1. Funeral – The Arcade Fire

Yes, I know it was released in 2004 but we didn’t get it over here ’til this year. And 2005 totally belonged to The Arcade Fire; this is the best album of the 21st century so far and they are possibly the best live band ever.

2. Illinois – Sufjan Stevens

This would probably have won in any other year. A widescreen spectacular in which intimate folk songs about serial killers and dying of cancer sit comfortably alongside epic showtunes about zombies. With cheerleading.

3. A River Ain’t Too Much To Love – Smog

A major return to form which saw Bill Callahan, in reflective mood, produce an album up there with his previous high water mark of Knock Knock

4. Z – My Morning Jacket

Hated this for a while, then went back to it and it suddenly clicked. Yes, it’s a new direction, but a good one, and maybe the right one. Every song is a winner, but “it Beats 4 U” is perhaps the most beautiful thing I heard all year.

5. The Great Destroyer – Low

Another band benefitting from a change of direction, though they’ve been threatening to turn their amps up to 11 for a few years now. And, hey, it worked.

6. Silent Alarm – Bloc Party

Best Brit album by a long way. Great guitars, great tunes and great integrity. Much needed antidote to the ills of The Kaiser Chiefs.

7. Picaresque – The Decemberists

An album chock full of epic tales of mariners, infantas, footy players, barrow boys, train drivers etc. The usual Decemberist’s fare, then, only more so.

8. Blinking Lights And Other Revelations – Eels

33 tracks over two discs. Some are brilliant, some are merely very good. This is easily E’s best work to date and I seriously doubt that he’ll ever top it.

9. Black Sheep Boy – Okkervil River
10. Leaders Of The Free World – Elbow
11. Superwolf – Matt Sweeney & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
12. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning – Bright Eyes
13. Tanglewood Numbers – Silver Jews
14. Clor – Clor
15. Humming By The Flowered Vine – Laura Cantrell
16. Oceans Apart – The Go-Betweens
17. I Am A Bird Now – Antony & The Johnsons
18. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
19. Coles Corner – Richard Hawley
20. Takk – Sigur Rós

This entry was posted on Friday, December 23rd, 2005 at 10:17 pm by The Ledge and is filed under Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.