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