What are Your Favorite Albums of '05 So Far

[ratsprayer]

I was diggin on Sufjan Stevens yesterday. Illinoise. Man, it's awesome. Half of it reminds me of a sixties TV show. I loves it. Definitely a goodie.

its an incredible album, maybe the best of the year, and ive heard Z too.  blasphemy on both parts, right?  seriously, ILLINOIS is nuts, and i love SEVEN SWANS too but i really hate  GREETINGS FROM MICHIGAN which im not sure any other person claiming to be a sufjan fan would say.  has anyone else heard the other albums?  A SUN CAME is quite good too.  

[antoniostrohs]

Sufjan Stevens        Illinoise
The Mars Volta        Frances the Mute
Kings of Leon            Aha Shake Heartbreak
Josh Roush               Nashville
Joanna Newsome          The Milk-Eyed Mender
Brendan Benson          The Alternative to Love
Bruce Springsteen     Devils and Dust
Bright Eyes               I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
The National               Alligator

Everything great that has been said Sufjan Stevens new disc is so true and it's even better than the Seven Swans disc,if thats possible.For fans with broadband or some type of high speed internet(of course anyone can,this just makes it alot quicker) check out the "morning becomes eclectic" website to listen or watch him perform on the show with a smaller strip down acoustic set. www.kcrw.org/show/mb  Of course you can find other great bands that you can watch perform there like our own MMJ

[ratsprayer]

im glad to see so many people here digging the national.  i saw them open for dan bern (highly recommended, PM me if interested to get some of his stuff) and really wasnt impressed, bad PA or something like that muddled their sound.  once i made the plunge and got the studio albums, they blew me away.  i think ALLIGATOR is definitely their best, but thats saying a lot.  theyve really progressed as musicians on this one.