Tango wrote:

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sounds terrible!gorrillaz are the graphic ones.i think shaun ryder's got something to do with them

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I liked their debut (from ca. 1999) a lot, didn't know there was something new this year (I mean last year)... Must go and listen to that!

What's wrong with Shaun Ryder? (Musically, I mean!) I only know him from the Happy Mondays, and "Pills and Thrills.." was sooo good, I thought!

Again, everybody's got an opinion.

www.wfuv.org

Top 50 albums of 2005

1. Bruce Springsteen - Devils and Dust
   Many of these songs were written in 1997 on the road during Springsteen's solo tour for The Ghost of Tom Joad, intended to be a follow-up to that Steinbeck-inspired album. Bruce says, "I like to write about people whose souls are in danger, who are at risk." He recorded nearly all the songs in a few days in his farmhouse living room.
   
   
2. Ryan Adams - Cold Roses
   Ryan Adams has been one busy boy - this album is one of three that he has released since May. Recorded with his new band the Cardinals, this is a full-fledged, unapologetic return to the country-rock that made his reputation when he led Whiskeytown; 18 songs that play to Adams' strengths.
   
   
3. Coldplay - X and Y
   This is the third album from this multi-platinum selling, multi-Grammy winning foursome from the U.K. It took a marathon 18 months' work before they were ready to release it, recording individually and then going back into the studio together. Frontman Chris Martin says, "This album is the most raw statement of our band, the sound of us really being ourselves."
   
   
4. Beck - Guero
   The title Guero is a tipoff of the Latin influences on this CD, which you hear along with a collage of other styles. Beck went into the studio each day with a sense of a sound he was seeking, and then set out to find the right beat. Once he got a melody, he would type lyrics on his laptop, set it up on a music stand and sing off the screen. Beck worked to retain the depth of his previous breakup record, Sea Change, saying, "I really wanted to bring that kind of vulnerability and emotional quality into this record."
   
   
5. White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
   Detroit's White Stripes - Jack White on guitar and vocals and his ex-wife Meg on drums - put out this CD on the heels of the multi-platinum Elephant (which won two Grammys). It shows them taking a big creative leap, pushing beyond blues and rock, substituting piano, bicycle bells, maracas and more for Jack's usual blistering guitar. Jack wrote the songs and produced the CD in about three weeks for under $10,000.
   
   
6. Amos Lee - Amos Lee
   WFUV was an early champion of Amos Lee. We presented a live concert last year, three months before this full-length debut was released. Norah Jones was also an early fan of his and she invited Amos to open for her on an extended tour in 2004; Jones sings and performs on a couple of tracks. This CD was produced with a spare acoustic approach that lets Lee's soulful voice shine through.
   
   
7. Aimee Man - The Forgotten Arm
   Aimee Mann's songs have always had a literary quality to them, so it was probably inevitable that she would get around to making a concept album like this. The songs loosely tell the story of John and Caroline as they meet, fall in love and take a road trip across America. Aimee says, "I pictured it taking place in the early '70s... you know, that kind of white trashy redneck factor which I have a real weakness for."
   
   
8. John Prine - Fair and Square
   This was Prine's first album of original music in nine years. Once again Prine displays his incomparable sweetness, his wicked wit and social commentary, and his common-sense simplicity with songs that turn on the phases of the human heart. Listen closely and you'll hear Allison Krauss and Mindy Smith on harmony vocals on a few tracks.
   
   
9. Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now
   After 20 years of abusing drugs and alcohol, a little miracle happened to Mary Gauthier: She found herself writing songs instead. This, her fourth CD, dredges deep through the backwaters of her life. Gauthier says, "Somewhere along the way I figured out that the most intimate part of me is the most universal part of me. I've figured out that the artist's job is to reveal that universal human experience. There's got to be a way to go inside and pull out the bigger truth and use it as a mirror in which other people can see themselves."
   
   
10. (tie) Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
    This is the third CD from Jack Johnson, recorded with the same guys in the studio, so it's his familiar warm, laid-back sound. He's been touring quite a bit since his last CD, and says, "That's the idea of the title: Those adventures that I go on now, sometimes I feel like I dream them. All the tours and shows and press, it's a lot of fun, but it's a different reality."
    Son Volt - Okemah and the Melody of Riot
    Frontman Jay Farrar has completely reformed Son Volt for the first band release in seven years. In the interim Jay experimented with a couple of quieter solo releases, but this disc sounds muscular and driven. Farrar says, "After having done two primarily acoustic-oriented solo records and a lot of acoustic touring for several years, I was ready to get back to playing electric." The album's title refers to Woody Guthrie's birthplace, and you'll hear a reference to Woody in the first song.
    
    
11. Neil Young - Prairie Wind
    
12. Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights
    
13. John Hiatt - Master of Disaster
    
14. Dar Williams - My Better Self
    
15. The Decemberists - Picaresque
    
16. Josh Rouse - Nashville
    
17. Robert Earl Keen - What I Really Mean
    
18. Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang
    
19. David Gray - Life in Slow Motion
    
20. Bob Dylan - Bootleg #7
    
21. Wilco - Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
    
22. Kathleen Edwards - Back to Me
    
23. Tracy Grammer - Flower of Avalon
    
24. Kennedys - Half a Million Miles
    
25. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
    
26. Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman
    
27. Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
    
28. My Morning Jacket - Z
    
29. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
    
30. Redwalls - De Nova
    
31. James McMurtry - Childish Things
    
32. Van Morrison - Magic Time
    
33. Tori Amos - The Beekeeper
    
34. Shelby Lynne - Suit Yourself
    
35. Richard Thompson - Front Parlour Ballads
    
36. The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
    
37. Susan Tedeschi - Hope and Desire
    
38. Neil Diamond - 12 Songs
    
39. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
    
40. Shannon McNally - Geronimo
    
41. Spoon - Gimmie Fiction
    
42. Raul Midon - State of Mind
    
43. Nickel Creek - Why Should the Fire Die?
    
44. New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
    
45. Jackson Browne - Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1
    
46. Sinead O'Connor - Throw Down Your Arms
    
47. Paul Weller - As is Now
    
48. Matisyahu - Live at Stubbs
    
49. Calexico/Iron and Wine - In the Reins
    
50. Feist - Let it Die