Metacritic: Best Albums of 2005

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60 31Knots
82 Abe Vigoda
71 The Academy Is...
53 The Airborne Toxic Event
79 Alias
77 Theresa Andersson
76 Apollo Sunshine
47 The Automatic
79 Azeda Booth
75 Joan Baez
84 Bajofondo
56 David Banner
76 The Baseball Project
77 Beck
77 Black Affair
59 Black Ghosts
75 Black Kids
79 Blitzen Trapper
74 Bodies Of Water
70 Brazilian Girls
72 Brightblack Morning Light
66 The Broken West
50 Buckcherry
78 Lindsey Buckingham
90 The Bug
56 Caesars
78 Calexico
70 Glen Campbell
70 Brendan Canning
63 Cats In Paris
74 The Chemical Brothers
65 Cold War Kids
69 Alice Cooper
79 Rodney Crowell
63 CSS
67 Miley Cyrus
45 Dandy Warhols
64 Kimya Dawson
73 Dead Confederate
74 Death Vessel
74 Delta Spirit
79 Damien Dempsey
78 Ani DiFranco
58 DJ Khaled
66 The Donkeys
72 Dr. Dog
80 DragonForce
78 The Duhks
77 Dungen
74 Brian Eno + David Byrne
62 The Faint
67 The Fiery Furnaces
63 Ben Folds
64 iForward, Russia!
72 Friendly Fires
71 Fujiya & Miyagi
65 The Game
74 Inara George With Van Dyke Parks
74 Giant Sand
79 Girl Talk
83 Glasvegas
61 Golden Animals
64 Mike Gordon
68 Gym Class Heroes
78 GZA
65 Neil Halstead
64 Albert Hammond, Jr.
72 Juliana Hatfield
61 Hawthorne Heights
81 High Places
77 High Places
76 Zach Hill
85 The Hold Steady
83 David Holmes
80 Horse Feathers
74 Howling Hex
58 Jennifer Hudson
71 Human Highway
70 Ice Cube
66 Ida Maria
68 Jack's Mannequin
69 Jaguar Love
73 James
81 Jamey Johnson
70 Jonas Brothers
78 Damien Jurado
57 Kerli
89 B.B. King
66 Kings Of Leon
67 Ladyhawke
73 Leila
54 Levellers
73 Jenny Lewis
76 Lykke Li
82 Lindstrom
72 Little Jackie
57 LL Cool J
60 Lloyd
60 The Lord Dog Bird
85 Patty Loveless
76 John Mellencamp
71 The Melvins
70 Mercury Rev
77 Metallica
71 Metronomy
74 Mirah
75 Mogwai
64 Motorhead
66 Mugison
78 Nico Muhly
74 Murs
84 The Music Tapes
71 Nas
65 Nelly
79 Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis
50 New Kids On The Block
77 The New Year
85 Randy Newman
80 Ne-Yo
57 Nightmares On Wax
68 The Nightwatchman
78 Nine Inch Nails
61 Noah And The Whale
67 Oasis
75 Conor Oberst
78 Okkervil River
76 Old Crow Medicine Show
80 One Day As A Lion
74 Oneida
73 Joan Osborne
75 Oxford Collapse
79 Amanda Palmer
65 Parenthetical Girls
89 Aaron Parks
74 Lee "Scratch" Perry
53 Kellie Pickler
69 Pivot
58 Plain White T's
89 Plush
64 Primal Scream
50 Pussycat Dolls
76 Ra Ra Riot
71 Ratatat
62 Re-Up Gang
62 Rex The Dog
76 Roots Manuva
71 Darius Rucker
72 The Rumble Strips
81 Raphael Saadiq
57 Sam Champion
73 Scars On Broadway
70 Ron Sexsmith
68 The Shaky Hands
39 Shwayze
58 Jessica Simpson
69 Slipknot
79 Patti Smith and Kevin Shields
73 Solange
69 Son, Ambulance
65 Rick Springfield
65 Staind
47 Stereo MC's
72 Stereolab
71 The Stills
73 The Subways
83 Sugarland
70 Matthew Sweet
74 T.I.
72 Robin Thicke
77 Irma Thomas
79 Tindersticks
71 Tittsworth
90 Shugo Tokumaru
74 Emiliana Torrini
67 James Jackson Toth
72 Randy Travis
69 Tricky
90 TV On The Radio
78 The Uglysuit
92 Underoath
56 UNKLE
61 David Vandervelde
77 Chad VanGaalen
71 The Verve
76 Volcano!
68 Loudon Wainwright III
80 The Walkmen
66 Ben Weaver
84 The Week That Was
77 Paul Weller
70 Brian Wilson
77 Wire
63 XX Teens
71 Young Jeezy
55 Yung Berg

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The following table displays the highest-scoring albums for the year in Metacritic's database. Also listed at the bottom of the page are year-end critic top ten lists culled from various music publications, as well as year-end picks from Metacritic users.

Albums must have at least 7 reviews to qualify for high score lists. Reissues, "best-of" compilations and box sets are not eligible for inclusion. Year of release reflects U.S. release date unless title has not yet been released in the U.S.

You may also view an index of all albums in our database alphabetically by artist.
In addition, you may view the top-rated albums by year: All | 2007 | '06 | '05 | '04 | '03 | '02 | '01 | '00

The 30 Best-Reviewed Albums of the Year
1	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens	2005	90
2	Z by My Morning Jacket	2005	90
3	Wearemonster by Isolée	2005	89
4	Hypermagic Mountain by Lightning Bolt	2005	88
5	The Woods by Sleater-Kinney	2005	88
6	I Am A Bird Now by Antony And The Johnsons	2005	88
7	Arular by M.I.A.	2005	88
8	Congotronics by Konono No. 1	2005	87
9	Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady	2005	86
10	Minimum-Maximum [Live] by Kraftwerk	2005	86
11	Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team	2005	86
12	LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem	2005	86
13	Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River	2005	86
14	Chavez Ravine by Ry Cooder	2005	86
15	The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird	2005	85
16	I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes	2005	85
17	Mezmerize by System Of A Down	2005	85
18	Beauty And The Beat by Edan	2005	85
19	Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers	2005	85
20	Oceans Apart by The Go-Betweens	2005	85
21	Kicking Television: Live In Chicago by Wilco	2005	85
22	Blinking Lights And Other Revelations by Eels	2005	85
23	Late Registration by Kanye West	2005	85
24	This Right Here Is Buck 65 by Buck 65	2005	85
25	Cole's Corner by Richard Hawley	2005	85
26	Lookaftering by Vashti Bunyan	2005	85
27	Lost And Safe by The Books	2005	84
28	Gimme Fiction by Spoon	2005	84
29	Feels by Animal Collective	2005	84
30	Takk... by Sigur Rós	2005	84

Music Critics' Year-End Top Ten Lists

Village Voice 2005 Pazz & Jop Poll (a survey of 795 critics)
1.	Late Registration by Kanye West
2.	Arular by M.I.A.
3.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
4.	The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
5.	Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
6.	Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
7.	I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons
8.	Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
9.	Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
10.	Z by My Morning Jacket
Read The Full Results

Almost Cool
1.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
2.	Lost And Safe by The Books
3.	Feels by Animal Collective
4.	Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
5.	Rossz Csillag Alatt Született by Venetian Snares
6.	The Milk Of Human Kindness by Caribou
7.	The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird
8.	Broken Social Scene by Broken Social Scene
9.	Maria T by Balanescu Quartet
10.	Chaos Theory by Amon Tobin

Amazon.com Editors' Picks
1.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
2.	Arular by M.I.A.
3.	Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
4.	Z by My Morning Jacket
5.	Dimanche a Bamako by Amadou & Mariam
6.	Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall [Live]
7.	I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons
8.	No Direction Home: The Soundtrack by Bob Dylan
9.	Guero by Beck
10.	Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple

Billboard
1.	Z by My Morning Jacket
2.	(tie) A Bigger Bang by The Rolling Stones (tie) Arular by M.I.A.
3.	Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
4.	Be by Common
5.	The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
6.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
7.	(tie) At Carnegie Hall by Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane (tie) Lullabies To Paralyze by Queens Of The Stone Age
8.	Gimme Fiction by Spoon
9.	(tie) In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson (tie) The Emancipation Of Mimi by Mariah Carey
10.	Get Lifted by John Legend

Blender
1.	Arular by M.I.A.
2.	Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
3.	Late Registration by Kanye West
4.	I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
5.	Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
6.	You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
7.	Bang Bang Rock & Roll by Art Brut
8.	X&Y by Coldplay
9.	Frances The Mute by The Mars Volta
10.	Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 by Young Jeezy

Cokemachineglow
1.	Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
2.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
3.	The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
4.	Beauty And The Beat by Edan
5.	Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
6.	The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird
7.	Gimme Fiction by Spoon
8.	Grandmasters by DJ Muggs vs. GZA
9.	Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
10.	Akron/Family by Akron/Family

Drowned In Sound
1.	Funeral by Arcade Fire
2.	I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
3.	Saul Williams by Saul Williams
4.	Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
5.	Z by My Morning Jacket
6.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
7.	Picaresque by The Decemberists
8.	Worlds Apart by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
9.	Harmony No Harmony by Million Dead
10.	Bang Bang Rock & Roll by Art Brut

Dusted (Otis Hart)
1.	Stay Close by Death Vessel
2.	Veneer by Jose Gonzalez
3.	Kensington Blues by Jack Rose
4.	It's A Game by Edith Frost
5.	The Wedding by Oneida
6.	Hypermagic Mountain by Lightning Bolt
7.	Congotronics by Konono No. 1
8.	Arular by M.I.A.
9.	Musique Pour 3 Femmes Enceintes by Marc Leclair
10.	Kosmischer Pitch by Jan Jelinek

E!
1.	Plans by Death Cab For Cutie
2.	Arular by M.I.A.
3.	Guero by Beck
4.	12 Songs by Neil Diamond
5.	Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
6.	Late Registration by Kanye West
7.	Z by My Morning Jacket
8.	Demon Days by Gorillaz
9.	Year Of Meteors by Laura Veirs
10.	X&Y by Coldplay

Entertainment Weekly (David Browne)
1.	Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
2.	Guero by Beck
3.	Late Registration by Kanye West
4.	Back To Me by Kathleen Edwards
5.	Paper Tigers by Caesars
6.	12 Songs by Neil Diamond
7.	The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
8.	Arular by M.I.A.
9.	Worlds Apart by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
10.	I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons

Entertainment Weekly (Chris Willman)
1.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
2.	Georgia Hard by Robbie Fulks
3.	Devils & Dust by Bruce Springsteen
4.	I've Got My Own Hell To Raise by Bettye LaVette
5.	Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
6.	The Outsider by Rodney Crowell
7.	Late Registration by Kanye West
8.	(tie) There's More Where That Came From by Lee Ann Womack (tie) Timeless by Martina McBride
9.	Playing The Angel by Depeche Mode
10.	LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem

Filter
1.	Takk... by Sigur Ros
2.	Z by My Morning Jacket
3.	Howl by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
4.	Employment by Kaiser Chiefs
5.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
6.	The Mouse And The Mask by DangerDoom
7.	Worlds Apart by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
8.	Howl Howl Gaff Gaff by Shout Out Louds
9.	I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
10.	Lullabies To Paralyze by Queens Of The Stone Age

Junkmedia
1.	Gimme Fiction by Spoon
2.	Alligator by The National
3.	The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird
4.	Suckfish by Audion
5.	Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
6.	Face The Truth by Stephen Malkmus
7.	The Carlton Chronicles by South San Gabriel
8.	The Golden Morning Breaks by Colleen
9.	Tender Buttons by Broadcast
10.	A River Ain't Too Much To Love by Smog

Los Angeles Times (Kevin Bronson)
1.	Alligator by The National
2.	Gimme Fiction by Spoon
3.	Late Registration by Kanye West
4.	LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem
5.	Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
6.	Ahead Of The Lions by The Living Things
7.	Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
8.	The Weight Is A Gift by Nada Surf
9.	Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
10.	Ozona by Goldrush

Los Angeles Times (Richard Cromelin)
1.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
2.	I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
3.	I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons
4.	You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
5.	Mezmerize by System Of A Down
6.	Blinking Lights And Other Revelations by Eels
7.	Late Registration by Kanye West
8.	Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
9.	Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
10.	Demon Days by Gorillaz

Los Angeles Times (Robert Hilburn)
1.	Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
2.	Late Registration by Kanye West
3.	I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
4.	No Wow by The Kills
5.	I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons
6.	Devils & Dust by Bruce Springsteen
7.	You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
8.	Arular by M.I.A.
9.	LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem
10.	All Jacked Up by Gretchen Wilson

Los Angeles Times (Steve Hochman)
1.	Aerial by Kate Bush
2.	Manzanita by Mia Doi Todd
3.	The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
4.	Arular by M.I.A.
5.	Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
6.	Frances The Mute by The Mars Volta
7.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
8.	Late Registration by Kanye West
9.	You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
10.	Strange Fruit by Irvin Mayfield

Lost At Sea
1.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
2.	Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade
3.	Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
4.	Feels by Animal Collective
5.	Gimme Fiction by Spoon
6.	Broken Social Scene by Broken Social Scene
7.	Takk... by Sigur Ros
8.	Alligator by The National
9.	Arular by M.I.A.
10.	The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird

Magnet
1.	The Woods by Sleater-Kinney
2.	Twin Cinema by The New Pornographers
3.	Worlds Apart by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
4.	Set Yourself On Fire by Stars
5.	Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
6.	I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
7.	Howl by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
8.	Transistor Radio by M. Ward
9.	Lullabies To Paralyze by Queens Of The Stone Age
10.	Alligator by The National

Metacritic.com Music Editor
1.	Alligator by The National
2.	Broken Social Scene by Broken Social Scene
3.	Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
4.	Demon Days by Gorillaz
5.	Gimme Fiction by Spoon
6.	The Runners Four by Deerhoof
7.

The 30 Best-Reviewed Albums of the Year

Music Critics' Year-End Top Ten Lists