The Friday Informer: The Countdown Begins—It’s Time To Make Your Year-End Top 10 List

We love them, we hate them, we love to hate them. But we read them all the same.

• Chris Dahlen has sharpened his pencil but stops to put it all in perspective before we start dropping names.

• Can’t remember what you heard this year? You might browse here, here, here, or most humbly, here.
• Na, na, nya, nya, nyaaa. Alex Ross finished his list, and it’s wrapped and under the tree.
• Not to be outdone, Steve Smith has already drunk his champagne and moved on to what just might be “the contemporary-classical-smart-pop breakthrough hit of 2006, mark my words…”

When used open-mindedly and in the spirit which they were intended—namely as fuel for Internet forum arguments and gift suggestions for people you don’t actually know well enough to buy gifts for—”best of” lists are useful up to a point. But please remember, especially during the holiday season, always list responsibly.