Best Album of 2005?

[Dinner]

Another year has gone by so let us reflect upon which new music albums have been released this year and discuss who is the cream of the crop.

NPR named this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=5054194

Pitchfork gave a top 50: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/2005/

AMG/allmusic released some editor's picks but no classic "best of 2005" type list though TinyMix did release a top 25: http://www.tinymixtapes.com/

And since I like his webcomic I'll even link Jeph Jacques's best of 2005 list though he cites a bit to much trance and electronica for my tastes. http://www.questionablecontent.net/top202005.php

What do you folks think of those selections? Personally, I can't believe NPR gave top album to Sufjan Stevens. I think Sufjan is very talented but I'm still surprised they gave him best album of the year. I like Illinios and I even love a few songs on the CD but over all it gets rather repetitive. I saw him live in San Diego (during the ComicCon) and I honestly almost fell asleep during the concert. It's just a bit to mellow and it becomes very repetative after a while without anything upbeat to break it up.

I'd vote for either The Decemberists: Picaresque or Spoon: Gimme Fiction as the best album of the year. Both are a bit over played but they stand apart from the pack due to their originality and because they really mix things up in order to keep the listener interested. Damn fine albums.

[Asher]

I f*cking hate lists like this. They always pick obscure **** no one heard or cared about as some kind of way to stick it to the world that they're oh so much better.

[Asher]

My favourite band is a local one called "Hayden's Pain and Folly" and "Isaihah's Mystery" along with the edgey "gourmey basil"*

*no they don't exist

[Dinner]

Obscure?! Half of that stuff has seen constent radio air time for 6 months!

I do confess to owning 75%-80% of those albums though. I buy a lot of CDs and spend far more time listening to music then I should.

[Asher]

From which link?

[Asher]

Bands from Pitchfork that no one has heard of:

Orthrelm
Fiery Furnaces
Okkervil River
The Boy Least Likely To The Best Party Ever
M83
Vashti Bunyan
Spoon
My Morning Jacket
RóisÃn Murphy

Actually, that's just the first page. I'm too lazy to do the others. The only name they listed I knew was Fiona Apple, and I know her for all the WRONG reasons.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Obscure?! Half of that stuff has seen constent radio air time for 6 months!

I do confess to owning 75%-80% of those albums though. I buy a lot of CDs and spend far more time listening to music then I should.

You try too hard, man.

[Max Webster]

I really liked Clutch's Robot Hive: Exodus Album.

[Dinner]

NPR's list is certainly main stream. Pitchfork remains true to their music snob origins and goes a bit more obscure though a quarter of their choices and most of their top ten should be familiar names to most people who pay attention to music while 6-8 of Tiny Mix's top 20 are well known bands.

I do think Tiny Mix at least made an attempt to not follow the mass market crowd but still pick bands which aren't hyper obscure. Certainly Deerhoof and Animal Collective are worthy picks.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Asher
Bands from Pitchfork that no one has heard of:

Orthrelm
Fiery Furnaces
Okkervil River
The Boy Least Likely To The Best Party Ever
M83
Vashti Bunyan
Spoon
My Morning Jacket
R�is�n Murphy

Fiery Furnaces get lots of air time, M83 is a top electronica band and anyone who likes French electronic (read most people who listen to electronic. Hell, I even bought the CD) know them well, and Spoon seems to be all the corporate stations play these days.

[FrostyBoy]

I know of Spoon, thats an Australian band.

The others I don't know of, but I am hoping they aren't anywhere similar to the likes of Britney and her stupid sisters uglyerror, etc.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Spoon seems to be all the corporate stations play these days.

I think you're way out in left field there.

I can safely say I've never heard a Spoon song on the radio.

[Dinner]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5054194

Click that link, listen to "I turn my camera on", then tell me you've never heard it before.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Sn00py
I know of Spoon, thats an Australian band.

The others I don't know of, but I am hoping they aren't anywhere similar to the likes of Britney and her stupid sisters uglyerror, etc.

This is funny.

I first associated spoon as the 1980s Canadian new-wave band.
You associate it with an Australian band.

It's apparently an indie rock band from Texas.

So popular indeed that they stole their name from other bands.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Oerdin
javascript:getStaticMedia('/holiday05/20051216_holiday05_spoon','RM,WM');

Click that link, listen to the song, then tell me you've never heard it before.