Best Albums of 2004

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Explore the best albums of 2004, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts. Last updated: 5 hours ago

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2004 year summaryThe best artists of 2004 were Arcade Fire, Madvillain, Green Day, Kanye West, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Interpol, Daniel Dumile and Keane.

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Funeral

Arcade Fire

"Preceding their huge Grammy win with Suburbs, this is Arcade Fire's true masterpiece. Emotionally strong and relevant, supported by beautiful instrumental arrangement. This album rocked my world when I first sat through it." Reply

- smrtboi2120 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 15

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

2,941 charts

Rank Score:

31,544

Rank in 2004:

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Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"was looking through the "Rap" section of FYE and was looking for something new. I asked the sales associate if he could recommend me something and he said, "Yeah check out Madvillain, they're underground rap". I never heard of "underground rap" before so I was hesitant but I bought it anyway. Wha..." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 9

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

1,089 charts

Rank Score:

13,079

Rank in 2004:

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Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,239 votes)

Comments:

American Idiot

Green Day

"This album was a big risk for Green Day after their underwhelming album Warning, yet rock and roll is a risk in itself. They hit hard with this hour and few minute long record with smashing singles and two 9 minute songs (Jesus of Suburbia and Homecoming) that develop the plot of the triumphant r..." Reply

- Shiebs17 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

1,043 charts

Rank Score:

9,061

Rank in 2004:

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Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"This album helped change hip-hop arguably more than any album in the history of the genre. For the 10-15 years before this album, it was difficult to have anything other than a "gangsta" persona and be successful commercially. Kanye changed that. You could rap about insecurities, college, religio..." Reply

- tbau1191 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 8

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

935 charts

Rank Score:

8,076

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Average Rating:

Comments:

"The lyrics, the music, the vocals, everything is great, sadly the killers never really successfully followed it up" Reply

hereforashortime | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 7

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

1,042 charts

Rank Score:

7,170

Rank in 2004:

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Average Rating:

Comments:

"If you're just looking for something fun to listen to, you can't go wrong with this album. Incredibly catchy." Reply

- OFarrio | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

830 charts

Rank Score:

4,728

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

350

Average Rating:

78 (1,205 votes)

Comments:

Good News For People Who Love Bad News

Modest Mouse

"Good album,When i listened to "float On" i thought that this album would be a quick and innovator album. It is not bad but sometimes the songs bore me, not all just a few, and there are those little songs. But let's not forget the great songs from this album, "Float On", "The Good Times Are Killi..." Reply

Antonio-Pedro | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

679 charts

Rank Score:

4,058

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

402

Average Rating:

80 (984 votes)

Comments:

Antics

Interpol

"These days, Interpol are a three-piece unit. This is a reality that tends to correlate to their recent dip in critical applause. Their latest two records, El Pintor and Marauder, both feature the absence of longtime bassist Carlos Dengler. Dengler had departed Interpol due to dissension between h...""These days, Interpol are a three-piece unit. This is a reality that tends to correlate to their recent dip in critical applause. Their latest two records, El Pintor and Marauder, both feature the absence of longtime bassist Carlos Dengler. Dengler had departed Interpol due to dissension between he and the rest of the band after 2010's self-titled album was released. Despite this change leading to reformed spiritual harmony within the trio, the band lost a sizable fragment of their sonic identity. The ex-bassist's greatest contributions to Interpol come in the form of 2004's sophomore effort, Antics. The record was received favorably by the music press but (ludicrously) didn't obtain the same amount of fanfare as their debut record. Antics is punchier, bleaker and just as addictive as Turn on the Bright Lights. It exhibits an artist unburdened by a gaping hole in their lineup and a quintet feverishly relishing their collective creative prime. 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 second track, Evil. The track is powered by Dengler's intoxicating bassline that cradles the song throughout its duration. The jovial tinge of the track is diversified by Banks' lyrics that conjure the personas of infamous British serial killers Fred and Rosemary West. Spoken from the perspective of the former, Banks chants, "Rosemary, heaven restores you in life, you're coming with me, through the aging, the fearing, the strife." Fourth track, Take You on a Cruise, serves as the centerpiece, fading in slowly like a ship through a dense fog bank. Banks himself has described this as a slight departure from the pathos of the album. He claims, "It has a different tone to the rest of the record for that reason. It’s a tacky seduction story: this guy who may be worldly and well-educated but he’s trying to get laid with a cocktail waitress." The coalescence of the rhythm section in the second half of the track is as majestic as the maritime imagery Banks' poetry frames. This conglomerate plays wonderfully aside Banks chanting, "White Goddess, red Goddess, black Temptress of the sea, you treat me right," calling upon Greek mythology. The finale serves as one of the band's most overlooked cuts. A Time to Be So Small has sonic textures that fashion an appropriate ending for the album with Banks' baritone bathed in reverb as the track floats away. Fogarino's drum hits here have such a fascinating sense of weight that they can be felt within your chest cavity. The song itself is said to be written from the point of view of a crustacean watching a family squabble between a father and son. Go figure. However, aquatic anomaly aside, the lyrics convey a more sinister coloring. The LP ends with Banks proclaiming, "When the cadaverous mob saves its doors for the dead men, you cannot leave," sharpening the threat of death at sea. Unfortunately for the immensely gifted ensemble, Antics would serve as the band's final full-length classic. Here, the synthesis of emotional tonnage into harmonious elixir is strikingly effortless. Interpol would go on to produce four more above-average, but never legendary albums. As conversed earlier, a portion of it spawned from the crater left by their skillful bass player, but this came long after they'd pumped out their fourth outing. Others would potentially point out that the fracture left behind from the infighting did more damage to the psyche of the band rather than the group's sonic capabilities. Whatever it was, Interpol would never reach these heights again but with that said, not many artists have. A very small sector of the music-making landscape could brandish not one, but two classics to start a recording career. Interpol swam in the deepest of waters with the most fearsome of fauna and emerged remarkably relevant and intact. They've climbed back into their luxury liner with two first-class albums shoveling coal into their furnaces. Interpol has earned the right to go at their own pace now and anything they serve us in the future is a much obliged bonus. The timid, sharply dressed boys from the big city have nothing more to prove. "If time is my vessel, then learning to love Might be my way back to sea The flying, the metal, the turning above These are just ways to be seen" -Public Pervert Standout Tracks: 1. Take You on a Cruise 2. A Time to Be So Small 3. C'mere 95 " Reply

DriftingOrpheus | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

515 charts

Rank Score:

3,401

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

509

Average Rating:

79 (771 votes)

Comments:

Mm..Food

MF DOOM

"The followup to Operation: Doomsday is a concept album about, well, food. It's got a similar sound to that album, but it has a much more refined and clean sound, and though I do prefer O:D, this is pretty good too. "Beef Rapp" is a hell of an opener, sampling a Spider Man episode for the beat. Ma..." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 0

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

368 charts

Rank Score:

3,164

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

541

Average Rating:

82 (432 votes)

Comments:

10.

Hopes And Fears

Keane

"I'd say this band's music is similar to Coldplay -- lots of piano and synth...pop/soft rock. What's truly unique is there are no guitars. The piano is the focus. The singer has a great voice, so good, in fact, that the band seems to eschew the use of vocal harmony. My favorite songs on this album..." Reply

- Finky | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

386 charts

Rank Score:

2,495

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

105

Overall Rank:

688

Average Rating:

74 (532 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 2004 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	10	1%
John Frusciante	3	0%
The Rolling Stones	3	0%
Pain Of Salvation	2	0%
Brad Mehldau	2	0%
Phil Elverum	2	0%
Eric Clapton	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	434	43%
	175	18%
	48	5%
	47	5%
	46	5%
	31	3%
	23	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	941	94%
Yes	59	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	966	97%
Yes	34	3%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	984	98%
Yes	16	2%

Best Albums of 2004 chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 10 from 76th to 66th Riot On An Empty Street by Kings Of Convenience
Up 7 from 105th to 98th I by The Magnetic Fields
Up 3 from 53rd to 50th Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 7 from 46th to 53rd Ta Det Lugnt by Dungen
Down 3 from 73rd to 76th They're Only Chasing Safety by Underoath
Down 2 from 43rd to 45th Set Yourself On Fire by Stars (CA)

New entries New entries in top 100 since last month
Up 7 from 105th to 98th I by The Magnetic Fields

Leavers Leavers from top 100 since last month
Down 2 from 100th to 102nd Autumn Aurora by Drudkh

« View best albums of 2003View best albums of 2005 »

Best Ever Artists

1. The Beatles

2. Radiohead

3. Pink Floyd

4. David Bowie

5. Bob Dylan

6. Led Zeppelin

7. The Rolling Stones

8. Arcade Fire

9. Neil Young

10. Nirvana