There are certain immutable laws to which all music critics must adhere.

1.) Street cred comes with bashing any major label debut for a former indie artist, no matter how much stronger than the average pablum on said major label the release in question may be.
2.) Obscure band references mentioned by a band or musical artist in any interview should always be greeted with a knowing "Ahhh, yes! Absolutely."
3.) It is the civic responsibility of all print and online publications to release as many "best of" lists as they can at the end of each and every year.

Who are we at Patchchord.com to break the rules? 

And so we begin our year-end orgy of opining and critical obfuscation.  Of course, it's all carefully crafted to confound our loyal reader(s) and drive the sales of obscure albums that will doubtlessly be trotted out as a means of feeding hours of hipster one-upmanship for at least the next month.

Yet as the venerable Pitchfork, Popmatters, and their ilk plan their fancy hiatus (hiatuses? hiati?), the working stiffs around these parts are just getting warmed up.  So kick back, relax, and check in over the next 10 days for the "Best of 2006" from Patchchord.com.

--John Kreicbergs 

The Best Of 2006: Bill Brownlee
The Best Of 2006: Jason Preu
The Best Of 2006: Concert Chris
The Best Of 2006: The Patchchord Sampler