1) Opeth - Ghost Reveries
2) QOTSA - Lullabies to Paralyze
3) Artimus Pyledriver - S/T
4) Paths of Possession - Promises in Blood
5) High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings
6) Byzantine - ...And They Shall Take Up Serpents
7) Naglfar - Pariah
8) Vesania - God the Lux
9) Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone

I'm sure there are plenty others that I either forgot or haven't heard.

according to metacritic.com, the critics' top 10 choices for 2005:

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
My Morning Jacket - Z
Isolée - Wearemonster
Lightnight Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain
Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
M.I.A. - Arular
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - S/T
Kraftwerk - Minimum-Maximum [Live]
The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike

in changing order:
eels, Blinking Lights & Other Revelations
Venetian Snares, Rossz Csillag Alatt Született
Broadcast, Tender Buttons
Millionaire, Paradisiac
Elysian Fields, Bum Raps & Love Taps
Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
dEUS, Pocket Revolution
CocoRosie, Noah's Ark
Jamie Lidell, Multiply
Iron & Wine and Calexico, In the Reins
Jaga Jazzist, What We Must
The Evens, The Evens
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Naturally
Antony & the Johnsons, I Am a Bird Now
Architecture in Helsinki, In Case We Die
Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat, If the Sky Falls We Shall Catch Larks

Ooohhhh, yea, I forgot Eels and Sufjan Stevens!!! Two incredible albums!

Also like Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Jacksonville City Nights

New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (I think this was already mentioned)

Kate Bush made a new album?

Anyway, I was way disappointed by Billy Idol's "Devil's Playground".

so far (alphabetical order):
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl
The Constantines, Tournament Of Hearts
Metric, Live It Out
The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
Nine Inch Nails, With Teeth
Sleater-Kinney, The Woods
The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan

honourable mentions (alphabetical order):
Ryan Adams, 29
Björk, Drawing Restraint 9
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
British Sea Power, Open Season
Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene
The Darkness, One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back

disappointments (alphabetical order):
Coldplay, X&Y
Depeche Mode, Playing The Angel
Oasis, Don't Believe The Truth
The Tears, Here Come The Tears

havnt heard:
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Annie, Antony & The Johnsons, Fiona Apple, Baby Shambles, Broadcast, Common, The Dandy Warhols, Death Cab For Cutie, Eels, Franz Ferdinand, Sarah Harmer, The Kills, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A., My Morning Jacket, New Order, Queens Of The Stoneage, Sigur Rós, Sufjan Stevens, Supergrass, Kanye West, Wolf Parade, Neil Young and more.

looking forward to in 2006:
Richard Ashcroft, The Dears, Morrissey, Pearl Jam, Placebo, Portishead, Radiohead, The Strokes and more.

It's a double CD. She came off auto-purchase with the Red Shoes album, but I've been a little broke anyway. After the holidays, I'll be checking that one out.

portishead eh? that's what the 6th year in a row that a new album is supposed to come out in?

Belle and Sebastian album next Feb

indeed. I believe it's leaked already, but I'm waiting.