My recommendations 2006:Ys by Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsom: Ys
Drag City 11/14/2006

Available on Emusic

Unless you have been living alone deep in a subterranean cave for at least a month, you have probably already heard everything there is to know about Ys, so I'll just give an executive summary. Joanna Newsom is a classically-trained harpist and a San Francisco native (her cousin just happens to be one of my personal heroes, SF mayor Gavin Newsom). Her 2004 album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, turned quite a few heads upon its release and expectations were high for the follow-up. While writing the songs for Ys, Newsom realized that she would need a string sections, so she recruited Van Dyke Parks to handle the arrangements. Ys lives up to the praise it has received and then some. Newsom weaves five lengthy musical parables, all based on actual events from one year of her life. I have seen several reviews that describe Ys as difficult on the first few listens, but I disagree. These five songs are immediately lovely and shimmering and gorgeous and any number of other adjectives along those same lines. Ys is not just a phenomenal album, but it is a beautiful experience that everyone should seek out at least once, like the ocean or the auroras.