My 20 Favorite Albums of 2005

Well, I have finally compiled a list of everything that was released in 2005, and thrown out a lot of it because I never heard it, and then somehow ranked the 20 releases that stand out most for me this year. This is the biggest list I have ever put together at the end of a year, which is a testament to a) how good this year was for music, and b) how much less music I ought to listen to. At any rate, we start with my most anticipated album of the year, and end with the pre-season favorite to win it all. (Many of these albums were reviewed by me at 75 Or Less, so I will link to my reviews where appropriate.)

20. 311 - Don't Tread On Me: I wrote at great length about this record on this site when it was released, and my passion for it hasn't diminished one bit.

19. Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak

18. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway: OK, I know I will have to defend this. This list represents my FAVORITE albums this year. Ask me in five years and I might laugh at this choice. However, at this moment... the first three songs on this record OWN me. The rest is excellent pop music as well, but if you want the best example of pop perfection released this year, you must listen to the first 11 minutes of this album.

17. Beck - Guero

16. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem

15. The Duhks - The Duhks

14. Esthero - Wikked Lil Girls

13. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Worlds Apart

12. Common - Be

11. Spoon - Gimme Fiction: That this ended up outside my top 10 is just a demonstration of how deep I thought this year was. In other years, this would be MUCH higher than 11.

10. Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs: In addition to having some of the best album art of the year, this record goes punch for punch with the consensus songwriting albums of the year (Apple, Oberst, Stevens). If you haven't heard this one, but like any of those other albums, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Genius.

9. System Of A Down - Mezmerize/Hypnotize: This would have been higher if Hypnotize had reached the heights of its predecessor. However, it is still easily the metal album of the year. Their popularity is a testament to the growth of the casual music fan over the last 25 years.

8. Gorillaz - Demon Days: My opinion of this record has grown exponentially since my initial review. I now feel that this album is superior to the first in almost every way. It is just so different that it took me some time to realize it.

7. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall: The best jazz album I have ever heard. A "must buy".

6. Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

5. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine: Better than it has any right being. Fiona Apple used to sit next to Tori Amos on my "Useless Unless You Hate Men and Penises" shelf. No longer. This album borders on ridiculous in a very, very good way. You can see instantly why these songs were such a production challenge; they exist on a higher plane of mastery than anything being written today. Like Aimee Mann but six times more versatile. Even if you see this in the store and are sure that you would hate it... you wouldn't. Trust me.

4. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise: I resisted this album at first, but it won me over. Big time. Not the second coming that some psychos have touted, but its darn good. (In fact, Sufjan fans are this year's musical equivalent of Firefly/Serenity fans like me; so obnoxious that they actually turn people off from the thing they are promoting.) If Bright Eyes lived on the Polyphonic Spree's compound for a year, the output would be pretty close to this.

3. My Morning Jacket - Z

2. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, Its Morning

1. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

Categories: Music