tick…tick 30 3
Yo La Tengo / I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass 30 3
32. Beatles / Love 30 2
Killers / Sam’s Town 30 2
34. Black Rebel Motocycle Club-Howl-30 pts. 30 1
Elizabeth Mitchell, You Are My Little Bird 30 1
36. Bobby Bare, Jr.'s Young Criminals' Starvation League / The Longest Meow 29 3
Tom Petty – Highway Companion 29 3
38. Jeffrey Foucault -- Ghost Repeater 27 2
Tommy Keene - Crashing the Ether 27 2
40. Built to Spill - You In Reverse 25 3
Centro-matic: Fort Recovery 25 3
Pete Yorn – Nightcrawler 25 3
43. Alejandro Escovedo / The boxing mirror 25 2
Band of Horses—Everything All The Time 25 2
Candi Staton--His Hands 25 2
Honeydogs, Amygdala 25 2
Willie Nile--Streets of New York 25 2
48. Anders Parker - self-titled 24 3
Johnny Cash: American V - A Hundred Highways 24 3
Willie Nelson "You Don't Know Me- Songs of Cindy Walker" 24 3
51. Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang - DISLOCATION BLUES 23 2
52. Lemonheads - The Lemonheads 22 3
53. Portastatic - Be Still Please 22 2
Robert Pollard - From a Compound Eye 22 2
Beck, The Information 21 2
55. Jon Dee Graham / Full 20 3
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs / Under the Covers, Vol. 1 20 3
57. Carrie Rodriguez - 7 Angels On A Bicycle 20 2
Deadstring Brothers: Starving Winter Report 20 2
Elf Power - Back to the Web 20 2
Freedy Johnston-Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop 20 2
Golden Smog, Another Fine Day 20 2
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins Rabbit Fur Coat 20 2
Kris Kristofferson-This Old Road-10 pts. 20 2
Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris, All The Roadrunning 20 2
Nellie McKay / Pretty Little Head 20 2
Tim Easton - Ammunition 20 2
Tony Gilkyson / Goodbye Guitar 20 2
Tres Chicas – Bloom, Red & The Ordinary Girl 20 2
Will Kimbrough / Americanitis 20 2
71. Rob Laufer - The Iron Age 20 1
72. Solomon Burke / Nashville 18 2
Tom Waits / Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards 18 2
74. Dion--Bronx in Blue 17 2
75. Andy Fairweather Low--Sweet Soulful Music 17 1
Brakes: The Beatific Visions 17 1
77. Guster – Ganging Up On The Sun 16 2
Radio Birdman – Zeno Beach 16 2
Shack - ON THE CORNER OF MILES AND GIL 16 2
80. J.B. Beverly and the Wayward Drifters "Dark Bar and A Juke Box" 16 1
Tim O'Reagan / Same 16 1
82. Chris Knight / Enough Rope 15 2
Cory Branan: 12 Songs 15 2
Dan Bern - Breathe 15 2
Donald Fagen – Morph the Cat 15 2
Imaad Wasif-same 15 2
Mastodon - Blood Mountain 15 2
Pearl Jam "Pearl Jam" 15 2
Ray Davies - Other People's Lives 15 2
Scott Miller and Commonwealth - Citation 15 2
91. Andra Suchy - Patchwork Stories 15 1
Darrell Scott- The invisible man 15 1
David Childers & the Modern Don Juans / Jailhouse Religion 15 1
East River Pipe - WHAT ARE YOU ON? 15 1
Finn's Motel - Escape Velocity 15 1
National Flower - Farewell Michael Meanwhile 15 1
Sonic Youth—"Rather Ripped" 15 1
Stills-Without Feathers-15 15 1
You Am I: Convicts 15 1
100. Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds 14 2
101. Big Sandy and his Flyright Boys "Turntable Matinee" 14 1
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country 14 1
Keene Brothers - Blues and Boogie Shoes 14 1
104. Beth Orton - COMFORT OF STRANGERS 12 1
George Soule--Take A Ride 12 1
Wayne Hancock "Tulsa" 12 1
107. Jake Hooker & the Outsiders "Faded Lights" 11 1
Regina Spektor - BEGIN TO HOPE 11 1
109. Yayhoos -- Put the Hammer Down 10 2
110. Beirut / Gulag Orkestar 10 1
Black Keys - Magic Potion 10 1
Brandi Carlile, s/t 10 1
Bruce Robison, Eleven Stories (Sustain) 10 1
Cheap Trick / Rockford 10 1
Citizen Cope, Every Waking Moment 10 1
Cracker - Greenland 10 1
crooked jades-worlds on fire 10 1
Dale Watson, Whiskey Or God 10 1
Danielle Howle, Thank You, Mark 10 1
Danielson—Ships 10 1
David Mead-Tangerine 10 1
Eels: with strings Live at Town Hall 10 1
Eighteenth Day Of May-same 10 1
fernando-enter to exit 10 1
Fiery Furnaces / Bitter Tea 10 1
Gomez, How We Operate 10 1
Gourds "Heavy Ornamentals" 10 1
Guy Clark "Workbench Songs" 10 1
hammel on trial-songs for parents who enjoy drugs 10 1
Hank III Straight To Hell 10 1
J.D. Crowe & the New South / Lefty's Old Guitar 10 1
James Hunter, People Gonna Talk 10 1
Jessi Colter / Out Of The Ashes 10 1
Jim Lauderdale, "Bluegrass" 10 1
Joanna Newsom-Ys-10 pts. 10 1
John Legend, Once Again 10 1
Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy, Adieu False Heart 10 1
Lloyd Cole / Anti-Depressant 10 1
Margot & The Nuclear So & So's - The Dust of Retreat 10 1
merrie amsterburg-clementine and other stories 10 1
Michael Cleveland - "Let 'er Go Boys!" 10 1
Michelle Anthony / Frozenstarpalace 10 1
Mudhoney - Under A Billion Suns 10 1
Nassau - Machines To Paradise 10 1
Neil Young Living With War 10 1
P.F. Sloan-Sailover 10 1
Paul Burch / East To West 10 1
Radney Foster - The World We Live In 10 1
Ray Wylie Hubbard / Snake Farm 10 1
Rough Shop – Far Past The Outskirts 10 1
Sadies - "Live Vol. 1" 10 1
Shawn Colvin-These Four Walls-10 pts. 10 1
Silversun Pickups – Carnavas 10 1
Startlight Mints Drowaton 10 1
Strokes—First Impressions of Earth 10 1
sun kil moon-tiny cities 10 1
T-Bone Burnett, "True False Identity" 10 1
Tom Russell: Love and Fear 10 1
Tom Yorke Eraser 10 1
Tripwires – demo songs on MySpace 10 1
Various Artists / Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, & Chanteys by Various Artists 10 1
various artists-harry smith project 10 1
Village Green-- Feeling The Fall (spinART) 10 1
Warren Zanes -- People That I'm Wrong For (Dualtone) 10 1
West Valley Highway - "Marysville" 10 1
Whipsaws: 10 Day Bender 10 1
Who-Endless Wire-10 pts. 10 1
Yeah Yeah Yeahs—Show Your Bones 10 1
169. Bernard Fanning – Tea & Sympathy 9 1
Damien Rice – 9 9 1
Damnwells – Air Stereo 9 1
Exploding Hearts - Shattered 9 1
James Hand "The Truth Will Set You Free" 9 1
Richard Buckner - MEADOW 9 1
175. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies 8 1
Figgs: Follow Jean Through The Sea 8 1
Handsome Family, Last Days of Wonder 8 1
Minders - A Bright Guilty World 8 1
Rhett Miller - The Believer 8 1
Weary Boys "Jumpin Jolie" 8 1
181. Dirty Truckers: Washed & Ready 7 1
Irving - Death in the Garden Blood on the Flowers 7 1
Ray Lamontagne – `Til The Sun Turns Black 7 1
184. Cornell Hurd Band "Texas By Night" 6 1
Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo To Anywhere 6 1
Grant Lee Phillips - Nineteeneighties 6 1
James Luther Dickinson--Jungle Jim & The Voodoo Tiger 6 1
Jet – Shine On 6 1
189. Alison Moorer / Getting somewhere 5 1
Avett Brothers, The Gleam 5 1
Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint The river in reverse 5 1
Frank Black Fast Man/Raider Man 5 1
Fred Eaglesmith-Milly's Cafe-5 5 1
Hacienda Brothers--What's Wrong With Right 5 1
Isis - In the Absence of Truth 5 1
Lindsay Buckingham / Under the Skin 5 1
Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed 5 1
Malcolm Holcombe-Not Forgotten-5 pts. 5 1
Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood - Out Louder 5 1
Midlake—The Trials of Van Occupanther 5 1
Mogwai—Mr. Beast 5 1
My Morning Jacket / Okonokos 5 1
Randy Weeks / Sugarfinger 5 1
Sorta - Strange And Sad But True 5 1
Sunny Sweeney, Heartbreakers Hall Of Fame 5 1
Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine 5 1
TV on the Radio-Return to Cookie Mountain-5 pts 5 1
Vince Gill, These Days 5 1
209. Uncle Earl "She Waits For Night" 2 1

A late addition of four ballots gave the board 40 total ballots, one more than the last two years. The difference between number 1 and number 2 was more
this year (41 points) than last years 27 point margin of Son Volt over
New Pornographers, but less than 2004, where Drive By Truckers topped
Loretta Lynn by 57 points. Last year 203 albums received points, this
year 209 titles received points. There were 31 different albums
receiving first place votes (not counting the lists where all 10
albums received 10 points).

There was also a lot more consensus this year between our poll and the
ND critics list. Both lists had Bob Dylan and Neko Case at 1 and 2,
and both lists had Los Lobos and Springsteen in the top ten. Last
year's critics number one was Ry Cooder, which didn't receive any
votes here. The only top ten in common last year was Robbie Fulks.