Seems like the Brits have been almost non-existent on the music front this year...

A couple decent Brit Pop/Punk Offerings with Arctic Monkeys, Art Brut, Snow Patrol...

A Middling but not terrible Thom Yorke Release...

A Fine Jazz Pop album by Guillemots...

That seems to be just about it for 2006...

Has it been that bad a year for the UK, or am I missing something here?

Well first off I question your thesis. Snow Patrol is everywhere and is slowly coming into their own, they're all over AC radio and AAA listeners especially.

The Arctic Monkeys did fizzle VERY quickly, thank God, but Editors were ALL OVER most of this year, in my opinion.

Charliambrides and Guillemots were big in the critical world, Thom Yorke got a lot of love. I really liked "The Eraser" a whole lot. Art Brut finally got an official states release this year. Muse released a great record this year that, I think, finally proved they weren't just some Radiohead clones.

Also, not to harp on metal too much, but Dragonforce had unprecedented U.S. popularity for a POWER METAL band. Iron Maiden also had a huge comeback record this year. Don't forget that Lady Sov became a U.S. pop star just recently, like the U.K. grime answer to Gwen Stefani.

Well, there's a lotta Brits in my collection this year. Of what's been mentioned already, I really enjoyed the Arctic Monkeys, Snow Patrol and Thom Yorke. Haven't heard the Guillemots yet but it should be arriving soon. Other Brit albums I liked much this year- The Feeling, Razorlight, The Kooks, Lily Allen, Fratellis, Jane Taylor, Larrikin Love, Grandadbob, and Piney Gir, among many, many others. Hopefully I'll add the debut full length from the Long Blondes to the list when it arrives next month. Favorite Brit album of '06 so far and definately in my top 5 cds of the year: Shack's On the Corner of Miles and Gil.

Along with several already mentioned (Kooks, Snow Patrol, Razorlight) I'd add Scritti Politti, Badly Drawn Boy and Richard Ashcroft to the list. After the last few years, it may be a slightly 'down' year for Brits, but I still think there's plenty o' Britpop goodness to go around.

I have BritMusic love:

Arctic Monkeys
Clearlake
Guillemots
Primal Scream
Hot Chip
Muse (Uh... Do they count?)
Belle & Sebastian
Grand National (a Year late...)
Dirty Pretty Things
Kasabian (don't believe the hate)