Jackson Free Press

With Be-Bop gift certificates and returns in tow, you may be wondering what good music from 2004 you may have missed out on. After many hours of music listening, we give you our picks for the best music of 2004:

Herman Snell – JFP Music Editor "Top CDs of 2004"

1. Arcade Fire- "Funeral" (Merge)
2. A.C. Newman- "The Slow Wonder" (Matador)
3. Brian Wilson – "SMiLE" (Nonesuch)
4. The Comas- "Conductor" (Yep Rock)
5. Franz Ferdinand- "Franz Ferdinand" (Sony)
6. The Hong Kong- 'Rock the Faces" (Etherdrag)
7. Two Lone Swordsmen- "From the Double Gone Chapel" (Warp)
8. Uncut- "Those Who Were Hung Hang Here" (Paper Bag)
9. The Legends- "Up Against the Legends" (Lakeshore)
10. The Occasion – "The Occasion" (Say Hey)
11. Magnetic Fields- "I" (Nonesuch)
12. The Ponys- "Laced with Romance" (In The Red)
13. Luna- "Rendezvous" (Jetset)
14. The Killers- "Hot Fuss" (Island)
15. Inouk- "No Danger" (Say Hey)
16. Blonde Redhead - "Misery is a Butterfly" (4AD)
17. The Shocking Pinks- "Dance the Dance Electric"
18. Animal Collective- "Sung Tongs"
19. Ulrich Schnauss- "A Strangely Isolated Place"
20. Neulander- "Smoke+Fire"
21. Iron and Wine- "Our Endless Numbered Days"
22. The High Water Marks- "Songs About The Ocean"
23. Travis- "Singles"
24. Fiery Furnaces- "Blueberry Boat"
25. The Polyphonic Spree- "Together We're Heavy"
26. Erlend Øye – "DJ Kicks"
27. Lali Puna- "Faking the Books"
28. The Go-Find- "Miami"
29. The Futureheads- "The Futureheads"
30. Fennesz- "Venice"
31. Superpitcher- "Here Comes Love"
32. Of Montreal- "Satanic Panic in the Attic"
33. The One A.M. Radio- "A Name Writ in Water"
34. Air- "Talkie Walkie"
35. Elliott Smith- "From a Basement on a Hill"
36. Rogue Wave- "Out of the Shadow"
37. Modest Mouse- "Good News for People Who Like Bad News"
38. The Gris Gris- "The Gris Gris"
39. !!!- "Louden Up Now"
40. Mouse on Mars- "Radical Connector"
41. Guitaro- "Futura Black"
42. Comets on Fire – "Blue Cathedral"
43. Jonathan McLeran- "The Romance of Plants"
44. Trent Dabbs – "Quite Often"
45. Devendra Banhart- "Rejoicing in the Hands"
46. Secret Machines- "Now Here is Nowhere"
47. Eagles of Death Metal – "Peace Love Death Metal'
48. The Walkmen- "Bows and Arrows"
49. Architecture in Helsinki- "Fingers Crossed"
50. Interpol- "Antics"
51. TV on the Radio- "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes"
52. Cut Copy- "Bright Like Neon"
53. Auburn Lull- "Cast From The Platform"
54. Clinic- "Winchester Cathedral"
55. o9- "Church of the Ghetto P.C."
56. Macha- "Forget Tomorrow"
57. The Beta Band- "Heroes to Zeroes"
58. The Streets – "A Grand Don't Come For Free"
59. The Von Bondies – "Pawn Shoppe Heart"
60. Styrofoam- "Nothing's Lost"
61. hollAnd- "I Steal and Do Drugs"
62. Electrelane- "The Power Out"
63. Schneider TM- "Reconfigures"
64. Ted Leo and The Pharmacists- "Shake the Sheets"
65. cLOUDEAD- "Ten"
66. DJ Danger Mouse – 'The Gray Album"
67. The Thermals – "Fuckin' A"
68. The Church- "Forget Yourself"
69. Death From Above 1979 – "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine"
70. Madvillain – "Madvillainy"
71. Apostle Of Hustle – "Folkloric Feel"
72. Mono – "Walking Cloud & Deep Red Sky Flag Fluttered & The Sun Shined"
73. Jóhann Jóhannsson- "Virðulegu forsetar"
74. Panda Bear – "Young Prayer"
75. Bjork- "Medulla"
76. Junior Boys- "Last Exit"
77. Tegan & Sara – "So Jealous"
78. Her Space Holiday- "The Young Machines Remixed"
79. Morrissey- "You are the Quarry"
80. Memphis – "I Dreamed We Fell Apart"
81. Garden State Soundtrack
82. Les Savy Fav – "Inches"
83. Doug Gillard – "Salamander"
84. Ghost – "Hypnotic Underworld"
85. Monster Movie – "To The Moon"
86. Sonic Youth- "Sonic Nurse"
87. Green Day- "American Idiot"
88. Lisa Gerrard & Patrick Cassidy – "Immortal Memory"
89. Komeda- "Kokomemedada"
90. The Delgados – "Universal Audio"
91. The Cure- "The Cure"
92. Black Dice- "Creature Comforts"
93. Squarepusher- "Ultravisitor"
94. Misha Hercules
95. Pan Sonic – "Kesto"
96. Xiu Xiu- "Fabulous Muscles"
97. Paris Texas – "Like You Like An Arsonist"
98. Augie March – "Strange Bird"
99. Apostle of Hustle – "Folkloric Feel"
100. Broken Social Scene- "Beehives"
101. Wilco – "A Ghost Is Born"
102. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus"
103. The Soft Pink Truth- "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want The Soft Pink Truth?"
104. Various Artists- "Kompakt 100"
105. Solvent- "Apples and Synthesizers"
106. Max Richter – "The Blue Notebooks"
107. Mission of Burma- "OnOffOn"
108. Nouvelle Vague- "Nouvelle Vague"
109. Stereolab- "Margarine Eclipse"
110. Preston School of Industry- "Monsoon"
111. Crispy Ambulance – "Power Blind Dream"
112. Saturday Looks Good to Me- "Every Night"
113. To Rococo Rot- "Hotel Morgen"

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Alex Slawson – JFP Music Reviewer "Top 100 CDs of 2004"

1. cLOUDDEAD- "Ten"
2. Franz Ferdinand- "Franz Ferdinand"
3. Two Lone Swordsmen- "From the Double Gone Chapel"
4. Brian Wilson- "Smile"
5. Ulrich Schnauss- "A Strangely Isolated Place"
6. Neulander- "Smoke+Fire"
7. Uncut- "Those Who Were Hung Hang Here"
8. The Futureheads- "The Futureheads"
9. Air- "Talkie Walkie"
10. Animal Collective- "Sung Tongs"
11. Superpitcher- "Here Comes Love"
12. Luna- "Rendezvous"
13. The Pony's- "Laced with Romance"
14. The One A.M. Radio- "A Name Writ in Water"
15. A.C. Newman- "The Slow Wonder"
16. Lali Puna- "Faking the Books"
17. o9- "Church of the Ghetto P.C."
18. Arcade Fire- "Funeral"
19. Worm is Green- "Automagic"
20. !!!- "Louden Up Now"
21. The Legends- "Up Against The Legends"
22. Architecture in Helsinki- "Fingers Crossed"
23. hollAnd- "I Steal and Do Drugs"
24. Mouse on Mars- "Radical Connector"
25. Auburn Lull- "Cast From The Platform"
26. Rogue Wave- "Out of the Shadow"
27. Styrofoam- "Nothing's Lost"
28. Electrelane- "The Power Out"
29. Interpol- "Antics"
30. The Polyphonic Spree- "Together We're Heavy"
31. The High Water Marks- "Songs About The Ocean"
32. Elliott Smith- "From a Basement on a Hill"
33. The Shocking Pinks- "Dance the Dance Electric"
34. The Go-Find- "Miami"
35. Black Dice- "Creature Comforts"
36. Bola- "Gnayse"
37. The Soft Pink Truth- "Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want The Soft Pink Truth?"
38. Magnetic Fields- "i"
39. TV on the Radio- "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes"
40. Various Artists- "DFA Compilation Volume 2"
41. The Cure- "The Cure"
42. Schneider TM- "Reconfigures"
43. Fiery Furnaces- "Blueberry Boat"
44. Bjork- "Medulla"
45. Her Space Holiday- "The Young Machines Remixed"
46. Call and Response- "Winds Take No Shape"
47. Green Day- "American Idiot"
48. Inouk- "No Danger"
49. Fennesz- "Venice"
50. Solvent- "Apples and Synthesizers"
51. Junior Boys- "Last Exit"
52. Squarepusher- "Ultravisitor"
53. Jóhann Jóhannsson- "Virðulegu forsetar"
54. Various Artists- "Gooom Tracks vol 2"
55. Various Artists- "Kompakt 100"
56. Erlend Øye- "DJ Kicks"
57. The Gris Gris- "The Gris Gris"
58. The Beta Band- "Heroes to Zeroes"
59. Theodore- "A Summer She Has Never Been, A Winter She Fears."
60. The Hong Kong- "Rock The Faces"
61. Max Richter - "The Blue Notebooks"
62. Iron and Wine- "Our Endless Numbered Days"
63. Abstract Keal Agram- "Bad Thriller"
64. Stereolab- "Margarine Eclipse"
65. P.J. Harvey- "Uh Huh Her"
66. Skinny Puppy- "The Greater Wrong of the Right"
67. Modest Mouse- "Good News for People Who Like Bad News"
68. Arovane- "Lillies"
69. Mission of Burma- "OnOffOn"
70. Xiu Xiu- "Fabulous Muscles"
71. Subtle- "A New White"
72. Pan Sonic- "Kesto"
73. Of Montreal- "Satanic Panic in the Attic"
74. Morrissey- "You are the Quarry"
75. Cyann and Ben- "Happy Like an Autumn Tree"
76. Boom Bip- "Corymb"
77. The Plastic Constellations- "Mazatlan"
78. Blonde Redhead - "Misery is a Butterfly"
79. Macha- "Forget Tomorrow"
80. The Comas- "Conductor"
81. The Go! Team- "Thunder, Lightning, Strike"
82. To Rococo Rot- "Hotel Morgen"
83. Xela- "Tangled Wool"
84. Panda Bear - "Young Prayer"
85. The Album Leaf- "In a Safe Place"
86. Sonic Youth- "Sonic Nurse"
87. RJD2- "Since We Last Spoke"
88. The Walkmen- "Bows and Arrows"
89. Mirah- "C'mon Miracle"
90. Cut Copy- "Bright Like Neon"
91. ISAN- "Meet Next Life"
92. Mylo- "Destroy Rock & Roll"
93. The Concretes- "The Concretes"
94. Sufjan Stevens- "Seven Swans"
95. Ratatat- "Ratatat"
96. Mira Calix- "3 Commissions"
97. Color Filter- "Silent Way"
98. Trapist- "Ballroom"
99. Califone- "Heron King Blues"
100. TIE Clinic- "Winchester Cathedral" -&- Skalpel- "Skalpel"

Honorable Mentions

808 State- "Prebuild"
Annie- "Anniemal"
Beans- "Shock City Maverick"
Biosphere- "Auto De La Luna"
Bochum Welt- "Kissing A Robot Goodbye"
Boy in Static- "Newborn"
Broken Social Scene- "Beehives"
Daedelus- "Of Snowdonia"
Dosh - "Pure Trash"
Gravenhurst - "Black Holes In The Sand"
Hella- "The Devil Isn't Red"
Jack Dangers- "Forbidden Planet Explored"
Japancakes- "Waking Hours"
Jason Forrest- "The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash"
Keith Fullerton Whitman- "Antithesis"
Komeda- "Kokomemedada"
Kpt.Michi.Gan- "Kpt.Michi.Gan"
Lisa Gerrard & Patrick Cassidy- "Immortal Memory"
Massive Attack- "Danny the Dog Soundtrack"
Milanese - "1 Up"
Múm- "Summer Make Good"
Nouvelle Vague- "Nouvelle Vague"
Omni Trio- "Rogue Satellite"
Philip Jeck- "7"
Preston School of Industry- "Monsoon"
Radian- "Juxtaposition"
Saturday Looks Good to Me- "Every Night"
Sex In Dallas- "Around The War"
Spektrum- "Enter….. the Spektrum"
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists- "Shake the Sheets"
The Church- "Forget Yourself"
The Hives- "Tyrannosaurus Hives"
Tim Hecker- "Mirages"
Trans AM- "Liberation"
Travis- "Singles"
Various Artists- "Gooom Tracks vol 2.5"

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Alphonso Mayfield - JFP Writer - Best Hip-Hop of 2004

1. T.I. - "Urban Legend"
2. Nas - "Street Disciple"
3. Lil John - "Crunk Juice"
4. Ludacris - "Red Light District"
5. Kanye West - "College Dropout"
6. Young Buck - "Straight Outta Cashville"
7. Chingy - "Powerballin'"
8. Masta Ace - "A Long Hot Summer"
9. 8 Ball and MJG - "Living Legends"
10. The Roots - "The Tipping Point"

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Casey Parks - JFP Asst. Editor - Best of 2004

1. Arcade Fire- "Funeral"
2. Regina Spektor- "Soviet Kitch"
3. Interpol- "Antics"
4. Modest Mouse- "Good News for People Who Like Bad News"
5. Magnetic Fields- "I"
6. Franz Ferdinand- "Franz Ferdinand"
7. William Shatner- "Has Been"
8. Tegan & Sara – "So Jealous"
9. Morrissey- "You are the Quarry"
10. Rogue Wave- "Out of the Shadow"