Five years, to the day. I just wanted to pay tribute to one of my favorite albums of the past decade. An LP with no shortage of great moments; each subsequent listen reveals something new.

God, I hope Bryce Dessner isn't jerking us around.

Still sounds amazing. My favourite track, either "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" or "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!", I can't split them.

That trilogy of "Decatur", "Chicago" and "Casimir Pulaski Day" is one of the finest 3 song streaks I've ever heard.

Edit: Quadrilogy. Grr..."One last "Whoo-hoo" for the Pullman..."

One of the best and most unique albums of the decade. It should probably be about 25 minutes shorter. But it has some of the quirkiest songs you just can't get out of your head.

Now all we need is a follow up.

Illinois is my number 9 album of the last decade, and my number 1 album of 2005. My favorite song shave got to be "Chicago" and "Casimir Pulaski Day" , both of which are incredible in completely different ways. Even the songs on the album that would normally be considered filler are great, and add to the mood of the album. In short- a modern masterpiece.

Now give us a new album Sufjan!

I, too, adore this album. The funny thing is that I only first heard it last year. In a sense, this is probably a good thing, as I don't know if I would have been as open to it in 2005 as I was last year. I have a long way to go, but it sure is nice when an album that is so different from my usual listening habits comes aboard and just sends me to the sky.

The whole thing plays like a musical with emotion, atmosphere and spirit! I feel wholly better after listening to it, as if I've been truly uplifted- there are only a few other albums that can manage it. Yeah, Illinois is pretty special.