Best Albums of 2005 - Recommendations

[Aloysius]

What would you recommend outside this list, and heartily endorse on the list?

Metacritic - Best Albums of 2005 (http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2005.shtml)

[swede123]

I'm pretty damn hip and with it. Out of thirty there were five artists that I knew about prior to 2+2, and another 3 or so that I have heard about here. I hear Led Zeppelin has some albums out...

Swede

[shant]

Common - Be
Diplo - Florida
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

[Phoenix1010]

Reviews of this list and additions please. I want new music, and we haven't had one of these in a while.

[SL__72]

Wow, thats crazy. I was just going to make a post about "Z" by My Morning Jacket today. I've been listening to this album for a little over a week and love it. I might be influenced by the fact that they are one of my favorite bands...

Anyway, its good to see it is getting some attention.

[samjjones]

I am 30 years old, married, and hopelessly unhip. Which of these albums will I enjoy?

[mason55]

From this list I have and enjoy the following:

1
2
6
7
8
14
15
16
26
29
30

[SL__72]

The first one pretty much anyone could enjoy.


Also, from that list I really like:
Mezmerize by System Of A Down
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
Late Registration by Kanye West
Takk... by Sigur Rós

...and thats all I own.

[CIncyHR]

Guero by Beck is incredible.

[nyc999]

[ QUOTE ]
Guero by Beck is incredible.

[/ QUOTE ]

I also agree with the Bright Eyes album.

[Aloysius]

Here is the list (maybe this makes it easier) - rank is a "metascore" which is a weighted average of published critics and users of metacritic.com-

1. Z by My Morning Jacket
2. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
3. The Runners Four by Deerhoof
4. I Am A Bird Now by Antony And The Johnsons
5. Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
6. Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
7. The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
8. Arular by M.I.A.
9. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
10. Minimum-Maximum [Live] by Kraftwerk
11. Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River
12. The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird
13. Mezmerize by System Of A Down
14. Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team
15. LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem
16. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
17. Blinking Lights And Other Revelations by Eels
18. Beauty And The Beat by Edan
19. Oceans Apart by The Go-Betweens
20. Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
21. Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
22. Chavez Ravine by Ry Cooder
23. This Right Here Is Buck 65 by Buck
24. Late Registration by Kanye West
25. Leaders Of The Free World by Elbow
26. Takk... by Sigur Rós
27. School Of The Flower by Six Organs Of Admittance
28. Cinder by Dirty Three
29. Lost And Safe by The Books
30. Gimme Fiction by Spoon

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
From this list I have and enjoy the following:

[/ QUOTE ]
2 Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
5 Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
7 The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
8 Arular by M.I.A.
9 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
14 Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team
16 I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
20 Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
21 Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
24 Late Registration by Kanye West
27 School Of The Flower by Six Organs Of Admittance
30 Gimme Fiction by Spoon

I have and do not enjoy:
4 I Am A Bird Now by Antony And The Johnsons

Not on this list, but among my favorites:

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Idlewild - Warnings/Promises
The National - Alligator
Architecture In Helsinki - In Case We Die
Boy Least Likely To - Best Party Ever
The Kills - No Wow
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
Guero by Beck is incredible.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just saw Beck in concert last week. Guero will only get better with age.

[samjjones]

Never heard of Sufjan Stevens. 50 albums for 50 states? That is unbelievably ambitious and awesome. I love Dylan & Springsteen, so if his work is similar to that type of songwriting, I will check it out. Can anybody confirm?

[CollinEstes]

My two favorite albums this year are

Ray Lamontagne - Trouble

and

Ben Taylor - Another Run around the Sun


But I haven't heard anything from that list so I am guessing I am not listing to right genres for the board. (Ben Taylor is James Taylor's son)

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
I love Dylan & Springsteen, so if his work is similar to that type of songwriting, I will check it out. Can anybody confirm?

[/ QUOTE ]
Not so much. Well, I suppose it shares some narrative qualities, but the sound is not even close to either. You should check it out anyway.

[samjjones]

I thought as much...I was mainly referring to the "storytelling" aspects of the lyrics. I will check out and post a TR.

[CIncyHR]

I just saw him a few weeks ago as well. Brilliant.

[IndieMatty]

It's absolutely criminal that The National isn't on this list.

And I have to agree with Broken Social Scene not making it. /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[smurfitup]

takk is an amazing album... despite the fact that i don't speak icelandic (?)

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
takk is an amazing album... despite the fact that i don't speak icelandic (?)

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not a real language.

[smurfitup]

do you know what the actual language is?

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
do you know what the actual language is?

[/ QUOTE ]

From Amazon:

Hopelandic--an
otherworldly mutation of Icelandic, sung in the falsetto cadence of angels;

[pokerdirty]

[ QUOTE ]
Architecture In Helsinki - In Case We Die

[/ QUOTE ]

How this did not make the list I do no know.

[smurfitup]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
do you know what the actual language is?

[/ QUOTE ]

From Amazon:

Hopelandic--an
otherworldly mutation of Icelandic, sung in the falsetto cadence of angels;

[/ QUOTE ]

hah, wow.. that's interesting... i think i like sigur ros even more now /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[DMBFan23]

is this going to be one of those music threads where everyone brags about how they know cooler and more obscure bands than everyone else?

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
is this going to be one of those music threads where everyone brags about how they know cooler and more obscure bands than everyone else?

[/ QUOTE ]

Shouldn't you be able to figure that out by 25th reply?

[DMBFan23]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
is this going to be one of those music threads where everyone brags about how they know cooler and more obscure bands than everyone else?

[/ QUOTE ]

Shouldn't you be able to figure that out by 25th reply?

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah... /images/graemlins/frown.gif

just thought I'd add something since these bands are all too cool and obscure for me. that said I think there was a lot of The Shins love in one of these a while ago, so maybe I'll check out these My Morning Jacket people.

[UncleRemus]

#2, "Illinois", as many people said, is very good.

The best albums of 2005 that are not on the list include:
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
RPWL - The World Through My Eyes
Niacin - Organik

[imported_The Vibesman]

Thank you. I didn't even know Ry Cooder released an album last year.

[partygirluk]

I am currently listening to "Antony and the Johnstons - I am a bird now". It won the Mercury award. I like it a lot.

[TheMainEvent]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
do you know what the actual language is?

[/ QUOTE ]

From Amazon:

Hopelandic--an
otherworldly mutation of Icelandic, sung in the falsetto cadence of angels;

[/ QUOTE ]

hah, wow.. that's interesting... i think i like sigur ros even more now /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Takk actually is sung in icelandic. The other albums were not.

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
do you know what the actual language is?

[/ QUOTE ]

From Amazon:

Hopelandic--an
otherworldly mutation of Icelandic, sung in the falsetto cadence of angels;

[/ QUOTE ]

hah, wow.. that's interesting... i think i like sigur ros even more now /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Takk actually is sung in icelandic. The other albums were not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good to know. See now I like that more now!

[12ozLongneck]

I'm on board with the albums by The New Pornographers, Spoon, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

I don't enjoy Surfjan Stevens as much as I think I'm supposed to. Am I the only one?

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't enjoy Surfjan Stevens as much as I think I'm supposed to.

[/ QUOTE ]
What does that even mean? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[shant]

What National album and what Broken Social Scene album should I check out?

[12ozLongneck]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't enjoy Surfjan Stevens as much as I think I'm supposed to.

[/ QUOTE ]
What does that even mean? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I just don't get the amount of hype surrounding the album.

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
What National album and what Broken Social Scene album should I check out?

[/ QUOTE ]

You Forgot it In People; and [censored]..probably Aligator. But I love Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers.

[Georgia Avenue]

Oddly I would agree with most of this list...even though I hate music critics...maybe the Hole is greater than than the Some.

Lost And Safe by The Books is not so great...quirky noises ... somewhat annoying...

They forgot: White Stripes --Get Behind Me Satan
Dungen-- Ta det lugnt
and some hiphop that has been discussed recently.

And of course the Tender & Vulnerable (http://www.myspace.com/tendervulnerable) !!i!

[Aloysius]

I think because You Forgot It In People was so amazing, I was a little letdown by their most recent album. But it's still really good. I don't know all the albums on the list (hence the post), but still too bad Broken Social Scene's latest didn't make the cut.

I like The Go! Team's "Thunder Lightning Strike" off this list - it's a retro (incorporates 70s cop show theme song type melodies, and old school hip hop beats), sometimes unique sound, cool instrumentation too. I heard they're great in concert (gonna see them this week).

[Avatar of Wine]

Albums from the list that I find underrated:

-LCD Soundsystem, s/t - a great album, including the great 2nd disc of older 7"s and etc. Might not be everyone's aural cup of tea, but a fantastic CD . . . danceable, just ambient enough to be the best top-down nighttime driving album in history, and just lyrical enough to matter.

-Edan, "Beauty and the Beat" - Edan's always been underrated among the boho nerd rap set, and this album combines his intelligent, almost scientific lyrics with production featuring great 60s/70s psychadelia. If you dig tube amps and reverb, plus underground hip hop, this might be your favorite album of all time.

-Bright Eyes, "Wide Awake..." - OK, this one's not underrated at all, but this is probably the best bet for the people asking "where do I start?" from this list. Think of this album as a strange combination of golden age country, modern alt/indie rock, and folk - Oberst's lyrics aren't really for everyone, as they tend toward the vague/obtuse/visceral more than some like. If you're not into the country vibe so much, the older albums (especially "Fevers and Mirrors" and "Lifted..." are a little lighter on the country influence, but are still strongly folk (along with being just, well . . . weird). Nothing that will make you feel manly, and really not uplifting (to be nice), but amazing music.

Albums I didn't really dig:

-Buck 65, "This right here is Buck 65" - I get why this was highly reviewed - it's a novel concept, sort of a weird hybrid of hip hop and dylan/waits stories, with some maudlin sensibility in there. However, it just doesn't deliver - once you get over the novelty, I didn't find a lot of replay value.

(BTW - the obligatory "random CD for cred" would be The Boy Least Likely To - "The best party ever", probably my favorite CD this year)

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
(BTW - the obligatory "random CD for cred" would be The Boy Least Likely To - "The best party ever", probably my favorite CD this year)

[/ QUOTE ]

awesome cd

[uw_madtown]

[ QUOTE ]
8. Arular by M.I.A.
11. Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River
12. The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird
13. Mezmerize by System Of A Down
15. LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem
16. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
21. Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
24. Late Registration by Kanye West
26. Takk... by Sigur Rós
30. Gimme Fiction by Spoon

[/ QUOTE ]

All very good, although not in that order.

The list should also include:

The Mouse and the Mask by DangerDoom
You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having by Atmosphere
You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
The Weight is a Gift by Nada Surf
Broken Social Scene by Broken Social Scene

Albums that are decent, although not best of the year material:

Weapons of Mass Destruction by Xzibit
In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson
The B.Coming by Beanie Siegel
Black Mountain by Black Mountain
Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
Guero by Beck
Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
The Documentary by The Game

Still lots of other albums I should grab to catch up. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[GuyOnTilt]

Just random thoughts that go thru my head as I read thru this list:

Arular is AWESOME. I'm glad MIA's starting to do well in the club scene.
Deerhoof is a little too high for me.
The Go! Team album was from 2004.
Twin Cinema is nowhere near high enough for me.
WTF is System of a Down doing here???
Wasn't Gimme Fiction 2004 too? Seems like I've had that album for over a year...
Where's The National?
Where's Architecture in Helenski?
Where's Broken Social?
Where's Common?
I wish Grime/Garage would start getting more hype. /images/graemlins/frown.gif There's been some awesome albums out of that genre this year.

GoT

[Cancuk]

I like Buck 65 a lot. Also: "Trouble" by Ray Lamontagne..but now that i think about it, im' not 100% sure it came out this year.

it's good though.

Cancuk

[uw_madtown]

[ QUOTE ]
Wasn't Gimme Fiction 2004 too? Seems like I've had that album for over a year...

[/ QUOTE ]

It leaked early, although not THAT early. Released late May I believe.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]

I don't enjoy Surfjan Stevens as much as I think I'm supposed to. Am I the only one?

[/ QUOTE ]

He sucks.

Most of that list is hipster trash. Get Dark Tranquillity - Character and bang your head!

However, just so I don't get accused of being closed-minded, Sufjan Stevens is OK, that SOAD record is a guilty pleasure of mine, and Kanye West is OK as well. The rest, not so much.

[MasterShakes]

Matthew Good - 1995-2005 In A Coma - I would highly recommend the deluxe edition. If you're not in Canada, the best place that I know of to get it is amazon.ca. You might also want to check out maplemusic.ca. I highly recommend his whole catalog, especially "Avalanche".

From the list...
I didn't like The Hold Steady at all.
I loved the new System Of A Down.

[Emmitt2222]

How do you not mention the album in your own avatar? Although I personally like SYOF, it wouldn't crack my top 5 for the year, but I mean you have it as your avatar.

[GuyOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
How do you not mention the album in your own avatar? Although I personally like SYOF, it wouldn't crack my top 5 for the year, but I mean you have it as your avatar.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah I love the album to death, but I know it's not an incredible show of musicianship or songwriting. It's just an album I love listening to. /images/graemlins/smile.gif I don't get offended when it's not in ANYBODY's top anything list. Plus, it was from 2004 not 2005.

GoT

[Unabridged]

[ QUOTE ]
I think because You Forgot It In People was so amazing, I was a little letdown by their most recent album.

[/ QUOTE ]

i know i was

[Unabridged]

Ryan Adams - Cold Roses should be on the list

stuff on the list i recommend:
Bright Eyes
Wolf Parade
Sigur Ros

[KJS]

Best Extreme Metal of 2005:

Blessing the Hogs "The Twelve Guage Solution"
Caliban/Heaven Shall Burn "Caliban vs. Heaven Shall Burn Part 2"
Leng T'che "The Process of Elimination"
Despised Icon "The Healing Process"
Aborted "The Archaic Abbatoir"

KJS

[w_alloy]

The problem with the metacritic top 30 list is that variance helps out the lesser reviewed albums.

The vast majority of the albums on the list did not recieve many reviews. In other words, their sample size is small; in some cases 15-20% of some of the "major" releases. Smaller sample sizes create outliers, and this is a list of the top 30 "outliers" in the positive direction. It is much harder to maintain a winrate... err... get consistently higher reviews over a larger sample size.

Edit: That being said I really liked the list.

[shant]

What album is it? I don't recognize the acronym.

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
What album is it? I don't recognize the acronym.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stars - Set Yourself on Fire.

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
What would you recommend outside this list, and heartily endorse on the list?

Metacritic - Best Albums of 2005 (http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2005.shtml)

[/ QUOTE ]

Z's good but too high. Illinois's #1. Not a fan of Antony. Go! Team is actually the US release this year, GoT. Sleater-Kinney = so so good. New Pornographers, Spoon, Architecture in Helsinki, MIA, Wolf Parade, Boy Least Likely To, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Broken Social Scene... [censored], so much good stuff.

I should RapidShare some new BSS and Wolf Parade.

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm on board with the albums by The New Pornographers, Spoon, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

I don't enjoy Surfjan Stevens as much as I think I'm supposed to. Am I the only one?

[/ QUOTE ]

he annoys the piss out of me.

[GuyOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
Go! Team is actually the US release this year, GoT.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh yeah, I forgot they just release in the US this year. The US version of Huddle Formation makes me sad. /images/graemlins/frown.gif Not nearly as sweet.

GoT

[willie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
is this going to be one of those music threads where everyone brags about how they know cooler and more obscure bands than everyone else?

[/ QUOTE ]

Shouldn't you be able to figure that out by 25th reply?

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah... /images/graemlins/frown.gif

just thought I'd add something since these bands are all too cool and obscure for me. that said I think there was a lot of The Shins love in one of these a while ago, so maybe I'll check out these My Morning Jacket people.

[/ QUOTE ]

a true dmb fan may know that My Morning Jacket was signed to dave matthews own label, ATO, so that may be some slight indicator as to their ability and potential.

they are a BADASS band, very different and an awesome live show- caught them in philly on friday.

they've recorded some stuff in an empty barn silo- that alone is cool ish. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[vabogee]

two albums not on this list that should be near the top:

Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers

Hood - Outside Closer

[BWebb]

[ QUOTE ]

The Kills - No Wow


[/ QUOTE ]

I saw them open for Bloc Party in San Francisco and thought they were very good. I'll have to check this out.

[vabogee]

[ QUOTE ]
The problem with the metacritic top 30 list is that variance helps out the lesser reviewed albums.

The vast majority of the albums on the list did not recieve many reviews. In other words, their sample size is small; in some cases 15-20% of some of the "major" releases. Smaller sample sizes create outliers, and this is a list of the top 30 "outliers" in the positive direction. It is much harder to maintain a winrate... err... get consistently higher reviews over a larger sample size.

Edit: That being said I really liked the list.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is true, but to make the list they need a certain amount of review. For example, Lightning Bolt's new record gets like a 97 rating, but it's clearly not a 97-type record. a very good one, but not worthy of a 97. the score was based on like five reviews. because of that, it doesn't even make the list.

[zephed]

They missed Get Behind Me Satan-White Stripes

[GuyOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
Plus, [Stars - SYOF] was from 2004 not 2005.

[/ QUOTE ]
I was just informed it was released in the US in mid-'05. Import was late '04.

GoT

[kitaristi0]

[ QUOTE ]
2. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
16. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes


[/ QUOTE ]

Even though Lifted is better, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is pretty darn good too.

Illinois = 2nd best album of the 21st century.

[Dominic]

thanks for this post!

I've now been turned on to some great music -

New Pornographers, The Go! Team, Andrew Bird, LCD Soundsystem....and others. Great site.

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
16. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes


[/ QUOTE ]

Even though Lifted is better, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is pretty darn good too.

Illinois = 2nd best album of the 21st century.

[/ QUOTE ]

What's the best?

(I'm not arguing with you, my Illinois jocking is apparent, I've never felt the way I do about any whole album like I did that one)

[pryor15]

[ QUOTE ]

Ray Lamontagne - Trouble


[/ QUOTE ]

released in 2004

[CollinEstes]

My mistake, thought it came out early this year. Still a dam good album. Doubt many people here like that kind of music though.

[pryor15]

i'm a huge fan of the sufjan albums, and very much like the eels album

and i hear great things about the new Andrew Bird.

also: Springsteen's "Devils and Dust", the Calexico/Iron & Wine comp, Bill Ricchini's "Tonight I burn brightly", Guero, Amos Lee, and The Soundtrack of our Lives.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
thanks for this post!

I've now been turned on to some great music -

New Pornographers, The Go! Team.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. Great post. I'm going to have to get these two at least, as well as the Ry cooder album on that list.

[arod15]

Why dont i know any of these.....

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
Why dont i know any of these.....

[/ QUOTE ]
Because you don't regularly read OOT music threads?

[jgorham]

EP by the Fiery Furnances definitely deserves a spot on that list IMO.

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
EP by the Fiery Furnances definitely deserves a spot on that list IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, it's true. "Cousin Chris" is the [censored].

[IndieMatty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
EP by the Fiery Furnances definitely deserves a spot on that list IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, it's true. "Cousin Chris" is the [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]
http://www.wrestlingtradingcards.com/images/2002_wwe_raw_smack/cp3.jpg

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
EP by the Fiery Furnances definitely deserves a spot on that list IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, it's true. "Cousin Chris" is the [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]
http://www.wrestlingtradingcards.com/images/2002_wwe_raw_smack/cp3.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/soul_daddy/angle3.gif
You suck!

[Hoopster81]

[ QUOTE ]
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

[/ QUOTE ]

Great album

[xorbie]

Haven't seen anyone mention Picaresque, although I loved the album.

[Soul Daddy]

[ QUOTE ]
Haven't seen anyone mention Picaresque, although I loved the album.

[/ QUOTE ]
Good call.

[battschr]

[ QUOTE ]
They missed Get Behind Me Satan-White Stripes

[/ QUOTE ]

[Perseus]

[ QUOTE ]
Haven't seen anyone mention Picaresque, although I loved the album.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the first album I looked for when I saw this list. I am pretty suprised it didn't make it...

...my favorite album of the year thus far.

[TheBlueMonster]

1. Late Registration - Kanye West
2. Aha Shake Heartbreak - Kings of Leon
3. Be - Common