2005: Music to my ears

This is hardly an MP3 blog. Some might argue, this is hardly a blog at all. And I'm no longer associated with a cool independent radio station, so I have no right to offer a top ten list or best of recommendations when it comes to the records of 2005. (Heck, even when I was associated with said station and asked to make such a list for the previous year, I was too non-committal to trim the list to ten entries.)

With no musical authority whatsoever, why bother compiling a laundry list then? It's a requisite to maintain a free Blogger account with Google.

So, buy these records. Or don't. This is no "Best of 2005," but they are my favorites and have taken up permanent residence on my iPod.


Acid House Kings, Sing Along With the Acid House Kings
Andrew Bird, The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Beck, Guero
Belle & Sebastian, Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, S/T
Devendra Banhart, Cripple Crow
Dr. Dog, S/T
Emiliana Torrini, Fisherman's Woman
Final Fantasy, Has a Good Home
Frank Black, Honeycomb
Harlan T. Bobo, Too much love
Iron and Wine|Calexico, In the Reins
John Vanderslice, Pixel Revolt
Jose Gonzalez, Veneer
Josh Rouse, Nashville
Laura Veirs, Year of Meteors
LCD Soundsystem, S/T
Lou Barlow, Emoh
M. Ward, Transistor Radio
My Morning Jacket, Z
Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy
Portastatic, Bright Ideas
Richard Swift, The Novelist/Walking Without Effort
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Cold Roses
Shout Out Louds, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
Sigur Ros, Takk
Silver Jews, Tanglewood Numbers
Spoon, Gimme Fiction
Stephen Malkmus, Face the Truth
Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
The Boy Least Likely To, The Best Party Ever
The Decemberists, Picaresque
The Free Design, The Now Sound Redesigned
The National, Alligator
The Rosebuds, Birds Make Good Neighbors
Various Artists, Verve Remixed 3
Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary

Here's what the experts have to say:
Tiny Mix Tapes
Stereogum
Studio Moustache
In House Radio
Pitchfork Media

My favorite music blog appears to be too cool for school when it comes to posting a best of list.