(t5!) My Year In Lists 2005: Albums! 3 to 1

3. Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary (Sub Pop)

During 2K5, Wolf Parade has garnered more pre-release buzz than both the Xbox 360 and the alleged Britney Spears sex tape. Even though the build-up is partly due to early EPs issued before this full-length debut, it escalated mostly because of the band's affiliations. First, they were tour openers for 2004 indie darlings, Arcade Fire. Then, indie rock gallant and Modest Mouse frontman, Isaac Brock discovered the Montrealites and was also kind enough to produce Apologies for them. And finally, it was documented that the album will be released under Sub Pop, the New York Yankees of indie labels. While bloggers and MySpace users whir about whom the quartet are associated with, what might be overlooked is the actual music being played. Spastic drums, decisive guitar riffs, and shimmering keyboard synths enrich a 48-minute moment of your life. The duo of Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner take turns singing each track, dividing the minutes evenly to avoid a quarterback controversy. While both pipes will never win the crown for American Idol, they are brimming with enough charm and inarguable emotion that you tend to forgive it. The tunes are so catchy that you'll be singing along before you decipher the album's messages of melancholy and hopes of deliverance. By surpassing the overblown hype, Apologies To The Queen Mary proves that they have nothing to apologize about.

[Fancy Claps | I'll Believe In Anything | This Heart's On Fire]

2. Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)

If there exists an Olympics for music which showcases the prowess of every country, Broken Social Scene would be Canada's indie rock representative. This Canadian collective takes a leave of absence from their own projects and unites for a third full-length. However, the self-titled get-together best represents a jam session than an album as six to eighteen members donate their own unique mastery and attempt to top their 2003 indie rock masterpiece, You Forgot It In People. While an improvement may be a contestable argument, Broken Social Scene is definitely more complex. It contains the maximum amount of layers and eccentricities before becoming overwhelming. With each listen, a complex blur of blatant guitars and enlivened horns formulates out of the speakers that is somehow meticulously organized by producer David Newfield. A car wreck hasn't been this beautiful since Tara Reid. While buried underneath the haze of noise, the vocals remain valuable while adding towards the overall atmosphere. Lead vocals by KC Accidental's Kevin Drew and a bevy of accomplished songstresses hum and coo obscure lyrics that will be relentlessly interpreted by a message-board congesting, indie community. By the time the album echoes its last note, you're exhausted along with them, albeit it's the rewarding, sexual-marathon type of exhaustion.

[7/4 (Shoreline) | Fire Eye'd Boy | Hotel]

1. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)

Traveling westward from 2003's Greetings from Michigan, Illinois is the second stop in Sufjan (pronounced SOOF-yan) Stevens' proposed 50-state, melodic road trip. Indeed, Illinois, Sufjan's fifth album overall, can be easily dismissed as gimmicky or ambitious. If you do so, however, you will be missing out on a journey that remains inspired and affectionate despite its ostentatious concept. On the album, Sufjan parades his musical dexterity, impressively manning nearly every instrument in his repertoire while conducting the rest of the orchestra that includes the Illinoisemaker Choir, drummer James McAllister, and trumpeter Craig Montoro. It's obvious, though, that organizing all these layers is not an easy task with arrangements as intricate as the tracklist's lingering song titles. Even with the geographical theme, the folktales are less about the places and more about the chronicles of the landmarks and the spirit of the characters residing in the Prairie State. Sufjan falsettos about Illinois' highest and lowest stories with remarkable intimacy, carrying you along for a ride that can either be very exhilirating or full of sorrow. Now that two states are brilliantly covered in Sufjan Stevens' trek across America, would it be unrealistic to expect 48 more of these? It might be. But devotees are anxious to see whether the upcoming destinations can prevail against the superbness Illinois has achieved.

[Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois | John Wayne Gacy, Jr. | Chicago]