The earth's crust may dry and crack in the summer heat and God may smite us all with heretofore unheard-of plagues but these are the best damn records of 2006 so far:

Om, Conference of the Birds
Boris, Pink*
Metallic Falcons, Desert Doughnuts
Ghostface, Fishscale
Mission of Burma, The Obliterati
Kaito, Hundred Million Light Years
Krisiun, AssassiNation
Barbara Morgenstern, The Grass Is Always Greener
Jesu, Silver
*was released last year in Japan. Newsflash: saying things like "technically a 2005 release" is your ticket to a dateless future.

Some years I'm pro-list, some years I'm anti. This year I am putting all my favorite records into an extemely bloody tournament from which only one winner will emerge, blood streaming from his eyes, the hair of his victims clutched in his vein-poppin' fist! There will also be cartoons.