Top 25 Records of 2005

Below you will find my top 25 for the year 2005. It is mostly a mix of the tried and true indie and rock releases of the year, so pretty much blah, blah, blah.. I just wanted a chance to put up some pictures of album covers. So lets get it rollin'!

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25. Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Label - Righteous Babe
Top Tracks - Sovay, A Nervous Tic Motion, Measuring Cups, and Skin Is My
Format - MP3
One Line - "Another guy and a guitar, or not, I haven't really listened to it enough to properly comment in some journalistic approach."
Final Score - 7.2

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24. The Bravery - The Bravery
Label - Island
Top Tracks - An Honest Mistake, Swollen Summer, and Tyrant
Format - Vinyl LP
One Line - "The first of many acts from the land of isles, the British to be specific, with a catchy first single and a solid LP of proper party dance tunes."
Final Score - 7.2

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23. M. Ward - Transistor Radio
Label - Merge
Top Tracks - Four Hours in Washington, Hi-Fi, and Paul's Song
Format - MP3
One Line - "Not sure on this one quite yet, but 'Four Hours' is one of my favorite tracks of the year."
Final Score - 7.4

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22. Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites
Label - Sony/BMG
Top Tracks - Apocalypso, The Zookeeper's Boy, and An Envoy to the Open Fields
Format - MP3
One Line - "I dunno.."
Final Score - 7.5

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21. The Hold Steady - Seperation Sunday
Label - Frenchkiss
Top Tracks - Cattle and the Creeping Things, Your Little Hoodrat Friend, and Banging Camp
Format - MP3
One Line - "His voice is grating, but his lyrics seem important so I try to keep up, the music behind keeps my toe tappin' which is always a must."
Final Score - 7.5

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20. Death From Above 1979 - Romance Bloody Romance
Label - Vice
Top Tracks - Better Off Dead (Le Peste Cover) and Black History Month (Josh Homme Remix)
Format - (Original Vinyl LP), MP3
One Line - "Prefer the original, one of my favorites from last year, but this remix album does a good job of still expressing the power and rhythm of DFA79."
Final Score - 7.7

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19. My Morning Jacket - Z
Label - ATO
Top Tracks - Wordless Chorus, It Beats For You, Lay Low, and Dondante
Format - MP3
One Line - "This one is easy to listen to, as long as I'm intoxicated, just kidding."
Final Score - 8.0

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18. Boris - Pink
Label - Disk Union
Top Tracks - Pink, Track 3, and Electric
Format - MP3
One Line - "Japanese heavy metal, not really my bag, but something about the vocals mixed with the instruments that makes it immediately, and surprisingly, quite listenable."
Final Score - 8.0

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17. Blood on the Wall - Awesomer
Label - The Social Registry
Top Tracks - Stoner Jam, Reunite on Ice, Right to Lite Tonight, and Get the Fuck Off My Cloud
Format - MP3
One Line - "Brother/sister act that seems to fit right in with the trends these days, certainly not a bad thing."
Final Score - 8.2

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16. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Label - Asthmatic Kitty
Top Tracks - The Black Hawk War, Casimir Pulaski Day, Chicago, and John Wayne Gacy Jr.
Format - MP3
One Line - "It is weird to sing along to a song about a serial killer."
Final Score - 8.2

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15. Iron and Wine - Woman King EP
Label - Sub Pop
Top Tracks - Grey Stables, Freedom Hangs Like Heaven, and Evening on the Ground
Format - MP3
One Line - "Wish it was a full album, would of been his best, some incredible songs on here as Sam Beam proves he can use a full band to sound very effective."
Final Score - 8.3

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14. Doves - Some Cities
Label - Capital
Top Tracks - Black and White Town, Almost Forgot Myself, and Sky Stars Falling
Format - MP3
One Line - "Another Brit act, this one plays eventually much better then the Coldplay release which I wasted money on the vinyl."
Final Score - 8.4

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13. Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
Label - Epic
Top Tracks - Turn Up the Sun, The Importance of Being Idle, Part of the Queue, and Eyeball Tickler
Format - MP3
One Line - "Got to see them on this latest tour, still rocking better then ever and Liam seems on top of his game, this CD is close to classic Oasis and 'Part of the Queue' might be my song of the year."
Final Score - 8.5

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12. And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart
Label - Interscope
Top Tracks - Will You Smile For Me Again, Worlds Apart, Caterwaul, and All White
Format - MP3, Vinyl LP
One Line - "'Source Tags' was a tough album to follow and this one seemed quite delayed, but on an overall play this record just stays strong and varied."
Final Score - 8.5

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11. Beck - Guero
Label - Geffen
Top Tracks - E-Pro, Girl, Black Tamborine, and Broken Drum
Format - MP3, Vinyl LP
One Line - "Somehow this is my first Beck record, I'm not sure why I never bothered before but now I am considering checking out the back catalog."
Final Score - 8.5

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10. Final Fantasy - Has a Good Home
Label - Blocks
Top Tracks - This is the Dream of Win and Regine, The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead, and That's When the Audience Died
Format - MP3, Vinyl LP
One Line - "Amazing to listen to this looped violin, and he seems to have a nice voice, seeing him open for Arcade Fire was even better."
Final Score - 8.7

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9. Sigur Ros - Takk
Label - Geffen
Top Tracks - Glosoli, Saeglopur, Milano, and Gong
Format - MP3
One Line - "Another release from Iceland, this one more accessible and the Gong jam is another of my favorites of the year."
Final Score - 8.8

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8. The Decemberists - Picaresque
Label - Kill Rock Stars
Top Tracks - Eli the Barrow Boy, From My Own True Love, and The Mariner's Revenge Song
Format - CD
One Line - "See the above review, only insert sea shanty pirates for icelandic elves, another masterpiece of lyrics from this gifted rising songwriter, we'll see how they do on Captiol now."
Final Score - 8.9

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7. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
Label - V2
Top Tracks - Blue Orchid, My Doorbell, The Denial Twist, and Instinct Blues
Format - CD
One Line - "Amazed this is seven, I would of thought higher when it came out, another great varied record from Jack and Meg proving once again that you don't need a good drummer to be a good band."
Final Score - 9.0

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6. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
Label - RCA
Top Tracks - Shuffle Your Feet, Ain't No Easy Way, Fault Line, and Weight of the World
Format - CD
One Line - "Somewhat bummed that Black Rebel chose to mostly ditch their electrics and Marshall stacks, but they manage to keep me interested especially the harmonica work."
Final Score - 9.0

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5. The Constantines - Tournament of Hearts
Label - Sub Pop
Top Tracks - Draw Us Lines, Hotel Operator, Lizavetta, and You Are a Conductor
Format - MP3, Vinyl LP
One Line - "Easily one of my favorites of the year, somehow it sat waiting on my hard drive before I got around to discovering the sincere quintessential rock album of the year."
Final Score - 9.1

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4. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
Label - Domino
Top Tracks - Do You Want To, Evil and a Heathen, You're the Reason I'm Leaving, and Outsiders
Format - MP3, Vinyl LP
One Line - "The best follow up record of the year, my favorite pop album with some potential singles that will continue to shape music into 2006."
Final Score - 9.2

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3. Jose Gonzalez - Veneer
Label - Hidden Agenda
Top Tracks - Slow Moves, Heartbeats, Crosses, Stay in the Shade, and Hints
Format - MP3, Vinyl LP
One Line - "A re-release this year in the States, and since I've only discovered him in recent months a certainly viable inclusion to this year's list, his classical guitar and soothing voice makes it the best folk record of the year, at least here."
Final Score - 9.5

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2. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Label - Vice
Top Tracks - Like Eating Glass, Helicopter, Banquet, Pioneers, and Luno
Format - (Remix CD), MP3, Vinyl LP
One Line - "Very hard to decide but Bloc Party deserves to be mentioned with some of the best albums this decade, and an amazing debut that combines the elements of punk, dance, rock, and pop to their fullest degree."
Final Score - 9.6

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1. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
Label - Sub Pop
Top Tracks - Your Are a Runner and I am My Father's Son, We Built Another World, Shine a Light, and I'll Believe in Anything
Format - MP3, CD, Vinyl LP
One Line - "For now my record of the year, tough to finally decide but ultimately Wolf Parade wins out with their Sub Pop debut that shines from beginning to end."
Final Score - 9.8

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