This award is presented to the artist; vocal and instrumental albums are considered in this category.
"The Eraser"- Thom Yorke
(XL Recordings)
Billboard Album Review- "The Eraser"- July 15, 2006: Thom Yorke may be de-emphasizing his solo debut by releasing it in the wake of Radiohead's first U.S. tour in three years, but "The Eraser" is no second-rate stopgap. Anyone who found the alien sonic landscapes of "Kid A" a bit overwhelming will feel much more at home with these nine less fussy but primarily electronica-dominated compositions, nurtured by longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. There's enough claustrophobic inscrutability ("The Clock," the mumbled "Skip Divided") to link the material to latter-day Radiohead, but standouts like the piano-heavy title song and the groovy "Black Swan" finally begin to hint at the man behind the usually unknowable exterior. Even better, there's a generous helping of great melodies ("Atoms for Peace," "Analyse"), which only makes one wonder: How many other songs like this is Yorke keeping to himself?
