Top 10 CDs of 2005

1. The White Stripes
   Get Behind Me Satan (Third Man/V2)
   Fleetwood Mac's Tusk meets ... Jack and Meg!
   
2. Porcupine Tree
   Deadwing (Lava/Atlantic)
   Standard-bearers of the new progressive rock.
   
3. Kanye West
   Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella)
   Rapper King floats and stings.
   
4. Trey Anastasio
   Shine (Columbia)
   A personal high in the studio.
   
5. Beck
   Guero (Interscope)
   Dig the lo-fi brouhaha!
   
6. The Rolling Stones
   A Bigger Bang (Virgin)
   "Dead men" come out rocking.
   
7. Bruce Springsteen
   Devils & Dust (Columbia)
   A spellbinding set of deep, detailed narratives.
   
8. Sufjan Stevens
   Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
   Brian Wilson meets Philip Glass.
   
9. Robert Plant and The Strange Sensation
   Mighty Rearranger (Sanctuary/Es Paranza)
   Another step forward — by a band full of ideas.
   
10. TIE:
    EELS
    Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (Vagrant)
    Sleater-Kinney
    The Woods (Sub Pop)
    E remembers, S-K rages. Both bring the passion.

Top 10 Movies of 2005

1. The Incredibles
   (Pixar/Disney)
   Incredibly entertaining movie, demo-quality DVD — and fabulous extras, darling.
   
2. Raging Bull
   (MGM)
   The fight film that's never been beat gets the upgraded picture and sound it deserves.
   
3. Laura
   (20th Century Fox)
   Killer noir comes restored, with solid commentaries and bio-documentaries.
   
4. Sideways (20th Century Fox) Funny meets profound in a perfectly satisfying blend.
   
5. Ran
   (The Criterion Collection)
   King Lear leaps off the stage to spectacular effect.
   
6. Sin City
   (Dimension)
   Innovative filmmaking gets a DVD with looks and extras to burn.
   
7. TIE:
   Hotel Rwanda
   (MGM)
   L’Eclisse
   (The Criterion Collection)
   A humanist drama and a modernist masterpiece — both profoundly affecting.
   
8. The Aviator
   (Warner)
   A great, Oscar-winning mix of Hollywood glamour and disease-battling biography.
   
9. Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith
   (Lucasfilm/20th Century Fox)
   An epic of myth and technology that makes for thrill-filled home theater.
   
10. King Kong
    (20th Century Fox)
    The classic adventure is restored and accompanied by four hours of documentaries.

The Top 5 Games of 2005

1. God of War
   (Sony; PS2)
   
2. Resident Evil 4
   (Capcom; Gamecube, PS2)
   
3. Shadow of the Colossus
   (Sony; PS2)
   
4. Burnout Revenge
   (EA Games; PS2, Xbox)
   
5. Call of Duty 2
   (Activision; Xbox 360)