My preliminary Best-of-2004 EP/LP List:
(feel free to post yours or tell me that you like bands that scream)

Planes Mistaken for Stars // Up in Them Guts (LP/CD - No Idea Records)
PMFS at their very best. Dark, rocking Hardcore. As good as life.love.regret-era Unbroken.
MP3: Belly Full of Hell

Circle Takes the Square // As the Roots Undo (LP/CD - Robotic Empire/novarecordings)
Epic Screamo. Excellent use of Double Bass and Samples.
MP3: Non Objective Portrait of Karma

Q and Not U // Power (LP/CD - Dischord Records)
Danceable Post-HC. Ass shaking fun.
MP3: Wonderful People

Off Minor // Innominate (LP/CD - EarthWaterSky Connection)
Wonderfully chaotic Screamo with jazzy guitar parts.
MP3: Cadaveric

Ampere // All Our Tomorrows End Today (10" - Ebullition)
Blasts of noise, screaming and twinkly guitar melodies. Ex-Wolves, Orchid and the last 40 seconds.
MP3: And Now We Rise

the Saddest Landscape // Lift Your Burdens High For This Is Where We Cross (10"/CD - Alone Records)
Emo as it should be. Raw, passionate and absolutely beautiful. The CD contains 3 additional songs from their first 7".
Vorbis: A Statue of a Girl (May 15th)

A Day in Black and White // My Heroes have Always Killed Cowboys (12"/CD - Level Plane Records)
Brilliant blend between Mogwai and Mid90s Hardcore.
MP3s: hxcmp3.com

The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra // Create the New (LP/CD - self released)
Brutal Emo-Violence. Sounds like 2001.
MP3s: MP3.de (the first one is from the album)

Life at these Speeds // Self-Titled (LP/CD - Perpetual Motion Machine / Grey Sky)
Dynamic, raw Post-Hardcore.
MP3s: you know to say yes / blindfolded king

Honorable mention for an album released in 2003, which I didn't really learn to appreciate until 2004:
Stop it!! // Self-Made Maps (LP/CD - Perpetual Motion Machine / Robotic Empire)
Noisy, edgy, grooving, hard-to-describe-core
MP3s: s.s. betrayel / remove your teeth

Things I'm still waiting for/haven't heard yet:
Van Norden debut EP/LP
orchid vinyl collection
Duesenjaeger album

I liked The Prodigy - Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

Neal Morse // One (CD - Radiant Records)
A progressive rock masterpiece
MP3: will be available at Neal Morse's website

@dev0: I kinda like bands that scream, when listened to in small amounts. Usually the music is excellent, but I think the screaming can get somewhat tedious after a while.

Having said that, I was really impressed with Miss Machine by Dillinger Escape Plan this year. I also quite enjoyed the selection of songs you presented.

@rpop: I used to be a huge Prodigy fan (try to guess how I got my nickname), but AONO is still somewhat of a disappointment for me. It comes nowhere near to the previous albums (but that would be quite hard to achieve, of course).

I guess my favorite albums are bit more mainstream:

Franz Ferdinand // Franz Ferdinand
Hyped beyond belief, of course, but I'd say the hype is deserved (as is the Mercury award). Incredibly catchy songs.

Supergrass // Supergrass is 10
I usually wouldn't put a compilation CD here, but this one is so brilliant it's almost unreal. Supergrass may be one of the most underrated bands from the UK. This CD is simply packed with one killer song after another, from beginning to end.

Slipknot // Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
This one surprised me. I wasn't such a big Slipknot fan before, but I kept reading rave reviews about the album and I totally loved "Duality". So I bought it and liked it a lot. It's a lot more musical and varied than their previous work. If only it didn't have such horrible clipping...

Novastar // Another Lonely Soul
Most of you probably won't know this Belgian band. You can check out the videos of the three singles here:
http://www.novastar.be/discography.asp

There are still several 2004 albums that I expect to be really good, but haven't listened to yet. For example:
Tom Waits - Real Gone
U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Abbatoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus
The Libertines - The Libertines
Therion - Lemuria / Sirius B
Ayreon - The Human Equation

And meanwhile I'm anxiously awaiting the new Tool and NIN albums that should be released next year...

The DEP album certainly is amazing, but I find myself listening to it a lot less than I did to their previous material.

About Franz Ferdinand: I fuckin hate this band, but they still make me dance everytime I hear them. Damn!

First thing that pops up in my head is
Johnny Cash - Unearthed
Just phenomenal.

Also worth mentioning, Jay-Z - The Black Album. Though not his best, still better than most other rappers out there.

And I wanted to mention Bubba Sparxxx's album, but then I realized it was released in 2003.
Oh well, time flies by so fast...

My best of 2004 so far are

Björk // Medúlla
Great album where Björk is accompanied by icelandic choirs, Robert Wyatt and Mike Patton's voice as human sythesizer.

Bugge Wesseltoft // Film Ing
I saw him live in Berlin and was very impressed by his very uncommon, creative way of mixing his live piano with the instruments and samples of his great band.

Eivind Aarset // Connected
He is one of the people around Bugge Wesseltoft and his label Jazzland Recordings and released a very good new-jazz-guitar album with Connected. I've listened to it at least 15 times since I've bought it in end of May.

Best regards,
~ Florian

I was disappointed by it. I'm not saying it is a bad album, just it could have been so much better.

Hmmm best for 2004 I'd say its the Nirvana 4CD BOX SET released yesterday.

I think that's the biggest thing this year since the box set was a long wait release. And it really does contain never seen footage.

2-pack can envy Kurt Cobain ))))

(just a joke -- 2-pack stands no where close/near/or whatsoever/ to the the father of grunge who changed face of rock n roll. He's rap too of course but friends of mine always "impress me" with how many albums 2-pack has released after his death )

It's 2Pac or Tupac, not 2-pack.

And it's never a good idea to be ignorant of artists just because they don't fit the genre one likes...

Sorry, no band that screams.

American Music Club - Love Songs For Patriots
The first new AMC record in 10 years. Mark Eitzel is one of my favourite songwriters ever.
http://www.americanmusicclub.com/

Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly
Something strange in the way that Japanese girl sings really attracts. Hard to tell what.
http://www.blonde-redhead.com/

DJ Krush - Jaku
A successful attempt to mix DJ stuffs and traditional Japanese tunes.
http://www.mmjp.or.jp/sus/krush/

Electrelane - The Power Out
Girls can do it all alone.
http://www.electrelane.com/site2/home.htm

Florent Marchet - Gargilesse
Another French man singing miserably about miserable things in a miserable life.
http://florentmarchet.artistes.universalmusic.fr/

Jean-Louis Murat - A bird on a poire
Our "Jean-Louis national" singing with Jennifer Charles (Elysian Fields) about (sexual) frustration and (very hypothetical) love.
http://www.labels.tm.fr/fr/artiste.asp?artiste=MU005

Low - A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
Low, very low BPM. A band I've been following for a long time. Something like Joy Division, with no joy and playing really slowly
http://www.chairkickers.com/

Tortoise - It's All Around You
I've always liked what people call "post rock".
I should mention other bands too: Slint, Mogwai, Labradford, Papa M, Rachel's...
http://www.trts.com/


Subs bench:
Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather
Elliott Smith - From a basement on the hill
Brian Wilson - Smile
Andrew Bird - Weather Systems
Ghinzu - Blow
Ed Harcourt - Strangers
Laura Veirs - Carbon Glacier
Luna - Rendezvous
Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue


Worst/saddest thing:
John Peel's death.

My personal "must-listen-to" album of the year:

Squarepusher - Ultravisitor
Tom Jenkinson has done it again, blending jazz, musique concrete, and hard electronic drill-and-bass into something completely otherworldly. It has the same sort of genre-breaking span as Aphex Twin's drukqs album three years earlier, and is an absolute must for people who love the electronic sound. It's got the distinct feel of being live, although it is definitely a studio album. Between improvisational bits to little additions like crowds screaming and cheering in the background, Jenkinson attempts to capture the magic of going to see live music. He succeeds more than what you'd think possible with the genre. Quirky, nuanced, occasionally cheeky, and always innovative, this album ranks highly on my "best-of-all-time" list, let alone "best-of-2004".

Want something more intense than a simple human scream? Listen to "Steinbolt". Loud. Want some fantastic guitar/effects work? Listen to "C-Town Smash". Want to hear the two sounds working together to create something even more? Listen to "An Arched Pathway". Want trip-hop? "Iambic 9 Poetry".

This album is fantastic. Listen to it until you understand it. It's worth it.

A decent runner-up would have been:

The Crystal Method - Legion of Boom
A little more accessible than its predecessor, The Crystal Method has appeared to continue in their attempts to re-enact the power of Filter's remix of "Trip Like I Do" from the Spawn soundtrack. I had been hoping for some of the hints of softness and subtlety from Vegas to come around again, but this album is definitely worth a listen if you like hard, driving electronic dance music. Definitely recommended for anyone who was annoyed by the new Prodigy album as I was.

Slint fuckin reformed!
(Sorry, just had to think of this)

I clearly have a completely different taste in music to the rest of you, but here's what I liked.

Harry Connick, Jr. - Only You
The Finn Brothers - Everyone Is Here
George - Unity
James Morrison - On The Edge

I might think of more later....

Orbital - Blue Album
One amazing electronic album.

Dj Shadow - In Tune and On Time
The best Dj in a live set.

Future Sound of london - The Isness and the Otherness
A 2cd version of excellent album. FSOL goes acoustic in that one.

Various Artists - Cherrystones Hidden Charms
Featuring a collection of rare and unavailable Psych Rock from the late 60's selected by David Holmes.

Monster Magnet - Monolithic Babe
One of the best stoner rock bands out there.

I wasn't that impressed with the new Orbital. I think it's their weakest work to-date. Kind of sad, seeing as how it's their final work as a duo. I really enjoy every other album of theirs more than this one. Their releases have been getting progressively weaker though. Their last exceptional release was In Sides; Middle of Nowhere and Altogether both had highlights and weaknesses.

Agreed. Easily one of the best electronic albums I've ever heard.

If I had to pick just one, it would be

U2 - How to dismantle an atomic bomb.

When I first heard that they were reverting back to their rock band sound, I wasn't sure how it would go, but they nailed it. The way that U2 has moved from stadium rock, to experimental electronica and back again without looking stupid shows their maturity as a band.

It's also nice to hear the return of Edge's atmospheric guitar.

Thanks for the other suggestions, I plan to hunt them down and check them out.

Some of my favourites from the past year are:

The Killers - Hot Fuss
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Hundred Reasons - Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge
The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
Mark Lanegan Band - Bubblegum
Pixies - Best Of The Pixies
The Secret Machines - Now Here Is Nowhere
Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
The Polyphonic Spree - Together We're Heavy

The biggest dissappoints for me were the Orbital and Prodigy albums.

Absoloutely, that album is amazing.

They went back to that Chemical Break's feel on Legion Of Boom working with a lot of guest artist which I thought was pretty cool, especially Rahzel on "American Way" and Wes Borland guitar riff's on "Broken Glass" and "Weapons Of Mass Distortion". The album is a lot darker than their previous work though, just listen to "Acetone" one of my favorite track's on album heavy hitting Big Beat break's next to what sounds like a 303 used half-way throughout song although I can't tell for sure and "True Grit" especially those panning opening arpeggio's (not sure what type of synth that is Clavia Nord Lead maybe? that was used a lot on Vegas) for instance Keep Hope Alive use Juno-106 pad with Clavia Nord on lead and 303 bassline. TCM likes pipe their a lot of their synths through analog distortion modules and filterbanks. I think that's what people mean by that "electronic" feel certain type of synth. Overall though I love "Vegas", but I really love programming on "Tweekend" the most. Legion of Boom doesn't really get me hooked though, while it's still classic TCM that everyone loves track's could have been longer with exception of a few and I would like to hear a lot more analog synth's next to a few guest artists here and there.




I heard this was a great album, I like the way Tom Jenkinson infuses various Jazz influences with drum n' bass. I will have to check that out. I once heard someone "who know's absolutley nothing about electronica" write a review claiming that it sounded nothing like "jazz", but rather a video game soundtrack, I couldn't help but laugh at their stupidity.

Updated my post.
Give Stop it!! a listen. Awesome stuff. Excellent production too.

I will check out some of the post-hardcore artists, although I am really not a big fan of emo or screamo. The screaming and whining get's montonous most of the time, although some of the guitar riff's and diffrent sections are pretty cool, there are quite a few people who are into that I know "not my scene" though ha. ;-D.

The Divine Comedy - Absent Friends
The Polyphonic Spree - Together We're Heavy