Honorable Mentions
#25-#21
#20-#16
#15-#11
#10-#6
#5-#2
#1
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#19: Panic by MxPx-Yeah, MxPx is a band that has been around for a long while and continue to have fans that are consistently in their teens and twenties. So what? They have consistently made great records and gotten fans heavily into their music. They have arguably single-handedly kept the Christian punk genre alive. And the release of Panic is one of band's most complete offerings to date. It covers a variety of sounds, from the slower stuff like Wrecking Hotel Rooms to the edgier stuff like the disc's lead track, The Darkest Places. And yes, there's even a hint of country punk music in Late Again. These guys prove that they can really do anything with their music and make it sound great and make it appeal to their fans.
#18: Disappear Here by LA Symphony-The Christian hip hop scene blew up in 2005. A genre that was heavily lacking artists that could define it found at least one in LA Symphony. This disc solidified the Symph's spot in the realm. Infectious tracks like Timeless and Dance Like get the disc going, while tracks like Put Up Or Shut Up, Less Than Zero and Pops Song drive the disc to it's full potential. It is easily one of the year's best releases.
#17: Real Fine Place by Sara Evans-Sara Evans has become one of the sexiest country singers in the business right now. And I'm not talking about her looks. Each of her discs has some of the most amazing "sexy songs" on it. This release, it is The Secrets That We Keep that does the job. The best part about these songs is that they are done tastefully, and they're all about the love. Evans has become a pro at creating such songs. But that's not the only type of songs she's great at; far from it. Every track on Real Fine Place is great in all it's aspects. The tracks that Sara wrote or had a hand in writing (Such as You'll Always Be My Baby) become some of the best on the disc, while tracks like Coalmine and Cheatin' shine in the hands of Sara and become far more than just your ordinary country track. This disc is an excellent offering from Sara and is arguably her best to date.
#16: Modern Day Drifter by Dierks Bentley-What can be said about Dierks? He has come on strong since his debut disc. The singles from that disc were insanely infectious. And while Dierks takes a more laid-back approach on this disc, it is no less enjoyable than his debut. The singles from the disc, Lot Of Leavin' Left To Do and Come A Little Closer, have done very well on radio and video (Not to mention this site's Weekly Top 25, which saw both songs have their time at the top and will see both songs in the top half of the year's Top 50 singles). The entire disc is just plain excellent. From the serious and saddening tracks like Settle For A Slowdown and Gonna Get There Someday to the fun-loving and amusing like So So Long, Good Man Like Me and Cab Of My Truck, Dierks created a disc that was definitely one of 2005's brightest spots.