Here are some of the year’s hits—and misses

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Record stores are closing and sales of downloads—and ringtones—are soaring. Short attention spans and iPods continue to make listening to a CD all the way through seem ever more anachronistic, like reading a Victorian novel or dropping a coin into a pay phone.

So does it even make sense to use full-length CDs as the artistic yardstick to assess the musical merits of 2006?

It does—for now, anyway. Though CD sales are down 5 percent compared with last year (a figure offset slightly by increased legal downloading), the music industry still organizes itself around the album when it brings its product to market. And, more important, artists—or at least most of the artists on the best-of list that follows, along with narrow misses like the Decemberists and the Roots—still use it as a defining principle when they get down to the business of making music.

Of course, they do so knowing that once they let it loose, their carefully conceived baby will be shared, stolen and consumed in all sorts of byte-size ways. Plenty of that went on in 2006, when sales of hit “master tone” ringtones, which sell for about $3 a pop, started to outpace legal downloads.

Last week, Akon and Eminem’s “Smack That” sold 115,000 ringtones, making it the top seller, compared with 76,000 downloads.

The Billboard charts were ruled by hip-hop and country hitmakers such as Jay-Z and Rascal Flatts, plus teen-targeted “American Idol” alums and Disney’s “High School Musical” (the year’s biggest-selling CD, with 3.4 million copies).

But there’s plenty of high-mindedness afoot in the underground, from the burgeoning “freak folk” scene that includes overpraised harpist Joanna Newsom to such indie subsets as the gypsy-rock movement, with bands like Beirut and Gogol Bordello.

Three years after the start of the Iraq war, 2006 was also the year that pop stars from Pearl Jam to Pink took on President Bush in song, while the Dixie Chicks stood their ground with an unapologetic CD and movie, and Neil Young blasted away with his feedback-fueled album “Living With War.”

The best barometer of the nation’s mood, though, might have come from country singer Darryl Worley, who wrapped himself in the flag in 2003 with the Sept. 11-invoking “Have You Forgotten?” This year, Worley returned with “I Just Came Back From a War,” still sounding patriotic, but also confused, disconsolate, and “no longer the same good ol’ boy” he once was.

Here then, is my Top Ten list, with recommended downloads for anyone in a hurry. And for those who think the album is truly dead, a selection of singles for a mix CD is below.

Art Brut, “Bang Bang Rock & Roll.” This album came out in England last year, but wasn’t released in the United States until May. And since I had more fun listening to it this year than any other minted-in-2006 disc, it jump-starts this list with cheeky pop-punk panache. The levels of irony begin with “Formed a Band,” in which British funnyman Eddie Argos tells the Art Brut story in what he insists “is my singing voice, it’s not irony.” But he and Art Brut are never merely clever, because “Bang Bang Rock & Roll” ultimately gets over on its boundless enthusiasm and catchy tunes. Recommended download: “Good Weekend.”

Beck, “The Information.” Beck albums are so busy, so dense with sonic allusion, that they can be wearying. He’s not showing off; he just has so many ideas. Here he takes information overload as his subject, dazzling with the anxious romance “Think I’m in Love” and the Rolling Stones homage “Strange Apparition.” While “The Information” can be grim, it also goofs around, with customizable album art and a disc of goofy videos. Extra credit for the year’s funniest concert tour, in which pint-size puppets stole the show. Download: “Cellphone’s Dead.”

Cat Power, “The Greatest.” Chan Marshall pronounces her name Shawn, and with “The Greatest,” the Southern-bred singer succeeds with a luxuriously soulful album that’s deeply personal and universal in its appeal. The sonic glue is the Memphis Rhythm Band, which flavors “Lived in Bars” and “Love and Communication” with horns and strings, but the focal point is always Marshall’s sultry vocals. Like a Norah Jones album, but with considerably more depth. Download: “Living Proof.”

Clipse, “Hell Hath No Fury.” What gives the music of Virginia Beach brothers Gene “Malice” and Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton its chilling power is the laid-back, understated way in which it depicts a drug dealer’s nightmarish world, where death lurks around every corner. Dismiss it as “crack rap” if you will, but “Hell Hath No Fury” plays like an audio equivalent to HBO’s “The Wire,” with Malice and Pusha T convincingly portraying a closely observed, no-hope world stripped of glamour. With the Neptunes’ minimalist production and no special guests to distract, “Hell Hath No Fury” makes other gangsta rappers seem like a bunch of ninnies. Download: “Mr. Me Too.”

The Coup, “Pick a Bigger Weapon.” The Coup may be best known for the cover to their 2001 album “Party Music,” which was to have shown the group blowing up the World Trade Center towers—and was pulled before its release. But trust me: Rapper Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress are humanists, not nihilists. And while Riley once again proves that he is the clearest political thinker in pop music, his dexterity as a schooled-in-James-Brown-and-Prince beatmaker is what makes “Pick a Bigger Weapon” go boom. Download: “My Favorite Mutiny.”

Bob Dylan, “Modern Times.” Sure, I wish Bob Dylan hadn’t written the 10 wise-cracking, weary and worldly-wise songs on “Modern Times” with a book of Confederate versifier Henry Timrod’s poems in front of him. But Dylan has always been an artful thief, and the impure provenance of thorny blues such as “Thunder on the Mountain” and spooky meditations such as “Ain’t Talkin’” don’t take away from their effectiveness. And anyone who thinks the grizzled Bard’s voice is beyond hope should hear the tenderness he coaxes out of “Spirit on the Water.” Download: “When the Deal Goes Down.”

Lupe Fiasco, “Food & Liquor.” Besides possessing the most winning stage name of 2006, Lupe Fiasco produced the most cliche-free hip-hop album of the year (that is, until the must-skip 12 minutes of thank-yous that close the album). On the single “Kick, Push,” the 25-year-old Muslim MC deftly tells a skateboard romance without fear of being labeled soft. But the Chicagoan with the featherweight touch digs deeper on his debut, nimbly navigating the sprightly “I Gotcha,” trading verses with Jay-Z on “Pressure,” and coming to terms with his own hypocrisy on “Hurt Me Soul.” Download: “Daydreamin’” with Jill Scott.

The Hold Steady, “Boys and Girls in America.” Like a rapper—or Bob Dylan—Craig Finn lets the words tumble out of his mouth as if he’s competing with his band to fill up every inch of space in a song. Good thing, then, that the croaky, Kerouac-quoting singer has so many rewarding stories to tell about misdirected Midwestern youth, and the titular boys and girls having “such a sad time together.” It’s an even better thing that the bar band bursting with energy behind him has an arsenal of pumped-up power chords to keep the music nearly as entertaining as the words. Download: “You Can Make Him Like You.”

Nellie McKay, “Pretty Little Head.” Speaking of blabbermouths, Nellie McKay is another tireless word-slinger. The 24-year-old pianist wields a razor wit, and she chose to part with Columbia Records rather than see her sophomore release cut to a single disc. That may smack of self-importance, and there are a few duds on the 23-song “Pretty Little Head.” But McKay’s command of classic American stylings—from cabaret to her own brand of cocktail lounge hip-hop—is so assured that it’s worthwhile to indulge her every whim. Download: “Long & Lazy River.”

Juana Molina, “Son.” After all that verbiage, it’s a relief that Argentinean guitarist and sound sculptress Juana Molina doesn’t sing in English. The former comedic TV actress specializes in lovely, lilting acoustic reveries whose improvised electronic textures steer clear of New Age cliches. “Son” is a folktronic experiment that takes listeners to an otherworldly place, a quizzical excursion that floats like a butterfly without stinging like a bee. Download: “Rio Seco.”

Honorable Mentions: Gnarls Barkley, “St. Elsewhere”; the Decemberists, “The Crane Wife”; the Format, “Dog Problems”; Vince Gill, “These Days”; Ben Kweller, “Ben Kweller”; Jenny Lewis With the Watson Twins, “Rabbit Fur Coat”; Los Lobos, “The Town and the City”; the Minus 5, “The Minus 5”; the Roots, “Game Theory”; Scritti Politti, “White Bread, Black Beer”; Yo La Tengo, “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass.”

MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENTS

Looking at the biggest disappointments of ‘06, K-Fed doesn’t qualify: There was no chance “Playing With Fire” wasn’t going to be a joke. The following, by contrast, arrived with expectations high and anticipation keen—before bumming us out:

The Raconteurs, “Broken Boy Soldiers.” Nonpareil axman Jack White hooking up with power-pop whiz Brendan Benson seemed like a good idea. Too bad they didn’t take time to write any good songs.

OutKast, “Idlewild.” In the past, Andre 3000 and Big Boi have consistently raised the bar for pop music in general and hip-hop in particular, but this soundtrack is more about snazzy clothes than musical innovation.

The Killers, “Sam’s Town.” Speaking of wardrobes, Brandon Flowers’ crew also decided to play dress-up, throwing over the New Wave sizzle of Hot Fuss for the bearded bolo-tie Americana of this bloated follow-up.

DAN DELUCA’S 2006 MIX CD

Twenty-two downloads and singles from 2006, ready to burn on a single CD. All available on iTunes.

• “The Boom Boom Bap,” Scritti Politti. The Rip Van Winkle of Brit-punk pays bedroom-pop tribute to Run-D.M.C.
• “Crazy,” Gnarls Barkley. Soaring genre-splicing ode to iconoclasm was, deservedly, the song of the summer.
• “Ain’t No Other Man,” Christina Aguilera. Bleached-blonde belter’s old-school scratch attack, with DJ Premier.
• “SexyBack,” Justin Timberlake. Twitchy vamp outpoints “Promiscuous” for best horny Timbaland production.
• “Irreplaceable,” Beyonce. Agitated R&B queen lets famous boyfriend know who’s boss.
• “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor,” Arctic Monkeys. The overhyped Brits are worthy, if not world-beaters.
• “Better,” Regina Spektor. Russian emigre pianist has pop hooks up her sleeve.
• “Rise Up With Fists!!,” Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins. Smart-as-a-whip indie songstress’ Southern soul move.
• “Put Your Records On,” Corinne Bailey Rae. British would-be Norah Jones’ snappy ditty advises music-listening as path to self-actualization.
• “Eanie Meany,” Jim Noir. Mancunian’s multitrack harmonies, as heard in those Adidas World Cup ads.
• “Over & Over,” Hot Chip. London synth squad, proud to be as repetitive as “a monkey with a miniature cymbal.”
• “Smile,” Lily Allen. Cheeky, reggae-tinged kiss-off from the Brit MySpace queen, whose full-length debut is due in January.
• “Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood. “American Idol” heroine takes no mess and raises ruckus to render Faith Hill aghast.
• “She Doesn’t Get It,” the Format. Post-emo Arizonans perfect sunny pop with sorrowful subject matter.
• “What Does T.S. Eliot Know About You?”, East River Pipe. One-man band F.M. Cornog puts in place a pretentious fool who’s more interested in bong hits than the Hollow Men.
• “What It Look Like,” Spank Rock. Kinetic blast from Philly-Baltimore electro-rap collective.
• “Kick, Push,” Lupe Fiasco. Smooth-tongued Chicago rapper’s skateboarder’s romance.
• “Out There on the Maroon,” the Minus 5. Beatlesque musings from Minus’ main man, Scott McCaughey.
• “Bruises,” Steve Wynn. Dream Syndicate vet picks himself up from the floor, rocks out like The Who.
• “You Only Live Once,” the Strokes. NYC hipsters muscle up their sound, get over themselves.
• “Testin’ Me,” Dudley Perkins. Alt-soul man deals with stress, Curtis Mayfield-style.
• “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” Johnny Cash. The Man In Black, truth-telling, as ever.