THE TOP 40 ALBUMS OF 2005
THE RULES: Our critics were asked for their top 20 new releases, though shorter lists were accepted. A #1 ranking received 20 points, #2 was received 19, and so on. Unranked ballots received an equal point-value for each entry. Only records released in 2005 were eligible.
1. Ry Cooder, Chavez Ravine (Nonesuch)
2. Mary Gauthier, Mercy Now (Lost Highway)
3. Bettye LaVette, I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise (Anti-)
4. Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives, Souls’ Chapel (Superlatone/Universal South)
5. Robbie Fulks, Georgia Hard (Yep Roc
6. James McMurtry, Childish Things (Compadre)
7. My Morning Jacket, Z (AT))
8. Neil Young, Prairie Wind (Reprise)
9. Rodney Crowell, The Outsider (Epic)
10. White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan (V2)
11. John Prine, Fair & Square (Oh Boy)
12. Lee Ann Womack, There’s More Where That Came From (MCA)
13. Son Volt, Okemah & The Melody Of Riot (Transmit Sound/Legacy)
14. Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell, Begonias (Yep Roc)
15. New Pornographers, Twin Cinema (Matador)
16. Ryan Adams, Cold Roses (Lost Highway)
17. Bruce Springsteen, Devils And Dust (Columbia)
18. Sufjan Stevens, Come On Feel The Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty)
19. Kathleen Edwards, Back To Me (Zoe/Rounder)
20. Patty Loveless, Dreamin’ My Dreams Epic)
21. Bobby Bare, The Moon Was Blue (Dualtone)
22. Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar)
23. Nickel Creek, Why Should The Fire Die (Sugar Hill)
24. North Mississippi Allstars, Electric Blue Watermelon (ATO)
25. Kanye West, Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella)
26. Los Super Seven, Heard It On The X (TelArc)
27. Hayes Carll, Little Rock (self)
28. Amy Rigby, Little Fugitive (Signature Sounds)
29. Beck, Guero (Interscope)
30. Tom Russell, Hotwalker (HighTone)
31. Sleater-Kinney, The Woods (Sub Pop)
32. Lizz Wright, Dreaming Wide Awake (Verve)
33. Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, Red Dog Tracks (Back Porch)
34. Delbert McClinton, Cost Of Living (New West)
35. Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Come On Back (Rounder)
36. Tim O’Brien, Cornbread Nation (Sugar Hill)
37. Pernice Brothers, Discover A Lovelier You (Ashmont)
38. Dwight Yoakam, Blame The Vain (New West)
39. Eliza Gilkyson, Paradise Hotel (Red House)
40. Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Exploration (New West)
VOTERS: Grant Alden, David Baxter, Michael Berick, Peter Blackstock, Scott Brodeur, Jeff Burger, David Cantwell, Paul E. Comeau, Rick Cornell, Eric R. Danton, John T. Davis, Jim Desmond, Danielle Dreilinger, Dan Durchholz, Bill Friskics-Warren, Jon M. Gilbertson, Mark Guarino, Russell Hall, Jewly Hight, Silas House, Roy Kasten, Rich Kienzle, Patrick Langston, Anders Smith Lindall, Scott Manzler, Barry Mazor, Michael McCall, Don McLeese, David Menconi, Fred Mills, John Milward, Jim Musser, Joe Nick Patoski, Rick Petreycik, Kurt B. Reighley, Leland Rucker, Lloyd Sachs, William Michael Smith, Allison Stewart, Andy Turner, Ed Ward, Jon Weisberger, Tom Wilk, Greg Yost
THE TOP REISSUES OF 2005
1 Charlie Poole, You Ain’t Talkin’ To Me: Charlie Poole And The Roots Of Country Music (Columbia/Legacy)
2 Bob Dylan, No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (The Bootleg Series Vol. 7) (Columbia/Legacy)
3 Johnny Cash, The Legend (Columbia/Legacy)
4 June Carter Cash, Keep On The Sunny Side: Her Life In Music (Columbia/Legacy)
5 Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run 30th Anniversary Edition (Columbia/Legacy)
6 various artists, Night Train To Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970, Vol. 2 (CMF/Lost Highway)
7 Doug Sahm & the Sir Douglas Quintet, The Complete Mercury Masters (Hip-O Select)
8 Roky Erickson, I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology (Shout Factory)
9 Ray Charles, Pure Genius: The Compete Atlantic Recordings, 1952-1959 (Rhino)
10 The Band, A Musical History (Capitol)
11 Elvis Costello, King Of America (Rhino)
12 Jimmy Webb, The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress: Jimmy Webb In The Seventies (Rhino Handmade)
13 Son Volt, A Retrospective: 1995-2000 (Rhino)
14 Shel Silverstein, The Best Of Shel Silverstein: His Words, His Songs, His Friends (Columbia/Legacy)
15 Blind Arvella Gray, The Singing Drifter (Conjuroo)
16 various artists, Good For What Ails You: Music Of The Medicine Shows, 1926-1937 (Old Hat)
17 Jelly Roll Morton, The Complete Library Of Congress Recordings By Alan Lomax (Rounder)
18 Rosanne Cash, King’s Record Shop (Columbia/Legacy)
19 various artists, One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found (Rhino)
20 various artists, Does Anybody Know I’m Here? Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America, 1962-1972 (Kent)
VOTERS: Grant Alden, David Baxter, Michael Berick, Peter Blackstock, Scott Brodeur, Jeff Burger, David Cantwell, Paul E. Comeau, Rick Cornell, Eric R. Danton, John T. Davis, Jim Desmond, Danielle Dreilinger, Dan Durchholz, Bill Friskics-Warren, Jon M. Gilbertson, Mark Guarino, Russell Hall, Jewly Hight, Silas House, Roy Kasten, Rich Kienzle, Patrick Langston, Anders Smith Lindall, Scott Manzler, Barry Mazor, Michael McCall, Don McLeese, David Menconi, Fred Mills, John Milward, Jim Musser, Joe Nick Patoski, Rick Petreycik, Kurt B. Reighley, Leland Rucker, Lloyd Sachs, William Michael Smith, Allison Stewart, Andy Turner, Ed Ward, Jon Weisberger, Tom Wilk, Greg Yost
