Picks of 2006: The year's top albums as members of the 1998 Chicago Bulls

The 1998 Chicago Bulls were one of the most unstoppable, complete and dominant teams in pro basketball history. From the starting five to the 12th man on the bench, every player filled a role and filled it well. It's hard to fathom another team bringing together top-notch play, teamwork and coaching to such great effect ever again.

What do those Bulls have to do with this year's crop of albums? Nothing, really. This wasn't a particularly fantastic year for music. It didn't dominate the way Mike, Scottie, Dennis, Ron and Luc did, but I chose this team to represent this year in music because of the plethora of different personalities and basketball styles on that team. Also, as a friend just pointed out, this almost exact same Bulls team actually won 72 games a couple seasons before, so it works out even better that this isn't like, exactly the best team ever. It's just composed of the same eclectic dudes. Plus 1998 was a better Finals, though I have a funny anecdote about the 1996 NBA Finals, Gatorade and how I nearly won big, if you ever want to hear it. But anyway, come with me, if you please, on a convoluted allegory of music and basketball.

The end of the bench

Center Bill Wennington: Lil' Wayne & DJ Drama -- Dedication II
Already the cognitive dissonance kicks in, you say. A lanky, hairy white guy compared to one of hip hop's most filthy-good mixtapes this year. But hold on: Just as Billy isn't someone you'd want on the floor for 40 minutes, "Dedication II" isn't an album that could have carried me this year. I'm putting this forth as the best of Weezy's work, but he did tons of tracks this year, all fantastic. Plus, as this is a Drama mixtape, it's basically just Wayne spitting hot, hot magma all over (mostly) jacked beats from other songs. Where Bill was only in for 9.7 minutes a game in '98, grabbing some rebounds, putting bodies on opposing centers, spelling Luc and Jason Caffey, "Dedication II" comes in, throws out some hot freestyles and Weezy material, then it fades back to the bench. Still, though, a champion. And the best mixtape I've heard in a couple years.

Forward Jud Buechler: Junior Boys -- So This Is Goodbye
Another solid album that saw limited minutes this year. Judson came in for spot minutes and spot-up jumpers; Junior Boys came in for blippy synth hotness and silky smooth singing. Just as Jud was sort of an awkward-looking fellow on the hardwood at 6-foot-6 and all legs and arms (and dorky hair), "So This Is Goodbye" is a hard-to-pin-down album about love and loss and equal parts upbeat dance tracks and downbeat sadsack stuff.


The sparkplugs

Forward Jason Caffey: Rhymefest -- Blue Collar
This is the best personality-to-album match so far. Caffey was blue collar in the lane: cleaning glass, mopping the post, setting solid screens and picks. Rhymefest brings low-post, gritty beats and consistent lyrical skills. Plus I'm sure they'd both gladly give six fouls for their team.

Guard Randy Brown: Girl Talk -- Night Ripper
Randy was the speedy cat, the guy Phil brought in when the other team's starters are starting to wind and they start looking down the bench and all of a sudden ZOOM Randy's using his quickness to get in the lane, cause matchup problems and get looks for his teammates. "Night Ripper" is like 30 minutes of nonstop mash-up beats and rhymes from Juelz Santana to James Taylor. I still listen to this on a weekly basis for a pick-me-up. It's like musical crack.

Guard Scott Burrell: John Mayer -- Continuum
Scott Burrell was always solid off the bench I thought, and I always liked playing as him in the video games, but his game was kinda vanilla. Maybe it was because he was so consistent, but he never stood out in my head. John Mayer's latest album is by far his best, and it's also really enjoyable from start to finish, but it doesn't really stand out in this year's crop of albums to me. I nearly forgot it when I was making my list. But it's not because it's not good, it's just not ... outstanding in any single facet. I can't even decide what my favorite song is (I have like six of them).


The specialists

Forward Dennis Rodman: Gnarls Barkley -- St. Elsewhere
Defying authority, defying definition, these bad boys made people sit up and take notice in their time, though only one of them ever banged Carmen Electra. That I know of. Dennis Rodman somehow funneled his insanity into nothing but killer efficiency in '98 as Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo channeled their madness into funky hip hop/gospel/soul/rock bliss. The fact that DM and Cee-Lo collaborated almost entirely over the Internet to record this album is almost as nutty as the fact that Dennis dressed up in a wedding dress to promote his book "Bad As I Wanna Be" (which was actually a pretty good read).

Guard Steve Kerr: Justin Timberlake -- Futuresex/Lovesounds
Steve Kerr is still the top three-point shooter in NBA history. He was so clutch, so dead-red accurate that even Michael Jordan deferred to him on final shots. Not every time, but sometimes. He's still Mike, you know. Anyway Justin made a sharpshooter's album this year. As tight and cohesive and undeniably well-crafted as "Justified" was, he came back and turned in a masterstroke of a dance-pop album in "Futuresex/Lovesounds." From song-of-the-year "My Love" to the shockingly beautiful movements of "Love Stoned/I Think She Knows," it was swish after swish for JT, who still has time to become this generation's Michael Jackson. The music Michael, not the nutso Michael.


The supporting cast

Forward Toni Kukoc: Hot Chip -- The Warning
The Waiter was always sort of an enigma to me. He was one of the first oversized European guys who came into the league demanding to play the three, shoot the three and do absolutely no rebounding despite their 6-foot-10-or-better statures. He was brought in to be the next face of the franchise after Michael Jordan's first retirement, and that never fit him. He was mercurial, moody and somewhat inconsistent for several years, until Mike came back and he was able to fade back to the third- or fourth-option role he seemed to embrace so well. Hot Chip is a little inconsistent, a little quirky and hard to grasp, but their DFA-fueled techno-rock sound fits well in my CD rotation and probably will have a home there for a while until its knees start creaking too much and that first step off the wing gets lost in the sands of time. Kinda like Toni.

Guard Ron Harper: J Dilla -- Donuts
Ronny was the set-up man, the floor general. He was the transformer through which Phil Jackson's coaching prowess was converted to higher-voltage basketball genius. J Dilla was the conduit through which hip hop was filtered into a much more potent force. Dilla was all hard-knocking Detroit beats, so-absurd-they're-perfect soul samples and instrumentals that inspired the imaginations of some of the best rappers working. The ball flowed through Ronny the way these beats toppled out of Dilla's head and into 1- or 2-minute bites of unadulterated nasty.

Center Luc Longley: The Format -- Dog Problems
Luc, despite his white-boy-who-doesn't-bend-his-legs shortcomings, was always kind of a fan favorite. His buggy eyes always seemed to get a little wilder when he backed his big Aussie butt into the paint and it was fun to yell "LUUUUUUUUUUC" when he was at the scorer's table or after a keen low-post move. The Format is a band that's fun to cheer for, too. People who've heard them seem to rally around them, seem to list them among their favorite bands, go to their shows, buy their T-shirts. And this album was one of the finest things I heard this year despite the unevenness that revealed itself upon hundreds of spins.


The pantheon

Forward Scottie Pippen: Clipse -- Hell Hath No Fury
Earlier I was watching Frazier-Ali III on ESPN2 and a boxing reporter in present-day talked about how it's unfortunate that Frazier's excellence as a boxer will forever be overshadowed by the fact that he happened to come of age at the same time that Muhammad Ali transcended boxing itself. Pippen, too, was outshone in his time. MJ made Scottie better, but Scottie was a once-in-a-lifetime talent who just happened to come along the same time as another one on the same team. Unfortunately that anecdote doesn't really work to set up the explanation of the Clipse album, but I will say that it holds true that if it weren't for the Michael Jordan album this year, this excellent, super-heavy piece of Neptunes/Clipse gold would be my top album.

Guard Michael Jordan: Phoenix -- It's Never Been Like That
I wasn't really aware that this was my favorite album of this year until about a week or two ago, when it occurred to me that this is an album that I haven't gotten tired of despite many, many listens. Even The Format's album, which nearly made me wet myself when I first heard it, lost some of its luster on repeated sessions. But "It's Never Been Like That" is an album I can nearly sing along to from start to finish, and I even welcome the downbeat instrumental interlude called "North" that comes near the end of the album. Like Mike became The Game, this album became me this year. I hear the songs in my head in the shower, in my stereo in the car and in my headphones at work and it's still fantastic after all these months, just like Mike's shot over Bryon Russell still goes down good to seal the deal every time I watch it. If you like high-energy indie rock that's good for driving and good for singing along to and good for damn near everything, this album should fit the bill.