My top 50 list 0f 2005 is now here for your viewing and scrutinizing. Consider this to be in no particular order or ranking as I don't like that sort of a system. Even with a list as seemingly large as a top 50 I still feel bad for leaving off some great releases, but you gotta draw the line somewhere. Feel free to send in your own top ten for posting on this site. Your name and who you are will be required. email to dave@xrayrecords.ca

1) The Buff Medways- Medway Wheelers (Damaged Goods)

2) Iron & Wine/Calexico- In The Reigns (Overcoat)

3) Brian Eno- Another Day On Earth (Hannibal)

4) Detroit Cobras- Baby (Bloodshot)

5) Bob Mould- Body Of Song (Yep Roc)

6) Ellen Allien- Thrills (Bpitch Control)

7) Teenage Fanclub- Man Made (Merge)

8) Ryan Adams & The Cardinals- Cold Roses (Lost Highway)

9) The Kills- No Wow (Rough Trade)

10) The Raveonettes- Pretty In Black (Columbia)

11) All Tomorrow's Party- Yoo Doo Right, Yoo Doo Slide (Sympathy)

12) Alvin "Young Blood" Hart- Motivational Speaker (Tone Cool)

13) American Analog Set- Set Free (Paper Bag)

14) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Howl (Red Ink)

15) Lowlights- Dark End Road (Darla)

16) Magnolia Electric Company- What Comes After The Blues (Secretly Canadian)

17) Eliza Gilkyson- Paradise Hotel (Red House)

18) Devendra Banhart- Cripple Crow (XL)

19) The National- Alligator (Beggars Banquet)

20) Sheavy- Republic? (Candlelight)

21) Pernice Brothers- Discover A Lovlier You (Ashmont)

22) Calla- Collisions (Beggars Banquet)

23) The Ponys- Celebration Castle (In The Red)

24) Sleater Kinney- The Woods (Sub Pop)

25) Spoon- Gimme Fiction (Merge)

26) The Decemberists- Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)

27) The High Dials- War Of The Wakening Phantoms (Rainbow Quartz)

28) Caribou- The Milk Of Human Kindness (Domino)

29) The Wedding Present- Take Fountain (Manifesto)

30) Reigning Sound- Home For Orphans (Sympathy)

31) Thievery Corporation- The Cosmic Game (ESL)

32) Brian Jonestown Massacre- Tepid Peppermint Wonderland (2cd anthology) (Tee Pee)

33) Witchcraft- Firewood (Rise Above)

34) Various Artists- Ghana Soundz: Afrobeat, Funk & Fusion in 70's Ghana (Soundway)

35) The Hellacopters- Rock & Roll Is Dead (Universal)

36) LCD Soundsystem- S/T (DFA)

37) Circle- Guillotine (Scratch)

38) Sigur Ros- Takk (Geffen)

39) The Warlocks- Surgery (Mute)

40) Bohren & Der Club Of Gore- Geisterfaust (Wonder)

41) Daniel Lanois- Belladonna (Anti)

42) Death In Vegas- Satans Circus (Drone)

43) Rosie Thomas- If Songs Could Be Held (Sub Pop)

44) Fourtet- Everything Ecstatic (Domino)

45) The Immortal Lee County Killers 3- These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again (Tee Pee)

46) Antony & The Johnsons- I Am A Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)

47) Richard Thompson- Front Parlour Ballads (Cooking Vinyl)

48) Amon Tobin- Splinter Cell (Ninja Tune)

49) Tristeza- March Of The White Lies (Rocket Racer)

50) The Fall- Fall Heads Roll (Dim Mak)

Here's the rough sketch of my top 20 for 2004. These are in no particular order because I've never been big on deciding what's better than what. The list could have been twice as long, but what the hay. I'll be adding some basic descriptions in a few days, in the meantime........

Richard Buckner- Dents & Shells (Merge)
Kings Of Convenience- Riot On An Empty Street (Virgin)
Chuck Prophet- Age Of Miracles (New West)
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter- Oh, My Girl (Barsuk)
The Fall- The Real New Fall LP (Narnack)
Bad Wizard- #1 Tonight (Howler)
Mr. Airplane Man- C'mon DJ (Sympathy...)
Luna- Rendevouz (Jetset)
King Cobb Steelie- Destroy All Codes (Outside)
Dave Alvin- Ashgrove (Yep Roc)
Comets On Fire- Blue Cathedral (Sub Pop)
The Unintended- S/T (Blue Fog)
Black Keys- Rubber Factory (Fat Possum)
Radio Dept.- Lesser Matters (XL Recordings)
These Arms are Snakes- Oxeneers Or The Lion Sleeps When It's Antelope Go Home (Jade Tree)
The Sadies- Favourite Colors (Yep Roc)
The Paybacks- Harder & Harder (Get Hip)
The Von Bondies- Pawn Shoppe Heart (Sire)
Patty Griffin- Impossible Dream (ATO)
Iron & Wine- My Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop)

I'll Finish Up Soon.............In fact if you have a top 10 that you'd like to submit, send it to me at dave@xrayrecords.ca and I'll try to post some of the better ones. Please include your full name and all the details of your list, such as Artist, Title, Label etc. thanx.....

You can now send me email regarding special orders, website related questions, etc.
dave@xrayrecords.ca