Charts >>> 2005 >>> albums



30 Alanis Morissette The Collection Maverick
Alanis finally released a Greatest Hits/Best Of Collection in 2005, that she called 'The Collection'. It is just that, a collection of songs, but how these songs were chosen was a mystery to me. The CD itself seems like it was thrown together with little thought as to who it really was geared toward. If it was for the true fans of Alanis, why did they use all the same versions of songs that already appeared on the respective albums the songs originally appeared on. Why not use alternate versions, like radio edits and why didn't they include a video DVD featuring all of Alanis' videos? If it was for the casual fan who, aside from 'Jagged Little Pill', don't own any of her other albums, why did they include the unnecessary 'Mercy' on there and other uncalled for tracks like 'Simple Together' and 'Sister Blister' while leaving off other gems like 'Joining You', 'So Pure', 'Utopia' or 'So Called Chaos'. And why was '8 Easy Steps' chosen over 'Precious Illusions'?
29 Eminem Curtain Call Atlantic
Eminem's Greatest Hits Collection is of a similar nature to Alanis' except his is really only missing two songs as far as I can think of. I'm not hugely familiar with his album tracks so I'm sure Em fans will say it's missing a lot more but this collection doesn't seem geared toward showing off his best and is just for his big hits and a few extras... some of which can be done without, like the really dumb 'Fack'. How did that get a spot on here over 'Superman' or 'Encore', two of Eminem's catchiest songs. I like that they included the Grammy performance of 'Stan' with Elton John but I think that would have been suited better on his bonus disc and maybe have thrown 'Fack' onto that as well to make room for the two previously mentioned missing songs. I guess Eminem is better left to my ipod for now.
28 Soundtrack Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants Columbia
I got this soundtrack when I found out Chantal Kreviazuk had two tracks on it. It's been over three years since she has released a new album and there hasn't been a lot from her to keep fans going after that since she had two babies since as well so word of new Chantal was exciting! One of the two new songs was 'I Want You To Know', a song I already knew from a leaked demo from a year before but the version on the soundtrack wasn't as exciting as that demo so I was already partially disappointed. The other was a song I didn't know 'These Days', which I eventually grew to love and now would throw it into Chantal classic folders! There are some other good pop songs on here including Alana Grace's 'Black Roses Red' and Natasha Bedingfield's hit 'Unwritten'.
27 Metric Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Last Gang
Metric's 2003 release I got in early 2005, mostly because the CD cover was always in magazines so if promotion for a nearly two-year-old record was still quite adament, then it must be a good album. They're like electronic rock. This album has a few gems and it makes for a good listen once in a while. 'Succexy' I would probably put on a best-of list of songs that not a lot of people know and 'Hustle Rose' is one of my current favourites. It's a different album that should be put into rotation once in a while.
26 Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Maverick
2005 was the 10-year-anniversary of 'Jagged Little Pill' from Alanis Morissette. So she celebrated by releasing the album again. Except this time in acoustic form. Not a bad idea. I'm sure everyone knew that it wouldn't outdo the original by any means and the whole Chapters distribution gave her tons of press, which I bet helped her sell a bunch of extra copies. I do somewhat feel like this project was an empty one in some ways though. We've heard some of them in acoustic form before in MTV Unplugged from 1999 as well as other ways. I would have liked to hear it re-recorded in the studio with new updated effects and production to fit the music scene today. The only real improvement was the hidden track 'Your House', which has added guitar that makes the song much better to listen to on its own.
25 Sarah McLachlan Afterglow Nettwerk
'Afterglow' was my #16 album of 2004 and it makes it back at #25 for this year. I do have to thank seeing her in concert in June for a lot of this though as I didn't listen to the CD a lot this year. I did listen to it a bit before the concert to get back into the swing of Sarah and a few of her songs continued to catch my ear on their own rather than in the group that forms 'Afterglow'. Kudos to 'Answer', a better version of 'Angel', and 'Time'! This CD is almost old enough to consider classic-Sarah along with 'Surfacing' and 'Ecstacy'!
24 Sondre Lerche Two Way Monologue EMI
So Sondre is releasing two CDs in 2006. That's exciting stuff! I wonder if he can successfully follow up this amazing album! His original sounding instrumentation is very interesting to hear after listening to other guitar-based acoustic music from the last few years. There's just some extra detail in Sondre's music that most other people wouldn't take the time to add to their songs. Pay special attention to 'Wet Ground' to hear Sondre's complete work as an example. One of my favourites is 'Stupid Memory' as well.
23 Jem Finally Woken ATO
Jem charts for the second year with 'Finally Woken'. Her mix of pop and pop dance, as I compared to Dido in last year's Top 30, continued to blaze some charts this year. '24' was her big hit in 2005 along with 'Just A Ride'. For me, I would definitely put '24' among my favourites from this year while 'They' continued to be in my most played tracks. Too bad Jem didn't get the attention she deserved outside of the OC because she does have what it takes to be where Britney Spears is standing now careerwise, but Jem would do it classy!
22 Jann Arden Jann Arden Universal
Jann Arden was able to make suitable comeback in my books with the release of her sixth studio self titled album. More upbeat than any of her past discs, Jann was able to hit the Top 10 for me for the first time in quite some time with a runaway track 'Where No One Knows Me'. The CD includes some other catchy songs that radio would love to use to fill their cancon requirements... yet they continue to play the same junk by Shawn Desman and Simple Plan. It's alright because Jann knows she's awesome and she's not in it for the radio airplay as much as she is to show off her talents!
21 Soundtrack Garden State Epic
The soundtrack to one of 2004's biggest surprise hit movies was a critics favourite as well, and I was slow on it myself. I didn't listen to this CD much as a whole but the songs were in regular airplay among other groups, like Coldplay, 'Blue Eyes' by the Cary Brothers, Remy Zero's 'Fair' and 'Winding Road' by Bonnie Summerville. But the Zero 7 song 'In The Waiting Line' got the most play from me... well, aside from 'Let Go' by Frou Frou, which I totally slept on last year and the year before but from this CD I finally got it and got into Frou Frou as well!
20 Sheryl Crow The Very Best Of A&M
I think it would be fair of me to say that this collection of songs from Sheryl Crow might make it onto every favourites chart I ever make of my CD collection. Sheryl was there from the beginning when I got into music in 1994 with 'All I Wanna Do' and has consistantly made great songs that I grew up to. From her 1994 hits to her 1996 self titled album and the next eight years of songs, all of them are in this one album and from start to finish, the memories come flooding back.
19 Sarah Harmer All Of Our Names Universal
Sarah Harmer's 'Dandelions In Bullet Holes' will probably be one of the songs that will represent 2005 for me. I made an edit of the song that helped get me into it more and thus making the original more of a pleasure to listen to since I never was into the song before that. I rediscovered 'You Were Here' again this year as well and have since moved Sarah up to a higher pedistal on my list of favourite artists. She has something that not a lot of songwriters can say they have and will remain one of Canada's best kept secrets.
18 Simon Wilcox Smart Function SHErecords
I did listen to Simon's album when I first got it in 2004 but gave it another random listen earlier in 2005 and some of the songs really put themselves out there and got my attention that I never noticed before. She has an interesting style of pop and rhythm/blues that would work in a jazz lounge or even just a regular bar. Her songs can be twisted to work in either setting. For now, they work best in my headphones. I'm interested to know if she'll continue with this direction for her next album, whenever that will be.
17 Killers Hot Fuss Island
The Killers are probably one of the big success stories of the year two years or so. I didn't take notice to them with 'Somebody Told Me' but 'Mr. Brightside' really caught my ear and forced me to buy 'Hot Fuss' and the rest is in the recent past. I absolutely loved 'All These Things That I've Done' and think it should have been a much bigger hit than it was but I sang it enough for people who didn't know it to know it anyhow. Nu Killers album is due out next year.
16 Gwen Stefani Love Angel Music Baby Interscope
2005 was the year Gwen finally hit it huge as a solo artist. 'Hollaback Girl' was the hit that many argue 'What You Waiting For' should have been. 'Rich Girls' crossed her over to the hip-hop world. 'Cool' kept her somewhat close to the No Doubt fanbase and 'Luxorious' kept her in the eye of R&B-music fans. Her image was all over the place but it seems that respect for her is still fairly high. Maybe because she hasn't gone the slutty way or really overdid anything. I'm still looking forward to new No Doubt but Gwen's solo work will keep me happy until then... and even that will be put on hold as she is due out with a baby in 2006!
15 Alanis Morissette So Called Chaos Maverick
Alanis' best CD since 'Jagged Little Pill' carried itself over into 2005 for me. Didn't quite stand the test of time that I was expecting but I think I'll listen to this album more than I will 'Under Rug Swept'. 'So Called Chaos' contains the awesome title track as well as 'Doth I Protest Too Much' and 'Not All Me', some of my favourite Alanis songs from this side of 'Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie'.
14 Tegan and Sara So Jealous Universal
I saw Tegan and Sara for the third time in concert this year. They did a lot of songs from this amazing album as well as previous ones, but the focus was on 'So Jealous'. As I mentioned when I first got the CD, no one song really stands over any of the others and no song sits below any other. Each song is on level with the others so it's a completely consistant record.
13 Fiona Apple Extraordinary Machine Epic
Fiona's new CD took a few years to finally hit record stores and it's about time! It's right up my alley musically! I was already familiar with 'Extraordinary Machine' and the new single 'O'Sailor' is a treat but the real maker of this album is the way Fiona plays with the words and throws them into her music on 'Get Him Back'. I think that could be one of 2006's biggest songs for me so we'll see what happens there. Fiona's album is still new to me now so there's definitely room to grow.
12 David Usher If God Had Curves MapleMusic
David Usher released his fourth solo CD and first not with EMI in 2005. It's a lot softer than any of his past CDs. More of an acoustic typically Canadian non-radio-friendly album. There are some songs that are on par with typical David Usher songs but for the most part, it's not on the level with any other David album. I still liked it enough to throw it at #12 for the year though because of some of the good songs like 'Hey Kids' and 'Going Home' but there probably won't be another appearance from this album on any other chart.
11 Avril Lavigne Under My Skin Arista
Avril's second CD will probably remain a staple in my music playlists for a few years to come, with the big hits like 'Don't Tell Me' and 'Nobody's Home' to the album tracks like 'Together' and 'Who Knows', Avril definitely pleased my ears. I'm highly looking forward to disc #3 as this one is on the verge of being played out but she gots tons of play and tons of good comments from me this year. Enough to place it (just below last year's placing of #9) at #11.
10 New Pornographers Twin Cinema Mint
Every once in a while I'll pick up a CD from a band where I don't know any of the songs and in some cases never even heard of the artist. I know of the New Pornographers from a song they had on the Men With Brooms Soundtrack, which was also from their debut 2000 CD 'Mass Romantic'. Their new CD is a great mix of pop, rock, folk and traditional sounding tunes from their two vocalists and some of the songs are just really catchy! 'Use It' is a song I'm predicting to be one of the top songs of 2006 and 'The Bones Of An Idol' as well as 'These Are The Fables' are just lovely! It's a shame a band like this can't get noticed but it's not a shame that this band seems to get all good comments about their music!
9 Melissa McClelland Stranded In Suburbia Orang
Melissa McClelland didn't seem to be on the inside for much of 2005. She did a few shows as well as did backup for some of Sarah McLachlan's tour but other than that, she was on the downlow working on her next CD. Her last album continued to get tons of play from me, including the super duper awesome 'Picture Postcard'! Her CD was able to impress me on an individual song basis moreso this year than with the entire album like last year. definitely in my Top 20 CDs of all time list, if I ever get to making that up.
8 Tori Amos The Beekeeper Epic
Tori Amos had a new album out in 2005 and I have to say, I liked it more than 'Scarlet's Walk'. It had a little more variety as far as the songs went. There were some surprises in the songs and with the number of tracks, there was bound to be a few awesome ones and there were. 'Sweet The Sting' was an instant favourite for me as was 'Cars And Guitars' but a few of the lesser-stand-out tracks are good too like 'Barons Of Suburbia' and the epic 'Witness'.
7 Sarah Slean Day One Warner
I saw Sarah twice in concert this year and both were amazing experiences! She shows so much life on stage and has such a theatrical presence! Very awesome performer and a must-see! This CD continued to shine in 2005 with some amazing songs like the hit singles 'Day One', 'Mary' and 'Somebody's Arms', the new release which is a hidden track on the album. There's also the super 'Pilgrim' and 'Wake Up'. It's always a pleasure to listen to any Sarah album but as I've listened to this one more, I think it's probably my favourite again!
6 Green Day American Idiot Reprise
I was never a huge fan of Green Day. I like a song here and there but other than that, they were like Blink182 for me, just not appealing for more than 5 minutes. But the 'American Idiot' album caught my attention. It was primarily the song 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams' that did it for me. It was different and appealing sounding enough for me. Like one of those songs that comes along a few times a year that really grabs the attention of everyone and holds them in. 'Dreams' was that one for me. The album itself is a great collection of songs from start to beginning with different songs holding my attention at different times. I absolutely love the 'Jesus Of Suburbia' group of songs. It's just amazing and the video that accompanies it is really amazing.
5 Imogen Heap Speak For Yourself RCA
I discovered Imogen this year when I discovered Frou Frou. And I discovered Frou Frou when I got the Garden State Soundtrack and finally got into 'Let Go'. Imogen's CD is a great mix of electronic pop music that has some interesting twists among the track listing. 'Hide And Seek' is like nothing I've heard before and it's really a very nice simple yet very complex sounding track. 'Goodnight And Go' holds a special place in my heart for me. 'Headlock' is a very nice loud-in-headphones track as is the second half of 'Loose Ends'. She has a very interesting style of singing as well where she goes up the scale with her voice for certain words in her lyrics which I didn't take notice until after getting into the CD. Yet another original find for my CD collection.
4 Anna Nalick Wreck Of The Day Columbia
Anna's CD I got early in the year and I had dubbed her my Avril Lavigne of 2005; well, her CD was my 'Under My Skin' of 2005. I was instantly taken in by her pop songs. A very typical pop record but still shows some depth and good signs of lyrical content within the songs. I was introduced to 'Breathe' late last year and automatically liked it and then I got her CD when it was FINALLY released in April. 'Paper Bag' caught my ear fairly quickly and before long, the entire CD had me by the hair! From 'Citadel' to 'Satellite' and the second single 'In The Rough', Anna really delivered her first time out.
3 Kathleen Edwards Back To Me MapleMusic
Kathleen had my #2 album of 2003 with her debut 'Failer'. I consider that disc one of my favourites in my entire collection right now so following that up was quite a challange for Kathleen but she did deliver. I doubt 'Back To Me' will surpass 'Failer' but it stands its own ground and shows the world just what Kathleen Edwards can do! She can rock when she wants to, show some soft sides when she's in the mood and just jam like she did the first time around. The closing track is one that anyone could take advice from... "good things come to those who stop waiting around." Maybe if I stop waiting, Kathleen will FINALLY come to Halifax and do a show!
2 Jason Mraz Mr. A-Z Atlantic
Jason Mraz' debut CD was the one that kept Kathleen from #1 in 2003. Another longtime-to-come favourite of mine, he followed that up last year with his live CD/DVD 'Tonight, Not Again' and again this year with his second studio disc 'Mr. A-Z'. An awesome album showing a bit more diversity in the stylings of his abilities. 'Geek In The Pink' and 'Wordplay' keeps his faster-paced lyrical flow on the go while 'Plane' and 'Mr. Curiousity' show a lower-tempo side, and an opera side as well as the bridge of 'Mr. Curiousity' shows. I can safely say that 'Wordplay' is among my least favourites on this disc and I do recommend the incredible 'Did You Get My Message'. Features sassy vocals from Rachael Yamagata! Surely to be a favourite of mine for years to come!
1 KT Tunstall Eye To The Telescope Virgin
And my favourite CD of the year is by who? A singer from Europe who was all over the British charts this year but yet to make a dent in North America. She's releasing this album to the U.S. later in the Winter while Canada has been treated already. This CD is AWESOME!!! The opening track 'Other Side Of The World' screams "RADIO!!! PLAY ME!!! I'M WORTHY!!!" while 'Suddenly I See' will catch anyone's attention and have them singing along as soon as half the first chorus is over. There's not even any need for me to mention the awesome single 'Black Horse And The Cherry Tree' but I think my favourite song on the album has to be 'Stoppin' The Love'. I just LOVE the background singers on this! They remind me of a bunch of vikings singing around a fire in Norway banging on those big drums and KT is singing over them. This CD is right up my alley and exactly the type of album I love! And I knew before I heard any of the songs or bought the album just by the cover that I would love it! I KNEW it beforehand! My #1 album of 2005 was foreseen by me!

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