Something to mull over while you're nursing tomorrow's hangover

I should probably have done this earlier, since the blogosphere is pretty much saturated with these things by this point. But in case you're still interested, here's the list (complete with boring, newspaper-worthy comments!) of my ten favourite '05 albums that I've been submitting to those who've asked for it. An abbreviated version ran in the Post the other day, and it may be appearing in various forms in other Canwest papers. But the difference is, I've done it in reverse order here – it's so much more exciting that way. Comments, alternate lists, etc. are all welcome.

10.) Mando Diao - Hurricane Bar Original? Not exactly. Incisive? Hardly. But these Swedes have so much fun aping their Britrock influences that they're irresistible. Bonus points for one of the best live shows I saw all year.

9.) Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights Absurdly prolific though he was this year, alt-country's bad boy didn’t sacrifice quality for quantity. Uncharacteristically focused, this mellow, curiously addictive disc is his best since Heartbreaker.

8.) New Pornographers - Twin Cinema As with Electric Version, there's nothing as catchy here as on their debut. But they now sound more like a cohesive band than a Carl Newman pet project. And Bleeding Heart Show is a truly awesome track.

7.) Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations Listening to the reliably eccentric E reflect on his tragic life over two discs and 33 tracks is an exhausting experience. But this is the album his fans long waited for, and he didn't disappoint.

6.) Metric - Live It Out. A grower, in the best possible sense. The first time, you think it's an efficient switch toward guitar-rock, driven as usual by Emily Haines' slinky vocals. Only later do you realize it's one of the smartest, most sophisticated albums of the year.

5.) K'Naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher You don't have to be a hip-hop devotee to enjoy the Somali-Canadian's look back at his Mogadishu childhood. You just have to appreciate musical inventiveness and more raw, conflicted emotion than most artists express over their entire careers.

4.) Deadly Snakes - Porcella The Toronto stalwarts have always been a superior live act, but nobody knew they had this soulful, symphonic, gospel- and blues-infused effort in them. Branching out pays off, big-time - and they didn't even shed any of their well-worn grit.

3.) Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning Conor Oberst remains a love/hate proposition, but his most focused piece of work to date makes a strong case for him as his generation's top folk singer. If angst is your thing, this is as articulate as angst gets.

2.) Fembots - The City Can a bittersweet ode to Toronto actually be interesting to anyone else? When it’s this gorgeously heartfelt, geography ceases to matter.

1.) The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday The world's best bar band, fronted by a guy who sings (okay, yells) like a demented Springsteen, weaves an album-long narrative about sex, drugs and religion. Proof that garage rock can still be exciting in the right hands.

(Honourable mention: BRMC - Howl; Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright; The Ponys - Celebration Castle; The Mendoza Line - Full of Light and Full of Fire; Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth. And yes, I'm serious about Oasis. It's a good album.)