Best Albums of 2005

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Explore the best albums of 2005, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
Last updated: 5 hours ago.

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2005 year summaryThe best artists of 2005 were Sufjan Stevens, Gorillaz, Kanye West, Bloc Party, Sigur Rós, Bright Eyes, The National, Coldplay, System Of A Down and Animal Collective.

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Sufjan Stevens

"Incredible record, from front to back. Not a single downside to this record. every second of it is gold. Absolutely in love. First album of his i ever heard was Carrie and Lowell, so you can imagine my shock when i heard this record. Crazy amount of talent. Beautiful storylines and beautiful scen..." [+] Reply

xMUSICSNOBx | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

1,704 charts

Rank Score:

19,284

Rank in 2005:

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Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Probably the greatest album ever made, Demon Days was my introduction to good music, and man what an album it was. The first 60-70 listens were for the music. It kept me coming back for more every time, never caring to think about the lyrics for fear of missing out on yet another subtlety that ma...""Probably the greatest album ever made, Demon Days was my introduction to good music, and man what an album it was. The first 60-70 listens were for the music. It kept me coming back for more every time, never caring to think about the lyrics for fear of missing out on yet another subtlety that made Demon Days so great. The next 20 or so listens were for deciphering the lyrics because of how difficult it was to understand what he was saying and to gather any meaning from it. But afterwards, the album became a whole other experience. The epic story of incompetent governments destroying the world figuratively through mass media, and literally through nuclear weaponry was a huge thing to take in. The story of the soldier in Dirty Harry is one of the most heartfelt moments: He originally felt a need for honour and to fight off the enemy, but now has horrific memories and can't sleep at night for fear of remembering the tragedies that took place. He realizes that he was just being manipulated by members of the government to further their personal gains and wishes that he could be an innocent and ignorant kid once again. Or one of the most tragically beautiful moments I have ever experienced in any song I've ever heard: the moment in All Alone where the electronics pan out and these warbling effects flow in, the moment where the lead character listens to his consciousness telling him that he amounts to nothing in the great scheme of things and that he may as well give up fighting the corruption in the system because that corruption will never go away. And of course there's the backstory told in Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head and the inspiring message in the wonderful closing track. But where this album shines is its production. I have always been a sucker for good production, and this album is so clean and polished even in its ultra-dirty moments like O Green World and White Light that it's simply irresistible in full CD quality. If you don't want to hear this album yet, don't worry- there's more! The soundscapes painted by Demon Days are so varied that you can't spend 5 minutes without hearing something entirely new and exciting. Every song is in its own genre, which greatly enhances the pleasure derived from listening to this album time after time again. In some areas there is variety within 10 seconds, like the guitar-to-piano-to-strings-to-electronic section of Last Living Souls (another favourite, but more of a grower to some people). All in all, this is a must have album and I am very happy to see it rated as highly as it is. Basically, the people who like it think it's spectacular, and the people who dislike it really don't care for it. There is no middle ground. Hopefully you are the former, but hey, to each his own. Happy listening!" [+] Reply

sageamagoo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +15 votes (16 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

1,131 charts

Rank Score:

9,259

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Average Rating:

Comments:

"Picks up right where Dropout left off in progressive hip-hop production. Much like the Godfather 1 & 2, I don't like separating them in my mind." Reply

- smrtboi2120 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

772 charts

Rank Score:

5,380

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"I aggree w/ rani, such a rare thing to have such a great album out of nowhere. So many great tracks. Don't know where to begin. Catchy coruses, memorably vocal hamonies, downright funky at some points. This album truly offers everything." Reply

- ryanmg1985 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

718 charts

Rank Score:

4,543

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

365

Average Rating:

77 (874 votes)

Comments:

Takk...

Sigur Rós

"Hoppípolla is the most beautiful song ever" Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

618 charts

Rank Score:

4,417

Rank in 2005:

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Overall Rank:

372

Average Rating:

82 (856 votes)

Comments:

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Bright Eyes

"Ranked 5th best Album in 2005 I felt compelled to check it out . The opening track “At The Bottom Of Everything “ is awesome & I highly recommend you listen to this song even if you don’t listen to the rest of the album. Also the closing track “ Road To Joy” (which contains the I’m Wide Awake, It..." [+] Reply

Brad1770 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

594 charts

Rank Score:

3,977

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"Personal favorite of the National albums. Matt has never had a better sense of humor than he did on this one." Reply

briggs54 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

522 charts

Rank Score:

3,598

Rank in 2005:

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Overall Rank:

472

Average Rating:

80 (738 votes)

Comments:

X&Y

Coldplay

"Incredibly underrated. I wouldn't be surprised if people thought this was their best album. Quality song after quality song." Reply

- spinrunner91 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

560 charts

Rank Score:

3,243

Rank in 2005:

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Overall Rank:

534

Average Rating:

72 (1,200 votes)

Comments:

Feels

Animal Collective

"A near perfect album to me. Exploding with emotion that mimics an isolated screech into the void. A great premonition of what AnCo would do in the years to follow. Constantly juxtaposing arrangements akin to childlike exploration with cacophonous screeching, there are truly few albums as unique a..." [+] Reply

- backhudson | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

421 charts

Rank Score:

2,788

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

603

Average Rating: