“Don’t Cha” know mainstream radio was littered with a certain “Photograph” that makes you “Dance, Dance” and shake your “Laffy Taffy?” But “My Humps” were telling me to get in my car and “Pump It” because “When I’m Gone,” “You and Me,” “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” to the CD store to pick up some good music.

This year saw popular music fall deeper into an abyss, but thanks to a few artists, the industry’s head stayed just above water. Common and Kanye West proved hip-hop can remain honest and clean all the while holding a R&B-influenced beat. The White Stripes even once again showed rock music can be edgy while staying “radio friendly.” And the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party made dance music “cool.”

Exhausting the independent music scene, we unearthed some gems that were not released on a record label, but rather found popularity on blogs (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), and artists whose music goes by the wayside year after year (Sufjan Stevens, The New Pornographers). Of course, the digging did pull up some albums that should have remained under tons of dirt and rubble — The Fiery Furnaces’ Rehearsing My Choir, which in retrospect is an interesting concept but fails to light any fires.

It’s safe to assume the majority of the best albums of 2005 are by artists most people have never heard of, but there are some well-known musicians (Coldplay, Gorillaz, Beck) who hit high marks this year. Don’t be discouraged if you’ve never heard of a band or musician; just know these all are worth a listen.

1) The Mars VoltaFrances the MuteUniversal Records2005.03.01

What makes The Mars Volta work is it does what no other band would ever try to do — it experiments with vast genres of music to create a cohesive sound that pans 75 minutes and never once lags. Somewhat of a concept album, Frances the Mute is such a stellar follow-up to 2003’s De-Loused in the Comatorium, it overshadows its predecessor. Rather than getting lost in the lyrics like with Comatorium, the listener drifts away with the poignant music that bleeds throughout the album.

2) Sufjan StevensIllinoisAsthmatic Kitty Sounds Familyre2005.07.05

Sufjan Stevens should be investigated by the Drug Enforcement Agency after the release of this album, because, honestly, it is as addictive as crack cocaine. The second of Stevens’ concept albums that deal specifically with a single state in the union, Illinois is both familiar and comforting. Stevens’ melodic voice coupled with the use of a church choir style background makes the album one that is continuously hummed and sang to the point of sleepless nights because the tune just won’t leave your head. Stevens proves folk music is nowhere near dead — it’s just been transformed.

3) CommonBeGeffen Records2005.05.24

The hip-hop savior has returned to rescue the world from all the D4Ls and Lil’ Jons giving the genre a bad name with their mass-produced beats and simple lyrics. Common’s Be is a hip-hop masterpiece that has been anticipated by fans of real hip-hop since the release of his last great album, 2000’s Like Water for Chocolate. The poetry of Common’s lyrics are best evident in the opening songs “Be (Intro)” and “The Corner.” Most impressive are the collaborations with other artists. John Legends’ skills on the keyboard make “They Say” an impressive track.

4) Bloc PartySilent AlarmVice Records2005.03.22

Bloc Party’s debut album, Silent Alarm is exactly what the band’s name suggests — a block party. Part rock ‘n’ roll frenzy and part straight-up dance party, Silent Alarm gives an indication of where rock music should be headed — it just took four Brits to birth the sound. Bloc Party successfully blends pop-rock hooks with garage-rock tantrums for sound so unique it has blurred the lines of art-punk and radio-rock. Surprisingly enough, the band accomplishes all that while maintaining singer Kele Okereke’s quirky British accent.

5) My Morning JacketZATO Records2005.10.04

Laid-back and dreamy, My Morning Jacket’s follow-up to 2003’s It Still Moves takes the band beyond the alt-country sound of which it laid the groundwork. Z is an ethereal trip very different from the band’s past endeavors. Absent is some of the folk roots that defined It Still Moves, only to be replaced hauntingly by a sound that is often similar to Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells re-envisioned with guitars — namely the 3:20 mark of “Lay Low.” 6) The White StripesGet Behind Me SatanV2 Records2005.06.07

The White Stripes’ Get Behind Me Satan is a rollercoaster of a romp in the daydreaming mind of Jack White expressed through a simply raw production done only the best by Jack himself. The album offers its quota of garage rock tunes, but strewn throughout are tracks riddled in bluegrass (“Little Ghost”), country western (“I’m Lonely”), classic rock (“Blue Orchid”) and even genre-bending tracks such as “The Nurse,” “Red Rain” and “The Denial Twist.”

7) Little BrotherThe Minstrel ShowAtlantic Records2005.09.13

It should be obvious from the title that Little Brother’s The Minstrel Show is meant to be a social satire — as producer 9th Wonder points out, the original title of the record was going to be Nigga Music. Unrolling from there like a telecast of social commentary, the album hits high with its first single “Lovin’ It” and below the belt with the “Trapped in the Closet”-inspired track “Cheatin’.” The album is smart in comparison to what is typically heard on the radio from mainstream hip-hop artists, but is similar in message to Kanye West’s “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.”

8) BeckGueroInterscope Records2005.03.29

Stop crying! The Beck of old is back in 2005 with Guero, or as it can easily be called, Odelay reincarnate. Beck dropped the acoustic guitar and reworked his old dance moves that made the world love him. A fluxus masterpiece, Guero is a toe-tapping, head-scratching good time that Beck and The Dust Brothers producers took their time to produce — working out every kink or Midnite Vulure-style track. While Beck continues to reinvent himself and dabble in every imaginable genre, it is nice to see him return to the music that made him famous.

9) Sigur RosTakk …Geffen Records2005.09.13

Some find Sigur Ros a little too weird for their taste — maybe it’s the baby talk. But for those with an ear for exciting, different and all-around exceptional music, Sigur Rós is the band they listen to on their iPod. Takk… is a departure for the Icelandic band that typically sings in a made-up language called “Hopelandic.” This album is sung entirely in the band’s native tongue. “Hoppipolla,” “Saeglopur” and “Gong” stand out as the breakthrough tracks on Takk…. All in all, the album’s awesomeness outweighs its weirdness twofold.

10) Franz FerdinandYou Could Have It So Much BetterSony Records2005.10.04

Less than a year after the group released its debut self-titled LP, Franz Ferdinand is back with an even more poppy addition to the European music scene through You Could Have It So Much Better. While Franz Ferdinand featured a few gems in the rough of the experimental dance album, You Could Have It So Much Better feels like a non-stop whirl of radio-friendly yet sonically enriched (something that is not so typically associated with modern radio) tracks.

11) Death Cab for CutiePlansAtlantic Records2005.08.30

Aww man the lady is coming over tonight for a romantic evening, and there’s no music to play for her. Oh wait, there’s always Death Cab for Cutie’s Plans. Oh yes, the official band of “helping you get some” released yet another sensitive album that gets a bra off faster than you can hit replay on “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” Highlights of the album are definitely the scratchy and heartfelt “Different Names for the Same Thing” and “Someday You Will Be Loved.” Front man Benjamin Gibbard is back from his side project (The Postal Service) with Dntel’s Jimmy Tamborello to make this album your nookie album.

12) The New PornographersTwin CinemaMatador Records2005.08.23

Although The New Pornographers has mostly remained an underground success, there is an element of hook present on every one of its releases that pushes the band just to the line of mainstream without taking that final step. With Twin Cinema, the group’s dynamic remains unchanged, which shows a lack of growth, but there is no point in fixing something that’s not broken. What makes any of The New Pornographers’ albums so unique is they are timeless in style — revisiting the sounds of The Birds, The Mamas & The Papas and even at times sharing moody, pop noise of The Shins.

13) Ryan Adams & The CardinalsJacksonville City NightsLost Highway2005.09.27

While most artists could be accused of flooding the market by releasing three records in one year, Ryan Adams successfully separates the LPs by having three albums with three completely different sounds. Teaming up with The Cardinals, Ryan Adams’ second album of the year was Jacksonville City Nights, which possessed a country-western sound much like what was heard on Heartbreaker. Adams’ duet with Norah Jones on the track “Dear John” serves as the album’s anchor with its sultry piano melody and the duo’s spine-chilling harmony.

14) OK GoOh NoCapitol Records2005.06.21

OK Go’s Oh No is nearly as retro in sound as the packaging design. With new wave-like hooks, Oh No is easily one of the bounciest albums of the year to come out of the indie music scene. The liveliest tracks on the album also typically serve as the strangest — namely “Oh Lately It’s So Quiet.” There is an element in these songs that emanates a feeling that OK Go is set to strike strong, but with tracks that don’t seem to fit so cohesively and videos that are far out in left field, that’s a goal that seems just out of reach.

15) AqualungStrange and BeautifulColumbia Records2005.08.30

Led by the VH1-pushed “Brighter Than Sunshine,” Aqualung’s Strange and Beautiful is one of the most ‘beautiful’ albums released in 2005. Singer/songwriter Matt Hales croons behind the likes of Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, but his combination of the falsetto mumble and piano-driven melodies defines him as an artist in his own right. Strange and Beautiful is a perfect accompaniment to a candle-light dinner or even a somber breakup.

16) 9th Wonder & BuckshotChemistryDuckdown Music2005.06.21

17) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say YeahClap Your Hands Say Yeah2005.09.13

18) ColdplayX&YCapitol Records2005.06.07

19) Kanye WestLate RegistrationRoc-A-Fell Records2005.08.30

20) M83Before the Dawn Heals UsMute U.S.A.2005.01.25

21) Danger DoomThe Mouse and the MaskEpithaph Records2005.10.11

22) The DecemberistsPicaresqueKill Rock Stars2004.03.22

23) Boards of CanadaThe Campfire HeadphaseWarp Records2005.10.17

24) The BooksLost and SafeTomlab2005.04.05

25) GorillazDemon DaysVirgin Records2005.05.24

26) Sage FrancisA Healthy DistrustEpitaph Records2005.02.08

27) Nine Inch NailsWith TeethI Nothing2005.05.03

28) BlackaliciousThe CraftAnti2005.0927

29) Okkervil RiverBlack Sheep BoyJagjaguwar2005.04.05

30) Damian “Junior Gong” MarleyWelcome to JamrockUniversal Records2005.09.13