Six Albums Turning 20 In 2025

2005 Was a Great Year For Hooky Guitar Pop

2005 was a big transition year for me, so I wasn’t totally aware of the many great guitar pop albums being released.

After leaving a full-time career in music, we had our first kid (a future music-lover named Lucy), I started a series of non-music jobs, and took some baby steps toward writing again. My listening at the time probably leaned more Wilco than Weezer.

I eventually found my way back to the music that’s foundational to my tastes, finally discovering some of the fantastic collections I missed. That’s the great thing about timeless guitar pop—it will always be there when you’re ready for it.

A few of these albums might be new to you, or maybe this will be a good reason to go back and listen with 2025 ears. (I know, I know…Out Of State Plates is a comp, but it features one of my favorite FOW songs ever, so it made the list.)

Either way, I’m sure you’ll find something to love below.

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⚡️ Which 2005 Guitar Pop Albums You’d Add To The List? 💥

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1. Teenage Fanclub—Man-Made

Released by Merge/PeMa in May, 2005

“Man-Made has just as many buzzy electric guitars and bashing drums as other Teenage Fanclub records, but they're mixed into something softer and more pillowy. The band's three singer-songwriters match the tone, vocalizing in a low hum that sounds like fluorescent lights clicking on.”—AV Club

“It would be too easy to say they’re aping the success that emerged from their wake, because really, they’re not…but fans will notice similarities to the best pop of the last 15 years.”—Dusted

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2. The New Pornographers—Twin Cinema

Released by Mint/Matador/P-Vine in August, 2005

“Twin Cinema is a very good album, one that both respects the power pop formula that has built The New Pornographers’ success and experiments with that formula with the kind of reckless swagger a lesser act could never hope to match.”—Slant Magazine

“While occasionally sounding like revenge of the flower people, Twin Cinema is the band’s most ambitious album to date, with songs swinging from fabulously faux-funk (‘Three Or Four’) to space-oddity folk (‘Falling Through Your Clothes’) to Summer of Love retro-pop (‘Broken Breads’).”—No Depression

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3. Brendan Benson—The Alternative To Love

Released by V2 in March, 2005

“The Alternative To Love’ is a record that spectra of ears will enjoy. It is as polished as it is surprising. And as enamoring about life as it is dissuasive about love.”—Drowned In Sound

“The pop classicist sprinkles magic dust across different styles: he's as bright and breezy as Evan Dando one moment, as resplendent as Phil Spector the next, and you could pit his bubblegum choruses against 1960s classics.”—The Guardian

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4. The 88—Over And Over

Released by EMK/Mootron in September, 2005

“Over and Over is another collection of robust California pop songs by the L.A. quintet, a band that intimately knows the touchstones of British and American rock, not to mention one whose lead singer (Keith Slettedahl) sounds like he just stepped off the British Invasion boat.”—PopMatters

“The members of The 88 are absolutely crackerjack at what they do, whether it's the big beat stomp and wailed vocal break on ‘All 'Cause of You’ or the steady build in intensity of ‘Battle Scar,’ each verse and chorus seeming more powerful than the previous.”—All Music

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5. Silver Sun—Disappear Here

Released by Invisible Hands in April, 2005

“This record attempts to prove nothing, and therein lies its brilliance. Everything about it sounds natural, comfortable, with nothing at all forced about the delivery. James Broad’s voice shifts pitch seamlessly, and the falsetto vocal harmonies are stronger than ever. For the fans, this will be an essential purchase anyway, but anyone who likes a bit of quirky power pop with unforgettable choruses and a dash of harmless pretentiousness could do a lot, lot worse.”—Drowned In Sound

“Powerful like Cheap Trick, harmonious like The Beach Boys, melodic like The Beatles.”—Power Pop Action

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6. Fountains Of Wayne—Out-Of-State Plates

Released by Virgin in November, 2005

“Glib little show-offs that they are, power pop whizzes Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood surround the expected covers on their rare-and-unreleased two-disc compilation with smart original leftovers, many of which meet melodic expectations with thrilling regularity.”—Spin

“Over the last ten years, FOW solidified themselves as a power pop collective conjuring up catchy hooked hits with outrageous themes and melodic riffs. And while this latest project highlights hit maker tunes like ‘Maureen’ and ‘The Girl I Can’t Forget,’ it also shows a more personal and aesthetic infused side to Chris Collinwood and Adam Schlesinger’s writing.”—Glide Magazine

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