With the end of the year looming, everyone has or soon will come up with their own list of best and worst everything in 2005. I thought I should jump on the bandwagon with my favorite albums and artists of 2005. All of the albums I picked are personal favorites and are still on heavy rotation on my iPod.

1. Beck's "Guero" is an album I still can't get enough of. Maybe this is because I saw him live this year, but whatever it is, this is still my favorite album to walk to class with. My favorite songs on the album are "Girl" and "Hell Yes" because they're so catchy and fun. Check out the videos on www.beck.com —they're great, too.

2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" is my favorite newcomer. I hadn't heard about this band prior to 2005, and I felt it was this year's Arcade Fire. I discovered both bands the same way, one year apart. I had heard friends raving about each for about a month before I finally went out and bought the albums. I discovered both were worthy of the amount of praise they were receiving, a rare feat in the world of music since hyped up bands aren't usually as good as other people make them seem.

3. The Decemberists' "Picaresque" is an album I wasn't expecting just because "Her Majesty" was so great. I didn't think the band could surpass that album. But it did. The video for "16 Military Wives" is a must-see.

4. Eels' "Blinking Lights And Other Revelations" is a double disc full of great songs. The one I can never get enough of is "Trouble With Dreams," I listened to the song on repeat for hours when I first got this album. The whole album consists of the perfect mix of slower-paced songs and catchy hits with clever lyrics. I have been an Eels fan for a long time and this album is a great example of how awesome the band is.

5. Sleater-Kinney's "The Woods" is the band's most experimental album. It's pure rock 'n' roll and the members jam a lot on this album, showing off their great skills — there's an 11-minute song on the album. This band has so much talent and it shows in the extent of Sleater-Kinney's discography and the fact the band has been around for so long. The band continues to astound me with each new album. Every time I don't think the girls of S-K can come up with anything better than the last one, they do. There's a reason why S-K is my favorite band, and has been for seven years.

6. Wolf Parade's "Apologies to the Queen Mary" — I love this album. This is another band I had heard many things about before I actually heard the band's music. But, once again, I was impressed and happy with my purchase once I decided to give into the rave reviews and buy this album. I'm still not sick of Wolf Parade even though the press won't shut up about the band.

So there you have it: my favorites of 2005. You might not agree with me, but none of these albums will leave my most-played lists on iTunes anytime soon.

Benita Mehta is the State News music reporter. Reach her at mehtaben@msu.edu.