However, between skits and weak songs, that album still had alot of filler so for me, the best, most consistent album of the year is Funeral, hands down!

Franz album is also worth a notable mention, but for me their sophmore effort was superior!

However, between skits and weak songs, that album still had alot of filler so for me, the best, most consistent album of the year is Funeral, hands down!

Franz album is also worth a notable mention, but for me their sophmore effort was superior!

However, between skits and weak songs, that album still had alot of filler so for me, the best, most consistent album of the year is Funeral, hands down!

Franz album is also worth a notable mention, but for me their sophmore effort was superior!

I was in Newbury Comics in Newton, MA looking for a copy of something decidedly not Shadow or even Shadowesqe and “Live!” was playing in the store. After hearing the reworkings of “Organ Donor” and the epic “Blood On The Motorway” captured at Brixton Academy I was hooked. I forgot about what I had originally sought to buy and grabbed the new DJ Shadow disc, not even realizing it was packaged with a killer DVD of the set. To this day “Blood On The Motorway” (the version from “Live!”) remains one of my very favorite recordings.

Don't get me wrong, Kanye's “The College Dropout” was, and still, is an incredible album – in my opinion his best to date – and is without question my top pick from this list of choices. 2004 saw a few big, legit drops in the rap and hip-hop world: “Madvillainy” “RBG” “Street's Disciple” “Tha Carter” “The Tipping Point”… the list goes on (a bit) further. But while Jadakiss, Lil Jon, T.I., Ludacris, Lloyd Banks, Eminem and others were releasing stale records filled with recycled themes, “The College Dropout” jump started my dwindling interest in the genre.

As we all know, Kanye had been doing beats and producing for a while at the point that “Dropout” was released. However, he was virtually unheard of as a lyricist and rapper. The fact that the first single, “Through The Wire” had so much success without the help of a big name collaborator speaks volumes to the way Kanye was able to storm the hip-hop scene.

FRESH! beats throughout, FRESH! collaborations (Jay-Z, Freeway, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Harlem Boys Choir, and others) that support without overshadowing, and most importantly FRESH! lyrics. “The College Dropout” touched on real life issues: sexuality, spirituality, discrimination in the workplace, difficulty with and flaws in the education system… NOT when the next re-up was coming in or how many guns, women, chains, etc Kanye and the Roc family had. Perhaps my favorite aspect to this album is the introspective standpoint Kanye takes in bits and pieces throughout the entirety of the album, but really hammers home in “Through The Wire” and the incredible 1,2 closing of the disc with “Family Business” and “Last Call.”

“The College Dropout” is a 10 out of 10 album. For me, the only thing that could have improved on the already stellar disc would have been the inclusion of a couple of tracks that were included on the leaked advance version; namely, “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” featuring Consequence and “Keep The Receipt” featuring the late, great Dirt McGirt AKA ODB. Even without these two tracks, “The College Dropout” is full of gems and easily my pick for 2004 from the PMA list.

I was in Newbury Comics in Newton, MA looking for a copy of something decidedly not Shadow or even Shadowesqe and “Live!” was playing in the store. After hearing the reworkings of “Organ Donor” and the epic “Blood On The Motorway” captured at Brixton Academy I was hooked. I forgot about what I had originally sought to buy and grabbed the new DJ Shadow disc, not even realizing it was packaged with a killer DVD of the set. To this day “Blood On The Motorway” (the version from “Live!”) remains one of my very favorite recordings.

Don't get me wrong, Kanye's “The College Dropout” was, and still, is an incredible album – in my opinion his best to date – and is without question my top pick from this list of choices. 2004 saw a few big, legit drops in the rap and hip-hop world: “Madvillainy” “RBG” “Street's Disciple” “Tha Carter” “The Tipping Point”… the list goes on (a bit) further. But while Jadakiss, Lil Jon, T.I., Ludacris, Lloyd Banks, Eminem and others were releasing stale records filled with recycled themes, “The College Dropout” jump started my dwindling interest in the genre.

As we all know, Kanye had been doing beats and producing for a while at the point that “Dropout” was released. However, he was virtually unheard of as a lyricist and rapper. The fact that the first single, “Through The Wire” had so much success without the help of a big name collaborator speaks volumes to the way Kanye was able to storm the hip-hop scene.

FRESH! beats throughout, FRESH! collaborations (Jay-Z, Freeway, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Harlem Boys Choir, and others) that support without overshadowing, and most importantly FRESH! lyrics. “The College Dropout” touched on real life issues: sexuality, spirituality, discrimination in the workplace, difficulty with and flaws in the education system… NOT when the next re-up was coming in or how many guns, women, chains, etc Kanye and the Roc family had. Perhaps my favorite aspect to this album is the introspective standpoint Kanye takes in bits and pieces throughout the entirety of the album, but really hammers home in “Through The Wire” and the incredible 1,2 closing of the disc with “Family Business” and “Last Call.”

“The College Dropout” is a 10 out of 10 album. For me, the only thing that could have improved on the already stellar disc would have been the inclusion of a couple of tracks that were included on the leaked advance version; namely, “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” featuring Consequence and “Keep The Receipt” featuring the late, great Dirt McGirt AKA ODB. Even without these two tracks, “The College Dropout” is full of gems and easily my pick for 2004 from the PMA list.

Yet, my choice was an absolutely resounding Franz Ferdinand. I am well aware that it is highly unlikely that either the PMA readers or Louis will pick this album, but I still voted for it and want to pitch it for people who haven't voted yet, and for the vast majority of you who probably disagree.

A few things, first, about this album without its competition. This album is a winner all the way through. Yes, everyone knows “Take Me Out”. Yes, it's a fantastic song by itself. But the beauty of this album is that ALL of the songs could have been that hit single, and yet the album IS an album, not a collection of singles.

Franz Ferdinand is a wake up call, and it certainly stirred the world. I'm from the US born and bred but you can't deny the raw power, energy, and Britishness of this band. Yet, Franz Ferdinand is much more than that. The Strokes get so much credit for reviving the indie scene in the US, for bringing back the old but working with it. For reminding us of Joy Division.

Well, if The Strokes are Joy Division, then Franz Ferdinand is The Gang of Four. They paved the way for Bloc Party, for Arctic Monkeys, for the whole new Britpop scene, as well as for all of the indie that came out from the US. In fact, I'd make a bolder move. Around now indie is starting to become, well, not so indie. In fact, alternative “hipster” music is dominant in colleges around the country. It will, in my humble opinion, be the music of this generation. It's also my opinion that Franz Ferdinand sparked that, because Franz Ferdinand blew up. Everyone heard them. They came, they saw, they conquered, and they reminded us of the music that had been, and what was to come.

Ok, now to address the competition. College Dropout: Kanye doing great. He's opening up. But he just achieves popularity here. He hasn't gotten “amazing” yet. Arcade Fire: Funeral is a fantastic album, really, it is. Yet, it's a fantastic album, but not the sort of album you can like if Arcade Fire isn't *exactly* your niche. Animal Collective: I can't argue this one mainly because I, unlike the entire indie universe, don't like AC. Oh well. Brain Wilson: Cool stuff, interesting, but not best material. Not stuff we'll look back on 10 years from now as representing this year. The Streets: This is the streets being classy, as usual, and being their old selves. It's great for what they do, but it doesn't go above and beyond. Elliot Smith: Same as The Streets to be honest (in terms of comment, not music obviously). Modest Mouse: Let's wait for We Were Dead Befor the Ship Even Sank… TV on the Radio: They haven't hit their prime this year yet either.

With that done and said, I realize I make no difference, I hope, though, that some people go back to Franz and see how great of an album that really was.

Not saying it deserves to be named best album of the year over the aforementioned brilliant records, but it definitely deserves some comment love. Fuckin' PHONES!

So you guys are in agreement, duder.

and I think you wanted to say WTF

good news for people who love bad news in second.