# I think it's time to start thinking about those "Best CDs of 2005" lists... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296 "2005-12-06T04:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/1 "2005-12-06T04:01:09Z")
…don’t you? I’ll get my short list together soon but I’d like to see yours… Might help me out. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/2 "2005-12-06T04:32:34Z")
Top 10 Albums of the Year: [ol] [li]Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene[/li][li]Stars - Set Yourself On Fire[/li][li]M.I.A. - Arular[/li][li]Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel The Illinoise![/li][li]Bloc Party - Silent Alarm[/li][li]LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem[/li][li]Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better[/li][li]Kanye West - Last Registration[/li][li]Metric - Live It Out[/li][li]The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan[/li][/ol] ---
**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:** [December 6, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/3 "2005-12-06T04:48:38Z")
I was just working on my Audio Christmas Card CD, which features my favorite tracks of 2005. A rough draft: 1. Old 97s - “Melt Show” (live) \* 2. Death From Above 1979 - “Romantic Rights” 3. Calexico/Iron and Wine - “Prison on Route 41” 4. The Greencards - “Don’t Want Forever” 5. Kanye West - “Addiction” 6. Fruit Bats - “The Earthquake of '73” 7. Gorillaz - “Feel Good, Inc.” 8. Beck - “Black Tambourine” 9. Wilco - “Misunderstood” (live) \* 10. The Duhks - “Dance Hall Girls/Bozeemon Boogie” 11. The Clientele - “(I Can’t Seem To) Make You Mine” 12. DJ Shadow - “Midnight in a Perfect World” \*\* 13. The Decemberists - “Sixteen Military Wives” 14. Sufjan Stevens - “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts” - From live collections _Alive and Wired_ and _Kicking Television: Live in Chicago_ respectively. \*\* From DJ Shadow’s _Endtroducing_, which got a Deluxe reissue in 2005, which therefore gives me an excuse to slip a track from it onto my Christmas Card CD. Critiques, suggestions, and cries of “Dammit, didn’t you hear (x)” are welcomed. ---
**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:** [December 6, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/4 "2005-12-06T04:49:13Z")
My Top Three so far: 1. Spoon - [Gimme Fiction](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781ED84AA97320C2933945CFB575F30FDF45FB881F264B53DDB33068850262EC5DFC85D3E2A528F811D9B959ED0974B686EF54E3D9793F3D8DEBEA6139344F0202274790A897&sql=10:ac6dtr3ykl3x) 2. Sons and Daughters - [The Repulsion Box](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781ED84AA97320C2933945CFB575F30FDF45FB881F264B53DDB33068850262EC5DFC85D3E2A528F811D9B959ED0974B686EF54E3D9793F3D8DEBEA6139344F0302244C90A897&sql=10:5fdsa9rge230) 3. The Go! Team - [Thunder, Lightning, Strike](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781ED84AA97320C2933945CFB575F30FDF45FB881F264B53DDB33068850262EC5DFC85D3E2A528F811D9B959ED0974B686EF54E3D9793F3D8DEBEA6139344F0102254390A897&sql=10:5mkku3ysandk) (Yeah, it came out in the UK last year, but it was released in America with two bonus tracks in 2005) I guess my top 5 would be rounded out with _You Could Have It So Much Better_ and _Get Behind Me Satan_, both of which I thought were half brilliant and half “meh.” ---
**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:** [December 6, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/5 "2005-12-06T04:52:44Z")
Oh, and my five favorite discs of 2005: 1. Sufjan Stevens, _Illinois_ 2. The Duhks (self-titled) 3. Kanye West, _Late Registration_ 4. Beck, _Guero_ 5. Fruit Bats, _Spelled in Bones_ Honorable mentions: Nickel Creek, _Why Should the Fire Die_ The Greencards, _Weather and Water_ Calexico/Iron and Wine, _In the Reins_ (all are, of course, dependent on reading this thread to see what I’ve missed) ---
**Author:** ![Tarrsk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@Tarrsk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarrsk)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/6 "2005-12-06T05:45:09Z")
Must admit I don’t really get the appeal of Sufjan Stevens. There is such a thing as _too_ laid back, in my book. _shrug_ **My top three of the year:** 1. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods 2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! (Self-Titled) 3. Spoon - Gimme Fiction Honorable mention goes to Stars’ “Set Yourself on Fire,” which I hadn’t actually heard until **Kid\_A’s** recommendation, but am really enjoying after just two spins. I’m not so fond of the 80s synths, but that reflects my general distaste for a decade which, as far as I’m concerned, produced only two bands really worth mentioning: The Pixies and R.E.M. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/7 "2005-12-06T05:59:40Z")
In no particular order, **CDs I have bought this year and particularly liked, and which actually came out this year, I think, maybe** : Beck, _Guero_ Disturbed, _Ten Thousand Fists_ System of a Down, _Mesmerize_ Queens of the Stone Age, _Lullabies to Paralyze_ ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/8 "2005-12-06T06:07:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Sleater-Kinney I didn’t know they were still putting out records. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/9 "2005-12-06T20:20:30Z")
My favorites… [Arizona Amp & Alternator](http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/?id=10059) - S/T [Black Mountain](http://www.jagjaguwar.com/catalog/jag70.htm) - S/T [Buck 65](http://www.buck65.com/) - Secret House Against The World [Ry Cooder](http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/rycooder/) - Chavez Ravine [C’Mon](http://www.thisiscmon.com) - In The Heat Of The Moment [Sarah Harmer](http://umusic.ca/sarahharmer/index.php) - I Am A Mountain [Silver Jews](http://www.dragcity.com/bands/silverjoos.html) - Tanglewood Numbers [The Violet Archers](http://www.thevioletarchers.com/) - The End Of Part One [Weird War](http://www.weirdwarworld.com/) - Illuminated By The Light [Wolf Parade](http://www.subpop.com/bands/wolf_parade/apologies/) - Apologies To The Queen Mary [You Say Party! We Say Die!](http://www.newmusiccanada.com/genres/artist.cfm?band_id=12534) - Hit The Floor ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/10 "2005-12-07T02:25:39Z")
Coming to mind quickly: [Who’s Your New Professor?](http://cheap-cds.com/surf/disps/480451) - **Sam Prekop** [Campfire Headphase](http://cheap-cds.com/surf/disps/493814) - **Boards of Canada** ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/11 "2005-12-07T02:35:10Z")
Oh shit, I don’t know any of these bands new bands or albums. Who was talking about the Pixies? Yeah, the Pixies rule! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/12 "2005-12-07T02:57:33Z")
**The Decemberists** - _Picaresque_ (or was this in 2004?) **Beck** - _Guero_ **The White Stripes** - _Get Behind Me Satan_ **The New Pornographers** - _Twin Cinema_ ---
**Author:** ![max\_yasgur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@max\_yasgur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/max_yasgur)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/13 "2005-12-07T03:05:00Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Oh shit, I don’t know any of these bands new bands or albums. Who was talking about the Pixies? Yeah, the Pixies rule! Hahahaha funny! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/14 "2005-12-07T03:09:15Z")
Thankfully, Sam Stone has listed the few I actually am familiar with. But mungo? His list could have been a bunch of words selected utterly at random for all I know. Arizona Amp & Alternator Black Mountain Buck 65 Secret House Against The World Ry Cooder Chavez Ravine C’Mon In The Heat Of The Moment Sarah Harmer I Am A Mountain Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers The Violet Archers The End Of Part One Weird War Illuminated By The Light Wolf Parade Apologies To The Queen Mary You Say Party! We Say Die! Hit The Floor aahhhhhhh! So. Out. Of. Touch. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/15 "2005-12-07T03:16:25Z")
I can’t remember the last time I bought enough CDs in a year to make compiling a list meaningful. ---
**Author:** ![swissmtndog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@swissmtndog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swissmtndog)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/16 "2005-12-07T06:44:05Z")
I buy way too much music. Fwiw, I particularly liked Beck-Guero Spoon-Gimme Fiction Eels-Blinkling Lights and Other Revelations The Go-Betweens-Oceans Apart The Hold Steady-Separation Sunday Elbow-Leaders of The Free World Calla-Collisions Echo and the Bunnymen-Siberia Franz Ferdinand-You Could Have Had It Much Better Bloc Party-Silent Alarm Thought it was a great year for music, when Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, The Wallflowers, Fiona Apple and Tori Amos put out solid efforts but don’t make it among the ten best for me, that’s a good year. seeing comebacks by The Go-Betweens and Echo atb was particularly satisfying ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/17 "2005-12-07T08:00:16Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Thankfully, Sam Stone has listed the few I actually am familiar with. But mungo? His list could have been a bunch of words selected utterly at random for all I know. > > Arizona Amp & Alternator Black Mountain Buck 65 Secret House Against The World Ry Cooder Chavez Ravine C’Mon In The Heat Of The Moment Sarah Harmer I Am A Mountain Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers The Violet Archers The End Of Part One Weird War Illuminated By The Light Wolf Parade Apologies To The Queen Mary You Say Party! We Say Die! Hit The Floor > > aahhhhhhh! So. Out. Of. Touch. Not to worry… some of them are Canadian and therefore would have spotty distribution or promotion elsewhere. So don’t feel bad, I probably wouldn’t know about a lot of the band from Monkey either. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/18 "2005-12-07T21:23:54Z")
> [@](#): > > The Decemberists - Picaresque (or was this in 2004?) Nope, it was 2005. It’s on my “Honorable Mention” list, as are Sleater-Kinney and Bloc Party. I was less than taken with the White Stripes and the New Pornographers–I love both bands, but I just didn’t get into the new discs. Same with Spoon; I have a feeling I’ll come around to _Gimme Fiction_ eventually, but I haven’t yet. (Sometimes I just never listen to an album in the right frame of mind.) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/19 "2005-12-08T02:21:08Z")
I’m not quite ready for my final list yet, as I haven’t heard the new ones by Fiona Apple, Earth, SUNN 0))) or Ephel Duath, but here’s my first pass at it: [ol] [li]Ulver, _Blood Inside_: Getting a new Ulver recording is always fun. Even if you’ve heard everything they’ve done before, you really don’t have any idea what the next one is going to sound like, and even after you’ve listened to it, you might find it a little tough to describe. So let me just say that you absolutely must hear this album–that’s all there is to it.[/li] [li]System of a Down, _Mesmerize/Hypnotize_: Based on _Toxicity_, I thought that SoaD had a lot of potential but weren’t quite there yet. With this release, I think they’ve finally arrived. The lyrics are a lot less stupid, and even some of the dumber ones work. There’s the right mix of humor and seriousness, and they’re not even pretending that they’re not a prog band any more. Bogus points for not just releasing a double album. [/li] [li]Becoming the Archetype, _Terminate Damnation_: You know something’s up when the debut release from a Christian metal band makes my top ten list, but I just can’t deny an album of this caliber.[/li] [li]Opeth, _Ghost Reveries_: After the _Deliverance_/_Damnation_ split, I was very curious to see if Opeth was going to move away from their death metal roots to a proggier sound, or go back to being right heavy. They did both, and the result is an absolutely fantastic album.[/li] [li]Red Sparowes, _At the Soundless Dawn_: This is a must-hear for fans of long, vaguely psychedelic instrumentals. It’s slightly less heavy than your Isis or Neurosis, and there are no vocals at all. If you like this, check out Pelican too.[/li] [li]Buried Inside, _Chronoclast_: Half the time they sound like Isis, half the time they sound like Converge, and they’re all about deconstructing the concept of time.[/li] [li]Solefald, _Red For Fire_: This was a bit of an interesting album. Solefald has always been known for doing really weird stuff, and this is a far more traditional album than you might expect (not counting the saxophone). Black metal is not for everyone, but if you’re at all curious, this isn’t a bad place to start. [/li] [li]Swallow the Sun, _The Morning Never Came_: Old school doom/death at about as good as it gets. Put this one on if you’re feeling too cheerful.[/li] [li]Octavia Sperati, _Winter Enclosure_: Another debut, this one from an all female band from Scandinavia (note: Scandinavian women are hot). One reviewer described it as sounding like an ethereal Black Sabbath, which isn’t too unfair.[/li] [li]Arcturus, _Sideshow Symphonies_: It’s not up to the quality of their last two albums, but not much is. Besides, bad Arcturus beats almost anything else.[/li] [/ol] Hell Within gets an honorable mention for _Asylum of the Human Predator_ (also a debut), Clutch for _Robot Hive/Exodus_, Mindless Self Indulgence for _You’ll Rebel to Anything_, and Pelican for _The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw_. I’m not 100% sure what I think of _Demon Days_, but I think I’m going to end up liking it a lot more than I do now. Now for some of the year’s bigger disappointments: [ul] [li]Dream Theater, _Octavarium_: I guess _Train of Thought_ didn’t sell well enough, because they completely abandoned the direction they had on that album for a much more accessible sound. It really sound like they’re just phoning it in here. Hardcore Dream Theater fans will eat it up, but I wasn’t impressed.[/li] [li]Nile, _Annihilation of the Wicked_: I was hoping for something a lot like “Unas, Slayer of the Gods” or the title suite from _In Their Darkened Shrines_. This felt like a step backwards. It was still good, mind you; I think my expectations were just a little high.[/li] [li]Garbage, _Bleed Like Me_: Again, they had a cool direction on their last album, and just abandoned it for what they’ve always done.[/li] [li]Nine Inch Nails, _With Teeth_: Note to Trent: it’s not 1995 any more. Update your schtick just a little bit, please.[/li] [li]Weezer, ???: No fucking way. Just hearing “Beverly Hills” is enough to know that this album sucks.[/li] [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Tarrsk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@Tarrsk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarrsk)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296/20 "2005-12-08T02:37:38Z")
Oh man, can’t believe I forgot “Twin Cinema.” It doesn’t have any songs as immediately catchy as “Letter to an Occupant” or “Miss Teen Wordpower,” but I think it’s the New Pornographers’ most cohesive album so far. Plus, LOVE the higher profile of the drums, which reveal some serious chops that weren’t evident on the first two albums. Big disappointment: Weezer’s “Make Believe.” My expectations were already low, as their last two albums were mediocre at best, but “Make Believe” somehow managed to surpass (or is it “underpass”?) them. Boring, whiny, formulaic songs with excrutiatingly stupid lyrics. The sarcastic, pop-culture name-checking Weezer wit of old is long gone, replaced with trite expressions of teen angst (all the more pathetic considering how old Rivers Cuomo is now). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-its-time-to-start-thinking-about-those-best-cds-of-2005-lists/334296.md?page=2)