måndag 9 Feb 2009, 14:03
The following are the top 10 albums of 2005 that I currently own. I probably own more than 10 albums from that year, but these are my favourites.
Note 1: I will be including compilations, live albums, ep's, re-issues etc, but no singles.
Note 2: If I do only own 10 from this year, the releases towards the end of the list may not be favourites of mine at all, but the best I do have from that year.
Note 3: If you think my list sucks, or needs improvements, please feel free to RECOMMEND me albums from 2005 and I will certaintly try to listen to them and give my opinions.
All comments welcome.
I now own all of Eminem's studio albums and this. I am not a big fan of the genre but in my opinion all anyone needs from Eminem is The Marshall Mathers LP and this compilation. All of his studio albums (with the exception of 'The Marshall Mathers LP') are pretty weak, with a few great songs thrown in between all the bad stuff. So here, you get all those greats, without having to skip through filler. In addition there is the great live version of Stan with Elton John, and 3 new songs. When I'm Gone is the best of the new material, although Fack is very funny, and Shake That was played to death in most pubs/clubs when it was released, and im pretty sure its still played now, so it has really grew on me. Great compilation. 5/5
The best free CD I have ever acquired. This CD introduced me to most of the great songs from They Times They Are-A Changin as well as the fantastic Lay Down You Weary Tune 5/5
3. The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 - No Direction Home: The Soundtrack
This is another great addition to the bootleg series. Disc 1 is by far superior to disc 2. It includes a lot of early recordings, and interesting previously unknown (to me) songs. It kicks of with When I Got Troubles which sounds great through headphones, but is of very poor sound quality which makes it hard to enjoy at times. However the disc picks up after this with much better recordings including This Land Is Your Land and Rambler Gambler. The second half of disc 1 are live and alternate takes of some of Dylan's most famous songs of the era. Chimes Of Freedom and When The Ship Comes In both sound fantastic.
Disc 2 are all live and alternate takes of his mid 60's electric era. Although they are all great in their own right, non are better than the studio versions, or other live/alternate versions i've heard. Disc 2 is good, but nothing we have not heard before. 4.5/5
4. Takk...
Not quite as good as their masterpiece (), but still very good. Not a lot of change in terms of their sound, sounds as though they were following their standard formula, however this falls slightly short, with the songs have less impact than those on (). Thats not to say this is anything but brilliant.
In my opinion Sigur Rós realised their sound on Ágætis Byrjun, perfected it on (), and I feel couldnt improve on it on Takk… so I believe they made a good decision to try and change their sound for their next album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.
Only bad song for me was 'Andvari', the highlights are 'Heysatan' and 'Se Lest'. 4.5/5
5. X&Y
This is the weakest album from Coldplay so far. However, I do not see why it gets so much critisism. For the most part this album is excellent. In fact, I thought I was going to give this a 5 star rating until the very end of the album where everything went wrong. The last 2 songs are terrible and very boring. The rest of the album is great, full of brilliant melodies. The best song is Fix You, another classic Coldplay track. Low is also another high point. Aside from the last 2 tracks, this is a very worthwhile, consistant album which I enjoy. 4/5
6. Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden
If your a die hard fan this is worth getting for the b-sides (though they are shit). I have the only 2 albums they released and got this mainly for So Beautiful which is an amazing song. If you are new to Savage Garden I recommend you just go for either of their 2 studio albums, both are flawless. 3.5/5
7. Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon
I got this because were a few songs on here I knew I liked, and of course he was a ex member of The Beatles, one of my favourite bands, so I thought he would be an interesting artist to explore, and what better place to start than this so called 'definitive' compilation?
First of all, this compilation is way too long, 38 songs over 2 discs, I think 70+ mins per disc. Secondly, I was going into this compilation knowing pretty much non of his material, with exception of course to his hugely popular hits, ie Imagine, Instant Karma! (We All Shine On), Woman, and Jealous Guy, all of which are superb. There are a few other interesting moments throughout the first disc, including a live version of Come Together (Live). However there is a wealth of material on here which does nothing for me, very samey, preachy, and boring.
I probably wont be looking into more of Lennon's work after this dire compilation.
Update 30/07/2010
My opinion has changed a lot since my initial review. Although I still feel this is overlong, I am of the opinion that if this was one disc long with the best bits of both discs, it would be 5 stars. The best bits of this collection are truly mindblowing, and up to par if not better than anything The Beatles done. Was Lennon's voice ever as powerful as presented on Mother? The way he screams and tears through that song gives me goosebumps and is a favourite of mine. Also Gimme Some Truth and most of disc 1 is amazing.
I still feel that this is a fairly poor introduction to Lennon's music, it is very overwhelming to try and listen to it all in one go, and the quality of the album drops dramatically for the majority of the second disc. Still, I cant believe that I once thought Paul McCartney's solo music was better! Once John Lennon music sinks in it is far more powerful and moving, as well as better music, lyrics, vocals….heck everything is better than McCartney could dream of doing. 3.5/5
There are 3 reasons I got this. First, my mum recommended it. Now that may sound lame, but she is the one who introduced me to one of my favourite bands: The Beatles. Secondley, I already knew a few tracks by Bowie that I liked, namely Space Oddity, Ziggy Stardust, Under Pressure and Starman. However, what really sparked my interest in David Bowie was when I heard The Man Who Sold The World by Nirvana (who I am really getting into at the moment).
I must say, I am really dissapointed with this extremely long compilation. I was expecting a lot more material like the stuff I mention before, however they seem to be the best of this album.
David Bowie is not for me at all. 2/5
This is a fairly enjoyable album that is not as dated as some albums as old as this. However, it still does sound dated in many respects, the songs, the arrangements etc. This at times creates a wonderful atmosphere and I appreciate many of the songs. However for the most part, I find it hard to get into this album as a 24 year old in 2010. The strongest quality this album holds is Elvis Presley's voice, which is brimming with energy as youthfullness. Its just a shame the songs provided for him were not always so consistent.
I personally prefer the slower songs on here such as I'm Counting On You or I Love You Because, but I feel that is because there are a lack of really good faster paced ones. Sure Blue Suede Shoes is a classic and Tutti Frutti is pretty great, but even the most popular of the bonus track's on this 2005 reissue, Heartbreak Hotel doesnt do anything for me anymore. I always liked that track, but listening to it today its pleasant enough but thats it, it just doesnt impress, and sadly thats how I feel about most of this album. 2/5
10. Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
The Prodigy are ok in small doses, I can never sit through and enjoy a entire album of theirs, including this compilation. Also, when I do listen to them, I find them to be very average, they don't do a lot for me. For those reasons, I am not giving this a very good score. However, there were a few suprises for me when I heard this. Some of these tracks I have known for years and never knew they were by The Prodigy (Out Of Space and No Good (Start The Dance)). I very much doubt I will get anything else by The Prodigy. 2/5