Albums:
1. Spymob - Sitting Around Keeping Score
2. Say Anything - ...Is A Real Boy
3. Kanye West - The College Dropout
4. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake The Sheets
5. Trick Daddy - Thug Matrimony: Married To The Streets
6. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
7. My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge
8. Pitbull - M.I.A.M.I.
9. Teedra Moses - Complex Simplicity
10. Twista - Kamikaze
11. Bossman - Law & Order
12. Cam'ron - Purple Haze
13. The Mark Lanegan Band - Bubblegum
14. Beauty Pill - The Unsustainable Lifestyle
15. Tin Hat Trio - Book Of Silk
16. Nas - Street's Disciple
17. Blood Brothers - Crimes
18. Jadakiss - Kiss Of Death
19. Paula Campbell - Who Got Next?
20. T.I. - Urban Legend
21. The Alchemist - 1st Infantry
22. Travis Morrison - Travistan
23. Ken Stringfellow - Soft Commands
24. The Killers - Hot Fuss
25. The Nels Cline Singers - The Giant Pin

I've been feeling kind of nostalgic for 2004 (or at least as nostalgic as one can feel for such a recent period) this week with the 5th anniversary of Gov't Names. That was also the year I started this blog, and kinda got heavier into keeping up with new releases and writing about them. But really some of those top albums are among my favorite of the decade and really a lot of that list would be pretty far up there, it was a good year. Kinda one of the last strong years for mainstream rap albums before the market dropped out for those, too.

Singles:
1. Kelly Clarkson - "Since U Been Gone"
2. Anthony Hamilton - "Charlene"
3. T.I. - "Rubber Band Man"
4. Alicia Keys - "If I Ain't Got You"
5. Terror Squad - "Lean Back"
6. Britney Spears - "Toxic"
7. Wacko, Skip and Juvenile - "Nolia Clap"
8. My Chemical Romance - "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"
9. Lil Wayne f/ Mannie Fresh - "Go DJ"
10. Yellowcard - "Ocean Avenue"
11. Lil Scrappy - "No Problem"
12. Jet - "Cold Hard Bitch"
13. J-Kwon - "Hood Hop"
14. Twista - "Overnight Celebrity"
15. Lloyd Banks f/ 50 Cent - "On Fire"
16. Jay-Z - "99 Problems"
17. Hillary Duff - "Come Clean"
18. Usher - "Confessions Part II"
19. Fabolous - "Breathe"
20. Kelly Clarkson - "Breakaway"
21. 8Ball & MJG - "You Don't Want Drama"
22. T.I. "Bring Em Out"
23. John Mayer - "Clarity"
24. D12 - "My Band"
25. John Mayer - "Daughters"
26. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps"
27. Big & Rich - "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy"
28. Lostprophets - "Last Train Home"
29. Young Gunz f/ Rell - "No Better Love"
30. Juvenile f/ Soulja Slim - "Slow Motion"
31. Jagged Edge - "What's It Like"
32. Blink 182 - "Always"
33. Ciara f/ Missy Elliott - "1, 2 Step"
34. Maroon 5 - "She Will Be Loved"
35. Keyshia Cole - "I Changed My Mind"
36. Memphis Bleek f/ T.I. and Trick Daddy - "Round Here"
37. Ying Yang Twins f/ Lil Jon - "Salt Shaker"
38. Sara Evans - "Suds In The Bucket"
39. Norah Jones - "Sunrise"
40. Ja Rule f/ Fat Joe and Jadakiss - "New York"
41. Blink 182 - "Down"
42. Ghostface Killah f/ Jadakiss - "Run"
43. Alicia Keys - "Karma"
44. Black Eyed Peas - "Hey Mama"
45. Mario - "Let Me Love You"
46. Ashanti - "Only You"
47. Ashlee Simpson - "La La"
48. Jadakiss f/ Anthony Hamilton - "Why"
49. Mannie Fresh - "Real Big"
50. Trillville f/ Lil Jon and Lil Scrappy - "Neva Eva"

This was a pretty good year for singles/hits, too, but I dunno, not as strong for me as the years directly before and after it. It was an interesting transitional time, Lil Jon and Kanye both kinda taking over and becoming fully ubiquitous but neither of them really putting in their best work, in my opinion. A lot of songs on here I was totally rapturously in love with at the time that I can't really muster the same enthusiasm for anymore, which isn't necessarily true of other stuff that's just a little older or newer.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 at 11:42 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.