Classical cellist Matt Haimovitz has been astounding audiences -- and confounding critics -- with his edgy, high tech "Figment" tour and album. In his own words, Matt talks with AMG about embracing non-traditional venues, new technology and his collaboration with new music composer Du Yun.

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Hey, I don't know about you but today seems like the perfect day for some ridiculous French ukelele-synth pop with a cheesy mod-60's feel. Impossible to find? Ha! Easy to find thanks to the lovely and strange Mareva Galanter. Her 2007 album Ukuyeye is a thrillingly silly and fun mash up of classic Yé-yé sounds, modern production tricks, EZ sounds and a bunch of uke. One of the highlights is her cover of Stella's "Pourquoi Pas Moi?", that keeps the light and breezy spirit of the original but merrily gooses it with some silly synths, cheap-o drum machines and robotic backing vocals. The video is alarmingly cute and goofy too. It's just the kind of treat to help the day seem a little less soul-crushing.

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Sure, it was only three years ago, but we are still crazy about 2006's debuts (Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys, Burial), breakouts (Amy Winehouse, Gnarls Barkley), bold makeovers (Christina Aguilera), and early farewells (J Dilla), not to mention the less eventful but nonetheless excellent releases from the established veterans (Ghostface Killah, Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth). Over a couple hundred favorite albums and singles of 2006 are listed by our editors. Maybe you'll discover, or be reminded of, a few that you missed. The AllMusic Loves series will continue to roll through this first decade of the 2000s during the next few weeks, as we will revisit 2007 and 2008 prior to looking back at 2009.

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