The Top 10 Albums of 2005

So here we go -- the list you suckers have all been waiting for. These are the albums that rocked Chris and I the hardest this year -- even harder than Shakey the Shaman does on Minneapolis Public Access television. Through a few definitive games of Rock Paper Scissors, we were able to whittle our personal lists down to this, the First Annual Blogulator Top 10 Albums list.

Man, oh man, lists rock. But not as much as these albums do.

THE BLOGULATOR'S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2005

TEN: Animal Collective, Feels [Fat Cat]
The most fucked up pop music ever? Or the most poppy fucked up music ever? Either way, a band who can make this record sound a million times catchier and still stay on the same plane as their previous album Sung Tongs has done something remarkable.
Qualler

NINE: Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene [Arts&Crafts]
Controlled chaos never sounded so controlled, nor chaotic. As I listened to this album more and more, I realized that it was the soundtrack to my life in the working world -- always jumbled and trying to keep it all together. Oh yeah, and songs about beaches and surfing are cool, too.
Qualler

EIGHT: Caribou, The Milk of Human Kindness [Domino]
Ultimate Autumn. I've listened to a ridiculous amount of music and much of it has come close to being the best Autumn soundtrack, but this is officially the best album to listen to while you're walking through a world of red-orange. You can literally hear the leaves falling under the layers of decaying atmospherics and pounding timber-tinged percussion.
Chris

SEVEN: Sufjan Stevens, Illinios [Asthmatic Kitty]
I've never wanted to be so patriotic in a quirky way in my life. But don't pigeonhole this album into the "quirky American folk" category -- upon further listens, it's obvious Stevens is dead serious about it.
Qualler


SIX: Sigur Ros, Takk... [Geffen]
Have you been to outer space? I have. Sigur Ros are aliens infecting our common world with sounds so beautiful they couldn't be made by humans.
Chris



FIVE: The Most Serene Republic, Underwater Cinematographer [Arts&Crafts]
Death Cab used to channel the adolescent in all of us. Broken Social Scene channels the leader in all of us. Architecture in Helsinki channels the child in all of us. The Most Serene Republic are lost between childhood and adulthood and finding and exuding strength every step of the way.
Chris

FOUR: Wolf Parade, Apologies to Queen Mary [Sub Pop]
Man, Isaac Brock is a douche. And this is just another damn Canadian band, making boring indie rock for the indie rock masses, right? Wrong. This album is wrought with tension, something few albums that are equivalent truly have.
Qualler


THREE: Saxon Shore, The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore [Burnt Toast Vinyl]
Words are for the weak. Make your life cinematic with intensity, atmosphere, and silence. It's like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Chris



TWO: Wilderness, Wilderness [Jagjaguwar]
"Detached," "angst-ridden," and "bleak" are some words Allmusic guide uses to describe Wilderness. "Cathartic," "literate," and "cerebral" are some other words AMG uses to describe Wilderness. To The Blogulator, this album's echoing guitars sound and thumping drums sound a lot like hope.
Qualler

ONE: Why? Elephant Eyelash [Anticon]
Because I've never wanted to belt out phrases like "grapefruit soap" or "hump gentle on a bed of nails" and be serious about it until this record.
Chris

CHRIS' TOP TEN:
1 why? elephant eyelash
2 sigur ros takk...
3 caribou the milk of human kindness
4 saxon shore the exquisite death of saxon shore
5 american analog set set free
6 wilderness wilderness
7 despistado the people of and their verses
8 tristeza a colores
9 wolf parade apologies to the queen mary
10 the most serene republic underwater cinematographer

QUALLER'S TOP TEN:
1 Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
2 Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene
3 Why? Elephant Eyelash
4 Wilderness, Wilderness
5 Animal Collective, Feels
6 The Fiery Furnaces, Rehearsing My Choir
7 Saxon Shore, The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore
8 The Most Serene Republic, Underwater Cinematographer
9 The Decemberists, Picaresque
10 Wolf Parade, Apologies to Queen Mary

This entry was posted by Unknown, on Wednesday, January 18, 2006. You can leave your response.