What a decade it’s been. 2004 was my first year in the so-called Real World; jobs, car payments, instability everywhere. Things weren’t all happy and seemingly upbeat like the mid 90s. After eight months in Seattle, I found myself unemployed and decided it was time for more education. I moved to the greater Portland area and began prep to enter a Masters in Business Administration program, taking night classes at WSU Vancouver and making a frequent trip out to Pullman, where I’d soon attend graduate school. The overall instability and open-your-eyes wake-up calls of 2004 seemed to extend beyond me. Two of the most honest and disturbing albums I’ve ever heard were released this year – another strong one in music overall.

Here are my favorite albums of 2004. Leave a comment if you have a favorite I didn’t include here, and feel free to let us all know why it would have made your list.

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20. Blueberry Boat by The Fiery Furnaces
From one that can tolerate some pretty out-there music, The Fiery Furnaces have always been a hard pill for me to swallow. Their harmonies are sometimes a bit too crazy, or their abruptness catches me off guard in the wrong way. EP, for me, was a bit more accessible with songs like “Single Again” and “Here Comes The Summer”, but there are some excellent tracks here as well, like “Blueberry Boat” and “My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found”, despite their sometimes 90 degree turns.

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19. Bright Like Neon Love by Cut Copy
Like many, I wasn’t familiar with Cut Copy when this album was released, nor was I in the years that followed. It wasn’t until In Ghost Colours was released in 2008 that this album came into view. “Time Stands Still” and “Saturday” are the album toppers here, and they channel the 80s electro-synth-pop and a Pet Shop Boys sound that’s become so popular today.

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18. On Vacation by The Robot Ate Me
Odd that Anacortes is a hot spot for some of the best truly underground music around. On Vacation by The Robot Ate Me is one of the most disturbing albums I’ve ever encountered. With subject matter on holocausts and mass genocide, and backed by sampled music from the 1920s and 1930s, this double disc is more than capable of creeping you out. Songs like “The Genocide Ball”, “Crispy Christian Tea Time”, and “Oh No! Oh My! (1994)” reminisce on old children’s tunes, a dance number your grandparents may have listened to, or the feel-good tunes of a long-forgotten yesteryear. Hearing that last number, “Oh No! Oh My! (1994)”, recounts the largest failure of the Clinton Administration – the refusal to do anything during the genocide in Rwanda. On Vacation is a masterpiece with shock value that will have you tapping your toes and singing along while you cry for humanity’s lost soul. It’s a portrayal of the civilized world at its worst – a political plea for us all to open our eyes and take a renewed look at the world in which we live. And it works.

The Robot Ate Me: On Vacation (Pt. 2) [mp3]

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17. Smile by Brian Wilson
The infamous Smile; the album that should have followed The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds decades earlier (Brian Wilson began work on Smile in 1966). Smile is a far cry from Pet Sounds , but Brian Wilson does his best in capturing the sound of that day, minus his then decaying mental state and the internal strife of his band. That Wilson resurrected the legendary lost Beach Boys album and finished it nearly forty years after initiation is astonishing, and listening to “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes And Villians” and even “Roll Plymouth Rock” – I for one am glad he did.

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16. In A Safe Place by The Album Leaf
In A Safe Place was my introduction to The Album Leaf, and it remains a favorite by Jimmy LaValle. Recorded with a few members of Sigur Rós in their studios, the album is a captivating instrumental dream. When vocals are added in tracks like “On Your Way”, the songs come full-circle for a truly affecting presence.

The Album Leaf: On Your Way [mp3]

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15. Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron & Wine
I tend to like Iron & Wine when their folk takes on a pop edge, as it did here on Our Endless Numbered Days. There’s more melody; a fuller overall sound. From the slide guitar in “On Your Wings” to the pure beauty that is “Love & Some Verses”, this is Sam Beam’s strongest album yet, with possible exception to his collaboration with Calexico for In The Reins. Some of the EPs and singles come close but they just don’t hold the overall power of this album.

Iron & Wine: Naked As We Came [mp3]

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14. Wild Like Children by Tilly & The Wall
Boy do I love multiple vocals and the hand-claps, knee-slaps, and foot-stomps (and even the tap-dancing!) in “Fell Down The Stairs”, and how they made a zombie-themed angsty teen-romance pop song with “Nights Of The Living Dead”. And the piano/percussion masterpiece “You And I Misbehaving” and “Reckless” and the list goes on! Wild Like Children by Tilly & The Wall is an album that will absolutely have you singing at the top of your lungs, clapping along, and slapping your knees in delight. The songs are indubitably catchy, and it’s hard to not get caught up in their glorious pop power.

Tilly & The Wall: Fell Down The Stairs [mp3]

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13. Fabulous Muscles by Xiu Xiu
Like On Vacation, Xiu Xiu‘s Fabulous Muscles is among the most disturbing of albums I’ve ever heard. Definitely in the top five. But it’s also one of the more accessible pieces of work by front-man Jamie Stewart. Songs like “I Luv The Valley OH!” and “Clowne Towne” are almost radio-friendly (we’re talking late-night college radio-friendly here). Yet songs like “Fabulous Muscles” and “Support Our Troops OH! (Black Angels OH!)” are almost painful to hear, not because of Stewart’s sometimes abrupt shrieks but because of their lyrical content about the tragedies of rape and war.

Xiu Xiu: Clowne Towne [mp3]

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12. Grab That Gun by The Organ
Channeling an 80s jangle sound, but swept away in the darker side of that era, this girl-group is fit for comparisons to The Smiths/Morrissey, The Cure, and Joy Division. Fronted by Katie Sketch’s powerful deep vocals, and backed by clever guitar and synth hooks, The Organ‘s short-lived existence is one that saddens by all who lay ears on their songs. Why did this band call it quits after just one album – an album that is so unbelievably good? In Hornby’s High Fidelity, Barry asks if it’s better to burn out or fade away. Had The Organ given us a disappointing second album, I doubt Grab That Gun would hold the power it does today. Now you know my answer to that question.

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11. Riot On An Empty Street by Kings Of Convenience
Not nearly as powerful as Quiet Is The New Loud, Riot On An Empty Street is still a more than worthy album. It differed from its predecessor slightly in that it the songs contain a hint more production, and the harmonies are a bit more refined. Many songs are just as good as that earlier album, like “Homesick” and “Misread”, and when they harmonize with female vocals on closing track “The Build Up”, pure bliss is experienced. Kings of Convenience are among the best folk-pop musicians in the world, and it shows in virtually every song they write.

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10. Good News For People Who Love Bad News by Modest Mouse
Let’s face it: when “Float On” came out, it remained on many of our playlists for some time. Even after that excellent video hit MTV and was subsequently overplayed by mainstream radio. While some of their earlier tracks (“Dramamine”, “Cowboy Dan”, “Dark Center Of The Universe”) will always maintain a higher level of greatness in our minds than most songs on Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse was still able to capture some of their early greatness despite major label treatment for this album. It was good back then, and it remains good to this day.

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9. A Grand Don’t Come For Free by The Streets
Some of the best concept albums have plots that span the album’s entirety. A Grand Don’t Come For Free absolutely fits that statement, and The Streets‘ hip hop sensibilities fronted by that immense British white-guy accent make it even better. “It Was Supposed To Be So Easy” properly conveys the stress of losing a grand, while “Blinded By The Lights” plants the listener in the protagonist’s mindset as the drugs take hold and club lights begin flashing. “Fit But You Know It” is the perfect wacko post-break-up, looking-for-a-rebound track. And “Dry Your Eyes” makes you want to weep like it was your heart that she broke.

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8. Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes by TV On The Radio
God “Staring At The Sun” was a great song. TV On The Radio has always been able to create an entirely dark song, conjuring mystic beasts of old, without being overly doom-oriented. They’ve proven it over and over again with tracks like “Wolf Like Me” and “Halfway Home”. And “Staring At The Sun” follows suit; sure, they may not be about such creatures but there’s something incarnate about these songs, a possession that isn’t entirely positive. TV On The Radio’s ability to create unique music further enhances their greatness.

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7. Summer In Abbadon by Pinback
This is easily one of Pinback‘s greatest works, as a whole and singularly. This band has mastered the staccato rhythm – that pointed, edgy, angst-filled riff – and it shines brightest on Summer In Abbadon. Their smooth rock vocals heighten that punch in the guitar, as does the consistency in percussion. I never truly loved this band until I heard “Syracuse”, even after fully enjoying some of their earlier work.

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6. Your Blues by Destroyer
My love of Dan Bejar’s Destoryer project didn’t really take hold until one night when my friend Andy (yes, I have quite a few that bear the name, including my girlfriend) made a mix-tape for his friend Katrina. We were at this ancient tiny turquoise one-bedroom in Belltown (Seattle’s downtown neighborhood). It was her place and she was having a party. I didn’t know anyone but her, Cassie and Andy, and I just sat around and drank red wine, which is what I tend to do in such situations, and which I am doing now. “Notorious Lightning” came on, and from there I was hooked. Those synth patterns were and are perfect, and when Bejar jumps in front of them yelling And someone’s gone too far before someone goes freeeeeeeeeee as a trumpet mimics his vocal pattern… it’s totally freakin’ breathtaking. Oh yeah, and the rest of the album is pretty decent too.

Destroyer: It’s Gonna Take An Airplane [mp3]

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5. Bows + Arrows by The Walkmen
For the time, Bows + Arrows by The Walkmen was about as good as it got. Those excessive unceasing percussive rhythms provided by Matt Barrick, namely in “The Rat” but also in “Little House Of Savages” as well as elsewhere on Bows + Arrows, were damn near perfect. Then there was that smokey haze of a vocal tenor provided Hamilton Leithauser was too, and the drone-ridden noisy guitars made it all the better. The lyrics When I used to go out I would know everyone I saw / Now I go out alone if I go out at all from the bridge in “The Rat” described perfectly my transition from college to the real world, and would eventually describe the same from grad school to my so called Real World Season 2.

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4. Set Yourself On Fire by Stars
What I like about doing these Retrospective thingies is that it allows me to include the “sleeper albums”; those that didn’t catch on right away. For me, Stars have always been such a band. I’ll give the album a listen, and be entirely disappointed. It’ll sit on the shelf for a month, three months, half a year, sometimes more. Then I’ll pick it up again and it’ll blow my f*ing mind. Set Yourself On Fire took a very long time to enter this realm, probably not doing so until nearly 2006. But man, whenever I hear that intro sample in the opening track, or that wild solo in “He Lied About Death”, or the beautiful arrangements in “Celebration Guns”, I come a hair closer to dying a happy man.

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3. Sung Tongs by Animal Collective
Each time I listen to Sung Tongs, I shuffle between “Leaf House” and “Who Could Win A Rabbit?” a few times before continuing. The tracks are just that good. Every time; never fails. Aside from the super strong introduction, Sung Tongs was really the introduction to Animal Collective for many of us who now consider the band among our favorites. And while it wasn’t really the first to enter this experimental electronic folk arena, I would absolutely credit AC with inspiring the current movement of artists that fit this realm, of which there are plenty.

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2. Satanic Panic In The Attic by Of Montreal
Psychedelic pop never sounded so dreamy as it did on Satanic Panic In The Attic. Of Montreal has always been a bit out there with their concepts – after all, they did release an entire album in which each song had “Dustin Hoffman” in the title. Satanic Panic, in my opinion, was the beginning of the Of Montreal heyday in which some of their best music was made. As a whole this kicked off a trio of genius psych pop. It’s hard to find a collection as strong, before or since.

Of Montreal: Disconnect The Dots [mp3]

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1. Funeral by Arcade Fire
Any other year between 2000 and 2009, I would say it would have been near impossible to beat Funeral (with exception to 2000 thanks to Kid A). But 2004 was packed with so many great albums. Still, Arcade Fire reigns supreme. Funeral is a brilliant album, and this band will have a very hard time topping it. The tracklist was superb, from the “Neighborhood” tracks to “Rebellion”. No weak points, whatsoever.

Arcade Fire: Rebellion (Lies) [mp3]

I’ve decided to create an installment in which I do a recap of my favorite albums of the past ten years now that we’re coming up on the turn-of-decade – yes, 2010 is upon us. They key: I do them one at a time. I figure contemplating the weight of albums that have been instituted in my library for the better part (or even just half) of a decade would warrant a skewed opinion when comparing them to those released just this month. And, as these things are all truly opinion-based, well I just couldn’t have that.

(Besides, an appreciator such as myself would have an even larger and more time consuming task ahead of them were they to go through the thousands of albums that have been released, listened to, loved, etc. over the past ten years. No, much easier to split it year by year. And yes, when available for public consumption, I’ll include an mp3 for your enjoyment.)

These are the albums that stick with you – or at least the ones that have stuck with me; they have longevity. They’re ones I’ll listen to for decades to come. We begin with my freshman year of college, 2000. Well, second half of my freshman year, that is. That being said, I would love for this to be a friendly dialog. So please feel free to chime in with some of your favorites as well…

Here we go: my top 15 albums of 2000…

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15. Fevers & Mirrors by Bright Eyes
Odd as it may seem here, Bright Eyes‘ Fevers & Mirrors was a favorite of mine around 2000 and 2001. Songs like “The Calendar Hung Itself” and “When the Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass” just fit with my persona at the time. I was a sad bastard back then, but I’ve outgrown that phase. Still, every so often I revisit those albums of old and it still astonishes me that I can feel good while listening to them. Fevers & Mirrors is one such album.

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14. Crooked Fingers by Crooked Fingers
Like Fevers & Mirrors, Crooked Fingers‘ self-titled LP had me in its grip for a long time. “A New Drink For An Old Drunk” was a perfect song back then, and in various scenarios today it works just as well. And who could forget “She Spread Her Legs & Flew Away”, or “Juliette”, or even “The Man Who Died Of Nothing At All”? Crooked Fingers was a difficult one for Eric Bachman to top; he didn’t until last year’s Forfeit/Fortune.

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13. The Great Eastern by The Delgados
I don’t think I started listening to The Delgados until sometime around 2004, possibly even 2005. And while my initial love was Hate, eventually the power of The Great Eastern took hold. Sure, specific tracks on Hate may stand out more than some on this record (“All I Need Is Hate”, for example), but as a whole I think The Great Eastern is more consistently good.

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12. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Containing only four songs, only one of which was under 20 minutes (“Antennas To Heaven” came in at just under 19, far from brevity), Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven is all about building up to those epic climaxes and throwing out spacey shoegaze-like drones while maintaining that almost classical music approach signature to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. To say this album is breathtaking would be an understatement. I’ll probably kick myself later for not putting it in the top 10.

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11. The Lioness by Songs: Ohia
The Lioness remains one of my all-time favorite releases by Jason Molina, no matter which moniker he may be using at the time of release. The only LP truly capable of exceeding its greatness is Trials & Errors (2004) by Magnolia Electric Co. Molina excels, especially under the guise of Songs: Ohia, at creating minimalistic country-folk tunes that on The Lioness dabbles lightly in a bit fuller sound.

‘The Lioness’ by Songs: Ohia

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10. Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse
Like many albums in this list, Moon & Antarctica remains a favorite of mine from the Modest Mouse catalog. It was around this time I really began expanding my music horizons and Modest Mouse was a band that helped push me down this path. Tunes like “I Came As A Rat”, “Gravity Rides Everything”, and “Dark Center Of The Universe” all carried me toward this true obsession with music, from which I doubt I’ll ever return.

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9. He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corner Of Our Rooms by A Silver Mt. Zion
A Silver Mt. Zion snared me in its trap – looking for some great study music but not willing to seek out the limited classical music of my parents and their parents (and not knowing the immense modern artists who were more than worthy), I ended up landing on A Silver Mt. Zion. And while it wasn’t always instrumental, at the right volume it worked perfectly. Only later did I come to truly fall in love with this album, as well as their brethren, Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

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8. Ugly But Honest by Carissa’s Wierd
I discovered Carissa’s Wierd from a magazine. It was a fairly random encounter, actually, but it led to an obsession like no other. I ultimately downloaded everything I could find from the band. Eventually, I would collect every album of theirs I could find – all in physical form, of course. To this day, the only item that eludes me is a rare 7″ single containing a remix or two; I even snagged a copy of that rare Scrapbook disc. I still find songs like “Drunk With The Only Saints I Know” and “Fluorescent Lights” to be among the most moving and personal songs around.

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7. It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water by Microphones
The great thing about A Retrospective is that it allows me to list all those albums that truly should have made my ‘best of’ list back in 2000. (Had I created one at the time, it is highly unlikely It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water by The Microphones would have made it on the list. It was just a little beyond my temperament at the time.) But these days, I cannot get enough of practically everything Phil Elverum does, this album included. That being said, as soon as I can muster the cash, I’m gonna snag one of those “Books 6 & 7″ copies by Mount Eerie from Easy Street Records. Damn.

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6. Live by Built To Spill
A collection of some of Built To Spill‘s best tracks recorded prior to 2000, from the astonishing Perfect From Now On (1997) to selections from Keep It Like A Secret (1999). It also includes an epic 20-minute rendition of Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer” and one of the best lyrical songs of the 90s: “Car”.

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5. Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons by Blonde Redhead
This is really a no-brainer. Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons has always been an album to look up to since its release in 2000. With songs so different – I mean, just listen to “In Particular” stacked up next to “This Is Not” and jump back to “Hated Because Of Great Qualities” – it’s amazing they go so well together. Then again, that’s something of which Blonde Redhead has always excelled: putting together exceptional tracklists.

‘This Is Not’ by Blonde Redhead

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4. Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant by Belle & Sebastian
I could say that Tigermilk was my first true love when it comes to Belle & Sebastian, but I’d be lying. No, it was actually Fold Your Hands opening track “I Fought In A War” that sold me on this band. Afterwards, songs like “The Model” and “Don’t Leave The Light On Baby” dominated my playlist, even through the release of The Life Pursuit and beyond.

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3. Designing A Nervous Breakdown by The Anniversary
I can name few albums that have not only stuck with me through the years, but that also so heavily influenced my love for pop music. Designing A Nervous Breakdown by The Anniversary is absolutely such an album. The male/female vocals of Adrianne Verhoeven, Josh Berwanger, and Justin Roelofs were perfection back then. And songs like “The D In Detroit” and “The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter” continue to wow me today.

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2. We Have The Facts & We’re Voting Yes by Death Cab For Cutie
By far, We Have The Facts continues to dominate as my all-time favorite Death Cab For Cutie album. The lackluster way Gibbard sings about driving down the “405″ and the contemplations on friends and girlfriends reminds me of my college days and, later, grad school; it was the perfect accompaniment as I made my way out to Pullman from Portland, driving through the Palouse doing 75 in my Volvo wagon and watching the moon crest orange over hills at 1am. Yeah, even songs like “Scientist Studies” and “The Employment Pages” ring true today. Calm beauty seeps through every single moment of this album.

‘For What Reason’ by Death Cab For Cutie

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1. Kid A by Radiohead
I mean c’mon! How could you not place this as your favorite album of 2000? It was Radiohead‘s follow-up to the amazing OK Computer and was really their first foray into a sound much more experimental than they had previously tampered with. “Idioteque”; the song remains to this day one of my all-time favorites by Radiohead. The tracklist is flawless – a feat they hadn’t achieved before, and wouldn’t again until In Rainbows.