2005: Year In Review

Top 20 Albums
20) Wednesday 13 Transylvania 90210
19) Louis XIV The Best Little Secrets Are Kept
18) Jack Johnson In Between Dreams
17) Kings Of Leon Aha Shake Heartbreak
16) Lagwagon Resolve
15) Funeral For A Friend Hours
14) Dredg Catch Without Arms
13) Chimaira Chimaira
12) Clutch Robot Hive/Exodus
11) Bayside Bayside
10) Shout Out Louds Howl, Howl Gaff Gaff
9) Stellastarr* Harmonies For the Haunted
8) Corrosion Of Conformity In The Arms Of God
7) Ash Meltdown
6) ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead Worlds Apart
5) Trivium Ascendancy
4) Against Me! Searching For A Former Clarity
3) Queens Of The Stone Age Lullabies To Paralyze
2) Nine Inch Nails With Teeth
1) Avenged Sevenfold City Of Evil

Other great albums that didn't make it in the top 20:
Dane Cook (Retaliation); Darkest Hour (Undoing Ruin); Hot Hot Heat (Elevator); Judas Priest (Angel of Retribution); Mars Volta (Frances The Mute); Nashville Pussy (Get Some); The (International) Noise Conspiracy (Armed Love); Beck (Guero); BRMC (Howl); Dark new Day (twelve Year silence); Eels (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations); Foo Fighters (In Your Honor);

Honorable Mention
311 (Don't Tread On Me); Alkaline Trio (Crimson); Coldplay (X&Y); Danko Jones (We Sweat Blood); Everytime I Die (Gutter Phenomenon); H.I.M. (Dark Light); Rolling Stones (A Bigger Bang); Sigur Ros (Takk...); Static-X (Start A War); System Of A Down (Mesmerize/Hypnotize); Team Sleep (Team Sleep)

Best Live Performances
Avenged Sevenfold (11/10 Rave); C.O.C./Fu Manchu (7/21 HOB); Dimebag Benefit Show f/ Anthrax, Soil, Drowning Pool (2/23 Aragon); Disengage (2/6 Bottom Lounge); Dropkick Murphys (10/24 Rave); Goo Goo Dolls (12/8 LA); Green Day (8/10 Allstate Arena); H.I.M. (10/22 Riv); Head Automatica (6/21 Bottom Lounge); Jack's Mannequin (12/8 LA); Last Vegas (2/24ish Double Door); Lindsay Buckingham (12/8 LA); Motley Crue (8/27 Tweeter Center); Nashville Pussy (10/12 Double Door); New Order (5/3 Aragon); Nine Inch Nails (5/6 Congress Theatre); Ozzfest f/ Black Sabbath, Mastodon, Iron Maiden, Killswitch Engage, Rob Zombie, Trivium, Black Label Society, Shadows Fall, Mudvayne...(8/6 Alpine Valley); Q101 Block Party f/ Queens of the Stone Age, Rise Against, Sum 41, Hot Hot Heat (6/3 & 6/4); Queens of the Stone Age (4/5 Vic Theatre); Rise Against (2/20 Metro); Social Distortion (9/25 HOB); Sounds of the Underground f/ Lamb of God, Clutch, Gwar...(7/8 Tweeter); Static-x/Bloodsimple (7/26 HOB); Subliminal Verses Tour f/ Slipknot, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall (3/11 Allstate Arena); System of a Down/Mars Volta (9/30 Allstate Arena); Talib Kweli/Jean Grae (12/8 LA); Taste of Chaos f/ Killswitch Engage, My Chemical Romance, Underoath (3/9 Aragon); Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers/Black Crowes (7/15 Tweeter); ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (4/22 Metro); Vans Warped Tour f/ Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance, Dropkick Murphys, Trasplants...(7/23 Tweeter); Snocore f/ Helmet and Chevelle (2/12 Congress Theatre)

Best cover Songs
Death or Glory(The Clash) as done by Social Distortion
Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag) as doen by Rise Against
Emerald (Thin Lizzy) as done by Mastodon, live at Ozzfest
Savory (Jawbox) as done by Deftones
Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival) as done by Dropkick Murphys

Best Song Titles
Champagne For My Real Friends; Real Pain For My Sham Friends (Fall Out Boy)
Bulletproof Skin (Institute)
Forgot To Remember (Mudvayne)
Guitared And Feathered (Everytime I Die)
A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation (Trivium)
Pretendeavor (Norma Jean)
This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm On This Song (System Of A Down)
Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners (Against Me!)
With A Thousand Words To Say But One (Darkest Hour)

Top 5 Things Learned
5. Many cds makes for a heavy box…and a 3-month moving process.
4. “Chapstick” is FAR superior (and better for the lips) to “Blistex”.
3. Fingerless gloves are very comfy, but not perfect.
2. (I can’t decide which is better, so it’s a tie for #2)
a. Some-to-many girls like a guy in black eyeliner
b. The softest skin has to be on the bottom of a girls wrist…try it.
1. Break spaghetti noodles in half before putting them into a pot so you don’t overcook them and make an ass of yourself in front of your date.