Best Records of 2005: #2 Ryan Adams - 'Jacksonville City Nights'

Ryan Adams’ second dose of himself this year did something that its immediate predecessor (Cold Roses) didn’t – it made me a true believer again. Ryan Adams’ solo career has been, for me anyway, a slow, steady loss of faith – faith in the fact that a born rock star could also be a serious artist, one of the great ones. Hitting new depths of insincerity with 2003’s two-headed misfires (Rock N Roll, Love Is Hell), Adams has pulled together a crack team of players in The Cardinals and delivered his finest work since Heartbreaker.