The Best Albums of 2005 (January - August)

Here are my picks for the best albums released so far this year. So if you've got some extra cash in your wallet and you're craving some new music, one of the following should hit the spot.

Ryan Adams - Cold Roses (2005, Lost Highway)
American Princes - Little Spaces (2005, Yep Roc)
Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll (2005, Fierce Panda)
Brendan Benson - The Alternative to Love (2005, V2)
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005, Dim Mak/Vice)
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005, Saddle Creek)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - S/T (2005, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah)
The Decemberists - Picaresque (2005, Kill Rock Stars)
The Kingsbury Manx - The Fast Rise and Fall of the South (2005, Yep Roc)
The Lucksmiths - Warmer Corners (2005, Candle Records)
Mazarin - We're Already There (2005, I & Ear Records)
Bill Ricchini - Tonight I Burn Brightly (2005, Transdreamer)
Spoon - Gimme Fiction (2005, Merge)
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005, Asthmatic Kitty)
M. Ward - Transistor Radio (2005, Merge Records)