I know it’s a little late to be talking about best of lists for 2006, but I’m going to anyway. Seattle’s go-to website for indie music is Three Imaginary Girls. This site focuses on mostly music from the Pacific Northwest, giving us record reviews, interviews and a comprehensive concert calendar for Seattle. Each year they they do a poll for the best NW releases, and each year that I’ve lived here I’ve voted. With the Decemberists, Pearl Jam and Band of Horses all having records out this year I fully expected to see them 1-3 or at least in the top five. What I didn’t expect was to see Boat at number 1, but that’s exactly what happened. I don’t know if it’s because we’ere a bunch of contrarians up here, or we just appreciate the obscure, you gotta hand it to Pacific Northwesterners, or at least readers of the Three Imaginary Girls, they’re always out there looking for new music. I don’t know how many people voted in the pole, but I find it refreshing and a bit crazy that Boat beat out the likes of the Decemberists and Band of Horses. And no it’s not what you’re thinking, I only voted once!

Here’s the top 10

1 BOAT Songs – That You Might Not Like
2 The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
3 The Long Winters – Putting the Days to Bed
4 Band Of Horses – Everything All the Time
5 The Thermals – The Body, The Blood, The Machine
6 Built to Spill – You In Reverse
7 The Trucks – The Trucks
8 Math & Physics Club – Math and Physics Club
9 Viva Voce – Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
10 The Gossip – Standing In the Way of Control

Check out 11-50 at the Three Imaginary Girls