2004 revisited: the very best of 2004 with a view from 2008

Everyone is starting to make their top ten albums of 2008 already, and it's starting to make me mad. I never understood making that list in November. For one thing the year isn't over, and there could be an album that could surprise you, even if you don't know it's coming out. But also, I just like making that list around Christmas and New Years. Call it a Holiday tradition of sorts. But I'm also in a sort of list making mood, so here we go.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be going back over the past few years and re-evaluating my best of lists. I've been going through a lot of new music lately, the majority of which comes from the past 4 years, so these lists will be edited versions: not what they were at the end of the year in question, but what I consider them to be now. So, without further ado, I begin with the year 2004, what I consider to have been the best year for music in quite some time.

1. Butch Walker - Letters

There isn't an album in my collection that I love as much as this one. Five star tracks from start to finish, this is my idea of the perfect album. The songs are excellent, great melodies and lyrics. The production is top notch, the instrumentation is perfect, the vocals sound nearly flawless, and I've never heard an album that flows along better than this one. The emotional intensity of this album is ridiculous: "Best Thing You Never Had", "Joan" and "Don't Move" still give me chills to this day. And don't forget the bonus track "Stateline", and acoustic ballad where Walker holds nothing back, where the vocals are so good that they draw you in completely. A break-up record that is in turns depressing, uplifting, and cathartic; this is quite possibly the most complete album of the 21st century.

2. Jimmy Eat World - Futures

In almost any other year, this album would have topped my list. Many Jimmy Eat World fans maintain that Clarity is their best album, but I am partial to this masterpiece. Everything is incredible, from the uplifting opener "Futures" to the epic closer "23". "Kill" is one of the most brilliantly written songs of 2004, a song that is a lyrically masterful as it is musically. But nothing on the album compares to "23", the epic seven and a half minute closer, shows just how far this band has come from it's humble beginnings. The production is perfect, the lyrics and vocals are better than ever, and the band has certainly never sounded better. This is an immensely personal record that has gotten me through a lot of tough times.

3. Green Day - American Idiot

Say what you want about Green Day, but if this is "selling out", then I'm definitely ok with it. It's far and away the most mature and well written album they have ever done. This is the kind of career defining album that every band hopes for, one that is nearly impossible to follow up (which is why we haven't heard a thing from them since). It brought good music back to the radio airwaves in a time when it seemed radio was dead. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" will undoubtedly be regarded as on of the best songs of the decade in five years time, but the singles are just the tip of the iceburg. Superb album tracks such as "Letterbomb" and "Whatsername" are still incredible four years later, and "Holiday" still remains the best anti-Bush song ever written. Lyrically and musically, this is sky high above the rest of the Green Day discography.

4. Keane - Hopes & Fears

One of the most listenable and accessable albums I have ever heard, I will admit that on first listen all the songs sort of run together. With more listens, I began to recognize the beauty of this record. The production is aces, the lyrics are stunning, but what makes this album is the voice. Tom Chaplin's voice simply sours across the album's 11 tracks. Songs like "We Might As Well Be Strangers" , "Bedshaped", and the album highlight "She Has No Time", start quietly and build into colossal epics. People compared this band to Coldplay, but honestly, they are far better, mostly thanks to Chaplin's rich and passionate vocals. Even the b-sides ("Snowed Under" and "On a Day Like Today") are exquisite.

5. The Killers - Hot Fuss

I am proud to say I was one of the very first on the Killers bandwagon, and the debut album from the Las Vegas quartet is still one that gets constant rotation in my collection. I don't think I've ever seen an album open stronger than this one, where the first five tracks are nearly flawless. "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine", "Mr. Brightside", "Smile Like You Mean It", and my personal favorite, "All These Things That I've Done", start things off in spectacular fashion. While the second half can't quite measure up, songs like "Change Your Mind" and "Midnight Show" still keep things going pretty well. The music is ridiculously catchy, almost without failure. The lone misstep comes in the form of the closer, "Everything Will Be Alright", a long and boring fade out that serves as a disappointing end to a great album, but everything else is great. B-sides "Under the Gun" and "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll" add a great deal to the second half.

6. Radford - Sleepwalker

Brilliant songwriting marks this little known band's second album, an addicting mix of hard edged alternative rock and introspective balladry. It's definitely true that this band can do the modern rock thing better than almost anyone else on the scene, but the true gold comes when the band slows things down. "Fake a Smile", "Out of the Dark", and especially the building closer "Anything" showcase a band at the peak of talent. Equal parts U2 and Our Lady Peace, this is one band that you need to check out.

7. Sister Hazel - Lift

Nowhere near as good as their career defining 2003 disc "Chasing Daylight", this one nonetheless has some of the best songs Sister Hazel has ever written. The piano based "World Inside My Head" is the lyrical and musical highlight, but tracks like "Surrender", "Another Me", and especially the stellar acoustic "In the Moment" make this album a worthy addition to both the Sister Hazel discography and any CD collection.

8. Low Millions - Ex-Girlfriends

An album full of break-up songs by a band led by Leonard Cohen's son, this is one of the more impressive debut album's I've heard in recent years. The lyrical aspect of the album is a bit depressing, self-despising to the nth degree and very R-rated, but the music is often far brighter than the subject matter. This band has a knack for writing great hooks, as evidenced by the huge choruses on "Eleanor" and "Statue".

9. Snow Patrol - Final Straw

"How To Be Dead" is one of the absolute best album openers I've ever heard, and gets this release started in truly great fashion. While a lot of the tracks in the first half sound similar, the album picks up with "Spitting Games" and "Chocolate", and closes off in brilliance with the ballad "Same". However, everything pales in comparison to the epic album centerpiece "Run", a spectacular song that stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it, and remains to this day one of my favorite songs ever. In many years this would have be the song of the year.

10. R.E.M. - Around the Sun

I feel like this is one of the most underrated albums ever. It's one of my favorite R.E.M. albums, thanks mostly to "Leaving New York" and "Around the Sun", the wonderful tracks that bookend the album, but I'm also a fan of "Make It All Okay" and the "Ascent of Man". The entire middle section is incredibly strong, and I think the album as a whole portrays a much larger array of moods than R.E.M. has ever been able to combine on a single album. People say that this years "Accelerate" was a triumphant return, but I still maintain that this is better.

Next up: 2005, obviously.