I just made my list. A bit predictable, yes, but I like what I like.
Decemberists - Picaresque
This is the album that really got me into them. I'd heard Castaways and Cutouts and some other stuff before, but it didn't click with me until now. Colin Meloy is a very talented songwriter and wordsmith.
Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
The first album by this band that I've really listened to. Really intense stuff. I love the instrumentation, I love the singer's voice.
Weezer - Make Believe
Fuck the haters! This album is much more closer to Blue and Pinkerton in quality than Green and Maladroit. Fuzzy guitars, piano/keyboards, a variety of other instruments, interesting song structures... it's all here. Sure, 'Beverly Hills' sucks, but to me that doesn't detract from the quality of the rest of the album. An excellent slice of power pop.
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
I'm sure plenty of people don't like Bright Eyes. And that's ok. I really love this album. After the epicness of Lifted (and even Fevers and Mirrors) it's really refreshing to see him pare down his sound (and his band) and create some beautifully simple folk/alt. country music. The guest singers really help, too.
Low - The Great Destroyer
Low busts out the distortion. Their songs work just as well for me drenched in distortion and feedback as they do in a fingerpicked acoustic style.
Patrick Wolf - Wind In The Wires
I dig Patrick's voice and the beats that provide the backbone to his songs. Really enjoyable modern indie pop.
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
Lots of people have lamented that the songs on this album are inferior to the versions of the same songs on their radio sessions EPs, but I don't agree. I think Isaac Brock's guidance and production techniques really benefitted this band. "It's A Curse" is my fav. track of theirs.
British Sea Power - Open Season
I'm glad they didn't try to make Decline Of... again. This album is shimmering and beautiful, much like their first album, but a bit more refined and perhaps more constrained and melodic.
Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart
I agree with Diablos -- I wanted something new and different, something that wasn't ST&C (or Madonna...). The production and song writing is just so over the top... some would write this off as pretentiousness, but I think it's all in jest. TOD isn't a serious band, if you've seen them live or know anything about them -- they just want to push everything as far as it will go.
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
This one grew on me, but I think it contains some of the finest tunes John Darnielle has ever composed. The arrangements and appropriately sparse production make this album a joy to listen to.
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
The amount of research that must go into every one of Stevens' albums is mindboggling. The music is beautiful, as is his delicate voice.
Here's my AOTY2006, just so you all know:
Bow down!