Our Best Rock albums of 2006 list presents a year in which some of the biggest legends in classic rock history released new albums. In many ways, it should not be too much of a surprise because these were rock artists that had consistently been releasing new music since the beginning of their careers. Such legends as Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Meat Loaf, Joan Jett, Elton John and Peter Frampton all issued new albums of brand new studio material. Rock fans were also pleased to see The Who release their first new studio album in almost twenty five years. 2006 also saw the return of the much loved band Chicago with their first album of new material in 15 years.
On the new band and artist front, 2006 delivered debut albums by Eric Church, Lily Allen, Black Stone Cherry, The Raconteurs, and others. Perhaps the biggest musical story of the years was the emergence of Amy Winehouse as an artist with her brilliant album Back In Black. It wasn’t her first record, but it was the one that would turn her into a household name. With a sound that echoed the spirit of Billie Holiday meets 60s rock and soul, fans and critics hailed Amy Winehouse as one of the best new artists to have come around in the past twenty years. Sadly, drug addiction would take her life five years later in 2011.
# 50 – Black Holes and Revelations – Muse
# 49 – The Fall of Ideals – All That Remains
# 48 – Sinners Like Me – Eric Church
# 47 – Stranger Things – Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
# 46 – A Twist in the Myth – Blind Guardian
# 45 – Black Stone Cherry – Black Stone Cherry
# 44 – Never Hear the End of It – Sloan
# 43 – Daughtry – Daughtry
# 42 – White Limousine – Duncan Sheik
# 41 – Come Clarity – In Flames
# 40 – Alright, Still – Lily Allen
# 39 – Chicago XXX – Chicago
# 38 – Broken Boy Soldiers – The Raconteurs
# 37 – The Monkey Puzzle – UFO
# 36 – Last Man Standing – Jerry Lee Lewis
# 35 – Continuum – John Mayer
# 34 – Never Say Never – Kim Wilde
# 33 – Falling in Between – Toto
# 32 – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions – Bruce Springsteen
# 31 – Yes, Virginia… – The Dresden Dolls
# 30 – The Life Pursuit – Belle and Sebastian
# 29 – High & Mighty – Gov’t Mule
# 28 – Reprieve – Ani DiFranco
# 27 – One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This – New York Dolls
# 26 – Sinner – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
# 25 – Foiled – Blue October
# 24 – Super Colossal – Joe Satriani
# 23 – Rockford – Cheap Trick
# 22 – Streets of New York – Willie Nile
# 21 – Fingerprints – Peter Frampton
# 20 – The Hard Stuff – George Thorogood & The Destroyers
# 19 – Operation: Mindcrime II – Queensrÿche
# 18 – Revelations – Audioslave
# 17 – A Matter of Life and Death – Iron Maiden
# 16 – Songs of the Open Road – The Kennedys
# 15 – Yeah! –Def Leppard
# 14 – Morph the Cat – Donald Fagen
# 13 – Suprise – Paul Simon
# 12 – Living with War – Neil Young
# 11 – Face the Promise – Bob Seger
# 10 – Modern Times – Bob Dylan
# 9 – Endless Wire – The Who
# 8 – Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
# 7 – Livin’ It Up! – Sammy Hagar
# 6- Stadium Arcadium – Red Hot Chili Peppers
# 5 – Songlines – The Derek Trucks Band
# 4 – The Captain & the Kid – Elton John
# 3 – Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose – Meat Loaf
# 2 – Highway Companion – Tom Petty
# 1 – Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
Best Rock Albums Of 2006 article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022
Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com.
All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.