Just A Word Before I Go Chris Senn Well, this is it. I’m graduating on Saturday. After two semesters of writing music reviews for The Daily Evergreen, it’s time for me to say goodbye. However, it is nearing the end of the year. So before I go, here are my top 10 albums of 2005.

1. The White Stripes - “Get Behind Me Satan” How can Jack White go wrong? This is the fourth masterpiece in a row released by the White Stripes, and with each one they become more and more intriguing. Some of their most experimental songs such as the marimba driven “The Nurse,” coexist with some of their catchiest songs to date. Try to survive the one two three punch served up by Jack and Meg on the unrelenting drive of “My Doorbell,” “The Denial Twist” and “Take Take Take.” This year, the White Stripes blow away the competition.

2. Beck – “Guero” Beck continues to amaze me. There is nobody like him in the music industry right now, and I don’t think there will ever be. Beck is as unique as a musician comes and his album, “Guero,” proves it. Beck goes from rock to rap to latin music and back again. “Guero” is definitely the most eclectic album of the year and still near the top of my list despite being released back in April. “Earthquake Weather” is the under-appreciated gem on this one.

3. Magic Numbers – “Magic Numbers” The Magic Numbers win my Best New Artist award and my award for best single this year. Reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas, the Magic Numbers consists of two brother and sister pairs. Try listening to “Forever Lost,” without getting it stuck in your head for days. The rest of the album is quite good also, especially the upbeat, fast-paced “Long Legs.” 4. Living Things – “Ahead of the Lions” As I said in a review earlier this semester, this is what great rock and roll should be. “Ahead of the Lions” is rough around the edges but most importantly challenges the status quo. It is a very political album. The lead single, “Bom Bom Bom,” accuses the government of shipping young soldiers off to die. Pick up this album if you like bands such as T-Rex and MC5.

5. Coldplay – “X&Y” Coldplay’s third album picks up right where “A Rush of Blood to the Head” left off. They have somehow managed to keep their brand of melancholic love songs intriguing for the third time around. Spaced out, atmospheric sounds run through the entire album. Songs like the first single, “Speed of Sound,” “Fix You” and “White Shadows,” are the standouts on another awesome effort by Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow and company.

6. New Pornographers – “Twin Cinema” Don’t let the name fool you; the New Pornographers are harmless and quite safe to listen to. Hailing from Vancouver, B.C., this indie-rock band fills their third album with the near perfect power-pop that made their first two albums great. On “Twin Cinema,” the New Pornographers adds two new vocalists to join Neko Case and A.C. Newman. The key track is “These are the Fables.” 7. Audioslave – “Out of Exile” When they released their first album, many music fans and critics alike wrote Audioslave off as a gimmick. They thought of them as a super-group without legitimate staying power. After Audioslave released “Out of Exile,” their sophomore album, many realized that Audioslave is now its own entity, a bona fide rock band. “Doesn’t Remind Me,” and “Your Time Has Come,” are instant classics.

8. Ben Folds – “Songs for Silverman” Ben Folds’ new album is also one of the sleepers this year. Folds has always produced exceptional material. Many times his albums are overlooked because of the warped sense of humor he integrates into many of his songs. For this effort, he decided to drop some of the humor and inject a small amount of seriousness, releasing his most solid album in years. Check out “Late,” written after the loss of his friend, Elliott Smith.

9. Mike Doughty – “Haughty Melodic” This was one of the surprise albums of the year. Haughty Melodic is a very consistent effort from Mike Doughty, the former leader of Soul Coughing. In recent years he has matured into a top rate singer-songwriter. He has always been a great lyricist and the songs on this release prove it. Some of the best tracks are “Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well,” “Busting up a Starbucks” and “Tremendous Brunettes,” featuring Dave Matthews.

10. My Morning Jacket – “Z” On their new album, My Morning Jacket left much of their southern rock sound behind in exchange for a psychedelic one. On this album they expand their musical range and demonstrate their willingness to try new things. My Morning Jacket at times sounds very close to The Flaming Lips. The standout track is “Off the Record.” This is a very solid album from a band that continues to evolve.