The Best Albums of 2004

Social networking sites such as MySpace and Purevolume enabled amateur artists to promote their music, and thanks to the internet, many underground unsigned artists become discovered and well known amongst alternative subcultures. The revival hit a peak in 2003–04. Franz Ferdinand from Scotland also became popular with their debut album in 2004. Though drawing on an indie sound, none of the groups were derivative in a way that could be described as retro. In 2004, Las Vegas-based alternative rock band The Killers released their successful debut album, Hot Fuss, spawning hits like “Mr. Brightside” and “All These Things That I’ve Done”. New York-based act The Bravery became popular the following year. Here are all of the 2004 albums ranked.

Don’t miss out on the CLASSIC music of 2004 below! Click to experience great songs!

10. Hopes And Fears (Keane)

“Don’t just go by the singles on this album, the nonsingles are as good if not better for me. The whole album is great and definitely one of my top 40 albums of all time, it’s full of emotion and easy to relate to. Songs such as Sunshine, She Has No Time, On A Day Like Today, We Might As Well Be Strangers, and can’t Stop Now are top quality songs among any bands for me.”

9. Mm.. Food (MF DOOM)

“This album is incredibly underrated. It takes everything that I love about hip hop and uses it in some of the most interesting ways possible. The first thing that I want to talk about is how diverse MF DOOM can be, while also sounding incredibly consistent. He relentlessly spits energetic and hilarious puns about his food obsession, this alone is incredibly unique.”

8. Antics (Interpol)

“Antics begins by lighting a slow-burning fuse titled Next Exit. A somber, hypnotic opener introducing the listener, reluctantly, to the forthcoming tale of social turbulence. Vocalist Paul Banks remarks, “You’ve been building up steam, ignited by this fight, so do this thing with me instead of tying on a tight one tonight”, calling for bravery in the face of a discouraging, drug-infused descent. The fuse then greets the explosive with the second track, Evil.”

See more: Interpol Albums Ranked

7. Franz Ferdinand (Franz Ferdinand)

“A fresh and utterly infectious album. Obviously hugely inspired by Talking Heads, still, Franz Ferdinand’s debut was a thoroughly enjoyable and original album. Unfortunately, considering all the excitement over their first record, they never really managed to follow it up. Still, this is a standout album of the 2000s.”

6. Good News For People Who Love Bad News (Modest Mouse)

“This is Modest Mouse on a whole new level and some of their fans don’t like it but I think they’re really rockin’. Previous efforts were stuck in that hillbilly indie plunkin’ rhythm thing that’s so popular with those who want music they deem “authentic” but hey even The Clash learned to play their instruments and rose to a higher level and I think that may be what’s happened here.”

5. The College Dropout (Kanye West)

“It has a lot of really really good songs and sort of a consistent thematic through-line, to go with the best beats that soul Kanye ever made and arguably the best rapping of his career. The only reason I don’t rate it higher is the length-75 minutes with a ridiculous amount of skits and a stupid long closer.”

4. Hot Fuss (The Killers)

“The beginning of this album is one of the strongest 5-track runs I can think of; unfortunately it overshadows the back half of the record. The Killers came out swinging with this one and so many of these songs are instantly recognizable, there is no denying that Hot Fuss is a formidable force.

See more: The Killers Albums Ranked

3. American Idiot (Green Day)

“This album has one of the strongest contrasts between opening and closing songs I can think of. American Idiot is a rapid-fire two and a half minutes of politically oriented rage that capture how the main character feels while still stuck in suburbia, a song that has no personal focus whatsoever.”

2. Madvillainy (Madvillain)

“Madvillainy is the result of the collaboration between rapper MF DOOM and beatmaker Madlib. First of all, MF DOOM is one of my favorite rappers: he is a major figure in underground rap and I like the mystery hovering around him.”

1. Funeral (Arcade Fire)

“The opening menagerie from the Arcade Fire’s debut album, “Funeral,” plays out a frosty mini-apocalypse, complete with icy parents, tunnels under the snow, a vampire brother, and a year of darkness. “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” introduces the metaphorical End Of The World, as snow buries the houses and our narrator and his lover make their way alone (“we let our hair grow long and forget all we used to know”).”