The Best CDs of 2005

Pop, rock, country, folk, jazz, blues, Broadway, bluegrass and more -- it's all here. Go here for a complete list of the 50 best CDs of the year, detailed breakdown of who's who and what's what, favorite reissues, my early favorites for 2006 and more.

BEST ALBUMS OF 2005

1. Richard Swift – The Richard Swift Collection, Volume One (literate pop)
2. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (eclectic pop)
3. The Eels – Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (suicidal pop)
4. Amadou & Mariam – Dimanche a Bamako (world pop)
5. Betty LaVette – I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise/ Various – I Believe To My Soul (soul)
6. The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan (bluesy pop)/ Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (folkie pop)
7. Neil Diamond – 12 Songs (pop via Brill Building)
8. Hanna McEuen -- Hanna McEuen (country by way of Everly Brothers)
9. The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers (60s pop via UK)
10. Various – Does Anybody Know I’m Here? Vietnam Through The Eyes of Black America (protest pop)
11. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary/ Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah/ Broken Social Scene/ Marah – If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry (return of Talking Heads)
12. Bill Charlap and Sandy Stewart – Love Is Here To Stay (telepathic jazz duets)
13. Lewis Taylor – Stoned (what Prince and Stevie Wonder used to be)
14. Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate – In The Heart Of The Moon (world music)
15. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (pop, the hard way)
16. Heartless Bastards – Stairs and Elevators (rock n roll)
17. Various – Son Cubano NYC: Cuban Roots, New York Spices 1972-82 (salsa)
18. Hard-Fi – Stars Of CCTV (British rock)
19. Neil Young – Prairie Wind (folk rock staring death in the face and smiling)
20. Supergrass – Road To Rouen (underappreciated rock)