10 Jewel Case Treasures of 2006

6 . Bob Dylan, "Modern Times"

The old rock poet ruminates on regret, faith, romance, chaos, morality and mortality -- not necessarily in that order, and not always in the most direct way possible. But, then, it wouldn't be a Bob Dylan disc if it offered more epiphanies than enigmatic moments, would it? The album is introspective and brooding, and it's also wickedly funny in spots: "I wanna be with you in paradise / And it seems so unfair / I can't go to paradise no more / I killed a man back there." The music, modest and low-key, serves Dylan's ragged voice well. Yet the profound lyrics are the real draw. Turns out that Dylan can still turn a phrase with the best of them -- which is to say, himself.

7. Arctic Monkeys , "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not"

Remember all that breathless buzz that accompanied the Monkeys' arrival? Well, believe the hype: The British post-punk band's debut is outstanding, a frenetic rush to the head. Principally about being a young man in northern England, the disc is full of sharp hooks, angular riffs, manic rhythms and witty lyrics bleated by a cocksure, charismatic young singer in Alex Turner. It's a thrilling record, even if you can't always understand what exactly Turner is singing about in that distinctively British voice. Whatever. It's brash and it's boisterous, and it crackles with unbridled adolescent energy and attitude.

8. The Coup , "Pick a Bigger Weapon"

The Coup makes insurgency sound like a party by matching synth-funk jams and swirling psychedelic soul with Boots Riley's clever, anarchistic wordplay. A satirical, seditious rapper, Riley is a fighter and a lover, having proved that a call to arms can coexist with booty calls. He hurls poetic Molotov cocktails at the usual suspects (capitalist pigs, President Bush, the CIA); but he also spikes this Marxist manifesto with lusty lyrics. "I'm a walking contradiction, like bullets and love mixing," he raps. The end result: Songs such as "Baby Let's Have a Baby Before Bush Do Something Crazy." Pillow-talkin' about a revolution, indeed.

9. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, "Rabbit Fur Coat"

Lewis is considered indie-rock royalty for her roles in Rilo Kiley and Postal Service, but she transformed herself into something else entirely here: a beguiling country-soul chanteuse. Gospelly, deliciously twangy and even a little bit torchy, the album is loaded with conversational, bittersweet songs that echo Loretta Lynn, Laura Nyro and Patsy Cline. The evocative tracks have a certain intimacy that Rilo Kiley's songs often lack, as Lewis sings of heartbreak, spirituality and family dysfunction in a crystalline alto. Though the co-billed Watson sisters provide harmony vocals, this is very much a solo album: Lewis plays guitar, sings lead and wrote all of the songs, save for a Traveling Wilburys cover. All hail the new queen of rapture.

10. Joseph Arthur, "Nuclear Daydream"

It doesn't take Arthur long to set the album's dark, aching tone, as the first couplet to come spilling out of the singer's mouth is both blunt and bleak: "The needle says she'll tell you when she's through / No sense now in trying to believe in you." Arthur specializes in woozy, richly textured tales of heartbreak and loss that suggest David Bowie or maybe Michael Stipe singing Elliott Smith songs with dreamier, more atmospheric production. It's an intoxicating, even addictive combination.

Honorable mentions: John Legend, "Once Again"; Be Your Own Pet, "Be Your Own Pet"; Sarah Harmer, "I'm a Mountain"; Alan Jackson, "Like Red on a Rose"; The Hold Steady, "Boys and Girls in America"; My Chemical Romance, "The Black Parade"; Candi Staton, "His Hands"; Ghostface Killah, "Fishscale"; Scritti Politti, "White Bread Black Beer"; Band of Horses, "Everything All the Time."