Music: Best Albums of the Year Series: 2005

[Saturated Fats]

1965: The Beatles - Rubber Soul
1967: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1969: The Beatles - Abbey Road
1970: Black Sabbath - Paranoid
1971: Led Zeppelin - IV
1973: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
1975: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
1977: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
1979: Pink Floyd - The Wall
1980: AC/DC - Back in Black
1982: Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
1985: Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair
1988: Metallica - ...And Justice for All
1989: Pixies - Doolittle
1991: Nirvana - Nevermind
1994: Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York
1996: (TIE) Soundgarden - Down on the Upside // Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
1998: (TIE) Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill // System of a Down - System of a Down
1999: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
2000: Radiohead - Kid A
2002: Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
2004: (TIE) Madvillain - Madvillainy // The Killers - Hot Fuss // Green Day - American Idiot
2007: Radiohead - In Rainbows
2010: The National - High Violet
2014: Behemoth - The Satanist

1966: The Beatles - Revolver (17 votes)

2nd Place: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (14 votes)
3rd Place: Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence (9 votes)
4th Place: Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (8 votes)
5th Place: 2 albums tied with 6 votes

In one of their final poll appearances, the Fab Four win a two-horse race with another of the great albums of all time, in Pet Sounds. Not entirely surprising, but it was cool to see both albums get so much love. I'm still surprised that Blonde on Blonde didn't get more love, but this ain't a Dylan board.

2005 is an interesting year for me. On one hand, it feels like a year for some big releases - some of the biggest and most renowned albums of the decade. And yet, I don't know if I'll have more than one poll option in my top-5. Feels like a year for upstarts, at least on my ballot.

9/24: 1984
9/27: 2011
9/29: 1972

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[Langdon Alger]

I will forever remember 2005 as the year Weezer released that god awful “Beverly Hills” song.

 

[Saturated Fats]

I will forever remember 2005 as the year Weezer released that god awful “Beverly Hills” song.

It has been a long, long fall from Pinkerton.

 

[Langdon Alger]

It has been a long, long fall from Pinkerton.

Heck, I was fine with the green album.

 

[plank]

1. What Comes After the Blues - Magnolia Electric Co.
2. The Fitzgerald - Richmond Fontaine
3. Okemah and the Melody of Riot - Son Volt
4. Prairie Wind - Neil Young
5. Out of Exile - Audioslave
6. Devils & Dust - Bruce Springsteen
7. Superwolf - Matt Sweeney & Bonnie "Prince" Billy
8. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
9. Fair & Square - John Prine
10. Z - My Morning Jacket
11. Sandstorm - The Madeira
12. In the Reins - Calexico and Iron & Wine
13. When the Sun is the Moon - Hudson Bell
14. Red Dust Rising - The Dexateens
15. Funeral Dress - Wussy
16. Rivers Roll On By - Jim and Jennie and The Pinetops
17. The Modern Sounds of -The Knitters

Magnolia Electric Co. also released a great live album(Trials & Errors) and an EP(Hard to Love a Man). A very good year!

 

[Ceremony]

Alligator

 

[Langdon Alger]

Neil Young’s Prairie Wind album was mentioned in this thread. That’s a good one.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Frances the Mute by the Mars Volta

What an ambitious album and completely fantastic all the way through.

 

[Oxbow Lakes]

Kanye West - Late Registration
Edan - Beauty and the Beat
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
PMMP - Kovemmat kädet
CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange
toe - The Book About My Idle Plot on Vague Anxiety

Still haven’t listened Illinois... damn.

 

[Mescaleroman]

Rob Dickinson - Fresh Wine for Horses
British Sea Power - Open Season
the Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
Sleater Kinney - The Woods
Paul Weller - As is Now
Ocean Colour Scene - A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad
Sinead O'Connor - Throw Down Your Arms
Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins
Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV

 

[Cas]

Lots of good stuff that I listen to again and again this year:

1349 - Hellfire
Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal
Cathedral - Garden of Unearthly Delights
Kamelot - The Black Halo
Holy Moses - Strength Power Will Passion
Insect Warfare - At War with Grindcore
Master - Four More Years of Terror
Primordial - The Gathering Wilderness
Reverend Bizarre - Crush the Insects
Vader - The Art of War EP
Yob - The Unreal Never Lived

The overall best work of the year that I'm familiar with is probably Primordial - The Gathering Wilderness. Epic, atmospheric and folky black metal,

I voted for Sunn O))) - Black One as well, which I used to play at extremely high volumes at Halloween with all of the lights off, save one. Scared the hell out of parents, though Monoliths and Dimensions was more effective there.

 

[Perennial]

Not familiar with any of these albums...

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Out of Exile - Audioslave

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

I will forever remember 2005 as the year Weezer released that god awful “Beverly Hills” song.

and Bad Day by Daniel Powter.

and a bunch of terrible Nickelback songs like photograph.

Could easily do a worst singles poll for 2005.

 

[Langdon Alger]

and a bunch of terrible Nickelback songs like photograph.

What the hell is on Joey’s head?

 

[frisco]

Other than Devils And Dust:
Jackson Browne-Solo Acoustic Volume 1.
Rick Springfield-The Day Before Yesterday

My Best-Carey

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I wasn't done with this list, and I'm sure I'll disagree with it in no time, but here goes nothing...

1. Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain
2. Fantômas – Suspended Animation
3. Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning / Bright Eyes – Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
4. The Guilty Hearts – The Guilty Hearts
5. Moistboyz – Moistboyz IV
6. Gay For Johnny Depp – Blood: The Natural Lubricant (An Apocalyptic Adventure Beyond Sodom and Gomorrah)
7. We Versus the Shark – Ruin Everything!
8. Cyro Baptista – Love The Donkey
9. Buckethead – Kaleidoscalp
10. Orthrelm – OV

HMs:
Corleone – Wei-Wu-Wei
Hoppy Kamiyama - A Meaningful Meaningnessless
Koenjihyakkei – Angherr Shisspa (uneven as a whole, but damn, the best parts are all-time worthy)
Anthony Baxton & Fred Frith – Duo
Navicon Torture Technologies – All I Want to Hear Is the Sound of My Own Heart Stopping (very rare album, but if you like dark ambient, slsk is your friend)
Eels – Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
Cex – Know Doubt (EP)
The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute
Brad Lubman – Insomniac
Fred Frith – Elventh Hour
Infidel? / Castro! – Bioentropic Damage Fractal
Benjamin Biolay – À l'origine
Okkyung Lee – Nihm
Guapo – Black Oni
Deerhoof – The Runners Four
Toby Driver – In the L..L..Library Loft
Hot Hot Heat – Elevator (Bubble gum punk, done right)
Les Goules – Memories
Caribou – The Milk of Human Kindness
Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene

Curiosities:
Fantômas & Melt-Banana – Animali in Calore Surriscaldati con Ipertermia Genitale/Cat in Red (It's not even 3 minutes long, but amazing)
The Locust – Safety Second, Body Last (10 minutes long EP, among the best from The Locust)
Blood Brothers – Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck (also a pretty short EP)
Ni Hao! – Gorgeous
Tunng – Mother's Daughter and Other Songs
Dälek – Absence
Team Sleep – Team Sleep
Gemstones – Blind Elephant
Makigami Koichi – Koedarake
Coil – The Ape of Naples
Circulus – The Lick On the Tip of An Envelope Yet To Be Sent
Afrirampo – Kore Ga Mayaku Da
Of Montreal – The Sunlandic Twins
Architecture in Helsinki – In Case We Die
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band – Horses in the Sky
Odd Nosdam – Burner

 

[Saturated Fats]

@Violenza Domestica considering your preference for the experimental, artistic, and avant-garde, I'm consistently surprised by your love for Bright Eyes. Just one of those comfort bands?

 

[Teemu]

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Sigur Ros - Takk...
The National - Alligator
Iron & Wine & Calexico – In the Reins
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Animal Collective - Feels
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
Wilco - Kicking Television
Coldplay – X&Y

"Hoppipolla" was my first dance at my wedding.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

@Violenza Domestica considering your preference for the experimental, artistic, and avant-garde, I'm consistently surprised by your love for Bright Eyes. Just one of those comfort bands?

I think there's artistry in different forms, and Bright Eyes feels very artsy to me - that being said, I have no real valuable musical knowledge, I just tend to prefer stuff that feels unique and signed (same with films). I fell for Bright Eyes with the Fevers & Mirrors album and listening to it today, I'm still always surprised by the structures and use of multiple sonorities. From 2005, I'm Wide Awake is clearly a simpler album, but the songs are just great (can't imagine someone disliking Road to Joy). Digital Ash was a subpar album, even though I respect that they tried a different direction.

 

[MoreOrr]

How the f*** is Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" not on your list?? I think her best album ever.

My #1 - Confessions on a Dance Floor" - Madonna
#2 - Hotel - Moby

 

[ItsFineImFine]

^ X&Y is unfairly underrated, most consistent and last good Coldplay album imo.

Anyways, good year but fairly easy choice for me. The eerie cold atmosphere still stands up, still maybe my favourite alt rock album of the decade

kent - Du & jag döden

 

[HisIceness]

Voted Coldplay.

Not on the list, but I liked Bobby Valentinos self-titled debut album which produced a top-ten hit in Slow Down.

I will forever remember 2005 as the year Weezer released that god awful “Beverly Hills” song.

Ha, the Weezer fans in my high school (which was maybe 2 or 3 of them?) were making fun of all the new Weezer "fans" when that song started making its run.

Good music video though

 

[Xelebes]

Went with Sun O))) - Black One because it is the only album that has a song that I like on it.

 

[kihei]

Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate: In the Heart of the Moon
Coldplay: X & Y
Broken Social Scene: Broken Social Scene
Sigur Ros: Takk
Porcupine Tree: Deadwing
Seu Jorge: The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
Doves: Some Cities
Babyshambles: Down in Albion
Brad Mehldau Trio: Day is Done
Ryuichi Sakamoto: /05