Top 10 Albums of 2004

10. Snow Patrol - Final Straw
A wonderful, catchy, pop-driven record from the Scottish band of happy campers, "Final Straw" hits you over and over again with hooks that stand strong among the indie music elite. This is coming in at #10 because Gary Lightbody has some work to do on his lyrics. The music itself is bordering on genius, but his lyrics lack maturity. Also, get rid of the breathy singing, and you've got a recipie for greatness.

9. Trashcan Sinatras - Weightlifting
It was a sad, sad day when the Trashcan Sinatras faded from view after their last UK-only release, "A Happy Pocket." The Scottish band were the forerunners of a sound picked up by everyone from early Radiohead to Franz Ferdinand. They're back though, with a record that definitely does show their age (which is why they're at #9), but has some of the brightest spots on any record this year. If you can listen to "Got Carried Away" without getting choked up, you've got no soul. Frances Reader's vunerable, water-like voice has only improved with age, making it even more heartbreaking than before. Brilliant comeback.

8. Garden State Soundtrack
I hate to add a soundtrack on this list, but look at some of the stuff included on this: two from The Shins, Zero 7, Coldplay, Nick Drake, Frou Frou, Colin Hay, and a Postal Service cover by Iron and Wine? You simply cannot beat it. The best compilation in years, hands down.

7. Aqualung - Still Life
Beautiful, breathtaking, subtle, delicate... all these words come to mind while listening to this simply stunning disk. "Brighter Than Sunshine" is probably the most uplifting lovesong ever written. Singer/songwriter Matt Hales is classically trained, and he's filtered that training into this gorgeous, simple pop that just flows brilliantly.

6. Interpol – Antics
The New York band's follow-up to the updated Joy Division vibe of "Turn on the Bright Lights" is far better than the prior. It's more experimental, lyrically more interesting, yet simpler and not trying quite as hard. I'm not sure how that's possible, but they've done it. This is a sophomore release that proves Interpol will be a force to reckon with for years to come.

5. Nick Cave - Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave is a poet. The poetry is whispering, intense, brilliant. This is not a record to listen to in the background... this one demands every ounce of your attention. You need to concentrate on what he's saying, and how he's saying it. It's intelligent and witty, it's sad and lovely, it's a testament to a great man who's matured in a way that few artists can hope to imitate, but all should aspire to.

4. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
It took me a while to love Mike Skinner, and now I just can't let him go. He can take the simplest concept of the everyday little struggles that's a part of each of our lives, and he turns it into urban poetry that literally every person of a certain age can relate with, no matter which side of the world they live on. This is a more introspective album than his last, and it shows how he's grown as an artist and as a musician. It's a record that has you laughing and crying and thinking and begging for more. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

3. The Killers - Hot Fuss
Ok, we all know about the 80s invasion, the 80s flashback, the everything 80s, the hey-weren't-the-80's-cool time we all live in. Scratch the surface of the Psychedelic Furs-meets-Duran Duran-ity of The Killers and you'll find that Brandon Flowers has one of the best voices in music today, the lyrics are simple but have some deeply intelligent spice thrown in (the Biblical flashback of "turning snakes into the sea," in the paranoid jealousy song, "Mr. Brightside," is just one example)... all wrapped within jump-off-your-seat and dance music just makes for one hell of a good record.

2. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Without a doubt the most important indie record of the year. Put the Plimsouls, Haircut 100, and Bryan Ferry's swagger from 80s-era Roxy Music into a blender, and out comes Franz Ferdinand. The deeply layered music, gender-bending lyrics, and Alex Kapranos' sexy, loungey, Peter Murphy-esque vocals pull you in for the most listenable and interesting music I've heard in a long time. Just because someone says a record is important doesn't mean you should buy it. Listen to "Take Me Out," and "Darts of Pleasure," and I dare you not to fall in love with it.

1. Keane - Hopes and Fears
The first time I heard a Keane song, "Somewhere Only We Know," I thought it was good. The second time I heard it, I thought the singer had a great voice. The third time I heard it, I listened to the lyrics closely and it reminded me of a dream or a memory... I couldn't tell which. Then I heard the whole record, starting with "Bedshaped," and have not felt that way about a band or a record in recent memory. Every song is an absolute masterpiece of emotion and honesty. Sonically, the songs blend together perfectly without all sounding the same (quite a feat, as pianist Tim Rice-Oxley writes all the songs), creating one of the most well-constructed albums I've ever heard. Tom Chaplin's voice is not of this world... I'm still not convinced he's human. Richard Hughes is simply one of the best drummers working today. The album as a whole is an epic, moving tribute to love and loss and friendship and insecurity. I can't seem to get sick of it, and I can't seem to listen to it enough. This is, without a doubt, the best album of 2004.