3 Minutes, 49 Seconds

It was an atypical year in many ways. I bought a lot of CDs in the middle of the year but almost none at the beginning or end. I got an iPod, and that has brought me closer to my music than ever before. I wrote very few reviews, and I don't really know why. And there was very little agonizing about this top ten list. In fact, I could have given you this exact same list about a month and a half ago. Believe me, that's strange. Before we dive in, I'd like to give props to those albums that fell just a bit short, works by Fiona Apple, Spoon, Kathleen Edwards, Aimee Mann, The Hold Steady, and Common. Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman Read the review ! If you like Ben Folds in ballad mode, then this is the album for you. I do, and it is. The Perceptionists - Black Dialogue DJ Fakts One, Mr.Lif, and Akrobatic team up to make the year's most fun rap album. Mixing bravado ( Blo! ), social commentary ( Memorial Day ), romance ( Love Letters ) and humor ( Caree...

It's that time again. I'll be posting my top ten albums of the year this Friday! But in anticipation, here are some other noteworthy 2005 releases. Also, check out what my pal Richard Nelson picked in similar categories on Highway 290 Revisited . Guiltiest Pleasure: The Click Five - Greetings From Imrie House You know when you're eating chocolate chip cookies and don't know when to stop? The Click Five are like the last cookie that was one too many. The debut album from this mall-hopping, Boston-based power pop outfit is sugary and addictive, but also likely to give you a bit of an ache, be it in the tooth, stomach or head. Best Soundtrack: Various Artists - Walk The Line The actors sing, and do a bang up job. Like the film, the idea isn't to exactly reproduce the originals, but to make us appreciate them in a new light. Mission Accomplished. Best Compilation: Various Artists - The Bootlegs Volume 1: Celbrating 35 Years At First Av enue You don't have to ...