These are the top 10 albums that i enjoyed over the last year. They may not be the best musically or have a lasting impact on music, but as they are the ones i listened to over and over again on my my iPod, my laptop, wherever.
The Top 10
Garden State (Soundtrack)
I feel a little wierd about putting a soundtrack in my top 10, but this one is too good to pass up. There are some great individual songs here such as the Shins "New Slang" and "Caring is Creepy" but it's really how the whole collection hangs together that makes this one work. Though i've heard Coldplay's "Don't Panic" a hundred times, it's just right at home on this soundtrack, and a track added by Colin Hay of Men at Work just adds to the cult of Zach Braff.
[amazon] [iTunes]
Interpol - Antics
At first I wasn't crazy about this sophomore album by our favorite Joy Division revivalists, but with repeated listens Antics definitely crept on to my top 10."Slow Hands" is the climax of the album (and also a great video if you can catch it) but they keep things interesting throughout. I'm not confident in a third album by Interpol will show enough depth of material to keep this up, but I like to be pleasantly surprised.
[amazon] [iTunes]
U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
This one might be too easy, and that's coming from a man that was once a solid U2 fan, abandoned them, but got back on the bus for this album. With Ireland the darling of Europe's economy these days, Bono and crew clearly focused on some more personal subjects here, but it works in a big way. The highlights for me are "A Man and a Woman" which musically reminds of really early Boy/October era U2 and ponders "but i could never take a chance losing love to find romance" and also "City of Blinding Lights" which should find some airplay before 2005 is over.
[amazon] [iTunes]
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Of all the 80's revival bands, the Killers were the one i heard in which i thought "what was the name of this band?" and was a little surprised to find out it was a new band. A bunch of good songs, and generally a lot of fun.
[amazon[ [iTunes]
The Strokes - Room On Fire
The better of the two Strokes albums in my opinion - this 35 minutes of pleasure leaves you longing for more.
[amazon] [iTunes]
Sparta - Porcelain
Probably the least known release on this list, but definitely one of the most solid. This is the rhythm section of At-The-Drive-In, and actually their second album together
[amazon] [iTunes]
Keane - Hopes and Fears
Keane's piano driven pop rock will probably draw them comparisons to Coldplay, which is totally warranted, but in my mind Keane probably owes more to Travis for it's sound than anyone else. Anyway you slice it - this is a great album and can easily be found for $6.99 if you try hard enough. What stands out about this album is the strong songwriting and the perfect sound engineering - which seems to be a forgotten art lately.
[amazon] [iTunes]
Travis - 12 Memories
Travis, yet another Scottish band (we're the scouts just camped in Glasgow this year or what?) - this one from the Oasis signing wave, releases in my opinion their best effort to date. If John Lennon left a wake that crashed to shore with Oasis, Travis is clearly McCartney's contribution. The pop sensibilities ooze out in 12 Memories, ranging from the emotionally poignant to the topically political ("The Beatiful Occupation"). Travis also released a singles compilation this year - and if you want to catch up on this band, I highly recommend picking up both Singles and 12 Stories.
[amazon] [iTunes]
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Clearly this generation's The Smiths/Pet Shop Boys/[put sexually ambiguous 80's group here], this Scottish outfit definitely wins the prize for most consistent soup to nuts album that just keeps going with additional singles and an additional EP that was released as the "Special Addition" just in time for Christmas. There's a lot of New New Wave bands that came out of the woodwork to prove the music industry was alive and well this year, but Franz Ferdinand tops the list. If i can knock this album at all it's for the production/engineering - as it's way too muddy in places. I'd love to remix this disc from the masters.
[amazon] [iTunes]
Noticeably Absent
Green Day - American Idiot
I've been a huge Green Day fan pretty much since they started, but i can't get into this album at all. It's really derivative and performed without passion for GD. I think they actually steal "Ring of Fire" on one song.
