2004 Music

In the spirit of everybody else who's making year-end best-of lists, I'll post a couple of mine, starting with the most important: tunes. It's tough to list best albums of the year since albums are becoming less important to me. I've bought a lot fewer CDs this year, but I've been exposed to a lot more new music through iTunes and good music blogs (I am buying more than I'm just downloading. Guilt).

1. Brian Wilson - SMiLE. Completely worth the wait. It's prompted me to get into the Wondermints as well. Absolutely stunning, and an album in every sense.
2. They Might Be Giants - The Spine. Their strongest album in several years.
3. Aimee Mann - Live at St. Ann's Warehouse. The live performance brings an incredible energy to the songs.
4. The Decemberists - Her Majesty the Decemberists. Sure it came out in 2003, but I didn't hear it till this year, and it's awesome.
5. Garden State Soundtrack - From the Shins to Frou Frou to Simon and Garfunkel. I still haven't seen the movie (long wait at Netflix), but I've heard I will like it.
6. The Delgados - Universal Audio. Great melodies, completely infectious.
7. David Brookings - End of An Error. I was made aware of this from a music blog, and while the production isn't the best, the songwriting is absolutely amazing. Supposedly a new album is due in 2005 as well. One to watch.
8. Morrissey - You Are the Quarry. Nice to hear a good Morrissey album. His best since Your Arsenal.
9. Keane - Hopes and Fears. Dizzying highs and bland lows. The good songs are great. Good keyboards.
10. Green Day - American Idiot. Makes albums relevant again.

I'll probably change this list all around in a couple of days, but that's how I see it right now. Biggest disappointments of the year are R.E.M., Wilco, and Owsley.