The Top 5 albums of 2004 means I'm about to reveal my Mt. Rushmore. If I had thought this out better I would have done four albums at a time instead of 5 since I only did 20 this time. Oh well. I'm also about to reveal the final first-time listen of 2004 to make my top 20. Since I only did 20 albums for 2004, I will expand my top songs list to 30. Let's do this thing.
5. Madvillain - Madvillainy ( 4.5 Stars )
Just missing my Mt. Rushmore is first-time listen, Madvillainy. This is one of those albums that's always on best albums lists and there's even a 33 1/3 book about it. I've meant to check it out for quite some time and this was finally the excuse I needed. Madvillain is MF DOOM, who was in my Top 20 with his album MM...FOOD, and Madlib. MF DOOM provides the lyrics and Madlib the production. Like MM...FOOD, I really enjoy the lyrics and flow, as well as the samples and mid century links. My favorites are "Shadows of Tomorrow" and "Figaro". Another standout track is "Eye", which features Stacy Epps on vocals. I'm still not well-versed in Hip Hop, but it seems I mostly like good flow, jazz influence or sci-fi production and cool samples. It's a start.
4. Guided by Voices - Half Smiles of the Decomposed ( 4.5 Stars )
First up on my 2004 Mt. Rushmore is Guided by Voices. Sorry if you're sick of these guys after my recent deep dive, but this album is great. Half Smiles of the Decomposed is helmed, as always, by songwriting machine Robert Pollard, with the able assistance of current band members Doug Gillard and Kevin March. Also on this album are Nate Farley on rhythm guitar and Chris Slusarenko, of the band Eyelids, on bass. It features five of my all-time favorite Guided by Voices tunes, "Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud", "Girls of Wild Strawberries", "Closets of Henry", "Tour Guide at the Winston Churchill Memorial", and "Huffman Prairie Flying Field". The other nine tracks on this albums are great, too. Pollard temporarily retired the band after this album, but he would later reunite the "Classic Lineup" in the early 2010's and then the current lineup in 2017.
3. U2 - How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ( 4.5 Stars )
This album has a special place in my heart. During the winter of 2004-5, this CD lived in my wife's car and we listened to it on a loop driving back and forth to Lamaze classes before our daughter was born. She's now going into her sophomore year of university. I don't get the haters of U2, and this album in particular. It has a Rate Your Music score of 2.75. That's bonkers! These people must all be miserable bastards. "Vertigo" is a straight-up banger. "Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own" is a gorgeous song that Bono wrote for his father. "Love and Peace or Else" has an irresistibly, languid vibe. "City of Blinding Lights" is one of Bono's best lyrics and The Edge is smokin'. My favorite track is "All Because of You". The whole band is firing on all cylinders. The chorus is soaring. It's easily a Top 5 U2 album, along with War, The Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Suck it trolls!
2. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News ( 5.0 Stars )
During 2004, when the only two songs that existed in the world were "Take Me Out" and "Float On", my wife was one of those who loved "Float On". Then I bought this CD and started listening to it and she hated the rest of it. This was probably a common occurrence. Luckily for me, it was right in my sweet spot. I know Isaac Brock's vocals are divisive, but I love how he veers from fragile to angry to sarcastically hilarious. They also have that weird, woozy guitar sound, like Built to Spill. And "Float On" is a tremendous song. It's remarkable that it was so popular. It didn't take much to sell me on this album, because they did a collaboration with The Flaming Lips (The Good Times Are Killing Me). Every song on Good News...Bad News is great. My favorite is "Ocean Breathes Salty". It has some of the best lyrics of the 2000's. "You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the after-life?" I think what put my wife over the edge was the back to back assault of "Bury Me With It" and "Dance Hall", which features Isaac at his most shouty. That's what clinched this as a 5 Star album for me.
1. Kasabian - Kasabian ( 5.0 Stars )
I instantly fell in love with Kasabian the first time I heard "Clubfoot". The hype for them in the British music magazines was off the chain and they lived up to it. The bass grooves on "Clubfoot" are intoxicating. I could hear that song a million times and it would still be as great as the first time. The single, "L.S.F" (Lost Souls Forever), is almost equally as brilliant. One of the highlights of a Kasabian live show is everyone singing along to the chorus, "Ah, oh come on. We got our backs to the wall. Get on and watch out, say, you're gonna kill us all". Another mind-blowing track is I.D.. It begins with an extended electronic intro, then the drums count in the rest of the band. The lyrics are great and it has a hypnotic groove that you lose control to. This is easily one of the Top 5 albums of the 2000's. Epic! Peace.
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