  My Morning Jacket's "Z." |
Far too often the bad outweighs the good when it comes to music.
But when you find that one disc, that one artist who makes a difference in your life, it makes it all worthwhile.
Here are 10 albums -- plus a bonus few -- that made life just a little bit better in 2005.
10. BRIGHT EYES
I'M WIDE AWAKE, IT'S MORNING & DIGITAL ASH IN A DIGITAL URN
(Outside Music)
Two distinct albums from Indie wunderkid Conor Oberst, two smart pop gems that taste great together.
9. SHOUT OUT LOUDS
HOWL HOWL GAFF GAFF
(Capitol/EMI)
Swedish for "bloody great pop music."
The musical equivalent of cloud watching -- sweet, dreamy and delirious. No assembly required.
8. WEEZER
MAKE BELIEVE
(Geffen/Universal)
There is, nor has there ever been a better American power pop band than Rivers Cuomo and the boys.
7. SYSTEM OF A DOWN
MEZMERIZE
(American/Sony-BMG)
Brains and brawn co-exist brilliantly on the best of two CDs released by metal's most consistently interesting acts. SOAD continue to challenge -- artistically and intellectually -- while pummeling with their sheer brutality.
6. SHANNON MCNALLY
GERONIMO
(Back Porch)
A stunner of a country record from this New Orleans-based singer-songwriter. Think early Sheryl Crow meets today's Lucinda Williams and you get a sense of the gritty beauty that comes from her honey-tongue and blistered heart and fingers. McNally and her songs offer the perfect reason and cure for a hungover Sunday.
5. M.I.A.
ARULAR
(XL/Beggars Group)
When too many rappers are content to sound alike -- in content especially -- it's refreshing when someone comes along who is so utterly unique. Sri Lankan-born, London-based Maya Arul is that, but the fact she was tapped to open for Gwen Stefani also shows how accessible her exciting electro hip hop is.
4. SPOON
GIMME FICTION
(Merge)
A rock solid rock 'n' roll record, which has everything you've heard and loved before rearranged and repackaged as something so fresh yet friendly and familiar. If you take a chance on anything this year, try Gimme Fiction.
3. FRANK BLACK
HONEYCOMB
(Back Porch)
Pixies frontman lives his dream by recording an album of material in Nashville with a host of legendary session musicians. The result is a classic -- in content and feel -- with Frank Black wearing the Southern soul tag as effortlessly as he does the label of alt rock icon. Honeycomb is an album that's as successful as it is surprising.
2. HAL
HAL
(EMI)
A slice of sonic watermelon for the senses. The debut from Irish band Hal is similar to that of fellow countrymen The Thrills in that their sun-kissed, Beach Boys take on summer pop seems more California than Cork. From the instant classic Play the Hits to the country breeze Worry About the Wind, Hal are all about infectiousness. In fact, you'll find yourself lending it to a friend in order to get it out of your house and head even if only for a moment.
1. MY MORNING JACKET
Z
(ATO/Sony-BMG)
Another batch of classic rock sucked through a psychedelic silly straw from Kentucky's My Morning Jacket. And another masterpiece. Like the band itself, Z exists in a world all its own -- a world where the timeless qualities and standard earthy influences (Pink Floyd, The Byrds, Neil Young, Bob Dylan) are merely touchstones and launching pads for something sonically and texturally so epic, so far out there it often defies description. But you'll want to -- you'll return to it again and again like the most intoxicating of substances. You can explore it all you want, soak in its warmth and swim in its joy for decades, and just when you think you can touch it, just when you think you have a firm grasp on exactly what it is, you'll get sucked deeper, further below. It would be frustrating if it weren't so enthralling. So My Morning Jacket.
FURTHER LISTENING
The Magic Numbers -- The Magic Numbers, The White Stripes -- Get Behind Me Satan, The Mars Volta -- Frances The Mute, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead -- Worlds Apart, Ben Lee -- Awake Is the New Sleep
