20.    Silvertide. This band is new to the rock scene for 2005 but after you’ve been to one of their shows, you will know why they belong on this list. They involve their audience in one of the most energy packed and hard hitting performances I have ever seen. And their debut album, Show and Tell, isn’t that bad either. Songs like "Ain't Comin' Home" have listeners trying to remember the events of their last alcohol induced amnesia while "Blue Jeans" has women everywhere taking off their clothes to be the devil in bed.

19.    The Exies The vocalistic stylings of Scott Stevens helped catapult this band into the top 25. Their latest album, Head for Door, gives listeners a showcase of that talent. Discovered in 1997 in Los Angeles, The Exies were thrust onto the national scene with their first album, Inertia, in 2003 only to come back with 2005’s edgier and harder sounding Head for the Door.  Fans cannot seem to get enough of the band and with singles like “What you Deserve” and “Ugly” under their belt, neither can some critics.

18.    No Address The boys from Florida hit it big this year with their album, Time Doesn’t Notice, a fantastic blend of 80’s punk rock and ‘90’s hard rock. The band’s guitarist, Justin Long, described their sound as Tom Petty meets Nirvana. No Address is guaranteed to have us singing at the top of our lungs well into 2006 with the infectious lyrics of “Perfect” and “When I’m Gone.”

17.   Seether If there is only one thing ever to be said about Seether, it is that their live show rocks even harder than their albums do. In fact, the only thing stronger than Seether’s lyrics and bass line is their growing fan base.

16.    The All American Rejects The Rejects came out strong in ’05 with Move Along. Fusing quite possibly the best drumming around with contagious vocals and daring guitar riffs, the Rejects are showing the world what pop music should sound like. So wave goodbye to pop tartlets like Britney and Ashlee. The boys from Stillwater, Oklahoma prove to be fearless and groundbreaking with their sound on Move Along.

15.    Jack’s Mannequin When Something Corporate’s singer, Andrew McMahon, found himself diagnosed with cancer in 2005, he never lost a beat. Instead of letting his illness bring him down, McMahon conquered even cancer to bring us “Everything in Transit” in 2005.

14.   Mudvayne All anyone has to do is turn on a radio to know why Mudvayne is at number 19 for 2005. It was impossible to listen to any rock station longer than 10 minutes in ’05 and not hear the band’s infectious “Happy.”

13.  Bon Jovi The pretty faced Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora returned to the rock scene with Have a Nice Day in September and quickly made nay-sayers eat their words. The album, which mixes sounds from the classic ‘80s Bon Jovi with the newer, hipper sounds of 2005, comes together to make it the best Bon Jovi album since Slippery When Wet and New Jersey. The new sound of Bon Jovi proves that the rockers have what it takes to withstand the test of time as the 40 somethings (give or take) rock out our iPods and our dreams.

12.  Chevelle Rocking us out with songs like “The Clincher” and “Vitamin R”, the Chicago based trio of brothers has had everyone from your 10 year old cousin to your best friend singing along and asking for more. Chevelle’s album, “This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)” is filled to the brim with attention grabbing guitar riffs, heavy bass and oh, Pete Loeffler’s voice doesn’t hurt things either.

11. Shinedown With singles like “Save Me” leading off their latest, Us and Them, Shinedown is quickly cementing their place into rock and roll history. Still not a believer, stop and listen to frontman Brent’s soul stirring vocals on the remake of “Simple Man.”

10. Def Leppard What can I say, you could not have the rock we have today without the influence of the ‘80s hair bands. 2005’s release of a greatest hits album, Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection” kept all of us rocking to an old school tune. 2006 promises to be an even bigger year for Def Leppard as the boys who brought us the original “Photograph” are set to release a new album in the spring.

9.   My Chemical Romance There can be no doubt that 2005 was the year for My Chemical Romance and their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.  With tracks like “Helena” and “I’m Not Okay” the album has become an instant classic.

8.   Fall Out Boy Wow, this band just rocks! From Under the Cork Tree amazed listeners and gave the rock world a brand new sound. The album is as edgy as it is upbeat and as exciting as it is amazing. Bottom line: If this album is not in your collection by now, you suck. Go out and get it and don’t tell anyone you were this late getting on board.

7.  Breaking Benjamin This band is awesome. There simply is nothing bad to say about Breaking Benjamin and their release, We Are Not Alone. This year the band could be found touring with 3 Doors Down, No Address, and Silvertide and they were stealing the show. When Ben Burnley and crew take the stage, the show isn’t about pyro and big obnoxious productions, the show becomes Breaking Benjamin connecting with the audience. 2005 saw Breaking Benjamin shoot down everything negative ever said about them with the singles “So Cold,” “Sooner or Later,” and the ever so beautiful “Rain.”

6.  Our Lady Peace With 2005’s, Healthy in Paranoid Times, Our Lady came out of the gates running with hit after hit after hit. The first single off the album, “Where Are You” gave listeners a breath of fresh air with its edgy sound and catchy hooks. Our Lady Peace doesn’t hesitate to bring in musical elements from other genres and who could forget the perfection found in Raine Maida’s voice.

5.   Foo Fighters It’s Dave Grohl. I should not have to explain why In Your Honor helps top out this list.

4.   Theory of a Deadman Gasoline was probably the biggest surprise of 2005. This was the album. Several months after its release and I still cannot get this album off of repeat.  Songs like “Hello Lonely,” “No Surprise,” and “Santa Monica” took my breath away and left me wanting more. I challenge you to find a song on Gasoline that is not perfect. Tyler Connolly and crew have found the perfect combination for rock music.

3.   3 Doors Down  First of all, I need to admit that I am a bit of a 3 Doors Down geek. This is the band of all bands for me. I have bought all of their albums (even the live one) on the day they came out and I have not been disappointed yet. Seventeen Days proved to be no exception. If anything, this third album is the best yet with it’s edgier sound, rocking guitars and amazing vocals. “Landing in London” showed listeners that Brad Arnold has what it takes to hang with the rock legends (Pete Seeger) and “Behind Those Eyes” kept us throwing down. Amazing is the only word that I have for 3 Doors Down and they just keep getting better. Damn, I LOVE this band.

2.    Trapt  Fantastic, amazing, great, awesome. All of these could describe Trapt’s Someone in Control but perhaps it is better stated by saying, this album fu**ing rocks! The only thing better than listening to Chris Brown’s vocals and Simon Ormandy’s outstanding guitar playing on this album is going to be catching them do it all live. “Lost Realist” and “Bleed Like Me” need to be nominated for some serious awards while “Skin Deep” and “Influence” are as infectious as they are fantastic. Listeners simply can not get enough of this band. This is the album that I managed to wear out my Ipod with and the one that will have many, many more Ipods calling it quits.

1.    Nickelback Although they arrived late in 2005 with the October release of All the Right Reasons, Nickelback did make one helluva an appearance this year and they are sure to top next year’s list as they have us rocking with singles like “Photograph,” “Animals,” and “Rockstar.”