We're soldiering on with the second installment of our local lineup of 2006 favorites. Today we've got picks from Geologist of Animal Collective, Kat of Hello Tokyo, DJ Kaveh Soroush, DJ Aaron Lee of Dirty Sugar, and Chris & Alexia of Soft Complex.

Geologist
J Dilla, Donuts
This album comes pretty close to perfect for me. I like hiphop but i'm not really into the lyrics so the beats have to do a lot for me. The tracks on this record are some of my favorites.

Ghostface, Fishscale
I think I prefer Supreme Clientele or Pretty Toney, but this record rules. One of the highlights of my year was opening for Ghostface due to a misscomunication between a promoter and a booking agent.

Terrestrial tones, Dead Drunk
I'm obviously biased because these are two of my best friends and I play with Dave, but this record rules. It's the perfect mixture of pop and pure sound.

Sachiko Kanenobu, Misora (reissue)
This record originally came out in the 70's and the liner notes are in japanese so I don't know much about her, but if i had to guess I'd say she was like a japanese joni mitchell.

Roger Rodier, Upon Velviteur (reissue)
There is a song on this record about waking up, having a cup of tea, and then wanting to mellow out and lie around all day. The fact that i like this record should make sense to anyone who knows me personally.

Hello Tokyo
Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton, Knives Don't Have Your Back
This is Emily Haines's solo album. Her voice is captivating, live she's intriguing a great big influence of mine. I felt that these songs were a lot more intimate and mellow than Metric.

Beck, The Information
He is fun to listen to. This album was a nice surprise. Almost forgot I liked him until a friend of mine re-introduced me to his new material. I love artists who dive into the weird and unusual, like Trent Reznor, Missy Elliot, No Doubt and Cake. In my opinion, he falls in that category.

Goldfrapp, Supernature
An amazing discovering. My 14 year old sister turned me on to them. I absolutely LOVE dance/electronic music and these guys do it well.

Cold War Kids, Robbers & Cowards
Amazing singer, amazing songs, amazing presence = amazing new band.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones
If I had to choose, I'd prefer Fever To Tell, maybe because it was a new discovering and I had not formed an opinion. The new album seemed toned down from their last. I still loved listening to it and you can still capture that energy you feel live in their recording, which is what I initially loved about them.

Kaveh Soroush
1. Mylo, Destroy Rock & Roll
Although released in the UK in 2004, Mylo's debut album didn't get an actual US release unitl February of this year. Although the music is heavily influenced by 80s synth-pop, there is much more at work here - an undergrad from Oxford, and a grad degree from UCLA in psychology, he's not out just to move your body, he likes to play with your head as well. Amazing record!

2. Junior Boys, So This Is Goodbye
Not quite as strong as their 2004 debut Last Exit, this Canadian duo still deliver on thier sophomore release. With new band member Matthew Didemus replacing synth genius Johnny Dark, that familiar synthetic landscape is present once again, filled with Jeremy Greenspan's vulnerable vocals, which still manage to haunt the listener well after the CD (or mp3) has gone silent. An album that's hard to categorize because of the wide range of musical influences, ultimately lands itself somewhere in the melodic synth-pop/ downtempo electronica genre. Like I said, hard to categorize.

3. Trentemoller, The Last Resort
Danish tech-house producer releases an album most familiar with his work didn't expect. Filled with atmospheric, dubby, and always engaging textures, "The Last Resort" is much more a labor of love than an album for the dancefloors. A soundtrack to a long snowy winter's night, ending with the still morning after, and the album's most remarkable track, "Miss You".

4. Van Hunt, On the Jungle Floor
Thrown in to the 'neo-soul' subgenre of R&B, Van Hunt shows yet again on his sophomore CD why he's so much more. Like his first self-titled debut (which if you don't have, YOU MUST GET), influences form Prince & Curtis Mayfield are clearly recognizable. But Van Hunt is a singer songwriter extrordinaire who is head and shoulders above his R&B contemporaries. Mix a little Lenny Kravitz (the old Lenny), some Maxwell, some Curtis Mayfield, and alot of Prince and you have Van Hunt - who despite the amazing influences, is much more than the sum of these parts. "If I Take You Home", "Hot Stage Lights", "Daredevil, Baby", and finally "Mean Sleep" with Nikka Costa are all incredible highlights.

5. Tool, 10,000 Days
5 years in the making (nothing new for Tool fanatics), the mystical Prog Rock prodigies return with this their 4th full length album. Not much to say here, as Tool is a cerebral experience, far from the mosh-pit visceral experience that encompasses 99% of popular Hard Rock/Metal these days.

These guys aren't making music from teenage perspectives, they're not pounding out power chords and pounding the drums as hard as they can, no - this is musical wisdom, a calculated, psychological audio experience that will leave you changed. This is not rock for everyone, as most of the songs average about 9 minutes, but for those who thirst for more than what todays musical A.D.D. culture has to offer, Tool is great medication.

Aaron Lee of Dirty Sugar, local DJ
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium
I've been a fan ever since Blood Sugar Sex Magic and have watched their progression since. This 28 track album is a masterful culmination of their many styles, so there's something for everyone whether you want if soft or hard. Great for road trips.

Gnarles Barkley, St. Elsewhere
Admittedly I was turned on to this by my significant other who made me listen to it over and over again in frequent car rides. I soon realized that GB had a lot more to offer than their hit single "Crazy". Its a complete hit.

Outkast, Idlewild
An album that was bashed by the critics who seemed to overlook the pure creativity and playfulness of this movie soundtrack. The most fun to listen to all year. Check "N2U".

Thom Yorke, The Eraser
Leaving Radiohead for a moment for his 1st solo debut Thom Yorke shines. Although at first I was unsure of this album, I gave it a chance and it grew on me. It's great for times of introspection.

Prince, 3121
Not to be overlooked, Prince does it again, but of course. He gives you some soul, funk, r&b, and always something to dance to. Lots of new school tracks with some of that ol' school Prince flair a la "Kiss".

Soft Complex
CHRIS CONNELLY:

Middle Distance Runner, Plane In Flames
I told these guys when this record came out that it was the best thing that I had heard all year, and I still think that rings true. As somebody who really found music for himself in the mid-'90s, this record recalls a lot of my all time favorites, but in a way that is fresh and invigorating. With fantastic guitar work, tasteful arrangements and a refreshing variety of styles led by some outstanding vocals, Plane is Flames is a top to bottom success. Just as I remember
2003 for Death Cab for Cutie and 2004 for the Arcade Fire, Middle Distance Runner will be be how I remember music in 2006.

Alcian Blue, Alcian Blue
Perhaps the biggest loss to local music in 2006 came when Alcian Blue decided to part ways after almost ten years of band-dom. But fortunately, they left us this record behind as a swan song - and every minute of these coldly beautiful soundscapes is a gift. With guitar tones massaged to oblivion, reverb heavy vocals and masterful drum programming, this is an essential part of my shoegaze/dream-pop catalogue.

Mew, And the Glass Handed Kites
Every now and again, a record makes me rethink everything I thought I knew about songwriting and arrangement. Mew's latest is one of those records. Any album where you don't realize that you've made it six tracks deep is special; the songs flow together so effortlessly that
this reminds me more of a rock symphony than a collection of songs. Add in the bizarrely charming vocals and constant syncopation, and you've got a record that is completely unique and utterly amazing.

Soccer Team, "Volunteered" Civility and Professionalism
Soccer Team is the first Dischord band that I've ever really gotten into. The songs here are so simple on some levels - but they're executed so tastefully and with such interesting quirks that they have enormous charm. This is a grower if there ever was one - on first listen, it struck me as just a good album. But I kept playing it in my car. About a month later, when it hadn't left my CD player, I realized how much I really loved it.

Editors, The Back Room
I guess this technically came out in 2005 in the UK, but dropped in the States sometime in the spring of 2006. Regardless, I listened to this more than anything else this year, and Editors put on one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Who knows if they'll follow it up with something as good or better, or whether this is just the flavor of the month from across the pond. But ultimately, this is a great, great album that never fails to get lodged in my head for weeks at a time.

ALEXIA KAUFFMAN:
The Knife, Silent Shout
This album blew me away. I hadn't heard the Swedish duo The Knife before this, their 3rd album, and it opened a new sonic world for me. While it brings memories of electronic/dance music of the past, it goes so many new places. The bizarre, stark, alien, yet familiar landscape
that the Knife creates in this album is surprising and addictive.

Sonic Youth, Rather Ripped
I love Sonic Youth, so it's hard for them to do wrong by me. This album is so good for me because it takes a lot of its sound from the time that made me love them- the early 90s Dirty/100% era, yet it's fresh and new. Seeing them live on this tour just refreshed my undying love for this band and solidified my excitement over the album.

Sean Lennon, Friendly Fire
I first saw Sean Lennon eons ago (maybe 1998) at the 930 Club supporting his first album, Into the Sun. I was hooked from that point on. His sophomore album Friendly Fire displays a maturity and focus exceeding that of his impressive first effort. Where Into the Sun felt like a meandering journey, an exploration, Friendly Fire seems to have arrived at a beautiful if melancholic destination. Soft, lush, orchestral, sad- these are a few of my favorite things.

My Chemical Romance, Welcome to the Black Parade
I know I'm going to get flack for this, but I love this band. There is something so spectacularly theatrical and dramatic about their music (and the band themselves) that just makes my heart flutter. Often operatic and even goofy at times, Welcome to the Black Parade is a
great follow up to Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.

Two if By Sea, Safety
Ok, maybe it's not right to choose an album that I play on as one of my top five, but it's not my band. I obsessed over this album when I first got it- I listened to it 24/7 for maybe a month, and I can still listen to it start to finish without getting sick of it. That's a true test of greatness for me.

Ian Buckwalter, Matt Sedlar, Chris Snyder, Salima Appiah-Kubi, Elizabeth Eckert, Abby Lavin, Graham Hough-Cornwell and Kyle Gustafson contributed to this piece.