Maybe/likely an Edit, especially considering how amazing and deep this year was/has become and was sort of the 1st memory of making an EOY list for albums, but my list back in 2005 was maybe 10 or 15 albums?
With all intentions, I'll add more to this summary, but initially, just look at the list and Calendar. So many 4-star albums. This might be my favorite Calendar year for music over the last 25 years.
3/10/17:
So what I really want to add beyond the above is, this was a very special year. You look at the list below, and many of the albums are from favorite artists of mine and in some cases my favorite or a top 2-3 album in their catalog. While the TREOS and Coheed albums I adore and are the only what I consider definitive 5-star masterpieces, I could easily see bumping up 4, 5, 7, 10 or more of them to 5-stars down the road.
Maybe among some other years, this would be 1 year I would LOVE to go back in time and live through again hearing all of these albums as the year went by.
I guess now thinking about this, as I go through the years in history, I will have to try and post a separate entry, with just links to the entries and top 10-30+ lists and kind of think about favorite years, etc.
Also one observation with the Calendar, the stretch from mid to late August through early October was amazing. Neverending White Lights through Broken Social Scene, there's a ton of all-time favorites in there, and they all were released in that 6-7 week window of time, lol. For Modern times, that's pretty significant.
1. The Receiving End of Sirens - Between the Heart and the Synapse
2. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo 1: I'm Burning Star IV: From Fear through the Eyes of Madness
3. dredg - Catch Without Arms
4. Oceansize - Everyone Into Position
5. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
6. Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself
7. Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites
8. Subterranean Masquerade - Suspended Animation Dreams
9. Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
10. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
11. Bend Sinister - Through the Broken City
12. Between the Buried and Me - Alaska
13. Time of Orchids - Sarcast While
14. Klimt 1918 - Dopoguerra
15. Neverending White Lights - Act I: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
16. Gospel - The Moon is a Dead World
17. Karnivool - Themata
18. Kaddisfly - Buy Our Intention: We'll Buy You a Unicorn
19. The Decemberists - Picaresque
20. Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Dust of Retreat
21. Josh Rouse - Nashville
22. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
23. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
24. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
25. Burst - Origo
26. Shadow Gallery - Room V
27. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
28. God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright
29. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
30. The Ebb and Flow - Time to Echolocate
31. Pat Metheny - The Way Up
32. King's X - Ogre Tones
33. Shaman - Reason

Dark Tranquillity - Character
rel January 24, 2005

Pat Metheny - The Way Up
rel January 25, 2005

Bend Sinister - Through the Broken City
rel February 1, 2005

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
rel February 2, 2005

God is an Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright
rel February 4, 2005

Karnivool - Themata
rel February 7, 2005

Josh Rouse - Nashville
rel February 22, 2005

The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
rel March 1, 2005 (US)

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
rel March 28, 2005

Nicole Atkins - Party's Over
rel March 2005

Matisyahu - Live at Stubb's
rel April 19, 2005

Klimt 1918 - Dopoguerra
rel April 25, 2005

The Receiving End of Sirens - Between the Heart and the Synapse
rel April 26, 2005
Time of Orchids - Sarcast While
rel April 26, 2005

sElf - Porno, Mint and Grime
rel April 2005

Gospel - The Moon is a Dead World
rel May 10, 2005

System of a Down - Mezmerize
rel May 17, 2005

Shaman - Reason
rel May 23, 2005

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Dust of Retreat
rel May 31, 2005

Ulver - Blood Inside
rel June 6, 2005

Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
rel June 7, 2005

Dream Theater - Octavarium
rel June 7, 2005

Francesca Gagnon - Hybride
rel June 7, 2005
Presto Ballet - Peace Among the Ruins
rel June 7, 2005

Shadow Gallery - Room V
rel June 7, 2005

dredg - Catch Without Arms
rel June 21, 2005

Subterranean Masquerade - Suspended Animation Dreams
rel June 21, 2005

The Chap - Ham
rel June 27, 2005

Cloud Cult - Advise from the Happy Hippopotamus
rel June 2005

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
rel July 4, 2005

The Ebb and Flow - Time to Echolocate
rel July 12, 2005

The Most Serene Republic - Underwater Cinematographer
rel July 12, 2005

Wolf Parade - Wolf Parade
rel July 12, 2005

Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself
rel July 18, 2005

Lights on the Highway - Lights on the Highway
rel July 18, 2005

Clor - Clor
rel July 12, 2005

Veda - The Weight of an Empty Room
rel July 26, 2005

Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike
rel August 9, 2005

Minus the Bear - Menos el Oso
rel August 23, 2005

Neverending White Lights - Act I: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
rel August 23, 2005

The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
rel August 23, 2005

Facing New York - Facing New York
rel August 30, 2005

Opeth - Ghost Reveries
rel August 30, 2005

The Age of Rockets - The Drive Home
rel September 1, 2005

Between the Buried and Me - Alaska
rel September 6, 2005

Sigur Rós - Takk...
rel September 12, 2005

Strap the Button - What Kind of Rat Bastard Psychotic Would Play That Song Right Now at This Moment?
rel September 14, 2005

Oceansize - Everyone Into Position
rel September 19, 2005

Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
rel September 20, 2005

Zero Hour - A Fragile Mind
rel September 20, 2005

Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites
rel September 26, 2005

Abandoned Pools - Armed to the Teeth
rel September 27, 2005

Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
rel September 27, 2005

King's X - Ogre Tones
rel September 27, 2005

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
rel September 27, 2005

Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
rel October 4, 2005

Pure Reason Revolution - Cautionary Tales for the Brave [Mini Album]
rel November 29, 2005

Kiss Kiss - Kiss Kiss [EP]
rel October 11, 2005

Burst - Origo
rel October 17, 2005 (Europe)

Wolfmother - Wolfmother
rel October 31, 2005 (Australia)

Paulson - All at Once
rel November 22, 2005

System of a Down - Hypnotize
rel November 22, 2005

Dikta - Hunting for Happiness
rel November 2005

Lehto and Wright - The Thrashing Machine and Other Stories
rel December 5, 2005

The Stiletto Formal - Masochism in the Place of Romance [EP]
rel 2005

This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain
rel 2005