# 2005 mid-year best album list **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481 "2005-06-30T05:25:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/1 "2005-06-30T05:25:41Z")
Never too early to start ranking the best albums of the year. I’ve bought a ton of music in the past 6 months, so I’m going to rank my current 5 favorite albums with 2005 release dates. Disclaimer: haven’t bought Coldplay or the Foo Fighters yet. 1. Bloc Party _Silent Alarm_ 2. The White Stripes _Get Behind Me, Satan_ 3. Beck _Guero_ 4. The Shout Out Louds _Howl Howl Gaff Gaff_ 5. The Decemberists _Picaresque_ Honorable mention: M83 _Before the Dawn Heals Us_, Stephen Malkmus _Face the Truth_, The National _Alligator_. Disappointments so far: Gorillaz, Aimee Mann. And this year’s Electrelane, _Axes_, isn’t nearly as great as last year’s awesome _The Power Out_. Also The Mars Volta _Frances The Mute_. Trend – I seem to be buying tons of these somewhat interchangeable British 80s resurgence bands (Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Dead Sixties, Futureheads, British Sea Power, The Doves) that are all pretty good. Even New Order’s new one is supposedly pretty good… Interstingly, The Doves and British Sea Power have seemed to get there on their second albums after being more straight-up indie on their first. Also with the European indie – M83, The Shout Out Louds, and last year’s Phoenix and The Concretes. How’s about y’all? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/2 "2005-06-30T06:13:49Z")
> [@edwino](#): > > 1. Bloc Party _Silent Alarm_ > 2. The White Stripes _Get Behind Me, Satan_ > 3. Beck _Guero_ > 4. The Shout Out Louds _Howl Howl Gaff Gaff_ > 5. The Decemberists _Picaresque_ > > Honorable mention: M83 _Before the Dawn Heals Us_, Stephen Malkmus _Face the Truth_, The National _Alligator_. > > Disappointments so far: Gorillaz, Aimee Mann. And this year’s Electrelane, _Axes_, isn’t nearly as great as last year’s awesome _The Power Out_. Also The Mars Volta _Frances The Mute_. > > How’s about y’all? I sort of agree with your top 5. Well, thats a qualified agreement. I can’t stand the new White Stripes Album. I really want to like it, because I think it is Jacks best writing so far, but I have had it with Megs Drum work. It was fine all the way through _White Blood Cells_ but this new one and _Elephant_ just leave me frustrated that she can only play 2 beats. The other 4 are all great, though I am not sure that the Block Party and Beck Albums won’t get edged out by the end of the year. I find myself not going back to them as often as I do other things. I would like to nominate The Fiery Furnaces album _EP_ to replace the White Stripes on the list, and make the early prediction that The Decemberists will be the Album of the Year. Its such a good album it hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/3 "2005-06-30T08:47:11Z")
I haven’t bought a lot of music lately, but that’s because most modern music pisses me off. I’m an old crank like that. The only ones I’ve found to be worth repeated listenings are the new foo fighters double album and the new Shakira album. I’m a huge foo fan, so on that I am horribly biased. It’s not as good as their last disk, but there are a lot of albums that aren’t that good. Even the accoustic cd rocks. 9/10 The new Shakira album, while entirely in spanish, still manages to kick much ass. Very good music. She can sing, and she’s just about the sexiest anything on the planet these days. 10/10 ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/4 "2005-06-30T13:47:57Z")
Tough to make a list right now, because I don’t tend to pay attention to when stuff actually comes out and I’m not at the computer with iTunes right now, but I’ll give it a shot. [ol] [li]Beck, _Guero_[/li][li]Sufjan Stevens, _Illionois_ (not technically out yet)[/li][li]Ben Folds, _Songs for Silverman_[/li][li]White Stripes, _Get Behind Me Satan_[/li][li]Gwen Stefani, _L.A.M.B._ (guilty pleasure)[/li][/ol] Caveat: I haven’t listened to some things enough to rank them, like the Decemberists or Bloc Party. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/5 "2005-06-30T14:09:23Z")
_I Am A Bird Now_ by Antony And The Johnsons _Silent Alarm_ by Bloc Party _Humming By The Flowered Vine_ by Laura Cantrell _Oceans Apart_ by The Go-Betweens _Chavez Ravine_ by Ry Cooder ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/6 "2005-06-30T14:45:18Z")
I was just thinking about starting this thread today. For me, this has been a pretty weak year so far. There are only three albums that I feel are worth mentioning on a best-of list: 1. Buried Inside, _Chronoclast_ 2. Swallow the Sun, _The Morning Never Came_ 3. Mindless Self Indulgence, _You’ll Rebel to Anything_ There have been a couple of big disappointments. Nile’s _Annihilation of the Wicked_ is really just showing off what a stylistic corner they’ve painted themselves into, and Dream Theater’s _Octavarium_ completely discards the direction they’ve been moving so far this millennium for the sound of their earlier, better-selling stuff. Granted, there are a couple releases I haven’t heard yet that have high praise (Red Sparowes’ _At the Soundless Dawn_ and Carnival in Coal’s _Collection Prestige_), and there are new albums coming from Arcturus, Opeth and Ulver, so maybe this year will end strong. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/7 "2005-06-30T14:50:06Z")
In no order The Duhks (self-titled) Sleater-Kinney - _The Woods_ Beck - _Guero_ Robbie Fulks - _Georgia Hard_ The Decemberists - _Picaresque_ Honorable mentions go to _Cold Roses_ by Ryan Adams, _In Case We Die_ by Architecture in Helsinki, _Face the Truth_ by Stephen Malkmus, and _EP_ by the Fiery Furnaces. Special awards go to Lucinda Williams _Live at the Fillmore_, the _Prisoners of Love_ collection from Yo La Tengo, and the deluxe reissue of _Endtroducing…_ by DJ Shadow. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/8 "2005-06-30T17:06:27Z")
Was Keane’s _Hopes and Fears_ released in 2005? I don’t think I picked it up until March or April, but I’m not usually cutting edge like that. Anyway, this is my nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/9 "2005-06-30T17:23:59Z")
So far I’ve only picked up two albums from this year. Judas Priest’s Angel of Retribution and Europe’s Start from the Dark Are both very good. I don’t know if they will be the best or not because the year isn’t over, but I know they will both be up there. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/10 "2005-06-30T17:39:05Z")
> [@edwino](#): > > Disappointments so far: Gorillaz, **Aimee Mann**. :eek: How dare you! :mad: 😃 My favs so far (the Cardies based on being released in the US this year): 1. **The Cardigans** - _Long Gone Before Daylight_ 2. **Aimee Mann** - _The Forgotten Arm_ 3. **Tori Amos** - _The Beekeeper_ 4. **Better Than Ezra** - _Before The Robots_ 5. **The Decemberists** - _Picaresque_ (if only for The Engine Driver) MAJOR disappointment of the year: Weezer. What a steamer that one was. \>\_\< ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/11 "2005-06-30T17:41:02Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > :eek: How dare you! :mad: > > 😃 > > My favs so far (the Cardies based on being released in the US this year): > > 1. **The Cardigans** - _Long Gone Before Daylight_ > 2. **Aimee Mann** - _The Forgotten Arm_ > 3. **Tori Amos** - _The Beekeeper_ > 4. **Better Than Ezra** - _Before The Robots_ > 5. **The Decemberists** - _Picaresque_ (if only for The Engine Driver) > > MAJOR disappointment of the year: Weezer. What a steamer that one was. \>\_\< Whoops - my brain is lapsing (a 4 month old at home will do that to ya). Leave **The Cardigans** off there and bump everyone else up. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/12 "2005-06-30T18:01:44Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > 1. **The Decemberists** - _Picaresque_ (if only for The Engine Driver) I loved that song when I heard it on the radio. I’ve also heard a real pirate-sounding song with an accordion and “The Sporting Life,” which reminded me a lot of Belle and Sebastian, who I like. Is the rest of the album that good? How about their other stuff? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/13 "2005-06-30T22:21:25Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Was Keane’s _Hopes and Fears_ released in 2005? I don’t think I picked it up until March or April, but I’m not usually cutting edge like that. > > Anyway, this is my nomination. Nope, that’s been out in Europe for a couple of years and in America for at least a year. They’re working on their follow-up right now. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/14 "2005-07-01T00:03:59Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I loved that song when I heard it on the radio. I’ve also heard a real pirate-sounding song with an accordion and “The Sporting Life,” which reminded me a lot of Belle and Sebastian, who I like. Is the rest of the album that good? How about their other stuff? The pirate-sounding song was probably “The Mariner’s Revenge.” The whole album is solid, though there are several different styles. The lead-off track, “The Infanta” sounds like it could be in a Broadway musical, “From My Own True Love” is more like a tone-poem, “16 Military Wives” is a political song in which the music is much more upbeat than the lyrics, and “On the Bus Mall” is a rather soft song about teenage male prostitutes. I’ve got their _Castaways and Cutouts_ album and their _5 Song EP_ and like those, too. My top 5 (in no particular order): 1. **Crooked Fingers** - _Dignity and Shame_ 2. **Clem Snide** - _End of Love_ 3. **Spoon** - _Gimme Fiction_ 4. **The Decemberists** - _Picaresque_ 5. **Andrew Bird** - _Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs_ Others that I either like or have heard are good but haven’t listened to enough are the aforementioned **Bloc Party** and **White Stripes** , but also **Okkervil River** ’s _Black Sheep Boy_. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/15 "2005-07-01T00:38:51Z")
My top 5 so far: 1. **Pagan’s Mind** _enigmatic : calling_ 2. **Moonsorrow** _Verisäkeet_ 3. **Dream Theater** _Octavarium_ 4. **Dark Tranquillity** _Character_ 5. **Midnattsol** _Where Twilight Dwells_ Those first two (whose previous albums topped my lists for 2002 and 2003, respectively) I don’t believe will be easily outdone. Then again, neither album was better than the previous effort, so who knows? I don’t disagree with **ultrafilter** about Dream Theater, and I would say almost exactly the same about Dark Tranquillity, but even an mediocre effort by either of these bands is better than most of the crap out there. So far, Midnattsol is my best discovery of the year so far. (Well, actually I hadn’t heard any Moonsorrow before this year either, with _Kivenkantaja_ retroactively making best of '03, but since they have the same keyboardist as **Finntroll** , it was as if I had always known about them.) D ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/16 "2005-07-01T01:09:18Z")
Spoon’s **Gimme Fiction** is definitely my favorite album of the year. I also like The Decemberists’ **Picaresque** , which is easily my favorite album of theirs. As with all Decemberists albums, though, it seems weaker than it should be. The White Stripes’ **Get Behind Me Satan** is pretty good, but I don’t like it nearly as much as **Elephant** , **The White Stripes** or **White Blood Cells** (I like it about the same as **De Stijl** ). ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/17 "2005-07-01T03:31:32Z")
I haven’t bought much new music this year, but **NIN** ’s With Teeth is absolutely fantastic. Upon looking at the records I’ve bought recently, nearly all were 2004. Shame. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/18 "2005-07-01T05:30:49Z")
This thread is going to be a great reference of stuff for me to ask for for my birthday. I can confirm that the new New Order album is indeed excellent. ---
**Author:** ![poison\_heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b3f665/32.png) [@poison\_heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poison_heart)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/19 "2005-07-01T06:10:06Z")
1. Harris Newman - Accidents with Nature and Each Other 2. Lorna - Static Patterns and Souvenirs 3. Herman Dune - Not on Top 4. Spoon - Gimme Fiction 5. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods The Belle and Sebastian EP collection is essential but not truly 2005 material. It is better than any of their albums. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481/20 "2005-07-01T06:12:08Z")
> [@Hung Mung](#): > > I haven’t bought much new music this year, but **NIN** ’s With Teeth is absolutely fantastic. Huh… you are the only other person I’ve seen (other than myself) that actually liked that albums :D. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2005-mid-year-best-album-list/310481.md?page=2)