Top Songs by Year

Top Songs — 2005

⭐ Appears on Top 750 Songs of All Time

▶ Spotify Playlist

My memory of 2005 is a whirlwind — infant twins, first-time homeownership, adjusting to life as a commuter, and trying to find our footing in a new social world. There wasn't much headspace left for reflecting on the broader music scene. But while I may have missed the sweeping brushstrokes that defined rock's tapestry, that doesn't mean I had stopped listening. The fine lines of many of these songs outlined my commutes, workouts, and any stolen moments I could carve out for music.

Looking back now, it's striking just how strong a year 2005 was for music. My top four tracks from this list might be the strongest collection from any single year. Add to that the career-defining albums from artists like Sufjan Stevens, The National, and Bloc Party, and a once-blurred picture sharpens into focus — an incredible year that I simply hadn't recognized at the time.

1.⭐ Iron & Wine — The Trapeze Swinger
2.⭐ The Fiery Furnaces — Here Comes The Summer
3.⭐ Gorillaz — Feel Good Inc.
4.⭐ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — In This Home on Ice
5.⭐ The Mountain Goats — Up the Wolves
6.⭐ Sufjan Stevens — Chicago
7.⭐ The Decemberists — We Both Go Down Together
8.⭐ My Morning Jacket — Off The Record
9.⭐ Bloc Party — Like Eating Glass
10.⭐ The New Pornographers — The Bleeding Heart Show
11.⭐ The High Strung — The Luck You Got
12.⭐ Wussy — Airborne
13.⭐ Beck — Girl
14.⭐ Iron & Wine — Jezebel
15.⭐ LCD Soundsystem — Daft Punk Is Playing at My House
16.⭐ The New Pornographers — Sing Me Spanish Techno
17.⭐ Death Cab for Cutie — I Will Follow You into the Dark
18.⭐ The National — Mr. November
19.⭐ Bloc Party — This Modern Love
20.⭐ !!! — Take Ecstasy With Me
21.⭐ The Decemberists — 16 Military Wives
22.⭐ Wolf Parade — Shine a Light
23.The National — Karen
24.Madonna — Hung Up
25.LCD Soundsystem — Tribulations
26.The Mountain Goats — This Year
27.Goldfrapp — Number 1
28.Gorillaz — DARE
29.Sea Power — Please Stand Up
30.Jens Lekman — Black Cab
31.Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — Is This Love?
32.The National — Secret Meeting
33.Kanye West, Jamie Foxx — Gold Digger
34.Stars — Ageless Beauty
35.Sufjan Stevens — Casimir Pulaski Day
36.Bloc Party — Little Thoughts
37.Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth
38.Death Cab for Cutie — Soul Meets Body
39.Eels — Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)
40.Fall Out Boy — Sugar, We're Goin Down
41.The Coral — In the Morning
42.Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away
43.Bloc Party — Helicopter
44.The National — Abel
45.Animal Collective — Grass
46.The National — The Geese of Beverly Road
47.New Order — Krafty
48.M83 — Don't Save Us From The Flames
49.The Decemberists — On the Bus Mall
50.Sea Power — It Ended on an Oily Stage
51.Coldplay — Fix You
52.The National — All the Wine
53.Yeti — Never Lose Your Sense Of Wonder
54.The Cloud Room — Hey Now Now
55.Maximo Park — Apply Some Pressure
56.The National — Daughters of the Soho Riots
57.Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood
58.Sleater-Kinney — Modern Girl
59.Beck — E-Pro
60.The New Pornographers — Twin Cinema
61.Robyn — Be Mine!
62.The Mountain Goats — Pale Green Things
63.Sufjan Stevens — John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
64.The Magic Numbers — Forever Lost
65.Kaiser Chiefs — Oh My God