Best Music of 2005

Music comes and goes in our house like water.  Today I asked the kids what did they think the best CD's of 2005 were?  We were basically in sync.  The list is longer than I thought it would be, but here we go. 

Death Cab for Cutie, Plans.  The ultimate alternative band.  Love their sound and past albums.

Nada Surf, Weight If A Gift.  Good follow up to their last album.  Mellow, good sound.

Coldplay, X & Y  It wasn't their best but it was still really good.  A bit over produced but it's Coldplay.

Josh Rouse, Nashville  Love his sound.  I can not get enough of this CD.  It has been on the top for at least the last 6 months.

Rogue Wave, Descended Like Vultures  Love the dark sound. 

Portastatic  One of my favorites of the year.  Great sound.  Upbeat, smart, clever. 

Goldspot, Tally of the Yes Men  Classic.  I listen to this over and over and over again.  Top CD

The Shout Out Louds, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff  Happy, fun and also with a great edge.  Love this CD!

Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams  Good surfer, beach music. 

Mike Doughty, Haughty Melodic  Huge fan.  Love his voice.  Different sound.  Catchy.

M Ward, Transistor Radio  Scratchy voice with great instruments.  Another winner.

The Eels, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations  Nothing else sounds like the Eels. One of the most interesting, musical concerts I have seen in years.

The Shore, The Shore  This was on heavy rotation when it first came out.  Melodic rock. 

The Decemberists, Picaresque  Clever song writing.  Listened to over and over and over.

The Magic Numbers  Catchy, clever, great sound

Spoon, Gimme Fiction  Good guitar, good sound.  Another winner

Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning  Listened to Oberst for years.  Talented.  Bob Dylan of our generation?  Great album

Ben Lee, Awake is the New Sleep  Love Ben Lee.  I have listened to him since his first album.  Pop music at it's best.

Crooked Fingers, Dignity and Shame  Dark, intense sound.  Good songs.

There were others that we considered like U2  but the CD's above, although there are plenty, we got our fill of them all.  Fantastic music.  Highly recommended.  Enjoy!!









Posted December 16, 2005  
blog comments powered by Disqus
« Previous Post   Next Post »

Joanne Wilson Joanne Wilson loves food, books, and music. She lives in New York City. Her husband Fred and children Jessica, Emily, and Josh are bloggers too. More »

gotham gal updates

RSS    Email updates    Gotham Gal Twitter updates

ask gotham gal

Powered by Formspring.

books of the moment

  • Helen Oyeyemi: Boy, Snow, Bird: A Novel

    Helen Oyeyemi: Boy, Snow, Bird: A Novel
    I wanted to love this book. There are 3 sections. The first one pulled me in but I found that the second and third were not as interesting. A topic worth writing race issues is interesting but the book rambled. Alas.

  • Andrea Portes: Bury This

    Andrea Portes: Bury This
    A 25 year old unsolved town murder inspires a group of college kids to make a documentary around it with the belief that with the tools we have today that it can be solved. The writing is unique. Rapid short sentences that keeps the reader engaged. Super sad story.

  • Susan Minot: Thirty Girls

    Susan Minot: Thirty Girls
    This is based on a true story of a group of young women who were taken by the Kony LRA rebels in Africa while living and studying at a church. We follow a journalist and her experience on reporting about the girls who have survived by escaping. Learning about their traumatic experiences is heartbreaking. How and why this continues to go on in Africa is mind-boggling. I would have preferred Minot to spend more time with those girls than getting inside the journalists head. Regardless I really am glad I read this book. It is an absolutely worthy read.

  • Anna Quindlen: Still Life with Bread Crumbs: A Novel

    Anna Quindlen: Still Life with Bread Crumbs: A Novel
    A simple story about life, love and art. A 60 year old woman still evolving and finding herself. Really enjoyed it.

  • Jean Hanff Korelitz: You Should Have Known

    Jean Hanff Korelitz: You Should Have Known
    This book comes out on March 18th. The book moves fast with lots of twists and turns. A psychiatrist who has just written about how you should have known you were in a bad relationship finds her husband to not be who she thought he was. The perfect beach read.

  • Bill Bryson: One Summer: America, 1927

    Bill Bryson: One Summer: America, 1927
    My sister recommended this book. What happened that summer from baseball to Lindbergh and aviation to Henry Ford, Calvin Coolidge, Hoover, prohibition, Mt Rushmore, talking movies, theater, Al Capone and the first ponzi scheme. A great historic read.

  • Kim Malone Scott: Virtual Love

    Kim Malone Scott: Virtual Love
    Not sure how I stumbled on this book but I am glad that I did. The book is about a woman trying to figure out her life. She was an entrepreneur and closed her company. She moved to SF to work at Google and run the Ad Sense division. She is in bad male relationships and needs to figure out why so she can get in a good one. There are a lot of thoughts bouncing around her head in regards to her personal struggles. Truly enjoyable well written insightful book.

  • Jhumpa Lahiri: The Lowland

    Jhumpa Lahiri: The Lowland
    I had read both the Namesake and Lahiri's short stories and I felt both of those books were so much better than the Lowland. There was not on character I liked. None of them lived in the future or the present they all lived in the past. Their lives were just utterly depressing. Also the book was way too long. It is certainly a saga about the turmoil in Calcutta in the 60's and the havoc it wreaked on one family in the post. Perhaps if they all had sought therapy then their lives would have been happier. Would not recommend.

  • Liane Moriarty: The Husband's Secret

    Liane Moriarty: The Husband's Secret
    This is a great book for vacation reading. I read it in a day. Engaging characters who are living real lives and each come with their own baggage. I won't give away the premise of the book but I really enjoyed it.

  • Kate Atkinson: Life After Life: A Novel

    Kate Atkinson: Life After Life: A Novel
    I have read most of Atkinson's books. This was an interesting concept. The book mostly takes place during the world wars yet a bit of a challenge to read. It took me a long time to get into the book and then I decided to soldier through. Many of the chapters are essentially redo's of the characters life so that in one chapter they end up dying where in another chapter they continue to live due to a few shifts that take place. Each small decision you make has to do with the life you end lead. Interesting but did not love the book as much as I wanted to.