Best Albums Of 2004

I have about a dozen or so (supposedly great) albums still to hear from 2004, plus a few imports I'm looking forward to tracking down, but by and large I know where I stand with 2004. To be honest, it was a pretty lackluster year from my perspective, although that might've been due to some disappointing efforts from a few of my favorite artists (I'm looking at you Eminem and Leonard Cohen). Also, part of the reason 2004 struck me as less than stellar may be that 2003 set the bar so incredibly high. Having said all of that, plenty of artists (including many newcomers) stepped up to the plate and made magic. As promised, here's my personal list of the best albums of 2004, in reverse order:

25. The Beta Band - Heroes To Zeros

24. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Like Bad News

23. French Kicks - The Trial Of The Century

22. Nedelle And Thom - Summerland

21. The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows

20. Asobi Seksu - Asobi Seksu

19. Jason Molina - Pyramid Electric Co.

18. Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - Oh, My Girl

17. Eleni Mandell - Afternoon

16. Elvis Costello - The Delivery Man

15. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose

14. Mouse On Mars - Radical Connector

13. Jolie Holland - Escondida

12. The Thermals - Fuckin A

11. Dios - Dios

10. Tift Merritt - Tambourine

9. Tracy + The Plastics - Culture For Pigeon

8. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

7. Simon Joyner - Lost With The Lights On

6. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles

5. The Arcade Fire - Funeral

4. The Transmissionary Six - Get Down

3. Penelope Houston - The Pale Green Girl

2. A Girl Called Eddy - A Girl Called Eddy

1. Castanets - Cathedral

This list will definitely change as I hear more from last year, but these are albums I'm sure I'll always enjoy and, thus, highly recommend. Questions, comments, death threats, all will be appreciated.