The Best of 2005 Most best of year lists are sure to be dated within the next month, so I decided to do it like this. These are the most underrated and overrated rock n' roll albums of the year, along with albums that are pretty well respected and rightfully so. I have heard about 50 albums this year, and yes, June of 2006 I might have a whole different opinion, but a verdict is needed on at least what is known. There is a lot of stuff I have just chose not to listen to: M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Antony Johnson, Kanye West; simply because I do not think I would like those artists (I have at least listened to sound clips of all of them). Anyways, here we go. Enjoy kids! - Trevor e.y. Most Underrated These records did not get the praise they deserved, but are destined to be remembered for years to come. 1.The Sunset Tree - The Mountain Goats If there was an album that combined serious subject matter and great music better this year than The Sunset Tree, I would tear up a hundred dollar bill. I might tape it back together later, but this album is so amazing. Abuse is the subject, but John Darnielle is a survivor of it, and his opinions on how it shaped his life are here. Simply put, this album could bring someone to tears simply by listening to one song off of it, "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod". But that song and those two chords alone will not do, it must all be heard. "Broom People", "Song for Dennis Brown", "Pale Green Things", "Up the Wolves", "Dilaudid", ALL OF THEM. The power of words and music is proved by albums like this. "Then i'm awake and I'm guarding my face/hoping you don't break my stereo/because its the one thing that I couldn't live with out/ so then I think about that and then I sorta black out. Held under these smothering waves by your strong and thick veined hand, but one of these days I'm gonna riddle up on dry land." 2.Archer Prewitt - Wilderness Wilderness is simply one of the most complex pop albums ever made. It is underrated because it is not credited with this that often (if ever). Some songs seem straightforward at first, most likely "Leaders" and "Without You", but no song on here is conventional or normal in structure. None of this would matter of course if the music was not good, but music does not get better than it is on "Wilderness", "Judy, Judy" or the masterful ever shifting "Cheap Rhyme". Prewitt has albums I have yet to hear, but on the basis of this one alone I want to hear everything he has ever done. Not many albums can win you over like that, but keep in mind it takes a few listens to sink in. Most masterpieces do. 3.The Woods - Sleater Kinney Insane and forever complex, this is almost Sleater Kinney's best record, and that is saying something. Dig me Out was a masterpiece of punk blasts that has yet to age, and The Hot Rock takes the using-no-chord technique to a new level of brilliance, but the structure of the songs on here is always great, and the album has great flow. In a way, the band has changed, in a way they have not. They are all great instrument players, and the songs have serious subject matter but a bit of humor also. Yeah, Sleater Kinney is a HARD ROCK band, but they evolve and change and are one of the greatest bands ever. Though "Entertain" is probably the weakest track on here, it is still good and has a good point: if you only listen to music to be entertained and don't care about artistic quality, please go away. 4.Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze Josh Homme will always be underrated; he makes accessible hard rock. Oh well, people can ignore great stuff if they want, but the best songwriter out today has made the third masterpiece of his current career (Kyuss aside). The construction of the album is genius: the opening tender ballad followed by the minute and a half Stone Age rocker; the middle two long trips of Sabbath like transcendence; and the metal pop of "Broken Box", "In my Head", and "Little Sister". "I Never Came" is the best song on here, and it points to future development for the band, but basically this album reaffirms how to make great songs with great riffs, and he makes it look so damn easy. 5.The Rosebuds - Birds Make Good Neighbors This husband and wife team make some undeniably great music. Carefree is the tone of the record, but the songs have a deep undercurrent of meaning. The mix of these two sensibilities make for some great pure pop ("The Lover's Rights", "Shake our Tree") and some heartfelt ballads ("Wildcat", "4 Track Love Song"). The album is a maserpiece of subtlety, and enjoyable anytime. 6.Brenden Branson - Alternative to Love Evidentially, the guy has been around for a while, and as a lover of power pop, I am surprised I had never heard him. Happier sounding music has not been made this year, but the lyrics of "Alternative to Love" and "Biggest Fan" point to more serious subjects. "Feel Like Myself" is a pop classic in its own category, but the album as a whole is unbelievably consistent. Need cheering up? Pick this up, because for some reason, you won't hear it on the radio. 7.Brandi Carlile - Brandie Carlile All of those tired of the crappy, over produced, female 'singer songwriters' can finally praise one as great. Carlile and her great band have a way of writing songs that sound so familiar, but at the same time are very unique. "Throw it all Away" and "Someday Never Comes" are fine examples, and "Gone", "Tragedy", and "What can I Say" definitely point to future development. Yes, the song titles sound like they were written by a third grader and the production is BEYOND slick, but what great songs. Don't overlook this one. 8.Blinking Lights and Other Observations - The Eels Most double albums are full of filler, and that is what everyone is scarred of with the Eels sixth record. But aside from about three songs that are a little too 'cute sounding', all of this album is either pretty good are damn great! "Trouble with Dreams" is a new Eels classic, "To Lick your Boots" sticks it to those people that underrate the exceptional, and "If you see Natilie" and "I'm Going to Stop Pretending that i Didn't Break your Heart" are some great, direct ballads, worthy of the old Electro Shock Blues days. The whole album sounds like Everett has finally come to terms with who he is, and has a lot to say about his life, your life, and the meaning of, well, life. Pick this one up A.S.A.P. 9.A Bigger Bang - The Rolling Stones The Stones have been around now longer than any rock band, over forty years, and even a great song would be amazing from them at this point, but a whole album of great rockers like "She Saw Me Coming", "Infamy", and "It Won't Take Long", and anthems like "Drivin' too Fast" and "Rough Justice"? A very pleasant surprise. Yeah, some people say the songs are 'derivative' or the band tries to hard to be 'the old Stones', but if you have ever liked this band before, you have always known what to expect. They are as great as they ever were, and here are more classics for their cache of great hard rock. 10.Love is Red - David Poe This guy is not known the world over yet, and may never be, but he is a great folk rocker, and his songs are very genuinly passionate. "So Beautiful" and "You got a Reputation" are the easiest to remember, recalling a more upbeat Nick Drake with a jazz feel. The heart of the album lies in the slower songs though, like the erotic "Wilderness" and the worn out "Doxology", telling tales of loves lost and despairing into the night. Great album to fall asleep to, or to travel with on a snowy day. A man to watch. Albums That are Rightfully Respected Enough has been said about these albums already. Yes, go get them, they are great. 1.Z - My Morning Jacket 2.The Mysterious Production of Eggs -Andrew Bird 3.Bang Bang Rock 'n Roll - Art Brut 4.Apologies to the Queen Mary - Wolf Parade 5.Tangos and Tanturms - Sylvie Lewis 6.Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands say Yeah 7.A Certain Trigger - Maximo Park 8.Separation Sunday - The Hold Steady 9.Alligator - The National 10.Silent Alarm - Bloc Party Most Overrated The Biggest mistakes of the year, though some are good, none of these are that good. 1.In Case we Die - Architecture in Helsinki Who likes music? (everyone answers) Well, then you enjoy pop music also? (most answer) Pop music is often criticized for never having new ideas. While of course not every pop band is bad, most of them are. This band is. Most of the bands on this list are merely boring; this one is actually actively annoying. The album starts with the dumb one-two slap of "Nevereverdid" and "Its 5", two god awful songs. Everything about this album is bad: Horrible flow, stupid titles, cute voices, etc. Why this crap gets good reviews is beyond me. If someone takes a band like The New Pornographers and shrinks them back to infancy, then smacks them in the head with hammers a couple of times, they might make music this insulting. I am sure there were worse albums this year, but as far as getting positive reviews goes, this is the most overrated pure piece of gutter trash I have heard all year. Avoid it at all costs, there are no good songs. 2.Strange Geometry - The Clientele All of these songs sound the same. I have listened to the record many times, and honestly the same conclusion arises: The songs are indistinguishable from one another. How boring is that? Pretty boring. Its kind of like saying the same thing over and over in a review of an album. All of these songs sound the same. The Clientele sound like they should be a good band, but none of the songs are that good. These songs are all very equal in quality. "Since K Got Over Me" and "EMPTY" are good, but that is it. The rest of these songs all sound like one another. Just because it sounds like the sixties doesn't automatically make it good. The Elephant 6 collective is usually good, but these guys are lame compared to them. Lame like this album. All of this music is too similar unto itself. 3.Illinois - Sufjan Stevens Here we go: this would be the most overrated album of the year except for two things:      1. a lot of it is SOOOOOOO GOOOOD.      2. the two albums above this I consider just plain bad. Epic in scope, Stevens is a great songwriter, but this is just too much information without enough good music. Can anybody really say that "The Seer's Tower", "They are Night Zombies", and "The Man of Metroplolis" are nearly as good as "Chicago", "John Wayne Gacy Jr.", "Jacksonville", or "Casmir Pulaski Day"? Also, there are only sixteen REAL songs on here, compared to the twenty two song track listing. What is this, a rap album? I do love Stevens' ambition (hey, I was a Geography major for while in college) and I hope he gets through all fifty states, but only if great music can be sustained on the albums he makes. Otherwise, make the album shorter, or we are all wasting out time. 4.Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene One cannot help but to have high hopes for the album following You Forgot it in People, one of the most promising albums of the 00's. But this album just sounds like the band had too many ideas, threw them all together, and called them songs. There aren't many songs on here, but there are a lot of unfinished ideas. In a way, this makes the album an interesting listen, but along with that it makes a mediocre album. 5.Extraordinary Machine - Fionna Apple Break up albums are few and far between, and this is a pretty good one. But "good" is all it is, as this album is way overrated when looked at by consistency; it just does not measure up to even her last album, When the Pawn... . Songs like "Please Please Please" and "Extraordinary Machine" are great examples of break up songs, and "Oh Well" and "Not about Love" are even better, but most of that first half and the lame closer "Waltz" sum it up to being and album of less than the sum of its parts. 6.Pixel Revolt - John Vanderslice I bought this album based on good reviews and the song "Exodus Damage", which is a great little song. Too bad it's one of the only four good songs on here, as despite help from The Mountain Goats, the album is one big bore fest. Doesn't really provoke much excitement and it's not awful or anythying.....it's just very boring. 7.Before the Dawn Heals Us - M83 I still have not heard these guys first album, but i bought this one because it got good reviews and even sounded good in sound clips. The problem is, every song sounds very similar. They might be a My Bloody Valentine with synths, but that does not mean the songs are automatically spectacular. All atmosphere, and no substance for the most part, but i won't deny that some songs are good ("Don't Save us From the Flames", "*", and "Teen Agnst"). I hope their first album is far better, but I am not near as anxious to obtain it after hearing this. Oh yeah, and everybody should hear "Car Chase Terror" for an....example....of a good idea gone horribly wrong. 8.Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers Carl Newman is one of my favorite songwriters, seriously. I love this bands brand of catchy but complicated music, but this is their weakest album. "Falling through your Clothes", "Bones of an Idol", and "Streets of Fire" just do not compare to "Sing me Spanish Techno", "Use It" and "Jackie, Dressed in Cobras". No way, no how. The band has lost something with this record, and that something is making this stuff look easy. They need time to regroup and not waste their great album making ability. Oh, and you guessed it, this is their most popular record and their most critically acclaimed. 9.Gimme Fiction - Spoon What the hell is this, Spoon as dance music? No thank you. Half the album shows the band embracing some kind of weird futuristic sound (the first four songs, and "Merchants of Soul"), and the other half is either boring folk pop like "I Summon You" or some kind of boring techno sound that makes me want to kill a dog. Not surprisingly, this is their most popular record. Um, try Girls Can Tell or Kill the Moonlight, please. The band used to make complete albums. 10.Some Cities - The Doves What is what most of you will say, but I remember early on in the year when this record came out, and every review was either saying it was good or the best The Doves had done so far. Umm, not true. Yeah, the first three songs are great, but the rest is a bore fest. Lost Souls had atmosphere mixed with interesting music, and Last Broadcast is a minor masterpiece, but this record shows the band as trying to get popular, in which they succeeded in some ways. But is that worth their artistic integrity? Have they lost their lost souls?!? Not a good album at all. Best Songs Personal favorite picks if I HAD to put them in some order. Um, not going to go into great detail this year on songs, may change in the future. 1.Cheap Rhyme - Archer Prewitt 2.Sing me Spanish Techno - The New Pornographers 3.Jezebel - Iron and Wine 4.Forever Lost - The Magic Numbers 5.Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod - The Mountain Goats 6.I Never Came - Queens of the Stone Age 7.Over and Over Again - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 8.Off the Record - My Morning Jacket 9.She saw me Coming - The Rolling Stones 10.Feel like Myself - Brenden Benson Conclusion: 2005 was a great year for music, and "indie rock" has become the new popular music, after about ten years of trying. Compare a magazine like Spin's top albums to a website like Pitchfork, eerily similar. Whether this means the decade has finally got its own sound now or that the term "independent" will become a bad word is yet to be seen. There are always unique bands out there, and it is always interesting to see what music was overlooked from this year in years to come. Into the future readers, I personally can't wait to see what it holds.