My top 100 albums of '05.

1. "Get Behind Me, Satan" -White Stripes
2. "Woman King" -Iron & Wine
3. "Everything's Ok" -Al Green
4. "Samuari Struck" -The Surf Coasters
5. "Gimme Fiction" -Spoon
6. "Baby" -Detroit Cobras
7. "Apollo Sunshine" -Apollo Sunshine
8. "Z" -My Morning Jacket
9. "Cold Roses" -Ryan Adams
10. "Nolita" -Keren Ann
11. "The Magic Numbers" -The Magic Numbers
12. "In the Reins" -Iron & Wine/Calexico
13. "Hit the Floor" -Breakestra
14. "Superwolf" -Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeny
15. "Exploration" -Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
16. "Freaks with the Savage Beat" -The Hexxers
17. "Okemah & the Melody of Riot" -Son Volt
18. "21st Century Séance" -Green Pajamas
19. "Oceans Apart" -Go Betweens
20. "Tie Your Noose" -BBQ
21. "Tearing Up the Album Chart" -Go-Kart Mozart
22. "At Carnegie Hall" -Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane
23. "Warmer Corners" -The Lucksmiths
24. "29" -Ryan Adams
25. "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" -Paul McCartney
26. "Master of Disaster" -John Hiatt
27. "Kaleidoscope Sounds" -Space Agency
28. "The Cosmic Game" -Thievery Corporation
29. "King of Missouri" -Anton Barbeau with Bevis Frond
30. "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" -The Go! Team
31. "Transistor Radio" -M Ward
32. "I'm Wide Awake,It's Morning" -Bright Eyes
33. "Picaresque" -The Decemberists
34. "Dark Snack" -The Moaners
35. "The Greatest White Liar" -Nic Armstrong
36 . "Nice and Nicely Done" -The Spinto Band
37. "Haunted" -Goblin Market
38. "The King Kahn & BBQ Show" -King Kahn & BBQ
39. "The Dreadful Yawns" -The Dreadful Yawns
40. "Right On Sound" -Black Jetts
41. "Let's Waste Another Evening" -Josh Lederman
42. "Jacksonville City Nights" -Ryan Adams
43. "Honeycomb" -Frank Black
44 "Only Love Remains" -Jeremy Morris
45. "Circling The Sun" -Orange Peels
46. "Howl" -Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
47. "Naturally" -Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
48. "LCD Soundsystem" -LCD Soundsystem
49. "3" -Stereotypes
50. "Secret House Against the World" -Buck 65
51. "Chinese Burn" -Len Price 3
52. "Are You Ready Now" -Thee Minks
53. "Rides Again" -Longboard Ranch
54. "Twin Cinema" -New Pornographers
55. "Brandi Carlile" -Brandi Carlile
56. "Multiply" -Jamie Lidell
57. "12 Songs" -Neil Diamond
58. "Giustizia Sommaria" -I Fantomatici
59. "Catching Tales" -Jamie Cullum
60. "The Art of Rolling" -The Blue Van
61. "Neander'n'tal" -Estrume'n'tal
62. "Live at Stubb's" -Matisyahu
63. "Dreamin' My Dreams" -Patty Loveless
64. "Find the Way to Be Happy" -Jeremy Morris
65. "The Portugal Japan" -Portugal Japan
66. "Live At the Lava Lounge 2" -The Blue Hawaiians
67. "Eye to the Telescope" -K.T. Tunstall
68. "In Space" -Big Star
69. "Coming On Strong" -Hot Chip
70. "Blinking Lights" -Eels
71. "Destination Get Down!" -Diplomats of Solid Sound
72. "The Forgotten Arm" -Aimee Mann
73. "By the Time You Hear This" -Redlands Palamino Co
74. ."Ambassadors of Rock-n-roll" -Riveria Playboys
75. "Guero" -Beck
76. "Leave the Hall Light On" -The Glowfriends
77. "4-11-44" -The Blasters
78. "'64-'95'" Lemon Jelly
79. "Introducing..." -The Concussions
80. "The Muggs" -The Muggs
81. "Maroon Cocoon" -Bart Davenport
82. "Magic Town" -Van Morrison
83. "What Comes After the Blues" -Magnolia Electric Co
84. "Destroy the Warming Sun" -Ammino Acids
85. "The Runners Four" -Deerhoof
86. "Illuminated by the Light" -Weird War
87. "Pretty In Black" -The Raveonettes
88. "Afrobeat Visions" -Bukky Leo & Black Egypt
89. "The Ultimate Collection" -Banjo & Sullivan
90. "Silent Alarm" -Bloc Party
91. "Blink the Brightest" -Tracy Bonham
92. "These Bones Will Rise to Love You Again" -Immortal Lee County Lovers
93. "Extraordinary Machine" -Fiona Apple
94. "You Could Have It So Much Better" -Franz Ferdinand
95. "Red Dog Tracks" -Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
96. "Crime Scenes & Murder Songs" -Dr.Frankenstein
97. "The Weed Tree" Espers
98. "Tales from Turnpike House" -Saint Etienne
99. "Dirty Surf" -Molly Maguires
100. "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" -Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Good list, Crazed. But 100 albums and no Sleater-Kinney? You know the White Stripes used to open for them...

quote:

Originally posted by modestryan:
Great descriptions. Not much to add really.
You and I have very similar tastes. As for T.P.O.A.S.L. I enjoy their first album much more than "Light". However, the music is more personal to me than anything. I have met the guys at a couple shows and I really want them to get noticed. It's a good record nonetheless, but I probably gave them an extra boost, since they are great guys and I want to see continued success.
White Rainbow "Zome" - A four piece composition, from Adam Forkener, featuring musicicans from Landing. Think Album Leaf, with swirling guitars and kind of a shoegaze feel.

thnks,and to Vykromond as well.

I haven't made a purchase since last week in Nov. and I am itching bad. On the very high recommendations....I'll check the stores for Amadou&Mariam, Thee More Shallows, Avia Gardner, Colleen, Eluvium and Venetian Snares and hope I can find/listen to most....

quote:

Originally posted by bonzob:
Good list, Crazed. But 100 albums and no Sleater-Kinney? You know the White Stripes used to open for them...

Yeah, the latest Sleater-Kinney album is on my used-cd want list (have to wait & buy used when buying so many). On that same list is the latest cd from Greenhornes, who opened last year for the White Stripes.

quote:

Originally posted by bonzob:
Good list, Crazed. But 100 albums and no Sleater-Kinney? You know the White Stripes used to open for them...

Yeah for serious. "The Woods" effing rocks, plain and simple. I never really paid attention to S-K before this but now I'm converted. It's far from a perfect album, but that's part of the fun. The only problem is that it's exhausting: every song features a wall of guitar noise, nasty drum fills, and of course piercing howls--Corin's voice is a weapon. Amazingly, the tracks manage to remain totally distinct entities. Really really good.

I really don't mind that Sleater-Kinney was not on your list(even if you think it might have been). I have just never found an entrance to their music. Every time they release something, I listen to it a couple times, but for some reason am not wowed by it.

The method for determining rankings was massive road trip with the girlfirend. Only new releases in the car. Write down score. Move on to next. A small amount of poetic licence used for those which just didn't feel right where I ranked them.


1. The Drones - Wait long by the river and the bodies of your enemies will float by--------They sound like not much else out there. Blistering, Sweaty, boozy show.
2. Kaiser Chiefs - Empoyment --------- Alot of people bag these guys....not me. Quality Rock
3. Low - The Great Destroyer
4. The National - Aligator
5. Sleater Kinney - The Woods ----------Have a feeling this may move higher as the years progress.
6. My Morning Jacket - Z ---------Ditto. Last song is brilliant
7. Wolfmother - Wolfmother ----------Will be interesting to see how far these guys get. Have a new major label signing. Expect to hear the hype very soon.
8. Paul Kelly and the Storm Water Boys - Foggy Highway --------Our greatest songwriter produces another gem.
9. Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah - ST
10. Tim Rogers and the Temperence Union - Ghost Stories/Dirty Ron -------Had just about the gig of the year at NYE in the Espy, Melbourne.
11. Tex, Don and Charlie - All is forgiven.--------One of the songs of the year - Harry was a bad bugger
12. Andrew Bird - The mysterious production of eggs
13. System of a Down - Mezmerize
14. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
15. Josh Rouse - Nashville
16. Feist - Let it die
17. Stephen Malkmus - Face the truth
18. Richard Hawley - Coles Corner
19. Okkervil River - Black Sheep boy
20. Neil Young - Prairie Wind --------Is getting better with each listen
21. Cyne - Evolution Fight
22. Bright Eyes - Its morning, I'm wide awake
23. Wolf Parade - Appologies to the Queen Mary
24. M.I.A. - Arular
25. Jose Gonzalez - Veneer
26. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
27. The Decemberists
28. Smog - A river aint too much to love
29. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary machine
30. Edan - Beauty and the Beat
31. Broken Social Scene - ST
33. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
34. Sons and Daughters - The Repulsion Box
35. Art Brut - Bang bang Rock and Roll
36. Sigur Ros - Takk
37. Season - Avatar
38. Kate Bush - Aerial
39. Engineers - ST
40. Eels - Blinking lights and other revelations
41. The Hold Steady
42. The Cientele - Strange Geometry
43. M. Ward - Transistor radio
44. Gorillaz - Demon Days
45. Dangerdoom - The mouse and the mask
46. Blackaicious - Craft
47. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
48. Bruce Sprinsteen - Devils an Dust
49. Silver Jews - Tanglewood
50. The Go Betweens - Oceans Apart

2005 was an excellent year for music I must say. So many great debuts.

1) Low - The Great Destroyer
2) Sleater Kinney - The Woods
3) Sigur Ros - Takk
4) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Self-Titled
5) Wolf Parade - Apologies to Queen Mary
6) Decemberists - Picaresque
7) Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
8) Spoon - Gimme Fiction
9) My Morning Jacket - Z
10) Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze
11) Antony & The Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now
12) Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
13) Gorillaz - Demon Days
14) The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
15) Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It...

My vote for most overrated album of the year is Twin Cinema. I am a hardcore NP fan (seen shows, I have all the b-sides and rarities, I follow their every move, etc.) and anyone who thinks Twin Cinema is their best album is either deaf or have never heard the previous 2 albums. It contains the best Newman singalong chorus ever (Use It) and his best melodies (Sing me Spanish Techno), but the album is wildly inconsistent. The last 5 songs are forgettable at best. Certain tunes like Falling Through your Clothes, Broken Breads and These are the Fables are the worst songs Carl Newman has ever written. To sum up my ranting, this album contains less great songs than any previous NP album. But I still like it.

quote:

Originally posted by woodyallen:
2005 was an excellent year for music I must say. So many great debuts.

My vote for most overrated album of the year is Twin Cinema. I am a hardcore NP fan (seen shows, I have all the b-sides and rarities, I follow their every move, etc.) and anyone who thinks Twin Cinema is their best album is either deaf or have never heard the previous 2 albums. It contains the best Newman singalong chorus ever (Use It) and his best melodies (Sing me Spanish Techno), but the album is wildly inconsistent. The last 5 songs are forgettable at best. Certain tunes like Falling Through your Clothes, Broken Breads and These are the Fables are the worst songs Carl Newman has ever written. To sum up my ranting, this album contains less great songs than any previous NP album. But I still like it.

I disagree. I think it's their best. Maybe long in the tooth with the last 4 tunes(exceptStacked Crooked) but the best 8 songs in a row to open a record....
These are The Fables is one of the best songs on the record!!

After many many listens, I think Mass Romantic remains their best, but Twin Cinema is very very close. Electric Version is merely very good. Twin Cinema does feature "Bleeding Heart Show," one of my favorite songs all year.

I think Twin Cinema is the strongest at the top, but Mass Romantic is more consistent.

I feel like Twin Cinema is a great album. And I think it is my "best album that the more you listen to it, the more you like." It started near the 20s on my list, then moved to 14, then to 9 and by next week it might be in my top 5. I am not saying this because I think my list is so acclaimed but I really did enjoy Twin Cinema. So many of the songs are strong, solid pop/rock songs and I also agree that "Stacked Crooked" is a great song.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dubs:
After many many listens, I think Mass Romantic remains their best, but Twin Cinema is very very close. Electric Version is merely very good. Twin Cinema does feature "Bleeding Heart Show," one of my favorite songs all year.

Regarding "Bleeding Heart Show," I gree with you. I think it's a great song.

I also think Twin Cinema is miles better than Electric Version, an album I really didn'y care for save for a couple of songs.

I picked up Paula Frazer's Leave the Sad Things Behind at the tail end of '05 but only been listening to it over last weekend. It might have made my top 20 or 25. Guess her songs could be called indie country rock, I call them great. There's a nice Gillian Welch-meets-early Linda Ronstadt soft lilt in her voice that floors me. I've only heard of her former band, Tarnation, but now I plan to hunt down some of their recordings (as well as Frazer's other two albums) after enjoying a few samples online. If there's to be a 'Best new to you music of 2006' thread, I know Paula Frazer and Tarnation will be my first two entries.

My top 11 albums of 2005 in no particular order:

1. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
2. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
3. Wolfmother - Wolfmother
4. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
5. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
6. System of a Down - Mezmerize
7. Kanye West - Late Registration
8. Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger
9. The Futureheads - The Futureheads
10. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
11. My Morning Jacket - Z

1. Broken Social Scene - s/t
2. 13 & God - s/t
3. Beauty and the Beat - Edan
4. The Woods - Sleater-Kinney
5. Arular - M.I.A.
6. The GO! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
7. Picaresque - The Decemberists
8. Hell’s Winter - Cage
9. Absence - Dalek
10. Apologies to the Queen Mary - Wolf Parade
11. Akron Family/Angels of Light

kapa_chow - Have you heard the Drones Album? They're origingally from Perth I believe.

I've heard good things about it but haven't heard much of them myself. It's on my continually growing list of cds to look into.

I don't make any changes unless a couple albums I got later are clearly better than an album on the list, but I have re-evaluated a little:

Top 20

New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Hope 7 - self-titled
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Veronicas - Secret Life of
Stacie Rose - Shadow And Splendor
The Like - Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?
Eisley - Room Noises
Wussy - Funeral Dress
Lee Ann Womack - There's More Where That Came From
Teenage Fanclub - Man-Made
Anna Nalick - Wreck Of The Day
Cindy Alexander - Angels & Demons
The Pierces - Light Of The Moon
The Faders - Plug in & Play
White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Brandi Carlile - self-titled
Garbage - Bleed Like Me
Amy Rigby - Little Fugitive
Decemberists - Picaresque
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire

Honorable mentions include, but aren't limited to:

Eliza Gilkyson - Paradise Hotel
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Miranda Lambert - Kerosene
Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures
Metric - Live It Out
Saving Jane - Girl Next Door
My Morning Jacket - Z
Martha Wainwright - self-titled
Courtney Jaye - Traveling Light
Sheryl Crow - Wildflower
Liz Phair - Somebody's Miracle
Julie Gribble - So Typical
Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now
Katherine Schell - Emptier Streets
Wallflowers - Rebel, Sweetheart
Fisher - The Lovely Years
Madonna - Confessions On A Dance Floor
Jerra - Play Like A Girl
The Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart

If you are wondering where the Josh Ritter went, I decided to not include a re-issue.

Best of 2005

01 Hard-Fi - Stars of C.C.T.V.
02 Röyksopp - The Understanding
03 Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
04 Starsailor - On the Outside
05 Coldplay - X & Y
06 Saint Etienne - Tales From Turnpike House
07 Sugababes - Taller in More Ways
08 The Tears - Here Come The Tears
09 Richard Hawley - Coles Corner
10 Doves - Some Cities
11 The Duke Spirit - Cuts Across the Land
12 Goldie Lookin' Chain - Safe as F***
13 Various Artists for Warchild - Help: A Day In The Life
14 Gorillaz - Demon Days
15 Deep Dish - George Is On
16 Madonna - Confessions on a Dancefloor
17 Annie - Anniemal
18 New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call
19 Goldfrapp - Supernature
20 The Coral - The Invisible Invasion