best of 2005

I do this every year, and nothing’s gonna stop me this time round. I don’t care that no-one’s paying any attention, that no-one gives a hoot what I like in the first place, that come tomorrow I’ll think of another album I like better than the ones I’ve listed today, or that the Amazon referral payments I’ll collect from this post are unlikely to beat last year’s grand total of 34 pence. It’s my site, and I can do what the hell I want.

So here’s the blogjam Top 20 for 2005. As I can’t be arsed to come up with some flowery blurb to describe each release, the name of each artist links to their page at the All Music Guide, where you’ll find all kinds of glowing prose written by people far more qualified to do so than I.

	20. Neil Diamond 12 Songs
	19. Kaizers Orchestra Maestro
	18. White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan
	17. System Of A Down Hypnotize
	16. Boy Least Likely To The Best Party Ever
	15. Kanye West Late Registration
	14. Sons & Daughters The Repulsion Box
	13. Che Fu Beneath The Radar
	12. M.I.A. Arular
	11. Kate Bush Aerial
	10. Common Be
	9. Devendra Banhart Cripple Crow
	8. Wilco Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
	7. Little Brother The Minstrel Show
	6. Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary
	5. Gogol Bordello Gypsy Punks
	4. The Hold Steady Separation Sunday
	3. Blackalicious The Craft
	2. Danger Doom The Mouse and the Mask
	1. Sufjan Stevens Illinoise

And that’s it. Tune in again this time next year for another instalment of magical pop wisdom.

18 Comments so far

Great list. Totally agree about sufjan. Pure and utter class.

Neil Diamond?!

There’s no excuse for that.
~Milady
xxx

Neil Diamond is a god, bow down before the man who wrote “Crying in your pretzels”

Only got the Sufjan Stevens one a few days ago. It is now without doubt my favourite album of 2005—and probably of 2006 too at this rate.

Kaizers is pretty funny.

That’s a pretty cool list but you left out Decemberists and Broken Social Scene. Will check out the Blackalicious album - been wanting to hear some new conscious hip-hop for a long time.

Also good call on Hold Steady - a great album to drink beer too!

I prefer my rappers unconscious.

Yes. Neil Diamond is a god, and I will fight anybody who says otherwise.

The Minstrel Show is absolutely grand (as are their two previous albums) and the Common album has given me new found respect for Kanye. Also you reminded me I need to find the Danger Doom album and give it a good listen. Excellent choices sir if I may make so bold.

The Sufjan album is indeed class… Have been muchly enjoying his Christmas LP recently, too…
Cheers for reminding me to download - I mean, buy - the Wilco live album too… I think A Ghost Is Born is finally starting to sneakingly grow on me in its entireity (well, near enough, anyway…)

Thanks for the tip on the Xmas album… downloading now.

Congrats on the full page kittenwar article in today’s metro!!

If you like hip hop surely you can’t leave off K-Os - Joyful Rebellion? Undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year.

It is a good album - but didn’t it come out in 2004?

I’ve read your album of the year reviews for the past couple of years (one of the highlights of the site) and i’ve always been well impressed at the contents. Not that it really means much, as i may just have really bad taste and be far too uncultured. Anyway keep up the good work.

Came out in the UK in April… may have been out earlier in Canada/US.

[...] Previously: Best of 2005 Best of 2004 Best of 2003 Best of 2002 Best of 2001 Best of 2000 [...]

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