“What the F is up with all those damn lists?”
DrBeeper has a problem. A fairly serious one, at that. My persistent want/need for new music has led me to listen to as many new things as possible, which this year has led to 400+ albums, EP, singles, and live recordings, all of which were recorded in 2004.
These lists represent what I liked the best. Not necessarily the best technical recordings, the best constructed songs, or the fanciest lyrical turns. Just what I happened to like this year. Some will likely go down as timeless classics, and many will end up in the historical dumpster.
I made notes on the albums as I digested them, which made this years list a bit easier to compile. Unlike last year, where picking 1-15 or so was a snap, this year 1-5 were easy as pie, but the next 20 were very difficult to separate. So while this may not be a great top-heavy year, I would definitely recommend checking out anything in the top 50. You’d probably have to get into the 200’s before you get to anything I actively didn’t like this year.
I separated out the EPs, singles, remixes, reissues and live recordings with each getting their own section. Where I have a strong opinion I created numbered lists, everything else is alphabetical. The majority of the live recordings are chronological (except the really great ones, which are at the top)