Best Music of 2005
 

there is a lot of music i liked.

dance: mylo - destroy rock and roll, vitalic - ok cowboy
electronica: m83 - before the dawn heals us
indie folk: sufjan stevens - illinois
indie rock: steve malkmus - face the truth, spoon - gimme fiction
indie loonie: animal collective - feels, devendra banhart - cripple crow
alt-country: my morning jacket - z
cockney: art brut - bang bang rock and roll
soundtrack: amon tobin - splinter cell
dj mix: dj food - raiding the 20th century
alternative: gorillaz - demon days
remixes: continous stream of tracks from beck - guero
no-name remixer: poj masta

i heard a lot of pretty good hip hop, but nothing as good as stuff from last year.

what did you like this year? here are some lists from writers/artists. not all of them seem to know when certain albums actually came out (arcade fire??), but these lists are usually good for a suggestion or two.

http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2790.html
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2789.html
http://www.filter-mag.com/news/interior.2793.html
http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2005.shtml
http://crazymonk.org/archives/2005_12_03/207
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...575895-2807167
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/2005/best_albums.htm
http://travelersdiagram.com/archive/...7_archive.html
http://www.thestrand.ca/media/paper4...w.thestrand.ca
http://takeyourmedicinemp3.blogspot....t-47-acts.html
http://www.informationleafblower.com...40_band_2.html

and here are some newish ones

http://www.othermusic.com/2005december13update.html
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/featur...ents/12-12-05/
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/featur...ents/12-13-05/
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/featur...ents/12-14-05/
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=2014

Reverend Horton Heat - Revival
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
System of a Down - Mesmerize/Hypnotize
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute / Scab Dates
Doves - Some Cities
Sigur Ros - Takk...
Coldplay - X&Y
White Stripes - Get Behind me Satan

I actually think the hip-hop this year was far superior to last year. Here's a list:

Sage Francis-A Healthy Distrust
Kanye West-Late Registration
One Be Lo-S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.
Quasimoto-The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
Cage-Hell's Winter
DangerDoom-The Mouse and the Mask
Common-Be

and the best album of the year (any genre)...

Edan-Beauty and the Beast

edit-I want to cry foul on some of those "Best of 2005" lists. One had Bjork's Medulla, which came out last year. And the Amazon list had an album with two headliners that have been dead over a decade! They should limit their lists to "Best music produced in 2005" not "Best music I found out about in 2005"

Kamelot - The Black Halo
Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm burning star IV: Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
Children of Bodom - Are you Dead yet?
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
Gorillaz - Demon Days

Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (alt-country)
Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Self Titled
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Kanye West - Late Registration
The Game - The Documentary

Certainly not exhaustive, and I'm sure I left stuff off, however these were definitely big ones for me. I'm still waiting for a lot of the websites to put out their albums of the year. Those lists always entertain me.

Sigur Ros - Takk...
Red Sparowes - At the Soundless Dawn
Opeth - Ghost Reveries

ha ha, yeah, i was hoping that comment would lead to some suggestions

edit: and yes, a surprisingly high number of albums from 2004 made the lists i posted. i actually included one myself without knowing (although it is still only available on import).

Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Animal Collective - Feels
Nickel Creek - Why Should the Fire Die?
The Ditty Bops - The Ditty Bops

I think I'd pick Nickel Creek out of those four. Though Feels is definitely intriguing and "Grass" is stuck in my brain currently.

It seems like the older I get, the less "new" music I listen to.

I'd have to go back and look at iTunes to see what exactly was released in 2005, but off the top of my head, I'm going to go with, in order:

1) Josh Rouse - Nashville
2) Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
3) Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

And, because I don't listen to a lot of new stuff, I'm awarding Honorable Mention to these late 2004 releases, again, in order:

1) Rilo Kiley: More Adventurous
2) Brian Wilson: SMiLE
3) Hem: Eveningland

my music consumption has been radically shaped by my project of pillaging the music library at the university where i work. so i cant really answer the question about best music to come out in 2005, but i can make a little listof the best music i found this year.

salvatore sciarrino/lost cloud quartet: la bocca, i predi, il suono
morton subotnik: silver apples of the moon/the beast
pandit v. g. jog: classical indian violin
albert ayler: holy ghost
franco & ok jazz: originalite
billie holiday: lady day on columbia
lcd soundsystem
christian marclay: records
the rhino comp (of 70s punk): no thanks!
johnny hodges: passion flower

When I saw this thread, two albums leapt into my mind; without looking at my stack of discs, I'll go with them: COLD ROSES by Ryan Adams and CHAOS AND CREATION IN THE BACKYARD by Paul McCartney.

And it's been YEARS--over a decade--since I'd put Paul McCartney in a "Best of the year" catagory.

Sentenced - The Funeral Album
SOAD - Mezmerize/Hypnotize

I really like American Idiot and X&Y, then everyone killed them. Why does everyone play music over and over and over again?! All it does is make something great turn into something bland and ordinary.
System of a Down - Mesmerize/Hypnotize was also a great album. They have a hell of a good sound.

I totally forgot this came out this year. I highly enjoyed this album, didn't take it out of the car changer for probably 2 months. Unfortunately I burned myself out on it a bit, but still a fantastic album.

I would say Rosenrot by Rammstein-

...
 

Cryptopsy - Once Was Not

It's been a long year and my memory fails...it's one of the more recent releases and certainly one of the years best.

...I'm not completely braindead:
Circle Of Dead Children - Zero Comfort Margin
Aborted - The Archaic Abattoir
Despised Icon - The Healing Process
Cephalic Carnage - Anomolies
Pig Destroyer - Terrifyer

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Riverside - Second Life Syndrome

I don't think there's anything coming up in the next month that would change this up but I don't know for sure. Also, there are a few cds I havn't gotten around to picking up yet that I suspect could crack into this list like Wilco - Kicking Television, New Pornographers and a few others.

Anyway, here it is:

1. My Morning Jacket - Z
2. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
4. Spoon - Gimmie Fiction
5. Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze
6. Oasis - Don't Believe The Truth
7. Ryan Adams & the Cardnials - Cold Roses
8. Beck - Guero
9. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
10. Matt Mays & El Torpedo - Matt Mays & El Torpedo
11. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
12. Son Volt - Okemah And The Melody Of Riot
13. Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
14. Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation - Mighty Rearranger
15. Neil Young - Prairie Wind
16. Iron & Wine - Woman King
17. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
18. Audioslave - Out of Exile
19. Coldplay - X&Y
20. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have it so Much Better
21. Stereophonics - Language Sex Violence Other
22. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
23. Stripper's Union - Local 518
24. The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir - The High Cost of Low Living
25. Joel Plaskett - LaDeDa

bonnie raitt - souls alike
buddy guy - bring 'em in

Yea, Go! Team are cool...

To be honest, I got nothing. I spent most of this year trying to find music from way back.

I disagree--overexposure does not lessen the quality of the work, it simply makes one tired of hearing it. Something bland and ordinary doesn't become better because it is obscure, and something great doesn't become bland because you've heard it more than you care to. Your reaction to it changes, no doubt about that, but that's not the same thing.

I disagree. Repeated listening of the same thing can make minor flaws stand out more. Because you have heard it more and more, these minor imperfections start to be more evident, and can lessen the overall impact of a song. Your perception might change, but it's because you are hearing more of the "actual" song and not just focusing on whatever positives drew you to it initially.

Did Terrifyer come out this year?? Either way...

Add to these gems:

DangerDoom - The Mouse and The Mask (Skafe, you've not heard this yet I take it?)

and you have my list.

I've been buying far too much older music lately to make a good list of this year's music.

Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
SOAD - Mesmerize/Hypnotize
QOTSA - Lullabies to Paralyze
Big and Rich - Comin' To Your City
Toby Keith - Honkytonk University
Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists
Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
The new Tool album that didn't come out.

I'm just gonna go ahead and copy and paste a few I saw already:

Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
QOTSA - Lullabies to Paralyze
DangerDoom - The Mouse and The Mask
Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl

And add:
We Are Scientists - With Love And Squalor
The National - Alligator
The Constantines - Tournament Of Hearts
Hot Chip- Coming On Strong
Atmosphere - You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having
Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die
Harvey Danger-Little by Little
The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers

my Top 5:

Sigur Ros - Takk
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
Aberdeen City - The Freezing Atlantic
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Good selections Alan, I haven't had the chance to hear one be lo, cage, or quasi yet. Kayne, common, and sage are all pretty solid contributions. Damn, it takes me at least a couple listens to really decide if an album is good or not. Plus, I spend more time discovering older albums than current [in the same year, that is] stuff.
[Yeah, this is coming from a college radio station DJ - we rarely get new releases, so yeah].

I was annoyed that johnny cash and elliot smith was on those lists last year. meh.
Anyways, I'll list my nominations for good albums of the year 2005 [that were released in 2k5].
[besides ones not mentioned by alan...]

don juan dracula - young debutantes ii [electronic/rock sorta]
- Though there's the novelty of using a 'speak n' spell' computer into your music, it actually does it successfully without coming off as a gimmick, catchy tons

ninja high school - young adults against suicide
Little Brother - young minstrel show [honestly, only heard a couple tracks, but sounded good]
franz ferdinand - you could have it so much better [Proved they weren't a one hit album wonder]
Gorillaz - demon days [can't forget this early may release]

Hey Max.... are you from Boston? Curious about the Aberdeen city selection. Just curious if they've made it big enough that people outside boston have heard them. I actually went to college with them, and worked at a record store with one of the guys for years. Didn't think they'd ever get as big as they seem to be getting.

That only happens when the music isn't that good to begin with. A good album can be listened to a bunch of times but eventually gets old. A great album doesn't get old.

No I'm not from Boston. I first heard about them from an mp3 blog. I doubt they're all that well known outside of Boston, but if they keep making good music, they are bound to get more recognition.

I'm hardly an experienced 2005 music afficionado but I'd have to say:

The Bloodhound Gang: Hefty Fine

Wooohooo! I'm going to be different and say

Michael Buble - It's time
Robbie Williams - Intensive Care
Cat Empire - Two shoes.

10) Wet Secrets - A Whale of a Cow
9) M.I.A - Arular
8) Part Chimp - I Am Come
7) Animal Collective - Feels
6) archetecture in helsinki - In Case We Die
5) Kayne West - Late Registration
4) The Locust - Safety Second Body Last
3) Mindless Self Indulgence - You'll Rebel to Anything
2) The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute
1) The Fall of Troy - Doppelganger

Special Guests:
Final Fantasy - Has a Good Home
Kaki King - Legs To Make Us Longer
Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain

Little Brother---The Minstrel Show

The only album that I really dug this year was Coheed and Cambria's Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness.

Other than that, I just listened to alot of local music and older stuff.

Iron And Wine/Iron And Wine feat Calexico - Woman King/In The Reigns
Wolf Parade - Apologies To Queen Mary
Animal Collective - Feels
Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Fort Minor - The Rising Tide
My Morning Jacket - Z
Sun Kill Moon - Tiny Cities
Sigur Ros - Takk
Ray Lamontagne - Trouble
Ben Taylor - Another Run Around The Sun
Eisley - Room Noises
David Gray - Life In Slow Motion
Aqualung - Strange & Beautiful
Clap Your Hands & Say Yeah - Self Titled
Broken Social Scene - Self Titled
Martha Wainwright - Self Titled

I'll probably be back with more. There were a whole lot of great albums this year.

Asta!!

Wolf Parade - Apologies To Queen Mary
Clap Your Hands say Yeah - Self Titled
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Gorillaz - Demon Days
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy

After careful consideration, these are albums I bought this year, and released in 2005, that I enjoyed the most in no particular order:
Oh yeah. You may have seen pretty much all of these show up in my posts in the "Latest albums you have bought" thread

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Maria Taylor - 11:11

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
The Grabs - Sex Fashion and Money

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Eisley - Room Noises

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Inara George - All Rise

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
The Kills - No Wow

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Martha Wainwright - S/T

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
M.I.A. - Arular

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
The Raveonettes - Pretty In Black

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
The Like - Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking
*late add, knocked my tower of cd's over, and lo and behold
** I think thats all of them. We'll see if I knock my cd's over and find one that I somehow forgot about

The Decemberists - Picaresque

http://www.rainydawg.org/images/db/l...112904125.jpeg

The music is fantastic. Very full, rich and moves you just the way they want you to be moved. The voice is sweet, even if it is kind of nasal, but it works perfectly with the style. The one thing that makes this album one of the best albums of the year is the lyrics.

They have a song called "The Mariner's Revenge" and it's actually about a mariner who goes out to find the man that gave his mother consumption, and

"Find him, bind him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked
Clawing at the ceiling
Of his grave
*sigh*"

And they have sweet romantic songs too, (There are angels in your your angles. There's a low moon caught in your tangles. Of Angels and Angles) a song about amature baseball, about living as kings of the homeless, about military wives...

So good... :D

The opposite can also be true. Many times it has happened that I'd listen to something once, and then on the 2nd, 3rd, 50th listen I'll pick up an element of the song that I didn't hear before eg. a cymbal you didn't notice before or the way the bass line changes when it gets to the chorus etc. I listen to quite a bit of soulful, jazzy house and it contains alot of "hidden" elements.

Anyways, my fav's in no particular order:

Coldplay - X&Y
Jamiroquai - Dynamite
Kanye West - Late Registration
Eminem - Curtain Call
Mixed by Vinni da Vinci - What's Phat Pussycat Vol 5