Top 50 Albums of 2004

This is the moment everyone's been waiting for, the proof that I really have no life. These are my 10 favorite albums of 2004, in order (roughly), with five word descriptions (or less) and an MP3 (mostly legal and only when I could find a link). (Also, for the MP3s, many are links to InSound and betterPropaganda.) I'm going to keep editing this list, and some rankings may change. Hope you enjoy it, I worked very hard. Any comments, questions, suggestions, let me know.

1 - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Shake the Streets

http://www.tedleo.com/

Rockin' punk originally from Jersey

MP3: "MeAndMia"

2 - Moonbabies - Orange Billboard

http://www.moonbabies.nu/

Swedish, LIYL My Bloody Valentine

MP3: "Sun A.M."

3 - Saturday Looks Good to Me - Every Night

http://www.saturdaylooksgoodtome.com/

50's sounding rock from Detroit

MP3: "The Girl's Distracted"

4 - The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed

http://www.themountaingoats.net/

One guy whining with guitar

MP3: "Palmcorder Yanja"

5 - Annie - Anniemal

http://www.anniemusic.co.uk/

Very poppy electro with vocals

6 - Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street

http://www.kingsofconvenience.com/

Erlend Oye's better known project

MP3: "I'd Rather Dance With You" Live at Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, October 31, 2004

7 - Erlend Oye - DJ Kicks

http://www.erlendoye.com

An indie DJs DJ mix

8 - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/

Scottish rock that everyone's heard

9 - Joanna Newsome - The Milk-Eyed Mender

http://www.walnutwhales.com/

More quirky than Bjork?

MP3: "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"

10 - The Arcade Fire - Funeral

http://www.arcadefire.com/

Canadian band hard to describe

MP3: "Wake Up"

11 - Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

http://www.rilokiley.com/

This band does no wrong

MP3: "Portions for Foxes" Live at Good Records, Dallas, TX, October 23, 2004

12 - The Killers - Hot Fuss

http://www.thekillers.co.uk

More poppy than The Strokes?

MP3:

13 - Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days

http://www.ironandwine.com/

Guy and his guitar folk

MP3: "Naked As We Came"

14 - Annimal Collective- Sung Tongs

http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/ . . .

Beats the hell outta me

MP3: "Leaf House"

15 - Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans

http://www.sufjan.com/

Snowy folk with Christian overtones

MP3: "Sister"

16 - A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder

http://www.acnewman.net/

Lead singer of New Pornographers

MP3: "Miracle Drug"

17 - Of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic

http://www.ofmontreal.net

Acid was involved in recording

MP3: "Lysergic Bliss"

18 - The Streets - A Grand Don’t Come for Free

http://www.the-streets.co.uk/

New breed of British hip-hop

MP3:

19 - Interpol - Antics

http://www.interpolny.com/

Just like their last album

MP3: "Slow Hands"

20 - Feist - Let it Die

http://www.listentofeist.com/

Every song is completely different

MP3: "Mushaboom"

21 - Phoenix - Alphabetical

http://www.wearephoenix.com/

French electro-pop band

MP3: "Everything is Everything"

22 - Joy Zipper - American Whip

http://www.joyzipper.tv

I really like electro-pop

23 - The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike

http://www.thegoteam.co.uk/

Left this description to last

MP3: "Power is On"

24 - Walkmen - Bows and Arrows

http://www.thewalkmen.com/

They appeared on The O.C.

MP3: "Little House Of Savages"

25 - Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters

http://www.scissorsisters.com/

Somewhere between Elton and Prince

26 - Maritime - Glass Floor

http://www.maritimesongs.com

Poppy guitar music nothing more

MP3: "Sleep Around"

27 - Ratatat - Ratatat

http://www.ratatatmusic.com/

Two guitars and a computer

MP3: "Seventeen Years"

28 - Madvillain - Madvillainy

http://www.stonesthrow.com/madvillain/

Madlib and MF Doom hip-hop

MP3: "Accordion"

29 - Mirah - C'mon Miracle

http://www.krecs.com/mirah/

Often beautiful female vocals

MP3: "Jerusalem"

29 - The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Midnight

http://cardigans.com/

I like female lead singers

30 - John Vanderslice - Cellar Door

http://www.johnvanderslice.com/

Intelligent rock with electronic hints

MP3: "Pale Horse"

31 - The Roots - The Tipping Point

http://www.theroots.com/

Another solid album

32 - Kanye West - The College Dropout

http://www.kanyewest.com/

Should this be ranked higher?

33 - Murs - Murs 316 The 9th Edition

http://www.definitivejux.net/jukies/murs/

Murs and 9th Wonder hip-hop

MP3: "3:16"

34 - Wagon Christ - Sorry I Make You Lush

http://www.ninjatune.net/ninja/artist.php?id=35

Electronic music with some umph???

35 - Air - Talkie Walkie

http://www.intairnet.org/

Air make sweeping electronic music

36 - Wilco - A Ghost is Born

http://www.wilcoweb.com

How do you explain Wilco?

37 - The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat

http://www.thefieryfurnaces.com/

Not sure I get it

MP3: "Chris Michaels"

38 - Modest Mouse - Good News for People who Love Bad News

http://www.modestmousemusic.com/

They make poppy indie rock

39 - Magnetic Fields - I

http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/tmf.php

All songs start with "I"

40 - Prince - Musicology

http://www.npgonlineltd.com/

Prince does Prince again

41 - Death from Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine

http://www.deathfromabove1979.com/

These guys rock hard

MP3: "Romantic Rights"

41 - The Fever - Red Bedroom

http://www.thefeveronline.com/

Same realm as The Strokes

MP3: "Gray Ghost"

42 - The Bad Plus - Give

http://www.thebadplus.com/

Exciting jazz trio

43 - cLOUDEAD - Ten

http://www.dirtyloop.com/cLOUDDEAD.html

Hip-hop like you've never heard

MP3: "Rifle Eyes"

44 - Lambchop - Aw C’Mon/No, You C’mon

http://www.lambchop.net/

Two albums of southern goodness

MP3: "Something's Going On"

45 - TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

http://www.tvontheradio.com/

Brooklynites experiment with sound

MP3: "Dreams"

46 - Zero 7 - When It Falls

http://www.zero7.co.uk/

More female vocals than Air

47 - Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse

http://www.sonicyouth.com/

Grunge grandfathers make fuzzy music

48 - Mellow - Perfect Colors

http://www.mellow-workshop.com

The band's name says it

49 - Lali Puna - Faking the Books

http://www.lalipuna.de

German glitch-pop

50 - Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands

http://www.younggodrecords.com/Artists/DevendraBanhart/

Mostly indescribable quirky folk music

MP3: "The Body Breaks"