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Here we are again, 2005 and another year-end compilation. Lots of good music this year, so without further ado, here’s what I put together:

01.) “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” - LCD Soundsystem

So many great songs on this double cd, might as well go with the one everyone knows… It was between this one and Tribulations and I literally flipped a coin… :)

Official Site: http://www.lcdsoundsystem.com Buy This CD

02.) “Use It” - The New Pornographers

Tell me this is not the catchiest song of the year. Hands down.

Official Site: http://www.thenewpornographers.com/ Buy This CD

03.) “Cold Roses” - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

Ryan Adams (re)discovered his country roots this year and The Cardinals brought a Grateful Dead influence. The two sides (in my opinion) work quite well with each other..

Official Site: http://www.ryan-adams.com/ Buy This CD

04.) “Ibi Dreams Of Pavement (A Better Day)” - Broken Social Scene

Vast soundscape and hints of Pavement. No? Indie bands from Canada rule.

Official Site: http://www.arts-crafts.ca/bss/ Buy This CD

05.) “16 by 32″ - The Decemberists

I guess I’m a sucker for political songs. A great song with a message I agree with…

Official Site: http://www.decemberists.com/ Buy This CD

06.) “The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth” - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

What you have to listen to if you want to be the big indie hipster…

Official Site: http://clapyourhandssayyeah.com/ Buy This CD

07.) “Come On! Feel The Illinoise!” - Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan’s tribute to my home state. The actual title to this song is “Come on! Feel the Illinoise! -Part I: The World’s Columbian Exposition -Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream”. Do you hear The Cure in the middle of it? :) Absolutely my favorite album of the year.

Official Site: http://www.sufjan.com/ Buy This CD

08.) “Black” - Okkervil River

I got into Okkervil River early this year. Don’t know where I initially heard of them, but have really come to love the band. This album could be one of my “best of 2005″ in the “not really known” category…

Official Site: http://www.jound.com/okkervil/ Buy This CD

09.) “He Lays In The Reins” - Calexico & Iron and Wine

What happens when two of my favorite artists get together, put out an EP and go on tour together? You get a great album and a show that I unfortunately had to miss… I love the addition of Salvador Duran during the second verse of this song. If you like these guys, make sure to download the show that they recorded for NPR back in November of this year.

Official Site(s): http://www.cascadecalexico.com and http://www.ironandwine.com Buy This CD

10.) “Gold Digger” - Kanye West

Yes, you probably heard this song. I think most people would agree with me that Kanye is one of the most talented performers around these days. This is the song that my mother-in-law was instructed to skip over on her copy of this year’s compilation. :)

Official Site: http://www.kanyewest.com Buy This CD

11.) “Hi-Fi” - M. Ward

I love the lo-fi sound of this song. Another new artist I got into this year.

Official Site: http://www.mwardmusic.com Buy This CD

12.) “Lay Low” - My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket made their debut on my 2003 compilation. Their latest album, “Z”, is a little different than their last but I have to say that I love it. I read somewhere that “Z” is MMJ’s “The Bends” and that only means that their next album will be their “OK Computer”… Let’s keep our fingers crossed. This album is my second favorite album of the year.

Official Site: http://www.mymorningjacket.com Buy This CD

13.) “This Year” - Mountain Goats

Yes, the vocals are a bit nasil-y and my wife really isn’t a fan (and has a hard time deciphering between the Mountain Goats and Decemberists ~ although she “likes” The Decemberists… yeah, I don’t really understand either). Anyways, the thing I really like about this song (and most other Mountain Goats songs) is the bizarre stories told through the song and the obscurities that come out of the lyrics.

Official Site: http://www.mountain-goats.com Buy This CD

14.) “I’ll Believe In Anything” - Wolf Parade

Another band that I just got into this year. Again, I had a hard time picking one song from this album. The Canadians are rocking this year. eh?

Official Site: http://www.myspace.com/wolfparade Buy This CD

15.) “One Plus None” - Riviera

Local Chicago band that put out their first album this year. I thought that “One Plus None” was a great way to close the album. Be sure to let it build up.

Official Site: http://www.riviera-sound.com Buy This CD

This entry was posted on Monday, December 26th, 2005 at 10:14 pm and is filed under compilations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.