Music in 2006, from the perspective of the whole body of work, was one of innovative artists but only a handful of great CDs. Most of the singers in my Top 10 CDs for 2006 list put together albums with extraordinarily unique sounds or styles.

What's odd is that 9 out of 10 of my best CDs for the year came from solo artists. When you consider that the tenth is really a side-band for the most successful female solo artist this century, well, it makes me wonder: What happened to great albums from great bands?

Who knows. I don't think there are a lot of great bands anymore. Hell, a lot of folks peed themselves over the Red Hot Chili Peppers offering in 2006, but to me it sounded like the same work they've produced the past 10 years.

In general, I find bands like Nickelback and Hinder to be a complete bore. My Rhapsody music chart also sports Top 20 albums from Rascal Flatts, who I generally despise, and offerings from The Fray and Snow Patrol, both of whom I like.

Neither of those groups is exactly U2 or even Coldplay yet, no?

However, my 10 favorite albums of the year were genuinely great front to back, and all had something unique to offer the music world.

10. KT Tunstall - Eye to the Telescope

This Scottish singer-songwriter caught my ear with the slow, moody tune "Other Side of the World" back in the spring. However, she caught everybody else's attention via Katherine McPhee in American Idol, when the show's eventual runner-up sang "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" sans shoes.

Watching the real deal though sing her hits on ABC's New Year's Eve programming last night proves Tunstall is even sexier. If you asked me, I actually prefer some of her slower, more introspective songs to her big hits. Nevertheless, this album and her emergence in 2006 was to the benefit of music fans everywhere.

9. Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself

I seriously erred when I didn't include "Hide & Seek" in my Top 25 songs of 2006 list. However, I discovered it pretty late in the year, when I heard this member of Frou Frou (who I liked quite a bit) was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy.

Her description in Rhapsody notes that Heap (whose first name I'm not even sure how to pronounce) lives in her own musical universe. That is true to a T. She is unlike anything you have ever heard, an artist in the purest sense of the word with a haunting, gorgeous voice and brilliant sense of vocal harmony and arrangement.

Think Annie Lennox with an edge.

8. Ray Lamontagne - Til The Sun Turns Black

My friend S introduced me to this CD in the middle of the year, and like most gems she's presented me with over the years, this one took a while to grow on me (like Norah Jones did, back in the day).

This CD is soft, slow, introspective and very airy, folky. It's rainy-day music, and Lamontagne's voice is hypnotic. The album reminds me of David Gray's "White Ladder" on Xanax. However, for a quiet night in or as background music, it's tres excelente.

7. Bob Dylan - Modern Times

First song out of the chute, and Bob is singing about thinking about Alicia Keys in what sounds like a boogie-woogie country tune. He sings, "I wonder where Alicia Keys could be?"

Dylan's 2006 offering is unique, lyrically fascinating and tight as hell. When I listen to his band, I'm always amazed at the lack of wasted notes and the simple arrangements, as well as his willingness to let mistakes make the final cut. Listen to the botched note at the beginning of "Spirit on the Water." It's perfect. Wouldn't want it to not be there.

6. John Mayer - Continuum

Mayer is among the artists on my list who isn't terribly unique. He's got a pop sound with a folk edge and a whispery voice. However, he is a world-class songwriter, and he's got enough funk in his style to be compared to the very best blue-eyed soul artists of the past 40 years.

Mayer deserves to be showered with Grammys this year. Among the folks who were nominated, he's so far beyond anything on the table. While I thought "Waiting on the World To Change" was the best song of the year, what makes the CD great are tunes that will never get released like "Belief" and "Vultures." I'll tell you this now: Vultures is an instant blues standard and will be on cover-song lists for the next 30 years.

5. The Little Willies - The Little Willies

Norah Jones heads up a band of Texas swingers for a collection of songs that will remind you of some of the best music the Lone Star State has to offer. To me, it's a crime this wasn't nominated for a Grammy in the best album category.

Not to knock the Dixie Chicks too much; however, this is the quality of pop/folk country I expect from them. Norah Jones, this century's best-selling female singer by a ton, is criticized at times for being the queen of mellow in an industry that demands charisma. It has always been a bogus criticism, and this CD from her side project du 2006 is living proof of just how talented she is and how vital her music actually is. This is an incredibly fun CD.

4. Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire

Given that Lennon is the son of a legend, most folks were polarized by "Friendly Fire," either loving it or hating it. Count me among the former.

Two decades after Julian Lennon broke out with hits like "Valotte," Sean puts together an introspective, smart, musically adept collection of songs that not only pay respect to his heritage, they also carve out a comfortable Duncan Sheik-esque niche for himself.

The more I listened to this CD, the more it was unavoidable: Sean Lennon is 100 percent musically talented on his own. The CD's tracks are pretty mellow, but they are very well written and produced, and for whatever reason, I kept coming back to this CD time and time again in 2006. Highlights include "Dead Meat" and especially "Parachute."

3. Sondre Lerche - Duper Sessions

This Sondre Lerche fellow calls a-ha is biggest influence, is typically categorized with Baroque artists like Rufus Wainwright and yet the Norwegian solo artist still released a jazz album in 2006, complete with original tunes modeled after the great standards of the 1930s and 1940s ... and it was freaking excellent.

The first tune, "Everybody's Rooting For You," blew me away the first time I heard it, not only from the perspective that this tune is an original but that his band is top-notch. To be honest, the guy kind of reminds me of Django Reinhardt in that you just don't expect a Euro to be this damned good at jazz.

2. Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat

Here comes the H Gang. Holy crikey is this CD cool, from a guy who keeps whipping out good music year after year. I can totally understand folks who don't care for Steely Dan. However, those who love them (like me) will love Fagen's best CD ever.

Yes, better than The Nightfly, which was excellent and, frankly, pretty groundbreaking for the early 1980s, at least in terms of his solo sound.

However, over the years, Fagen has somehow become an even better lyricist than he was in his heyday. "H Gang" is a tune about female prisoners forming a band. "Security Joan" is about a dude who likes it a bit much when airport security checks him, if ya' know what I mean.

1. Fergie - The Dutchess

In a year when most of my favorite CDs came from kind of hip, indie or at least critically acclaimed artists, my favorite album of the year was totally, 100 percept guilty-pleasure pop.

The hot-chick member of The Blackeyed Peas put together -- well, with the help of Will.I.Am -- the best produced pop album in the past 10 years. Love her or hate her, she has a unique sound, and her lyrical style is fun, fast and way smarter than most folks would ever give her credit for.

Sure, the offering is what I'd categorize as a production album, meaning it's not exactly worthy of a ton of songwriting awards. However, sometimes these production CDs are just so damned fun to listen to that they're worthy of critical consideration. I mean, isn't the main reason we listen to music for the enjoyment of it?

Do Donald Fagen, Sean Lennon, Sondre Lerche, etc., have more of my musical respect? Sure.

However, whose CD has been in my car all year? Hers.

And, if you look at this entire list, this CD stands out from all the others. Fergie might not be showered with awards for this album, but it undoubtedly will ensure she continues upward from marginal fame to global superstardom a la Madonna.