As usual I was unable to narrow down my favorite releases of the year to just ten. So here are Stereogum’s 14 favorite discs of 2004. To make it easier for myself, I arbitrarily disqualified compilations, reissues, and Brian Wilson. And for your listening enjoyment are links to a related remix/b-side/live cut/etc… for each entry on the list.
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14
DUNGEN Not On The Album: |
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13
LAMBCHOP Not On The Album: |
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12
MADVILLAIN Not On The Album: |
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11
THE ARCADE FIRE Not On The Album: |
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10
THE GO! TEAM Not On The Album: |
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09
ANNIE Not On The Album: |
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08
JOANNA NEWSOM Not On The Album: |
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07
WILCO Not On The Album: |
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06
ALOHA Not On The Album: |
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05
OF MONTREAL Not On The Album: |
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04
AIR Not On The Album: |
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03
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS Not On The Album: |
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02
SUFJAN STEVENS Not On The Album: |
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01
RJD2 Not On The Album: |
What albums rocked your iPod this year?
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see now that’s a better list then their stupid singles one. who knows maybe pitchfork’s only good at rating albums and are clueless when it comes to singles. but i guess even the “indie-est”(?) people fall victim to poppy crap.
not a bad list.
i’d add the ac newman solo jawn, cellar door by john vanderslice and rubber factory by the black keys.
and can someone please explain joanna newsome?
blonde redhead (misery is a butterfly), elliott smith (faboth), guided by voices (half smiles of the decomposed), deerhoof (milkman), david byrne (grown backwards), i heart huckabees soundtrack and lots of calexico and dios.
FINALLY, someone giving Aloha some love!
rjd2 is definitely a surprising choice. didn’t see that one coming.
and where are THE HIVES?
would someone try to shoot me if i mention franz ferdinand?
*eep*
yeah, i am a chump and what rocked my ipod b4 it got swiped wuz:
New ones from: Pixies, arcade fire,TV On The Radio, Elliott smith, sometimes Interpol,The Ocean Blue-waterworks, new U2, Scissor Sisters, Shins, morrissey you are the quarry, loretta lynn, holly golightly, a little bjork (no pun) hmmm what else………
i must be a schlub. someone at work just gave me ‘OC’ have a very merry chrismukkah. i like it though :)
Does anyone like The Ike Reilly Assassination? I thought their “Sparkle in the Finish” was the best album of the year by far.
modest mouse, stars, and kings of leon(british release date), pinback, arcade fire, blonde redhead, franz ferdinand, walkmen, interpol, and the album leaf. all the new albums from these guys we’re my favourites of the year. sometimes the early releases like modest mouse get overlooked.
1 i will not shoot anyone for mentioning franz ferdinand, his or her credibility will merely suffer…
2 i think the french kicks’ album, “trial of the century,” is brilliant and should be listed in someone’s year-end list.
I think you and I are the only people with Of Montreal in their top fives this year. So underrated but so great!
I really need to check out this Annie chick, apparently. Where’d she come from?
where are the hives? …holding onto 2003 where they belong. good riddance. i’d rather listen to funhouse.
as for rjd2, are you kidding? that’s your #1 record of the year? you didn’t include brian wilson on the list so that rjd2 could be #1? huh?
as for sufjan stevens… not so sure that record is better than joanna newsom, and at the same time devendra banhart is easily a better songwriter and far more original than sufjan stevens–yet he didn’t even make the top 14?
a list of “best” records is kind of pointless if you don’t include some kind of explaination.
Tegan and Sara? Anyone? Definitely rocking the shit out of my iPod.
i agree, aloha is great
I love how people get off picking apart other people’s lists. OMG! No Brian Wilson?! What, are you deaf? Puh-lease… there’s a reason Smile was never released in the first place. It’s yawnsville.
That said, I’ve heard all the records on your list (excepting the Lambchop one-two punch) and none of them would classify as favorites. WTG Scott!
that rjd2 album is easily the album that most disappointed me this year. i’ve been a fan since deadringer and ate up his production on stuff like soul position, “saliva: off of the first viktor vaughn, and diverse’s album. but man, i find “since we last spoke” flat-out horrible. please rj, don’t ever sing again. also, don’t ever write lyrics again. stick to what you’re good at – being shadow’s little knock-off dude.
“yawnsville” = lambchop and sufjan stevens
check out my list at http://www.mouco.blogspot.com
MODEST MOUSE RULES!!!
nice call on The Go! Team, they’ve definitely been rocking in a very Avalanches kinda way.
HELLO DIPLO/MIA MIXTAPE???
is the new Stars officially out yet? it sounds great though, so does the new Ivy. no Kings of Convenience? shame, shame…
Steve is right that RJD2 record is a complete yawn followed by a fart. Really nothing special there. Deadringer is his genius. And honestly, why the hate on franz ferdinand? New York hipsters are the worst humans ever. You write a song better than Jaqueline… buncha crack heads.
Random end note: new mars volta record sucks bawls
the new ted leo & phoenix albums.
Yes Douglas! TED LEO’s album is so so good!
Alexisonfire’s Watch Out!
my taste is a bit ‘pop’ but this was my top ten this year:
10. jill scott – beautifully human
09. mirah – c’mon c’mon
08. gwen stefani – lamb
07. prince – musicology
06. kings of convenience – failure
05. bjork – regina spektor
04. regina spektor – soviet kitsch
03. air – talkie walkie
02. rilo kiley – more adventurous
01. joanna newsom – milk-eyed mender
other honorable mentions…
? deerhoof- milk man
? rasputina – frustration plantation
? blonde redhead – misery is a butterfly
? scissor sisters – scissor sisters
? dani siciliano – likes
? wilco – a ghost is born
Hinterland: Under the Waterline
new blood brothers anyone?
My iPod this year rocked out to:
The hives
The arcade fire
Rilo Kiley
Deathcab for Cutie (counting for 2003)
Green day
Annie
Wilco
The go Team
Interpol
Franz
Good list!
According to Itunes my number one cd was that new Stars, but thats really just because I got both on the same day.
Without thinking about this too much, my top 7 (in no order)
Stars – Set Yourself on Fire
Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
Go Team – Thunder Lightning Strike
Black Keys – Rubber Factory
Arcade Fire – Funeral
AC Newman – The Slow Wonder
Iron & Wine – Our Endless, Numbered Days
i indeed second the blood brothers. also:
gary wilson, madvillain, interpol, sufjan stevens, feist (was that this year even?), arcade fire, tv on the radio… i’m sure there are others, but i’m home without my cd collection.
actively listened to the dungen album on the long drive back to ohio… so good. i just wish i knew what they were saying!
It’s all about Old Crow Medicine Show’s OCMS. Best of the year. And M83′s Dead Cities, Lost Seas, and Ghosts. I think that came out this year. that was great too.
my top 10 would have to include (in no particular order):
Dungen
The Go! Team
The Arcade Fire
Death From Above 1979
Xiu Xiu
Animal Collective
The Legends
Black Keys
Fiery Furnaces
Les Savy Fav
Stuff that i like a lot but haven’t gotten to listen to enough yet:
Mirah
Bloc Party (EP)
Annie
Devendra Banhart (Nino Rojo)
Les Georges Leningrad
Kings of Convenience
Shoplifting
Joanna Newsom
Saturday Looks Good To Me
The Beastles =P
What a pretentious, phony, lie of a list.
No Jolie Holland?
awesome list! i, too, loved the wilco, rjd2, and sufjan stevens albums. i would have added the streets and franz ferdinand (like everyone else). (oh, and adding your “catorce” favorites was so fucking clever.)
Sterogum is totally GOLD. I got the best xmas present browsing your site tonight when I found that Ric Ocasek and Rjd2 Collaboration that is not available on the CD. Ric’s about to start his own record company and us Ocasek nuts are anxiously awaiting his new solo CD ” Nexterday”.
Cheers!! To stereogum for the Joe Namath Drunken ” I wanna Kiss You” MPEG, The Beastles and now this newly found Ocasek magic.
Best Regards,
Ed and Nick
Sterogum is totally GOLD. I got the best xmas present browsing your site tonight when I found that Ric Ocasek and Rjd2 Collaboration that is not available on the CD. Ric’s about to start his own record company and us Ocasek nuts are anxiously awaiting his new solo CD ” Nexterday”.
Cheers!! To stereogum for the Joe Namath Drunken ” I wanna Kiss You” MPEG, The Beastles and now this newly found Ocasek magic.
Best Regards,
Ed and Nick
I haven’t heard much of anything on this list or in the comments, but I’m weary of all of it. I’m hearing everywhere how great Modest Mouse, The Hives and The Killers are. What I’ve heard so far, all a cure for insomnia. Even their names are bland. That much soulless, lifeless mediocrity makes me want to jump out a window. If I get to the second chorus and I haven’t heard any hooks, i’ll give up on the whole band, anymore.
When I listen to a lot of black R&B type music though, the contrast is stunning. It’s vibrant, innovative, passionate, sophisticated–and that’s just the vocals.
Modern rock just draws the life-force right out of me.
your list is fucking solid. props to the RJD2 and Of Montreal action. no props to your sufjan stevens action though.
i’m counting down my top 16 albums till Dec. 31st on my shitbox synapticblur.com.
man, i wish i had a good enough reason to put annie on there, i really do.
No The Go Find? Woe is Belgian Me.
I’m still trying to find MIA ft Diplo which should have been in your list. Ah well.
nobody knows them, but if they did they’d all include grizzly bear. hands down one of the best releases of the year. I’m feeling the dungen vibe too.
someone at my office burnt me that Grizzly Bear cd, i must agree, it’s actually really great. i have a feeling they are gonna be slow builders.
I love that RJD2 album as well…amazing. joanna newsom, could do without completely.
fantastic list, fantastic layout, fantastic inclusion of non-album tracks. top notch, thank you
in no particular order:
superpitcher – here comes love
gravenhurst – flashlight season
kings of convenience – riot on an empty street
joanna newsom – milk-eyed mender
arcade fire – funeral
sufjan stevens – seven swans
devendra banhart – nino rojo
air – talkie walkie
here’s mine..if anyone cares?
2004 Albums of the year 11/10 so far?:
1. Madvilliany ? Madvillian / Mmm?Food – MF Doom
2. Funeral- arcade fire
3. At last we spoke – RJD2
4. Devandra Benhart
5. The Grind date – De La Soul
6. College Dropout – Kanye West
7. SA-RA Creative Partners – singles.
8. Bubblegum – Mark Lanegan
9. To the extreme – Devin The Dude
10. Three sinister syllables / Piracy funds terrorism – M.I.A.
solid list, though i have some questions on the order. as for the Brian Wilson haters… as a record, SMiLE is certainly one of the best released this year (although I have to agree that some of the material was only a bit better than mediocre).
good lists everyone. dungen, madvillainy, sufjan, grizzly bear, devendra. you all have good tastes.
ugh, joanna newsom. bad list, just for that.
the rosebuds make out rocked my ipod.
here here! joanna sucks!
sadly overlooked:
http://www.reptilianrecords.com/reptilian/hatebeek.html
does no one else love telefon tel aviv? map of what is effortless is my #1 for the year.
Everyone, say it with me: WILCO IS THE MOST OVERRATED BAND ON EARTH.
Check out the Shanghai Diaries’ Top 25 of 2004 here. Lots o’ links.
here =
http://www.shanghaidiaries.com/archives/2005/01/03/the_top_25_albums_of_2004/
Eric,
Not so sure about your comment regarding Sufjan Stevens- He is far more interesting than Devendra. No offense to D. Banhardt, but he is extremely derivitive – ever listen to Tyranosaurus Rex?
I’d have to say there a few of my favorite records that got overlooked, I guess because everyone else thinks they suck.
Pinback – Summer in Abaddon
Hot Snakes – Audit in Progress
Q and not U – Power
…and I know the hate for this man which I don’t understand, but a great musician:
Ryan Adams – Love is Hell
Listening closely to the Drive by Truckers version of Hey YA has brought me to the following conclusion:
hipsters have rhythm.
Seriously, take a close listen to the audience clapping along with the song. It’s ridiculous.
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73EQzW-Hello guys! I love this blog!-73EQzW
Neutral Milk Hotel & The Postal Service. yes. And Annie.
guestebeseasapi
good list!