2005's Honorable Mention

Picking only 30 albums was difficult. In light of that I thought it only fair to list the albums that would've made it had the list been a top 40.

Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine (Epic/Cleanslate).
Danger Doom: The Mouse and the Mask (Epitaph).
Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino).
James McMurtry: Childish Things (Compadre).
Art Brut: Bang Bang Rock & Roll (Banana Recordings).
The Perceptionists: Black Dialogue (Def Jux).
My Morning Jacket: Z (ATO/RCA).
Bell Orchestre: Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light (Rough Trade).
Wide Right: Sleeping on the Couch (Poptop).
Four Tet: Everything Ecstatic (Domino).

Life is cruel sometimes