Here are the records I really liked, in alphabetical order:

The Decemberists- Picaresque
Well, you know I love The Decemberists. They gave me more dictionary rock to gush about this year. It’s great, and I’ll stop gushing right there.
Destroyer- Notorious Lightning and Other Works
Dan Bejar, one of the New Pornographers, got together with Frog Eyes to record some of the songs from his (Destroyer) record Your Blues, one of the really good records of 2004. These songs really got worked over- it’s almost hard to recognize a couple of them. Good stuff.
Kraftwerk- Minimum-Maximum
When I was in 8th grade, we hosted an exchange student from the Netherlands. He had no use for “old-fashioned” music, like The Beatles. But he sure did like Kraftwerk, who were still pretty much on the cutting edge of electronic music at the time. I was fascinated by it. I’ve dabbled a bit in Kraftwerk over the years. I have three versions of them doing “The Robots,” which is probably my favorite Kraftwerk song (plus, incidentally, another version of it by Señor Coconut). The three Kraftwerk versions are all arranged differently, reflecting the year they were recorded. I’m no Kraftwerk completist, and I’m too lazy to double-check, but I think Minimum-Maximum, a double live album, contains no new material. However, it sounds great and captures Kraftwerk’s music the way it sounded in mid-2004.
Low- The Great Destroyer
I have one other Low record, their Christmas album. Except for that one, I haven’t really been a fan of Low. I saw them once and didn’t stay very long. But I heard they rocked a little bit more on this one and bought it. Yeah, they rock a bit more and it’s quite good.
Eric Matthews- Six Kinds of Passion Looking for an Exit
Matthews makes us wait ages upon ages for new releases. This EP was worth the wait, and I’ve heard rumors of a full-length coming this year. It’s less orchestrated than his previous work, but it's still a nice slice of sophisticated pop.
Maxïmo Park- A Certain Trigger
Yeah, I think it’s kind of sad that these lists are mostly made up of artists who I already liked before 2005. That’s just the kind of year I had. Here’s a band I’d never heard of, but purchased anyway. The upbeat Brits are working their way into my heart.
Colin Meloy- Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey
If you’ve been paying any attention to me at all for the last few years, or even the last few blurbs, you know I love The Decemberists. Meloy, their singer and songwriter, recorded this EP of Morrissey covers to sell at his solo shows. There weren’t very many made. Thank goodness for bit torrent.
The New Standards- The New Standards
John Munson (Trip Shakespeare, Semisonic, The Flops) on double bass, Chan Poling (The Suburbs) on piano and Steve Roehm (Electropolis, also I saw him a few times when he toured with Matt Wilson) on vibraphone. They do stripped-down covers of everyone from Curtis Mayfield to Blur to Mott the Hoople to... uh... The Suburbs. This record has probably been panned all over the place, but I like it, in part because it seems to be irony-free. (Yeah, I like irony as much as the next guy, but ironic lounge covers of pop songs got old, like, ten years ago.)
Pernice Brothers- Discover a Lovelier You (and Nobody’s Listening)
Nobody’s Listening is a really nice live CD, worth hearing if you’re fan. Discover a Lovelier You is new material. It’s more of the same from Joe Pernice- great melodies, breathy vocals, smart lyrics. Discover a Lovelier You is in my top three for the year.
Rogue Wave- Descended Like Vultures
I really liked the first Rogue Wave record, and this one’s even better.
The Sugarplastic- Will
Ah, The Sugarplastic. It seems like they are always on the verge of being “discovered.” Maybe one of these years... But for now, they just keep putting out cool, interesting pop. This album’s a tribute to Will Glenn, the Paisley Underground luminary who died of cancer in 2001.
Brian Wilson- What I Really Want for Christmas
Can I put a Christmas album on this list? I just did. I love Christmas music, and I love Brian Wilson. I don’t always love how rock and roll-types sing Christmas music. Wilson keeps the vocals pure and mostly straight, but with cool arrangements. I really like this one.

(also)
The Go! Team- Thunder, Lightning, Strike
This was released in the UK in 2004. A modified version was released here in the US in 2005. I bought the 2004 import, but it’s so enjoyable that I couldn’t completely ignore it here.
 

Here are records I really liked, but was somewhat disappointed by:

Brendan Benson- The Alternative to Love
The New Pornographers- Twin Cinema
John Vanderslice- Pixel Revolt
All three of these records are from folks who have put out other records that are among my all-time favorites. They kind of never had a chance.
 

I liked these records:

Bullette- The Secrets
I just realized that I downloaded this from Bullette's site, but never went back and bought the CD. Oh. I see why. I have to send a check to her. I guess I will, though. I like this and I'd like to make sure she gets a little compensation.
Devin Davis- Lonely People of the World, Unite!
I can't remember where I first heard of this. The copyright says 2003, but Allmusic says it was released in 2005. Whatever. It's good. You might like it, too.
Robbie Fulks- Georgia Hard
I saw Fulks the night before my oral comps (is that what they were called?) in grad school. I didn't get to stay long, but I wanted to. This one's on the country end of the alt-country spectrum.
Petra Haden- Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out
So Mike Watt gave Petra Haden an 8-track tape with The Who's The Who Sell Out on one track, with the others tracks empty. She sang along and recorded the entire album a capella. It's not nearly as schtick-y as it sounds; in fact, it's quite good.
Melodious Owl- Transition EP
Local boys. I think they're still in high school. It's dance punk, which I only sort of like, but there's something kind of infectious about this.
Mercury Rev- The Secret Migration
I dunno. I really, really like Deserter's Songs, the only other Mercury Rev CD I own, and this isn't as good as that, but I like it. I'm not quite disappointed with this one; I guess it's what I thought a mere mortal Mercury Rev would sound like.
Polara- Green Shoes +4 EP
I know I've mentioned that I saw Ed Ackerson's band The Dig open for The Three O'Clock in 1985. He's still going strong. I have a handful of Polara releases; I like some better than others. This one is among the better.
Erich Strack- The Long Road Home
Full disclosure: this is my cousin's husband. And he reads this. I sure wouldn't pan it, now, would I? ha ha! There are some songs on here that I really like, some I like and one or two that don't do it for me. He likes to mess around with a bit of counterpoint, which I'm a sucker for. If you like straightforward midwestern rock and roll, you might check this out.
Kevin Tihista- Home Demons Volume 1
I really like Kevin Tihista a lot. He's been my most-listened to artist by far since I started tracking my listening habits with audioscrobbler. This is a collection of b-sides and demos. Quite good, and worth hearing, but not as essential as his other stuff.
Wolf Parade- Apologies to the Queen Mary
I think the tag at the Electric Fetus said FOR FANS OF THE ARCADE FIRE. I thought, "Well, I like The Arcade Fire well enough." I think if someone had put this on for me before I purchased it, I'd have thought it was The Arcade Fire. It's the borderline annoying vocals, I'm sure. But I still like it.
 

I liked these records, but they disappointed me a bit:

Eels- Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
Hmm... I may not have given this enough time. There are 33 songs here, and I’m pretty sure I’d like several of them a lot with a few more listens to find them. I like this overall, but there seem to be a lot of Eels-by-numbers tracks on it. I think I said the same thing about the last Eels record. I might give up on Eels.
Bob Mould- Body of Song
This was hailed as a return to form for Bob. And it is less electronic. I don’t mind the electronic stuff, and it’s a good CD, but I just didn’t connect to this like I thought I might.
Palliard- Palliard
It’s almost unfair to say this disappointed me, as I had never heard of them until I was convinced to buy their record. But the description I got made me think I would love it. I merely like it.
Supergrass- The Road to Rouen
I almost went to see Supergrass when they were touring the US, supporting their first record. Wish I would have. They’ve put out a few records that I really enjoy. This one’s good, and I may not have given it enough time to grow on me, but I don’t seem to be falling too hard for it.
 

I wish I had my money back:

Mike Doughty- Haughty Melodic
Yes, I’ve asked myself what I was thinking when I bought this record. I get Soul Coughing, Spoon, and Cake mixed up in my head. I have no idea why, or if I like any of them or not. Mike Doughty is from Soul Coughing. OK, whatever. I bought this when I read somewhere that John Munson played bass on it. Then the guy at the Electric Fetus told me he really liked it. So far, so good. But OH BOY, DID I OVERLOOK SOMETHING. Right there under the seventh song: Featuring Dave Matthews. Cripes. The whole record has that Dave Matthews-y lite groove. And Doughty's vocals are full-on lazy, nasal pseudo-hippie style. It’s truly awful. (However, if you live in central Iowa and/or went to college in the mid-to-late nineties and like that sort of thing, this is probably the record for you.)
Kathleen Edwards- Back to Me
I loved, loved, loved Failer. This one bores me to tears. It’s like a whole album of Failer outtakes. I hope there’s more good stuff in the future, because Edwards also puts on an excellent live show, and I hope I want to see her again sometime.
The Fiery Furnaces- Rehearsing My Choir
I suspected that I might not like The Fiery Furnaces, based on what I’d read about Blueberry Boat. Though I’m still intrigued by that album, I’ve never heard it. I heard some very good things about Rehearsing My Choir and decided it was time to check out The Fiery Furnaces. Um, yeah, I don’t like this record. At all.
Ben Folds- Songs for Silverman
Two words: Bore ring.
Sleater-Kinney- The Woods
I appreciate it when artists I like do something new. But sadly, I have to admit that I often find myself finding something new to listen to. I really love some of Sleater-Kinney‘s records. I had Dig Me Out on heavy rotation in my apartment all through grad school. They were noisy and boisterous, but still managed to throw some memorable melodies together. The Woods is noisy. But there’s less boisterous and more lethargic. And I could listen to that thing fifty times and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to hum any part of it.
 

I did not hear these artists' records in their entirety, but I would probably like them, based on what I did hear or already know about them:

Andrew Bird
The Kaiser Chiefs
Okkervil River
Sigur Ros
Sufjan Stevens