The 'best-of' lists for 2006 are starting to appear -

* PopMatters Best of 2006 also their Best Re-issues of 2006

* Pitchfork to 50 Albums of 2006 and the Top 100 Tracks of 2006

* Stylus top 50 Albums of 2006

Flicking through the lists I quite enjoyed singles by The Knife, Yo La Tengo & The Pipettes.

Melodic hardcore and the birth of alternative rock from Husker Du - Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill + I Apologize. The audio is a little 'blown-out' not sure if the clipping is a result of volume or just the transfer to video.

YouTube also has them doing a pretty faithful cover (after 'Love Is All Around') of the Mary Tyler Moore theme - 'You Can Turn The World On With a Smile' and a frankly appalling version of the Byrds '8 Miles High'

Without Husker Du there would not have been the Pixies or Nirvana. Personally I'm a fan of their mid-period work - on New Day Rising & Zen Arcade they added a strong dose of melody and psychedelia to their previous hardcore efforts (their 'Land Speed Records' & 'Metal Circus' EP's crammed a lot of songs into a seriously short period of time). After 'Zen Arcade' they signed to a major label (Warners) and released the slightly tepid (but still good) 'Candy Apple Grey' and 'Warehouse Songs & Stories' before calling it quits in 1988.

Full marks for bassist Greg Nortons cool handle-bar 'tache & Bob Mould anti-punk flying-v guitar :-)