Top 10 Albums of 2005

Well, it certainly has been a while. I really, really haven't been up to much since I last left you in the middle of December. I hope everyone's Christmas/Hannukah/whatever was great, and that the New Year was brought in with a bang. I know mine was. Sitting in my living room, alone, sipping/gulping rum and coke and listening to music, then turning on the tv at 11:58 to watch the ball drop then turning it off at 12:01. Back to my booze and music. Good times.

Anyway, now for the purpose of this post. Toward the end of the year, all the entertainment newspapers and whatnot do their Top 10 of (insert year here). Some people I know do that too. So I thought to myself, "i don't really know when things are released... so I can't really do that. But I can make a list of my own." So I have decided to do just that. This is my Top 10 Albums of 2005. This list contains my 10 favorite albums that I have purchased or burned or whatever this year, whether they be fresh out the recording studio, or been sitting in the record store for months or even years.

If I haven't heard it, it's new to me.

Top 10 (Purchased or Otherwise Acquired) Albums of 2005
10. U2, The Best of 1980-1990 (Island 1998) - I have kissed and made up with U2. I used to have something against them, I think it was that song "Beautiful Day." I don't know why I hated them because of that song. But then I heard "Vertigo" and I was all like "ooooooooh. that's right." But then I realized that there were a lot of U2 songs that I enjoyed. And they all seemed to be from the 80s. Luckily for me, there was a "Best of" CD that covered most of those songs. I purchased it. And I enjoy it. The Gap is lessening... dare I say: I like U2. Track Check: #3 With or Without You; #8 I Will Follow
9. The Fray, How to Save a Life, (Sony 2005) - A disc I bought on a whim one trip to NYC. Almost irritatingly Pop-y, but Indie enough for the street-cred, I think. There was a moment there where I thought they were Christian, but they're just so catchy, I'm willing to overlook that fact, if it be true. Track Check: #2 Over My Head (Cable Car)
8. Doves, Some Cities, (Capitol 2005) - This was one of the many CDs on this list recommended to me by the kind staff at Manifest Discs & Tapes in Charlotte, NC. I own no other album like this one. I find this album energizing, the kind of fast rock that makes you bob your head, makes you shake your whole body. Track Check: #2 Black and White Town; #10 Sky Starts Falling
7. Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism, (Barsuk 2003) - This is another album that I should have purchased long ago, but I never got around to it because I was trying to borrow it from a friend to burn it, but that plan fell through. Thus I didn't purchase it until around October of this year. Anyway, it's Indie. What can I say? Though many of the songs sound similar, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's fun, and the title track is epic. Love it. Track Check: #3 Title and Registration; #7 Transatlanticism
6. Bain Mattox, Prizefighter (2005) - The band's sophomore album. It shows a real growth in the music and lyrics of lead singer of the same name. Though considerably less Pop-y than their first album released three years ago, and with less emphasis on their more eclectic instrumentation including banjo, mandolin and accordion, it definitely has the potential of mainstream appeal. Track Check: #4 Prizefighter; #11 Closer To Me
5. Coldplay, X&Y, (Capitol 2005) - It took me a long time to jump on this bandwagon and I now eat the words I misguidedly muttered back in 2000: I hate Coldplay. I LOVE Coldplay. They are wonderful. This album has the most expansive sound of the three, but it isn't a diminishing trait in the least. Track Check: #4 Fix You; #5 Talk; #11 Swallowed in the Sea
4. Various Artists, Garden State Soundtrack (Sony 2004) - I can gladly say that I had plans to purchase this CD before Friendly Manifest Employee walked by as I held it and told me that it was great. I already knew it would be. The movie instantly became one of my favorites, and the soundtrack is so perfect, you scarcely notice it's there, but at the same time, you're all too aware of it. Track Check: #3 Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line; #5 Colin Hay - I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You; #12 Frou Frou - Let Go
3. Coldplay, Parachutes, (Capitol 2000) - This first album grabbed me and sucked me in, chewed me and swallowed me up. There's not one track on this album that I hate. Every single song brings back memories of good times. Simple, but up-beat and enveloping. The words embed themselves in your memory. Track Check: #2 Shiver; #3 Spies; #5 Yellow; #6 Trouble
2. Duncan Sheik, Duncan Sheik, (Atlantic/Wea 1996) - This was one of my last purchases of the year. It was a hard sucker to hunt down, beginning in October. Best Buy: nope. Circut City had it on its website: nope. My mom couldn't find it for Christmas. I finally found it 12/29 at... dun dun dun, big surprise: Manifest. I have fond memories and flashbacks of the big single "Barely Breathing." I have also fallen in love with a majority of the other songs as well. It's pretty much all I've listened to for the past 4 days, and it brought me into the new year. It pretty much seems to sum up the 90s for me. I'm in love. Track Check: #1 She Runs Away; #3 Barely Breathing; #6 Serena; #11 Little Hands
1. Damien Rice, O, (Vector Recordings 2003) - This album, again, is a recommendation from that friendly Manifest staff member. Originally I wasn't going to buy it that fateful day back in March, but Mary Ann persuaded me otherwise. One of the best musical decisions of my life. This album has seen me through elation, sadness... mostly sadness. It's a very sad, touching album. It unfortunately reminds me of a depressing time last March, but the greatness of the music and the power of the lyrics enable it to still exist as one of my favorite albums of all time. Track Check: #1 Delicate; #3 The Blower's Daughter; #4 Cannonball; #9 I Remember

Well I hope that was as entertaining for you to read as it was for me to write. And I hope it was perhaps informative and helpful. Until next time...