the year in review

top 10 albums of 2005:


10. thievery corporation - cosmic game
this year's "talkie walkie". if you ever need an album to just unwind with and chill, this is it. thievery corporation still produces some of the best lounge music and trip hop around.


09. beck - guero
critics said this album was merely ok, but i dug it. beck is still as upbeat and eccentric as ever. there might have been better releases, but few were as fun.


08. franz ferdinand - you could have it so much better
honestly not much has changed since their self titled debut album besides for some acoustic experimentation. still, you don't fix what ain't broke.


07. my morning jacket - z
some call "z" my morning jacket's "ok computer". i wont go that far, but this is definitely a big step forward for this talented alt-country band.


06. the clientele - strange geometry
sounds like 60s pop music. safe, predictable, but still good.


05. kanye west - late registration
not much more has to be said. kanye does it again.


04. the go! team - thunder, lightning, strike!
for some reason, the go! team reminded me of munching on cereal and watching saturday morning cartoons. the samples on this album are fantastic. great stuff.


03. bloc party - silent alarm
this album proved just how much better music from across the pond really was. those damn brits, always having to show us up. it will be a major upset if these guys don't win the mercury prize. also check out the wicked remix album.


02. spoon - gimme fiction
austin's prodigial sons strike again. these guys actually left elektra for indie label matador for more creative freedom with their music. evidently, it paid off.


01. stars - set yourself on fire
this is exactly what pop music should sound like. poignant, haunting, and so damn catchy. i played the crap out of this album to the point where i got sick of it.

honorable mention:
wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary
m.i.a. - arular
death from above 1979 - you're a woman, i'm a machine
danger doom
new pornographers - twin cinema
sufjan stevens - illinoise
decemberists - picaresque
low - the great destroyer

top 3 re-issues:
explosions in the sky - how strange innocence
dj shadow - entroducing
neutral milk hotel - in the aeroplane over the sea

biggest letdown: coldplay - X& Y
"U2-esque" my ass. did anyone else notice the recycled "clocks" riff?

i really found the arcade fire a bit overhyped. yes, let the hate mail begin. honestly, i just felt there were so many better albums. sure, they were different, but different doesn't necessarily translate as great. same goes for clap your hands say yeah and bright eyes. oh, and i've never been a huge broken social scene fan either. there were also a couple more albums that i wanted to add onto the honorable mention list, but i didn't want this list to get out of hand. that being said, i'm a busy guy, and it's only the end of november, which means i haven't had time to listen to everything. i'll probably edit this list as time goes by, and leave a comment if you think i've missed anything.

"to listen" list:
eels
nada surf
animal collective
tom veck
fiona apple
coheed and cambria
depeche mode
super furry animals
nada surf
sleater kinney
buck 65