Best Albums of 2005

« View best albums of 2004View best albums of 2006 »

Explore the best albums of 2005, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
Last updated: 4 hours ago

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

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.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 1,000) Log in or create an account to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

Illinois

Sufjan Stevens

"The Greatest album of the 21st century so far. Storytelling worthy of Dylan. 5 stars!" Reply

- SamTheMan | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +16 votes (17 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

1,704 charts

Rank Score:

19,255

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Last summer, LeBron James famously "took talents to South Beach" to form a basketball superpower. Twelve short months later, the mighty Miami Heat suffered defeat to the underrated Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. A lesson was learned: sometimes it doesn't matter if you go all Voltron, you can..." [+] Reply

ShaneSpear | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +18 votes (18 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

1,132 charts

Rank Score:

9,348

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Spoiler alert: The upcoming review is totally biased. I am not sure if I can maintain the slightest degree of objectivity (not a fan of the term when it comes to music, but you get the point) To my mind Kanye West is a godlike figure not only in hip hop but music in general. To say he single – ha...""Spoiler alert: The upcoming review is totally biased. I am not sure if I can maintain the slightest degree of objectivity (not a fan of the term when it comes to music, but you get the point) To my mind Kanye West is a godlike figure not only in hip hop but music in general. To say he single – handedly ignited my interest for this particular genre would be a fair assessment. One might argue that he leans towards the poppier end of the spectrum, so it’s understandable that I find him more accessible than other hip hop greats. He is not too hip hop, but also not too non hip hop, if that makes sense. Maybe that’s the case. No matter how he did it, he opened a whole new world for me and made me realise the endless arising possibilities. Ok, I am a fanboy, point taken, let’s move on. To follow up the widely acclaimed and commercially successful College Dropout was no easy task, but he delivered. Production is once more the major attraction, it’s head and shoulders above every other aspect of the album. Lyrics are often the center of attention in hip hop. Well, not here. For all I care, he could be mumbling random nonsense that nobody understands and it would still sound majestic nonetheless. I don’t mean to suggest that he does, there are many great lines here. In the space of a year he managed to reinvent the sound of his debut album. The themes are a bit more serious (though there are still some moments of fun) but he doesn’t hold anything back, he is as honest and ever. The sound is, well, massive. Bigger than a Hollywood blockbuster, more epic than Homer’s poems, you name it. The variety is also outstanding. Every song is unique. The core of his sound is still a pop take on soul/funk, but he has expanded in many different directions. Picking some highlights would be close to impossible, it’s more or less the whole album (yes, even the skits were entertaining). In Heard’ em Say he struggles dealing with the difficulties of life (“So this is in the name of love like Robert say Before you ask me to go get a job today Can I at least get a raise of the minimum wage? And I know that the government administer AIDS So I guess we just pray like the minister say Allāhu Akbar and throw in some hot cars”) , but he accompanies it with none other than Adam Levine (crazy, I know). He makes a song with Adam Levine work, for that alone he deserves full credit, don’t know who else could have pulled that off. Touch the Sky comes with a pinch of disco, followed by the club/party oriented Gold Digger which provides tons of fun. Drive Slow has an irresistible jazzy vibe, the saxophone is on steroids. By the way, Paul Wall also belongs to the Adam Levine category (in the sense that Kanye makes these things work seemingly out of nowhere, even though they seem destined to fail). Crack Music is another cool tune with a wonderful gospel touch as the icing on the cake. Roses flows as smooth as anything I can think of. Kanye is on top form there (as a rapper I mean). Even the silly Addiction is so addictive (these cringeworthy puns are becoming a thing). Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix) is just a huge song. Not a fan of remixes in general, but this is exemplary. If I had to pick one track that represents the whole album the most accurate, it would most likely be this one. We Major features Nas and is considered one of the weaker tracks. This speaks volumes about the depth of the album. Hey Mama is the pinnacle of songwriting, one of the most emotional and touching songs you can possibly encounter (“I wanna tell the whole world about a friend of mine This little light of mine and I'm finna let it shine I'm finna take y'all back to them better times I'm finna talk about my mama if y'all don't mind”). Then, as the title suggests, it’s time for Celebration- and deservedly so. And after all this insane ride, it seems he saved best for last. Gone keeps improving verse by verse. That’s what it means to go out with a bang. It’s worth noting that what I usually complain about in other album, here works the other way around. The most obvious example is the duration. It is 70 minutes long and it feels so short, it leaves you thirsty for more." [+] Reply

- kokkinos | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

772 charts

Rank Score:

5,388

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Only hearing this album 2022 but did recognise a few of the singles. This is a brilliant debut album. Haven't heard anything else of theirs and a bit disappointed to read comments that subsequent albums don't reach the same heights - still I will give them a go - different tastes and all that... ..." [+] Reply

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

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

718 charts

Rank Score:

4,532

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

365

Average Rating:

77 (874 votes)

Comments:

Takk...

Sigur Rós

"Tough to decide if this is better than Agaetis Byrjun. This album feels much more consistant, soaring and piano led, but rarely hits the heights Agaetis Byrjun gets from moments like the repeated "bongs" on Svefn-g-englar or the strings and horn arrangements in Staraflur - but Takk is short(er) a..." [+] Reply

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

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

620 charts

Rank Score:

4,409

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

375

Average Rating:

82 (856 votes)

Comments:

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Bright Eyes

"This is one of the first albums that got me into folk and indie music. Even if I don't love it now, it was pretty important to me. Some of the songs, however, are bona fide classics for sure." Reply

HoldenM | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

594 charts

Rank Score:

3,968

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Love the energy in this one compared to Boxer, which is slightly more poppy or High Violet which is a little more dreary (in a good way). This album has a more direct sound, more anger. I love it when Berninger screams the lyrics like in Abel and Mr. November, similar to the Pixies - has the same..." [+] Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (5 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

521 charts

Rank Score:

3,590

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

472

Average Rating:

80 (737 votes)

Comments:

X&Y

Coldplay

"Thia album is great. So hard to choose between X&Y and AROBTTH. Both are so good. So this album has a lot of synths in it which is why I think its great. The songwriting is great too. Good melodies throughout and its very melodic. Can't understand why some people are saying its overrated because ..." [+] Reply

C_Krug2009 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

560 charts

Rank Score:

3,236

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

535

Average Rating:

72 (1,200 votes)

Comments:

Feels

Animal Collective

"The beeeeeeeess, the beeeees, the beeees, the bees, Wah wahhhhhh" Reply

- yeahman8701 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

421 charts

Rank Score:

2,783

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

603

Average Rating:

79 (605 votes)

Comments:

10.

I Am A Bird Now

Antony & The Johnsons

"A masterpiece in the 2000's. A stunning and powerful voice, sweet arrangements and perfect songs. There will be no more an inspired Antony like this." Reply

- Juneof44 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

410 charts

Rank Score:

2,498

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

105

Overall Rank:

687

Average Rating:

78 (385 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
2
3
4
...
99
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 2005 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	7	1%
Bright Eyes	3	0%
Ryan Adams	3	0%
System Of A Down	2	0%
あふりらんぽ [Afrirampo]	2	0%
Boris	2	0%
Richard Thompson	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	448	45%
	183	18%
	50	5%
	31	3%
	29	3%
	26	3%
	25	3%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	938	94%
Yes	62	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	22	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	10	1%

Best Albums of 2005 chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 9 from 87th to 78th Lookaftering by Vashti Bunyan
Up 4 from 68th to 64th Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
Up 3 from 47th to 44th In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 3 from 94th to 97th In The Heart Of The Moon by Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté
Down 2 from 12th to 14th Z by My Morning Jacket
Down 2 from 84th to 86th Robyn by Robyn

« View best albums of 2004View best albums of 2006 »

Best Ever Sources

MTV

E! Online

The New Yorker

Chicago Tribune

VICE

The Telegraph

Barnes & Noble

Apple Music

The Washington Post

The Economist