I collected approximately 10 “Best Music of 2004” lists and combined them into one meta-list. Here are the results. The numbers in bold indicate the number of lists the recording was on. An asterisk means I own it.
On 8 Lists
U2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb*
On 7 Lists
Green Day – American Idiot*
Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose*
On 5 Lists
The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free
Kanye West – The College Dropout*
Brian Wilson – Smile*
On 4 Lists
Björk – Medulla*
Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters*
Wilco – A Ghost Is Born*
On 3 Lists
Devendra Banhart – Rejoicing in the Hands*
William Bolcom – Songs of Innocence and of Experience (University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin)*
Dizzee Rascal – Boy in the Corner
Eminem – Encore
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand*
Cee-Lo Green – Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine
Interpol – Antics
The Killers – Hot Fuss*
The Libertines – The Libertines*
Madvillain – Madvillainy
Modest Mouse – Good News for People who love Bad News*
Joanna Newsom – Milk-Eyed Mender*
Prince – Musicology*
Secret Machines – Now Here Is Nowhere
Elliott Smith – From a Basement on the Hill*
TV on the Radio – Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes*
Usher – Confessions
On 2 Lists
Aerosmith – Honkin’ on Bobo
Air – Talkie Walkie*
Keren Ann – Not Going Anywhere
Arcade Fire – Funeral*
Johann Sebastian Bach – The Well-Tempered Klavier, Vol. 1 (Till Fellner)
Beta Band – Heroes to Zeros
Brandy – Afrodisiac
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus*
Danger Mouse – The Grey Album
Drive-By Truckers – The Dirty South
Leon Fleischer – Two Hands
George Frideric Handel – Arias and Lucrezia (Lorraine Hunt Lieberson)
P.J. Harvey – Uh Huh Her*
The Hidden Cameras – Mississauga Goddamn
Jimmy Eat World – Futures
Keane – Hopes and Fears
Le Tigre – This Island*
Mission of Burma – ONoffON*
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Le Nozze di Figaro (Gens/Keenlyside/Concerto Koln/Jacobs)
My Chemical Romance – Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Nas – Street’s Disciples
Henry Purcell – Dido & Aeneas (Graham/Bostridge/Concert d’Astree/Haim)
Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous*
Patti Smith – Trampin’
Gwen Stefani – Love Angel Music Baby
Joss Stone – Mind Body and Soul
Tom Waits – Real Gone*