The Best 50 Albums Of 2005!

50/ Dogs – ‘Turn Against This Land’ (Island) Some may idly label Dogs as the inferior musical cousins of their fellow Londoners Razorlight, but this raw, punchy and tune-rammed debut proved that they could definitely pack their own snarling bite. 
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49/ The Duke Spirit – ‘Cuts Across The Land’ (Polydor)
Buoyed by the startling vocals of the quite perfect frontwoman Leila Moss, The Duke Spirit created a sexy, catchy and occasionally gritty album instilled with plenty of punk ethos.
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48/ Edan – ‘Beauty and the Beat’ (Lewis)
Completely divorced from the all-dominating gangster rap, this energetic, sample-laden and highly kaleidoscopic gem from the unassuming Boston maverick proved that in 2005 hip-hop could indeed be fun.
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47/ The Subways – ‘Young For Eternity’ (Infectious)
Centred on the juxtaposing vocals of sweethearts Billy and Charlotte, this thrilling and slightly chaotic album reminded cynical old bastards across the land the rock and roll could still be unadulterated and imbued with youthful spirit.
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46/ Pure Reason Revolution – ‘Cautionary Tales For The Brave’ (SonyBMG)
Psychedelic, sprawling and very, very  proggy, hardly sounds like your standard mini-album, but PRR managed to make an epic, potent brew with melodies that spin round your head for days after just one listen. Progtastic.
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45/ Audioslave – ‘Out Of Exile’ (Polydor)
A rock ‘supergroup’ that really shouldn’t have worked managed to produce a behemoth of an album that sounded nothing like a watered down version of their previous incarnations. Rockin!
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44/ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – ‘Howl’ (Echo)
The somewhat understated ‘Howl’ marked a massive change of direction from the once raucous, oil-smeared rockers, but what they’ve lost in grit they’ve made up for in searing melodies, slide guitars and, erm, harmonicas. 
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43/ Babyshambles – ‘Down In Albion’ (Rough Trade)
Loved by some, loathed by some, while others are just confounded, this sprawling debut from the fragile genius of Pete Doherty and co. has is definitely one of the talking points of 2005. For that reason alone you must own this album.
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42/ Deerhoof – ‘The Runners Four’ (ATP)
A curious 20-track offering from Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s favourite band, that fuses elements from every slightly off-kilter band you can think of with garage rock-tinged uncompromising yet beguiling sounds. A definite cult classic.
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41/ Goldfrapp – ‘Supernature’ (Mute)
The electro pop juggernaut that is Goldfrapp marched on in fine style with this… well, electro pop gem. The same formula of sci-fi instrumentation mixed with the ethereal vocals of Alison was stuck to, but with dazzling effect.
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40/ The Chemical Brothers – ‘Push The Button’ (Virgin)
After the muted response to 2002’s ‘Come With Us’ Tom and Ed regrouped and came back replenished with arguably their finest moment ‘Galvanise’. While the rest of the album fails to reach these dizzy heights, it proved Tom and Ed’s are still the kings of block rockin’ beats.
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39/ My Morning Jacket – ‘Z’ (RCA)
On their fourth long-player the Kentucky five piece created an inventive opus that flaunted almost Sigur Ros esque vocals and a myriad of stunning soundscapes. An exhilarating ride of an album with one or two indulgent guitar solos thrown in for good measure. 
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38/ Madonna – ‘Confessions On A Dancefloor’ (Maverick)
With a massive thanks to mastermind producer Stuart Price, after the letdown of the middling ‘American Life’ Madonna tightened her grip as the undisputed queen of pop with this uninterrupted, virtuoso dance masterpiece.
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37/ Eels – ‘Blinking Lights and Other Revelations’ (Vagrant)
A vast, double-disc 33 song epic from the wonderful off-kilter and genius mind of Mark ‘E’ Everett’. Uplifting, haunting, melancholy and heart-rending - sometimes all at once - this album confirmed E’s status as a true song writing great.
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36/ MIA – ‘Arula’ (XL)
Sri-Lankan Londoner MIA injected a massive hit of life into 2005 with this hyper eclectic, exuberant and highly diverse stomper of an album, with plenty of political digs thrown in. Quite frankly brilliant stuff.
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