The year 2006 may be seen in the future as the year that this decade's sound came into its own. What follows is a retrospective look at the songs that defined our year. These aren't my opinion on what the best rock songs of the year are — the songs are also judged by popularity, ubiquity and relevance.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers — Dani California

The boys from SoCal took three years off before re-emerging with this radio smash that even landed them at the top of TRL. The song features a bluesy riff lifted from Tom Petty's "Last Dance of Mary Jane" which got the Peppers in some trouble, but that didn't stop this song from becoming one of the most, if not the most, popular hit of the summer, with a killer video to boot.

Wolfmother — Woman

The Aussie quartet has fashioned themselves as the modern-day Led Zeppelin with their bluesy, hard-hitting guitar rock and piercing vocals. Their mega-hit "Woman" mirrored Zeppelin classics "Black Dog" and "Rock 'n' Roll," making one of the year's best hard-rock singles.

Gnarls Barkley — Crazy

This song is Otis Redding on crack. You couldn't escape this insanely-catchy chart-topper. Soulful, danceable, quirky and just too easy to sing, the duo of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo transcended genres and scored big on radio, TV, the Internet and just about any other medium, with a video that was equally weird.

The Fray — Over My Head (Cable Car)

The Fray pulled off something unexpected — in a time where harder-edged rock is making a comeback. Frontman Isaac Slade rocked out with just a piano and pleasant, bordering-on-emo vocals. This song, released on their record the year before, got huge radio and TV play last year after the release of a TRL-charting video.

Panic! At the Disco — I Write Sins Not Tragedies

Admit it Panic! fans, even you guys got sick of this song after awhile. Still, no one can ignore the huge success of this creative track and its accompanying cabaret-style video about a cheating bride.

AFI — Miss Murder

Gothic pop-punker AFI toned it down a notch with this gothic punk-rock anthem about the consequences of suicide with a killer bass line.

Death Cab for Cutie — I Will Follow You Into The Dark

Issaquah native Death Cab milked the 2005 release of their Plans record for all it was worth, releasing this single well into 2006. Still, the catchy, sweet and simple acoustic tune caught on like wildfire and became the year's emo theme song for undying love.

Snow Patrol — Chasing Cars

The alt-rock group from Scotland were cult-favorites for a while before they took the world by storm with their release of their single "Hands Open" and, subsequently, "Chasing Cars," a song that charted in the top 10.

Fall Out Boy — Dance, Dance

While Fall Out Boy's break-through album, From Under the Cork Tree, was released in 2005, this dance-friendly punk number was actually released as a single in 2006.

The Raconteurs — Steady As She Goes

Jack White ditched ex-wife Meg to team up with folk-pop singer Brendan Benson to take his work mainstream. The result of their partnership was the hit record Broken Boy Soldiers and this huge single.

Muse — Knights of Cydonia

This prog-rock space-western epic had lead singer and multi-musicianist Matt Belamy doing a pitch-perfect Freddy Mercury impersonation. This song had everything — lasers, horses, politics and a rockin' ending that rivaled Bohemian rhapsody.

The Killers — When You Were Young

The Killers ditched their New Wave Euro-punk style for an all-American electro-rock song a la Bruce Springsteen. The band clearly has Las Vegas in their blood — the tune is a showy spectacle.

Thom Yorke — Black Swan

The Radiohead frontman didn't detour much from his alma matter's formula for this dark and brooding instant classic. A hip-hop beat accompanies Thom's lethargic vocals as he sings an all-too-clever chorus of "This is f***ed up, f***ed up."

Arctic Monkeys — When The Sun Goes Down

The youngsters from the Arctic Monkeys were hailed as the new Beatles when they arrived on the scene. While I wouldn't go so far as to say they have that much influence, they certainly produced some catchy hits, and this was the catchiest of them all — a story of hooker and a scummy pimp who gets mean "when the sun goes down."

Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Cheated Hearts

Power-punk Karen O tones down her bad-girl image enough to make this vulnerable-yet-angry rocker work. She may not be the best vocalist, but you can almost feel the pain of the odd one out of the love triangle.

Evanescence — Call Me When You're Sober

Frontwoman Amy Lee wrote this operatic power-ballad about her failed relationship with Seether frontman Shaun Morgan. The lyrics show a more vulnerable and personal side of the band that was originally written off as "Linkin Park with a chick."

— Jeff Tripoli

jefftripoli@thedaily.washington.edu