Anyone who is in the mood for big loud guitars and and an effeminate goth-y male singer should check out the new HIM album, Dark Light. Very metal. And rather Finnish.

I got it on the day of release, not only because I am a guiltily-swooning fan girl of the lead vocalist, but because my day had been dreadful. Swoony gothy-pop-metal is a good cure for dreadful days. At least, it is if you're me.

I'm seeing the Decemberists on Thursday, Kate!

Woo! I'm seeing them tonight! I'm super excited.

You guys are in for a hell of a show, each of you--they don't disappoint.

As for Top Albums of 2005, I haven't heard nearly enough Okkervil River love in this thread. "Black Sheep Boy" is jawdroppingly impressive in places and just plain beautiful the rest of the way through.

I've had Picaresque pencilled in at #1 for months now. #2-10, though, may just end up as one big lump with mpre than nine albums.

There's no "insta-classic" this year (like in 2002), but there are a lot of good-to-very-good albums.

I got it on the day of release, not only because I am a guiltily-swooning fan girl of the lead vocalist, but because my day had been dreadful. Swoony gothy-pop-metal is a good cure for dreadful days. At least, it is if you're me.

I got it the day it came out, too. If you've heard their earlier stuff, it's not really surprising, they don't go anywhere they haven't been before, unlike, say Apoptygma Berzerk's new album. Although the opening for Wings Of a Butterfly would be perfect entrance music for a wrestler.

That almost makes it sound like I don't like it, but I do. There's something to be said for consistancy.

2005 was not as strong as some previous years, but it was tough for me to pick a number one, and I do see a couple of intant classics.

Tina's Best of 2005 (so far)

1. Bright Eyes I'm Wide Awake it's Morning
2. The Hold Steady Separation Sunday
3. Kanye West Late Registration
4. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, self-titled
5. Sufjan Stevens Illinois
6. The Decemberists Picaresque
7. Andrew Bird The Mysterious Production of Eggs
8. Iron and Wine and Calexico In the Reins (EP)
9. Les Breastfeeders Déjeuner Sur L'Herbe
10. Spoon Gimme Fiction

Bands releasing albums in 2005 that could still make the top ten (those last two could easily be thrown down to honorable mention): Deerhoof, Fiery Furnaces, Sun Kil Moon, and TV on the Radio (I think it is supposed to come out in 2005 but it might be 2006)

2005 Honorable Mention: The Eels Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy, The White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan, New Pornographers Twin Cinema, Bright Eyes Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, The Go Betweens Oceans Apart, Iron and Wine Woman King (EP), The Fiery Furnaces EP, Brendan Benson The Alternative to Love, Bloc Party Silent Alarm, Teenage Fanclub Man-made

2005 Wish-it-Would-Have-Been-Betters: Beck Guero, Stephen Malkmus Face the Truth, Death Cab Plans, and honestly the White Stripes album go could here, too.

Ever since I posted this something at the back of my brain was telling me I was leaving off a big album and I finally figured out what.

I forgot The Sunset Tree, which absolutely goes in my Top 10. I'm gonna say it's #7. Pushing Spoon off the list.

Perhaps I need to find other things to occupy my mind...

I really was profoundly underwhelmed by Digital Ash, though I think I'm Wide Awake has some good stuff.

My top 2005 albums so far, in no particular order after #1:

1. The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree
The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday
The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
The Decembrists, Picaresque

Illinois and the Iron & Wine/Calexico CDs are both competitors, as is the new Fiona Apple, if only for the title track (haven't heard the rest of the CD yet, but that song blew my mind). I love the new live Old 97s CD, but it's not on my best-of list. And I also love Guero, but I tend to forget about its existence, which can't be a good sign.

But, seriously, in all honesty, this was my Big Year of The Mountain Goats, and that's... OK. (tm Stuart Smalley).

I mean, I loved We Shall All Be Healed, which was the perfect fucked-up soundtrack to my fucked-up 2004. But some sort of switch flipped listening to The Sunset Tree and all I wanted to do for the entire summer was listen to the TMG back catalogue. I have tickets to both their NY shows in October, and the only other bands I've ever done that for are the Mekons and the Old 97s.

Speaking of live shows, the Hold Steady are so amazing live that their album went up a few notches in my estimation from their show, and it was already pretty high on my list. FYI.

ETA: Hah, tina, my faith in you is restored! *g*

I really was profoundly underwhelmed by Digital Ash

Compared to Wide Awake, it's not so great, but these two albums really pushed my Bright Eyes love into crazy intense overdrive when they came out so I have listened to Ash a whole lot this year kind of by default.

But some sort of switch flipped listening to The Sunset Tree

This is how I felt after Tallahassee, which is still my favorite. Since that album and now seeing the Mountain Goats three times (I have tickets to see them this Friday - woot!) my iPod is just about bursting with Goat-y goodness. It's so fun to get into a band that has THAT much good material to be explored.

the Hold Steady are so amazing live that their album went up a few notches in my estimation from their show

Michele, have you given any listen to Lifter Puller? It's Craig Finn's pre-Hold Steady band and I highly recommend Fiestas & Fiascos. I have tickets to see them at the end of this month and can.not.wait. Separation Sunday took me a while but yeah - I've been obsessed with it and the first Hold Steady album and all his stuff ever since I gave it another try about a month or so ago.