Metacritic: Best Albums of 2005

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60 31Knots
74 Absentee
71 AC/DC
70 The Academy Is...
72 Ryan Adams
79 Alias
67 The Aliens
66 All That Remains
80 Amon Amarth
46 Brett Anderson
75 Theresa Andersson
66 Annuals
79 Antony And The Johnsons
76 Apollo Sunshine
78 Apse
58 David Archuleta
76 Aterciopelados
72 Attic Lights
47 The Automatic
75 Joan Baez
79 Belle & Sebastian
65 Beyonce
80 Blitzen Trapper
69 Bloc Party
83 Bound Stems
73 Brightblack Morning Light
64 The Broken West
65 The Bronx
74 Ane Brun
50 Buckcherry
77 Lindsey Buckingham
92 Buena Vista Social Club
56 Caesars
78 Calexico
70 Glen Campbell
73 Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
64 Castanets
63 Cats In Paris
66 Chairlift
63 Tracy Chapman
73 The Chemical Brothers
60 Kenny Chesney
82 The Clash
66 Cold War Kids
67 David Cook
70 Nikka Costa
51 Cradle Of Filth
60 Crooked Fingers
78 Rodney Crowell
75 Crystal Stilts
70 The Cure
46 Dandy Warhols
59 Kimya Dawson
72 Dead Confederate
72 The Dears
74 Death Vessel
81 Deerhoof
81 Deerhunter
78 Delta Spirit
79 Damien Dempsey
70 Brett Dennen
78 Department Of Eagles
73 Angela Desveaux
68 Devin The Dude
73 Dido
79 Ani DiFranco
58 DJ Khaled
82 DJ/rupture
66 The Donkeys
54 Dr. Dooom
66 Dragonette
77 DragonForce
78 The Duhks
79 Dungen
86 Bob Dylan
82 Eagles Of Death Metal
81 Mathias Eick
78 El Guincho
57 Electric Six
73 Brian Eno + David Byrne
64 Everlast
67 The Fiery Furnaces
62 Ben Folds
69 Free Blood
74 Friendly Fires
84 Fucked Up
71 Fujiya & Miyagi
65 The Game
77 Gang Gang Dance
78 Morgan Geist
74 Giant Sand
79 Girl Talk
69 Girls Aloud
82 Glasvegas
75 Gojira
61 Golden Animals
83 Grails
61 Growing
60 Guns N' Roses
67 Gym Class Heroes
75 GZA
72 Juliana Hatfield
76 Hauschka
65 Her Space Holiday
75 High Places
49 Hinder
71 Jolie Holland
79 David Holmes
81 Horse Feathers
64 Howling Hex
58 Jennifer Hudson
71 Human Highway
78 Hush Arbors
67 Ice Cube
70 I'm From Barcelona
68 Jack's Mannequin
69 Jaguar Love
73 James
59 Japanese Motors
64 Jem
80 The Jesus And Mary Chain
81 Johann Johannsson
67 Grace Jones
74 Damien Jurado
69 Kaiser Chiefs
64 Keane
76 Toby Keith
83 B.B. King
63 Kings Of Leon
79 The Knux
78 Koushik
74 Lady GaGa
72 Ladyhawke
75 Lambchop
72 Ray LaMontagne
74 Land Of Talk
68 John Legend
75 Jenny Lewis
76 Lykke Li
82 Lindstrom
72 Little Joy
60 The Little Ones
57 LL Cool J
76 Love Is All
81 Patty Loveless
79 Luomo
73 Madlib
65 Margot & The Nuclear So And So's
68 Mercury Rev
78 Metallica
70 Metronomy
57 Ingrid Michaelson
76 Mogwai
77 Juana Molina
67 Monkey
75 Moondoggies
63 Motorhead
79 Mount Eerie
46 Mudvayne
66 Mugison
73 Murs
84 The Music Tapes
61 Nelly
51 New Kids On The Block
77 The New Year
79 Ne-Yo
48 Nickelback
57 Nightmares On Wax
60 The Nightwatchman
62 Noah And The Whale
66 Oasis
76 Jennifer O'Connor
68 O'Death
70 Of Montreal
79 Okkervil River
77 Old Crow Medicine Show
54 The Organ
65 Joan Osborne
77 Brad Paisley
84 Pale Young Gentlemen
78 Amanda Palmer
65 Parenthetical Girls
89 Aaron Parks
76 Parts & Labor
74 Passion Pit
73 Lee "Scratch" Perry
67 Peter Bjorn And John
64 The Peth
51 Kellie Pickler
69 Pink
73 Benoît Pioulard
70 Pivot
54 Plain White T's
89 Plush
40 Daniel Powter
77 The Pretenders
51 Pussycat Dolls
84 Q-Tip
42 Queen + Paul Rodgers
75 Ra Ra Riot
71 Rafter
74 Raglani
57 Razorlight
69 Lou Reed
74 Religious Knives
62 Rex The Dog
65 Rise Against
76 Roots Manuva
74 The Rosebuds
66 Darius Rucker
83 Arthur Russell
80 Raphael Saadiq
60 Sam Champion
67 School of Seven Bells
75 The Sea And Cake
60 Seal
69 Seasick Steve
65 Secret Machines
81 Pete Seeger
71 Serena-Maneesh
68 The Shaky Hands
72 Blake Shelton
39 Shwayze
58 Jessica Simpson
68 Slipknot
89 The Smiths
72 Todd Snider
68 Snow Patrol
72 Solange
62 Spinto Band
68 Squarepusher
53 Staind
65 Starfucker
72 Stereolab
82 Marnie Stern
64 The Stills
62 The Streets
73 The Subways
70 Matthew Sweet
81 Taylor Swift
75 T.I.
66 Talkdemonic
64 James Taylor
66 Ten Kens
72 Robin Thicke
67 Thievery Corporation
79 Tindersticks
88 Shugo Tokumaru
75 Emiliana Torrini
72 T-Pain
65 Travis
70 Tricky
68 Trivium
88 TV On The Radio
77 The Uglysuit
92 Underoath
56 UNKLE
74 Chad VanGaalen
71 The Verve
76 Vivian Girls
78 Volcano!
67 Loudon Wainwright III
84 Butch Walker
79 The Walkmen
82 The Week That Was
73 White Denim
77 Wild Beasts
78 Wilderness
71 Hank Williams III
72 Lucinda Williams
67 Michelle Williams
70 Brian Wilson
73 Lee Ann Womack
75 Women
63 XX Teens
72 Rachael Yamagata
60 Yo Majesty
72 Young Jeezy

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

The 30 Best-Reviewed Albums of the Year

Music Critics' Year-End Top Ten Lists