Greetings, music fans. Below you will find, in Shanghaiist's humble opinion, all the music you should have been listening to in the first half of 2005. And if you haven't been able to check these albums out yet, you still have plenty of time to load them on to your mp3 player of choice before 2006. Five Shanghaiist contributors submitted five albums each for a total and 25 -- and they wrote exactly 25 words about each one (exactly, only if you are very lenient with your rules of hyphenation). And yes, we are aware that these "Best of the Year (so far)" lists should really happen at the end of June and not at the end of July. But we're a start-up blog in China -- you expect us to be organized?

Albums are listed alphabetically by artist. Don't see your favorite music here? Tell us your picks in a comment. We're always looking for new music to downl-, er, buy.

Analord Series 1-11 by Aphex Twin

This 41 tune arsenal of vicious and delicious analogue-inspired retro proto-acid sounds make cells regenerate. Unfortunately, vinyl only. CD rumor. Ironically accessible AFX jams, though.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site

Untilted by Autechre

Sensitive and familiar ears shall be thrown deeper into the abyss of phonic abstractions that is English IDM outfit Autechre. Analog bliss. Bold and soulful.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site

The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird

We were somewhat -- no, very -- surprised to like an album by a former Squirrel Nut Zipper, but we've always had a thing for professional whistlers.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left" | Stream the entire album

I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning by Bright Eyes

Often recalling Hallowed Ground-era Gordon Gano, precocious Nebraskan singer-songwriter Conor Oberst delivers a sterling album of country-twinged love songs with New York as the backdrop.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "We Are Nowhere And It’s Now"

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Shhhh. Hear that? If you are quiet, you can hear the buzz surrounding this Brooklyn band from any spot on Earth. Arcade Fire for 2005.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "In This Home On Ice" | "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood" | "Over and Over Again (Lost & Found)"

Beauty and the Beat by Edan

A veritable smorgasbord of delightful beats and samples underscores Edan's intensely colorful lyricism, leaving us "fumbling over words that rhyme" to express our immense satisfaction.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site

Demon Days by Gorillaz

The moaning moods of Damon Albarn season Dangermouse’s 8-bit beatsauce. Cleverly pretentious ... surprisingly danceable ... the music matches the sharp contours of Jamie Hewlitt’s cutup characters.

Buy | Reviews | Official site

Madvillain: Remixes[2xEP] by Koushik & Four Tet

The best hip hop record of 2004 remixed? Twice? We'll take it, the more DOOM the better. Grab these two, grab the original ... aural pleasure.

Buy (iTunes) | Reviews | Official Site

LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem

A record nerd’s hubris excessively realized in spare production and beautifully token melodies, LCD makes a break from overproduction, heading off on New Wave tangents.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | Stream Album

Multiply by Jamie Lidell

A nod to the soaring dramatics and inflamed funkiness vintage r&b, Lidell’s full-bodied soul has staggeringly fervent hooks and balancing moments of lean strut.

Buy | Reviews | Official site

Tesri by Robert Lippok and Barbara Morgenstern

To Rococo Rot heavyweight Lippok teams up with the contemplative piano of Morgenstern. A joyfully dense and impeccable album of thinking-cap music. Personal favorite.

Buy | Review | Listen (samples)

Face The Truth by Stephen Malkmus

Talk about brilliant bookends. If opener “Pencil Rot” was on Guero instead, Beck may have made this list. And closer “Malediction” is gentle wah-wah genius.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "Baby C'mon"

Arular by M.I.A.

MIA’s sing-song chant locks into global village electro in a hail of 808 gunfire and cataclysmic bass. Aggressively lo-fi, Arular is nothing short of earth-shattering.

Buy | Reviews | Official site

The Sunlandic Twins by of Montreal

"We'll have bizarre celebrations," sings Kevin Barnes, and that's exactly what this album is. This is what happens when indie psych-pop boys play with computers.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "So Begins Our Alabee"

Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River

No new Wilco album this year? Not to worry. This Austin band offers homespun tunes and stories ... and some of the year's weirdest album art.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "For Real" | "Black"

The Wedding by Oneida

Speaking of weddings, this won’t get played at too many. Unless, like us, the bride and groom are into warped psychedelic rock droning away relentlessly.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "Did I Die"

Let Us Never Speak Of It Again by Out Hud

An East Village melding of dance punk and cosmic jam-banding, group’s latest air-dries its sandal-rock roots and lunges at post-disco meditative excess with snares.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "2005 - A Face Odyssey"

Surrounded by Silence by Prefuse 73

These sounds permit the spirit of hip hop to breath archetypal oxygen. Don't refuse Prefuse. Sample-addicts unite and listen. Collaborations galore don't spoil the chore.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site | "Hide Ya Face"

The Further Adventures of Lord Quas by Quasimoto & Mad Lib

Stop dry-humping Quasimoto's previous releases and prepare yourself for The Unseen II by steeping your tympanic membranes in another fresh Mad Lib collaboration. Solid boom.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site | "Rappcats" (vid) | "Bullyshit" (vid)

Fallen Leaf Pages by Radar Brothers

“Violently boring” screams one review. It must be Shanghai, but we guess we need to be violently bored from time to time. Slow and sublime.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "Papillon"

A Healthy Distrust by Sage Francis

Slam-poet-cum-hip-hop-iconoclast, Sage bucks trends and speaks his mind in an attempt to relate his personal reality of refreshingly accessible cynicism.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site | "Dance Monkey"

Gimme Fiction by Spoon

A feast of grubby synth, crackling guitars and handclaps, with a lick or two of outlandish disco. "Was It You?" perfectly distills the year 1982.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "I Turn My Camera On"

Illinois by Sufjan Stevens

The second of Fifty States, Illinois defies definition, reflecting its composer's complexity. In an age of singles and MP3s, Sufjan Stevens keeps the LP relevant.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site | "Come On, Feel The Illinoise!" | "Casimir Pulaski Day" | "The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts"

Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes

After laying down the gauntlet on opener "Blue Orchid", Jack and Meg offer a guided tour on a journey that showcases the band's evolving sound.

Buy | Reviews | Official Site | "Blue Orchid" (vid)

Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade

This album "officially" doesn't get released until late September, but jump on this Montreal band's bandwagon now. Partially produced by Isaac Brock, and it shows.

Buy | Reviews | Official site | "You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son"

Compiled by Edward Dabbagh, Jeff Jorve, Shamus Sillar, Dan Washburn and Adam Williams.