2005 -- what a year! With a slew of great releases at hand, it quickly becomes difficult to put together a list of merely ten. Regardless, it became a sort of goal for me, even if it was started considerably later than it probably should have been. So, without further ado, here follows an unenumerated, alphabetical list of only slightly more than ten records released in 2005 which may or may not be the best -- though they are certainly those that came to mind initially, and there is something to be said for that.
The Books - Lost and Safe
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
The Decemberists - Picaresque
Dream Theater - Octavarium
Final Fantasy - Has a Good Home
The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
Nada Surf - The Weight is a Gift
Sigur Ros - Takk
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Broom
Steel Train - Twilight Tales From the Prairies of the Sun
John Vanderslice - Pixel Revolt