My Favorite Music of 2004

In no particular order:

Interpol - Antics
The follow-up to "Turn on the Bright Lights" is even stronger than the debut.



Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
With Jack White aboard, Lynn sounds right at home.




Kanye West - The College Dropout
I hate the Grammys but they got this one right. This record deserved every nomination and more. It's everything hip-hop should be, catchy, smart, funny and thought-provoking.




Alison Krauss & Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways
After a few listens, you'll feel like you've been singing along for years.




Garden State Soundtrack
If Colin Hay's "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" hadn't appeared on his 2000 record "Transcendental Highway", it would have been a shoo-in for Best Original Song at the Oscars.
Frou Frou's "Let Go" is pop perfection.




Bruce Hornsby - Halcyon Days
This is an extremely solid record. It usually takes years for Hornsby songs to be appropriated for television commercials but "Gonna Be Some Changes Made" is already showing up in ads for Lowe's.




David Byrne - Grown Backwards
You may recognize "Glass, Concrete & Stone" from ads for the film "In Good Company". It's a great song among several others on a very good record.




Keb Mo - Keep it Simple
While his most recent project, an album of covers called "Peace, Back By Popular Demand" seemed lifeless and opportunistic regarding the current political climate, this previous release somehow managed to hug the guardrails of schmaltz without careening over the side.




Norah Jones - Feels Like Home
I tend to think it's better than "Come Away With Me", but even if you don't, you must concede it's certainly on par. And that's saying something.




Ryan Adams - Love is Hell
I'm glad they released the two 2003 EPs (Vol. 1 & 2) as a full length album in 2004 so I could add it to this list.
"Avalanche" & "Wonderwall" are among his best recordings.




Sam Phillips - A Boot and a Shoe
You may remember her as the blonde mute at Simon's side in "Die Hard: With a Vengeance" but she's put together a great record with her husband, T-Bone Burnett (producer of 'O Brother'). It sounds to me like somebody got Marlene Dietrich so drunk that she dropped the accent and started confessing.




Tomoyasu Hotei - Battle Without Honor or Humanity (single track)
You know that awesome music in the Kill Bill Vol. I previews that they later used in that Jaguar commercial? Yeah, this is it. The title alone would get it on this list.




U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
They just keep doin' it.




The White Stripes - Blackpool Deluxe
Three live tracks released on iTunes exclusively. Jack White's vocals threaten to topple over throughout, but the balance he manages in their cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" is daring and impressive.




Drive By Truckers - The Dirty South
Check out this record and their previous "Decoration Day". I don't know if it's possible, but this seems like parody, celebration, and one of the truest incarnations of southern rock around today.




Elvis Costello & Lucinda Williams - There's a Story in Your Voice (single track)
"The Delivery Man" is the latest record from Elvis & the Imposters. It's good enough, but you might do better just to get this track off of iTunes. It's the only thing on there that you absolutely need to own.




Wilco - A Ghost is Born
A worthy follow-up to "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"