Manchester is a town at the very heart and soul of British music. Bands the likes of The Hollies, the Bee Gees, Simply Red, The Fall, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Oasis form a musical legacy that’s second to none. In 2001, Elbow became the city’s latest musical crown jewel after their debut record Asleep at the Back was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Their brand of progressive, gloomy yet…

Call us old fashioned, but we like our year-end backward glances to come after we’re done furiously ripping open presents and before we pop the champagne for New Year’s. Rather than subject you only to what we on the DCist music staff deemed this year’s best and brightest (don’t worry, we’ll do that too), we asked a handful of our favorite local artists what their favorite albums of 2006 were. A lot of great musicians…