Music 2005 - Introduction

I finally settled on a listing and format in which I can present my favorite albums of 2005. It took several revisions... in fact, I just changed it again while composing this first post. I had originally planned on ranking only my top five albums (with fifteen runners-up), but then I decided to extend the rankings to become a Top Ten list, with an addition ten runners-up. It definitely removes the confusion initially present in my first list. I will be presenting these albums in four seperate posts, each containing five albums (starting with the second-half of the runners-up, then the first half, then #6-10, and finally #5-1).

Doing this in short segments increases the likelihood that I'll have it completed in the next couple of days, rather than saving it all up for a massive post, which nearly guarantees procrastination. Also, it should make it much easier for you guys to read, and will hopefully make it more likely that you read the whole thing rather than just the top five or ten.

My buddy Derek posted his Top 45 and the Absolute Punk staffers were largely posting Top 30 lists. I decided against excessive rankings because I felt like I botched my list last year by not being as personally truthful as possible... I may have over- or under-ranked a couple of records due to other factors that should not be as important as my own personal feelings, as well as how much I actually listened to each disc. I look back now on my list and cringe a bit at the placements, as many don't accurately depict the amount of affection I have for each.

I know that interests will change over time, even over the course of a handful of a months, but I think I could've been more honest with myself last year. Certainly, that issue was tackled head-on prior to the creation of this list, and I think it's much more indicative of how much I truly enjoyed each record. There are several aspects that go into a list like this... personal feelings conjured by the work, amount of time spent listening to it, overall opinion of quality, etc. Unfortunately, this is all very relative, so it's not a simple process.

The main reason I chose not to rank my entire list is because I didn't feel confident in ranking one record over another outside of my top ten. The albums that comprise the second half of my list are all very good and have been listened to significantly, but perhaps not to the extent that I feel that I know one much better than the other. If this all sounds very silly, I don't blame you. But I do take this all very seriously and am trying to present the best work possible.

I would love to hear your opinions on each segment of the list, if you have any. No registration is required to post, so just drop a line after you read it. I hope to have the first part up in the next two days, perhaps even tonight.

Runners-Up (Part One)
Runners-Up (Part Two)
Top Ten (Part One)
Top Ten (Part Two)
Top Ten (Part Three)
Top Ten (Part Four)
Final Thoughts