I've copied all artists who's 2005 releases have received an 80 or above on Metacritic.com. I'm curious what you all think of them. Personally, I've been a little disappointed in some of the albums I had high expectations for and/or were recommended to me. Granted, I only have 5 of the CDs on this list but I feel like even the "top" albums of the year and turning out to be misses and I'm one who generally agrees with critics.

I'm going to put a note next to each album I own and give a brief opinion. I'd be interested to hear others' take as well. Sorry if this is totally lame but I'm just trying to stir some musical discussion.

90 Okkervil River - Great. Potential top 3 of the year for me.
90 Belle & Sebastian -
87 M.I.A. -
87 Sleater-Kinney -
87 Blueprint -
86 Edan -
86 The Go-Betweens -
85 The Magic Numbers -
85 Saint Etienne -
85 Spoon - Probably my favorite of the year so far. Should have a higher rating.
85 Eels - Overrated. Boring album with no really good or bad songs.
85 System Of A Down -
84 Shakira -
83 The Hold Steady -
83 Kraftwerk -
83 Engineers -
83 The Decemberists - Good. Loved it at first but got tired of it quickly.
83 Ry Cooder -
82 The Mountain Goats -
82 The Russian Futurists - What little I've heard, I've liked.
82 The Lucksmiths -
82 Common -
82 Mice Parade -
81 Akron/Family -
81 The Books -
81 Annie -
81 Bloc Party - Way overrated. I simply do not understand the appeal of this album.

On that list I really like the Okkervil River.

I also didn't realize there was a new Ry Cooder out there.

Out of that entire list the only one I've heard so far is Gimme Fiction - and there's only 4 or 5 more that I even want to listen to.

90 Okkervil River - Their best yet. Chance at top 20 of 2005
90 Belle & Sebastian - Great 2cd b-sides, but not a new album of 2005.
88 antony & the johnsons - half of the album is beautifully haunting, half is just good; outside shot at my 2005 top 20
87 M.I.A. - heard 1 song, haven't liked it.
87 Sleater-Kinney - Like this better than their last, but not one of my fav things to listen to.
87 Blueprint -
86 Edan -
86 The Go-Betweens - Pleasant album as good as their last; not a fav
85 The Magic Numbers -
85 Saint Etienne -
85 Spoon - Chance at top 10 of 2005 altho a drop-off from GCT & KTM for me.
85 Eels -
85 System Of A Down -
84 Shakira -
83 The Hold Steady - Heard a song. Liked it, but not enough to try more.
83 Kraftwerk -
83 Engineers -
83 The Decemberists - Best of theirs yet. Good chance at 2005 #1!
83 Ry Cooder -
82 The Mountain Goats - Possibly their best yet. Outside shot at 2005 top 20.
82 The Russian Futurists - What little I've heard, I've liked; but not enough to hear more.
82 The Lucksmiths -
82 Common - Possibly my fav hip-hop album of the year, but i haven't heard much in that genre so far.
82 Mice Parade -
81 Akron/Family -
81 The Books - Least fav of their albums. Disappointed.
81 Annie - i count this as a 2004 release, and overrated no matter the year.
81 Bloc Party - Could be my franz of 2005. Solid album with some fun'n'catchy tunes. Good shot at my top 10 of 2005.


My current top 10 of 2005: http://www.paladisiac.com/music/dellrock/2005/dtop2005-coljul.shtml

90 Okkervil River - Not heard them yet but I am interested
90 Belle & Sebastian - I'd like to have this but I can't afford it
87 M.I.A. -
87 Sleater-Kinney -
87 Blueprint - I'd like to have this but I can't afford it
86 Edan - Excellent album, mostly likely a Top Ten for me come Dec.
86 The Go-Betweens - Pretty good
85 The Magic Numbers -
85 Saint Etienne -
85 Spoon - OK, my first Spoon but I was alittle disappointed considering how everyone was going on about them
85 Eels -
85 System Of A Down -
84 Shakira -
83 The Hold Steady -
83 Kraftwerk - I'd like to have this but I can't afford it
83 Engineers -
83 The Decemberists -
83 Ry Cooder -
82 The Mountain Goats - I'd like to have this but I can't afford it
82 The Russian Futurists -
82 The Lucksmiths -
82 Common -
82 Mice Parade -
81 Akron/Family -
81 The Books -
81 Annie -
81 Bloc Party - Has anyone ever ripped off 'Sound Effects' by The Jam quite so comprehensively before? The answer - no.

I only have Spoon and Bloc Party.
Spoon is a disappointment after Kill The Moonlight. There just aren't as many songs that grab me the way KTM did. Bloc Party has a couple of tunes that I like, but the rest is meh.

I only have the decemberists, and bought it the day after I saw them play most of it live. It's Drama Club, but very very good still.

Man, I suck at getting new music. Always have, always will.

all at emusic.com where your first 50 dl's are free.

90 Okkervil River - it was put together well. somehow, it felt long to me.
90 Belle & Sebastian - very pretty!
87 M.I.A. - overrated, but i love the beats
87 Sleater-Kinney - from all i've heard of them, this is my favorite. too good.
87 Blueprint -
86 Edan -
86 The Go-Betweens - epic, entrancing, somewhat forgetable
85 The Magic Numbers -
85 Saint Etienne -
85 Spoon - love the spoon, but this isn't my favorite album of theirs.
85 Eels - very intimate, saddening, good spin
85 System Of A Down - fun fun fun fun fun fun (a little shallow?)
84 Shakira -
83 The Hold Steady -
83 Kraftwerk -
83 Engineers -
83 The Decemberists - neat songs, i just wish they worked better as an album
83 Ry Cooder -
82 The Mountain Goats - i'm a bigger fan because of this
82 The Russian Futurists -
82 The Lucksmiths -
82 Common - it's good but its got depth like a tuna can
82 Mice Parade - really amazing and is one of my faves this year
81 Akron/Family -
81 The Books -
81 Annie -
81 Bloc Party - good songs but it captures more of "a" sound rather than "their" sound

antony and the johnsons is at 88.....and i disagree....way too low of a number

I think the Cooder disk, Chavez Ravine, was just released this week. I picked it up on the way home yesterday, but haven't listened to it yet. I'll send it to Colinswood tonight, if anyone is interested. At $20 for a single cd, it damned sure better be good.

That's 50 song downloads, right? Because if so that Eels album will suck up like 32 of your 50 free downloads. And I don't think it's worth it. It's good, but not super-fantastic. Too samey and too long to be that samey. That said, I do like some of it a lot, but a lot of it just some.

Interested.

Jesus. For that price the hole in the middle better be big enough to fit my dick through.

90 Okkervil River - Still need this. A friend game me a bunch of tracks from past albums and I really love it.
90 Belle & Sebastian -
87 M.I.A. - Love it.
87 Sleater-Kinney - Love it. Though I'm not sure if it compares to their '90s records.
87 Blueprint - Great, and I think he'll release some better records down the road.
86 Edan - While not as defined of an artist as Blueprint, this might be his definitive work.
86 The Go-Betweens - REALLY good, though I wish it didn't hurt my ears so much.
85 The Magic Numbers -
85 Saint Etienne -
85 Spoon - I'm so over Spoon with this album.
85 Eels - Good album, though it's obviously a bit much to listen to at once.
85 System Of A Down -
84 Shakira - WTF?
83 The Hold Steady -
83 Kraftwerk -
83 Engineers -
83 The Decemberists - As far as buzz bands go, this is one of the only follow-up records this year that didn't disappoint.
83 Ry Cooder -
82 The Mountain Goats - A standard "good Mountain Goats album". Some great tracks.
82 The Russian Futurists - A little overrated, but listenable
82 The Lucksmiths - One of the better pop albums this year.
82 Common - Somehow, not as good as College Dropout or Electric Circus. The Chappelle's Show song is awesome.
82 Mice Parade -
81 Akron/Family -
81 The Books - Pretty blah, they sound like a subpar Pinback now.
81 Annie - Obviously really good
81 Bloc Party - Like it, though they lack the attitude of a great band. Great musicians, though.

yeah, 50 song downloads, but that's good for a couple albums, depending what your interests are.

Yeah, its standard sized.

And Andrew Bird blows it away.

BTW, Shakira? System Of A Down? Annie?


But no Fiery Furnaces or Andrew Bird?

90 Okkervil River - I like it a lot; it holds up upon repeated listens
90 Belle & Sebastian - i need to buy this
87 Sleater-Kinney - not bad, better than I expected.
85 Spoon - I like it; somehow more divergent sounding to me than their previous stuff. A keeper.
85 System Of A Down - I actually heard this with a buddy of mine a couple weeks ago; I like it; Kinda reminds me of FNM/Mr. Bungle at times; I doubt I'd buy it but I wouldnt mind having a copy....
84 Shakira - I fuh
83 The Decemberists - A couple of good songs, some filler; not bad but not setting my draws on fire either

...unlike your asshole that's been stretched to the point of bleeding following a drunken night at the truck stop.

Fiery Furnaces is technically an EP, so it doesn't count as an album. Andrew Bird should have been listed, I think this list left a lot out.

And what's wrong with Annie?

The ones I have:

90 Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
Not that great, really. Enjoyable, with a few really good songs, but overall not that impressive. Makes me think of The Shins.

88 Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
Kinda stopped listening to this, but I still like it a lot. I guess this my favorite of the year still although I'm really hoping something better comes along.

87 M.I.A. - Arular
I'm not gonna hop on the backlash bandwagon with this. It was over-hyped, but it's still decent.

87 Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
Was really surprised by this, but my initial interest wore off quickly. When all's said and done, I just don't really like SK. I like the song "Modern Girl"
though.

85 Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
As more time passes, I'm starting to agree with the allmusic guy who gave this 2 stars.

83 Six Organs Of Admittance - School Of The Flower
I don't know why more people aren't bothered by the 17 min title track that goes absolutely nowhere, but there are some great songs on here. I just think he has done/ can do much better.

83 The Decemberists - Picaresque
Thought this was great on first listen. Now find them very annoying.

81 Low - The Great Destroyer
Good, solid record that's maybe a little too predictable and has a pretty weak opening track.

81 Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
bleh. (The slow songs are OK)

Andy, I think this list bolsters your comments in the why the board sucks thread about 2005 not being the best year for music. Especially if this is what people are on about. Andrew Bird and Ryan Adams are better than almost all of these.

I thought I recognized you.