1. BURIAL - BURIAL (HYPERDUB):When 2006 began, few could have predicted dubstep's huge surge in popularity; and even fewer that the genre's most stunning creative achievement would not be some ferocious club anthem but instead an album of desolate post-rave elegies. Listening to Burial's self-titled debut, which combined dubstep's chasms of echo with garage's nimble rhythms, is like searching for a pirate station on your car radio and finding only faint traces amid the static. Rarely, if ever, has instrumental dance music achieved such towering emotional resonance, and that's why this is Dummy's album of the year. OFFICIAL SITE BUY

2. JARVIS - JARVIS (ROUGH TRADE): Initially, Jarvis’ decision to ditch the surname seemed like an unwarranted, conceit. After all, he was no longer a pop star, having done more or less nothing since Pulp fizzled to an indefinite hiatus five years previously. But following his gem of a solo debut, it seemed perfectly justified. myspace BUY

3. BROKEN BOY SOLDIERS - THE RACONTEURS (XL): Shelving The White Stripes proved to be a masterstroke by Jack White. 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan felt a creative full stop. Enter Brendan Benson with a head full of Beatles melodies. Together they made the best rock album of the year. myspace BUY

4. SILENT SHOUT - THE KNIFE (BRILLE): After the frothy synth-pop sounds of Deep Cuts the Dreijer siblings took a journey into the heart of darkness for Silent Shout: at turns melodic and dissonant, enchanting or full of menace. OFFICIAL SITE BUY

5. THE IDIOTS ARE WINNING - JAMES HOLDEN (BORDER COMMUNITY): With this astonishing, atmospheric debut James Holden successfully unshackled himself from the trappings of dance music to define his own disorientating and disconcerting sound. myspace BUY

6. SHOW YOUR BONES - YEAH YEAH YEAHS (POLYDOR): Yeah Yeah Yeahs graduated from art school with their second album: Karen O sang instead of yelped, Nick Zinner played acoustic guitar and Brian Chase learnt to caress his drums as well as thwack them. myspace BUY

7. RETURN TO COOKIE MOUNTAIN - TV ON THE RADIO (4AD): One of the most creative rock bands in America returned, now with live bass and drums and even more soul, to take us on a journey into dementia and apocalypse. OFFICIAL SITE BUY

8. PIECES OF THE PEOPLE WE LOVE - THE RAPTURE (MERCURY): Or how The Rapture learnt how to stop worrying and enjoy themselves. Tortured, angular post-punk was out; infectious dance-rock grooves were in. New York rocked the house once again. myspace BUY

9. THE WARNING - HOT CHIP (EMI): Hot Chip exit the year with memories of their Mercury nomination, a Skream-generated mix of 'No Fit State', and (in 'Over and Over') the first addictive hook of 2006. myspace BUY

10. THE ERASER - THOM YORKE (XL): Recent remixes by Surgeon and Various may have put the spotlight back on the Radiohead singer's solo escapade, but we never stopped listening to this restrained Kid A-style gem. OFFICIAL SITE BUY