JANUARY

The musical year began with raised eyebrows as little-known indie stars Preston from The Ordinary Boys and Maggot from Goldie Lookin' Chain wandered into the Big Brother house.

Preston quickly became the main story when he fell for pretend pop star Chantelle Houghton, despite having a girlfriend on the outside. They would be married just eight months later.

January also saw the continuation of the Arctic Monkeys phenomenon as their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest-selling debut ever.

And The Kooks also began their domination of 2006's music charts by releasing their debut album Inside In/Inside Out.

FEBRUARY

More raised eyebrows this month when the unlikely coupling of Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle and Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe was revealed.

New star on the block Corinne Bailey Rae released her self-titled debut album this month. It would go platinum over the course of the year, and Corinne would become a star across Europe, America and New Zealand.

And it was with teary eyes that we said goodbye to the musical legend that was Smash Hits magazine, which folded after a 28-year run.

MARCH

March saw the most surprising of all the success stories from the second series of The X Factor.

The show's jester Chico proved he was actually the show's underdog when he scored a No1 hit with It's Chico Time.

The Sugababes released their first single with new member Amelle Berrabah, a re-recorded version of Red Dress. It went to No4, proving the loss of Mutya Buena wasn't to affect the band.

And former megastar Prince was the first of many big comebacks this year, returning with his critically-lauded album 3121. It became his first No1 album in America since 1989's Batman.

APRIL

Scots romp-pop trio The Fratellis released their debut EP, sparking off a phenomenal year that saw their debut album reach No2 in the album charts in September, with Jon, Mince and Barry Fratelli being invited to finish off 2006 with not one but two Hogmanay street party shows, one in Edinburgh and the other in Glasgow.

Gnarls Barkley became the first act to get a No 1 through download sales alone with Crazy. The song went on to sit at the top of the charts for nine weeks, only dropping when the band themselves deleted the single.

Pink returned, no less feisty or unafraid to speak her mind than she's ever been. She did, however, stop short at admitting the Stupid Girls she referred to on her comeback single were actually Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan et al.

And it was with yet more teary eyes that we said goodbye to ITV's flagship music show CD:UK.

MAY

While Pete Doherty continued throughout 2006 making more headlines than music, his former Libertines bandmate Carl Barat quietly launched his new band Dirty Pretty Things with No 5 hit Bang Bang You're Dead.

The world was also introduced to London-based singer-songwriter Sandi Thom, who scored a No1 with I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker and caused plenty of controversy with the contested story that she got a record deal thanks to the popularity of her on-line performances.

Rapper and producer Daz Sampson was our Eurovision Song Contest entry with Teenage Life, taking along dancers in skimpy schoolgirl outfits. The tactic didn't work, he only came 19th, losing to masked Norwegian rock act Lordi.

And what seems to be turning into the messiest divorce in rock history began with the announcement that Paul McCartney was splitting from Heather Mills-McCartney.

JUNE

The Top 10 was full of football songs honouring the World Cup, but none of them were any match for Shakira, whose Hips Don't Lie began a lengthy chart reign this month. It would top the charts twice in the following months.

Nelly Furtado also made an impressive comeback with her Timbaland-produced third album Loose. First single Maneater became 2006's pop song it was okay to like, taking the No1 slot just before Shakira.

Rock music did okay as well with the likes of Primal Scream and Lostprophets releasing new albums, Foo Fighters playing huge outdoor gigs, while The Automatic's Monster began dominating radio playlists as the shouty hit of the summer.

Meanwhile the gossip columnists has their eyes on the wedding of country singer Keith Urban to Hollywood star Nicole Kidman. The release of his album later in the year would be overshadowed by his return to rehab.

JULY

Paisley crooner Paolo Nutini scores a Top-Five hit with his single Last Request, launching an incredibly successful pop career for the 19-year-old which saw his debut album These Streets rocket into the charts at No3 this same month.

Another month, another wedding. Girls Aloud's Cheryl Tweedy married England footballer Ashley Cole.

The charts were full of male singer-songwriter types as the world was introduced to James Morrison, Paolo Nutini and Ray Lamontagne, and Thom Yorke and James Dean Bradfield took breaks from Radiohead and Manic Street Preachers respectively to release solo albums.

We also embraced new pop acts Orson and Lily Allen, the latter's success relegating actor Keith Allen to 'Lily Allen's dad' status.

Also it was with now very red eyes that we said goodbye to the BBC's flagship music show Top Of The Pops after 42 years on screen.

AUGUST

It was a typically quiet month for music, but there were still some big releases to get excited about. Christina Aguilera went back to the 30s and 40s for inspiration for her latest album, Kasabian came back bolshier and better, while Bob Dylan got his best reviews for years.

Dance music was resurrected by crossover electro-house hits such as David Guetta vs The Egg's Love Don't Let Me Go, and new rave hits such as Justice vs Simian's We Are Your Friends. The Feeling dominated radio playlists with their single Never Be Lonely, eventually becoming the most played band on the radio this year.

OK Go, meanwhile, had the most played music video on YouTube with the clip for Here It Goes Again, featuring the band doing a dance routine on treadmills.

But mostly singers filled gossip columns rather than review pages - Keane's Tom Chaplin went into rehab, Boy George collected litter in New York as part of his community service, Mel B got together with Eddie Murphy, and Posh got a new haircut.

Paris Hilton, meanwhile, went the other way, appearing in review pages with her debut album.

SEPTEMBER

September was comeback month and saw the releases of eagerly anticipated new albums from Scissor Sisters, Jamelia, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, as well as the debut solo effort from Black Eyed Peas' Fergie.

Robbie Williams confused the world with Rudebox, a concoction of electro, pop, and hip hop. The similarly-titled album would follow in October to similarly baffled reviews.

The new music didn't affect his pulling power, however. He arrived in the UK this month on his Close Encounters tour, playing to thousands upon thousands of fans.

George Michael received similar adulation on his first tour in 15 years, despite recent bad press about his personal life and run-ins with the police.

Arctic Monkeys continued a top year by picking up the Mercury Music Prize, and there was new music from The Fratellis, who went Top 10 with Chelsea Dagger.

OCTOBER

Glaswegian singer Nikitta Angus made a glittering start in X-Factor, getting through to the final rounds and winning over even super-grumpy judge Simon Cowell with her soulful voice.

The 17-year-old from Partick wowed the judges and audiences, before being voted out in November.

Madonna's musical success this year was overshadowed by the furore surrounding her adoption of baby David Banda from Malawi. Even Newsnight interviewed the singer.

Rock music continued dominating the charts with new albums from Jet and The Killers, while Razorlight lived up to the bluster by scoring their first No1 with America, and My Chemical Romance took emo to the top of the charts.

Pop held its own in the form of McFly, who scored yet another No1 with Star Girl, while Amy Winehouse managed to put out some more credible pop (in-between drinking sessions) on her second album Back To Black.

Lacking any credibility at all was David Hasselhoff, who still managed to spark Hoffmania and score a No3 hit with Jump In My Car.

NOVEMBER

More comebacks came in the form of All Saints, whose album Studio 1 met with little interest despite being quite good, and The Beatles, whose album Love met with lots of interest because it was very good.

Oasis grumpily threw out a best of, Stop The Clocks, with half the hits missing, filling it instead with (actually just as good, if not better) album tracks and B-sides.

Dance music continued its resurrection with huge crossover hits from Bodyrox and Fedde le Grand, who went to No1 with Put Your Hands Up For Detroit.

And making headlines was Britney Spears, who continued a year permanently ensconced in gossip columns by getting divorced. Again. Joining her was Michael Jackson, who's 'comeback' performance at the World Music Awards disappointed.

Kylie did much better, playing her triumphant Homecoming shows in Australia. But Kanye West did himself very few favours by storming the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards when he didn't win Best Video.

DECEMBER

Pop music had its ups and downs this month. The ups saw Take That ending an amazing comeback year by topping all five music charts in one week, Leona Lewis winning The X Factor and Matt Willis being crowned King Of The Jungle on I'm A Celebrity.

The downs were dominated by Gwen Stefani killing her career (probably) with the Sound Of Music-sampling Wind It Up, while Girls Aloud promoted their greatest hits by going Ghost Hunting with Yvette Fielding.

They did get interviewed by the New Statesman as well, however, in what must have been the strangest month of promotion they've ever done.

And, in what will be one of the biggest music stories next year, Prince William and Prince Harry announced a Concert For Diana, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their mother's death, in July.