#1. SON VOLT -
OKEMAH & THE MELODY OF RIOT

Album of the year. Hands down. [review]

#2. KATHLEEN EDWARDS -
BACK TO ME

Maybe it doesn't have as many standout tracks as Failer did, but it's a solid set nonetheless. [review]

#3. RICHMOND FONTAINE -
OBLITERATION BY TIME

I know, I know--this isn't their "real" release. But damnation, it's a fine-sounding record.

#4. BRAKES -
GIVE BLOOD

PUNK + COUNTRY = ALT.COUNTRY, right?
Well, maybe not. But this is a little bit punk and a little bit country, and whatever it is, I dig it.

#5. MY MORNING JACKET -
Z

The boys from Louisville have jumped ship--this isn't alt.country. But crank "Off the Record" and see if you're able to sit still.

#6. LAST TRAIN HOME -
BOUND AWAY

Straightforward Americana. Varied and engaging. [review]

#7. M. WARD -
TRANSISTOR RADIO

This one is all over the place, but somehow it manages to hang together.

#8. MARY GAUTHIER -
MERCY NOW

She won't be languishing in Lucinda's shadow much longer. [review]

#9. CLEM SNIDE -
END OF LOVE

Clever, catchy. [review]

#10. RYAN ADAMS -
COLD ROSES

Six or eight tracks could have been comfortably excised from this dubious double album (it fits on a single CD-R), but there is enough strong material here to warrant mention.

#1. SON VOLT -
OKEMAH & THE MELODY OF RIOT

Along with Trace (1995) and his solo Sebastopol (2001), Okemah testifies to Jay Farrar’s permanent place in alt.country’s top ten.

#2. BRIGHT EYES -
I'M WIDE AWAKE, IT'S MORNING

Precocious? You bet. Self-aggrandizing? No doubt. But this CD is almost flawless from beginning to end—though I could live w/o the indulgent “Road to Joy.”

#3. KATHLEEN EDWARDS -
BACK TO ME

No sophomore slump for Edwards; this CD ably complements her debut Failer (2003).

#4. CLEM SNIDE -
END OF LOVE

Their innovative non-sequiturs and wry observations continue to amuse.

#5. MARY GAUTHIER -
MERCY NOW

A sincere, pared collection of songs that avoids the saccharine undertow of sentimentality.

#6. KELLY PARDEKOOPER -
HAYMAKER HEART

Perhaps a bit of bias underlies this pick for the Iowa native, but his rock/alt.country CD has held up to repeated listening as well as any other this year. [review]

#7. RICHMOND FONTAINE -
OBLITERATION BY TIME

Their “official” 2005 release, The Fitzgerald, is quite good. This collection of re-recorded and previously unreleased songs is better.

#8. JOHN PRINE -
FAIR & SQUARE

A sentimental pick, but Prine has forgotten more about writing witty, relevant, and politically incisive songs than most people know, and this latest CD is pretty darn good.

#9. RYAN ADAMS -
JACKSONVILLE CITY NIGHTS

Adams’s best post-Whiskeytown effort was his first, Heartbreaker (2000). This isn’t as good, but it’s in the same vein…and the best of the 40-odd CDs he released this year.

#10. CREOSOTE -
BLACKSMOKE

An album that finally received a proper "official" release in 2005, Blacksmoke is solid, straight-up alt.country leavened by Jason Steed’s folksy timbre.

#1. MY MORNING JACKET -
Z

#2. KATHLEEN EDWARDS -
BACK TO ME

#3. MARY GAUTHIER -
MERCY NOW

#4. SON VOLT -
OKEMAH & THE MELODY OF RIOT

#5. MARTHA WAINWRIGHT -
MARTHA WAINWRIGHT

#6. WILLIAM ELLIOT WHITMORE -
ASHES TO DUST

#7. RICHMOND FONTAINE -
OBLITERATION BY TIME

#8. SCOTT BIRAM -
THE DIRTY OLD ONE MAN BAND

#9. CLEM SNIDE -
END OF LOVE

#10. IRON & WINE / CALEXICO -
IN THE REINS

#1. IRON & WINE / CALEXICO -
IN THE REINS

#2. OKKERVIL RIVER -
BLACK SHEEP BOY

#3. SON VOLT -
OKEMAH & THE MELODY OF RIOT

#4. KELLY PARDEKOOPER -
HAYMAKER HEART

#5. ROBBIE FULKS -
GEORGIA HARD

#6. SHAME TRAIN -
SHE KNOWS THE SCORE

#7. KATHLEEN EDWARDS -
BACK TO ME

#8. RYAN ADAMS -
COLD ROSES

#9. WILLIAM ELLIOT WHITMORE -
ASHES TO DUST

#10. MILTON MAPES -
THE BLACKLIGHT TRAP