Because every substantial post must be accompanied filler, here, belatedly, are some of my favorite albums released last year, in no particular order and including reissues and compilations.

Ann Peebles, Original Funk Soul Sister Peebles is an amazing singer, backed by what is basically Al Green's rhythm section, and the songs are unbelievable. I have "Trouble, Heartache, and Sadness," and "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" playing on my Ipod frequently.

The Honey Cone, Soulful Sugar. Other Music claims this was released in 2001, but i'd never seen it before this fall, so i am including it here. The Honey Cone performed Holland-Dozier-Holland's post-motown stuff, which was harder and more politicized and feminist than their earlier work. Kanye West samples "Innocent Til Proven Guilty" on Common's "Testify" but the original is far superior, and there's better stuff 0n the first disc, like "Girls It Ain't Easy," "When Will It End," "Are You Man Enough, Are You Strong Enough" and a very good cover of "Son of a Preacher Man."

plus:

Ghostface, Fishscale, which I really don't need to say anything about , because you can just go read what Sasha Frere-Jones or one of the many critics who writes about music far better than this blogger has to say about this record, which is necessarily thus overrated but still very, very good.

Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. I don't have that much to say about this record I haven't said here before, but it's pretty great.

Lily Allen, Alright Still. I am a sucker for witty homages to Jamaican music, or british appropriations thereof, and this is smart, funny stuff. Except for Alfie, which just makes me sort of uncomfortable.

Destroyer: Destroyer's Rubies. This is the first record to make me really appreciate Dan Bejar, though i think i have probably said that here before too. Helped me survive last spring.

Peter Bjorn and John, Writers Block. I still think it sounds like what the Go-Betweens would have sounded like if they'd been Swedish hipsters in 2006 rather than obscure Australian indie rockers in the mid 1980s. But I'm a moron.