The easy, carefree atmosphere is extremely effective; the songs’ warmth of proximity makes each better than it would be if heard alone, resulting in an album that somehow transcends its simplicity and becomes something of remarkable beauty.

Guero is Beck’s most enjoyable long-player because it doesn’t pretend to be more than what it is: a fun collection of disparate, delicious songs.

The Bravery treads the same well worn path as bands like The Smiths and The Cure but manages to avoid tripping on its roots by adding a unique personality.

If Edan can sort out the dismayingly schizophrenic nature of Beauty and the Beat, he could harness his immense potential as both a rapper and lyricist and create something pretty cool, especially if he gets guest-MCs who perform as well as Insight, Percee P, and Mr. Lif do on this album.

What is truly magical on Silent Alarm is how it astutely grafts the accoutrements of wiry post-punk austerity to pop hooks fortified with soulful melodic intent.

Another accomplished, cohesive effort that finds the group continuing to tweak without significantly changing its sound.

It might take a couple of rotations, but upon spinning Let Us Never Speak of it Again, be prepared to suffer from involuntary dance fits from surfeits of jollity. Asinine lyrics be damned, I’m dancing here.

There are some genuinely good songs on this album. But good bands make music that their listeners don't have to really try to enjoy.

The Needle Was Traveling is that rare album filled with an electronic-acoustic amalgam that is ideal for day and night listening, which impacts the memory and the libido, and whose combination of lyrics and melodies is immediately catchy yet consistently prompts rediscovery.

The proceedings, though, are not without occasionally lesser moments and that’s something that fans of Save Everything and Very Soon may be surprised to hear.

Origin Vol. 1 could be [a] guilty pleasure album for indie-rock fans, mainly due to the high-quality production.

At 21, he has the raconteur’s wit of a younger Nick Cave still buoyed by the weightlessness of possibility.

Daedelus is a master at what he does, and what he does is different than virtually everything else around him, but he’s playing a little too close to the vest here, trading much of his style for a little more beat.

An above-average nouveau-garage punk record that blends the elements of disjointed noise, R&B-inflected punk and a post-modern pop sensibility into something interesting and enjoyable, but not quite groundbreaking.

This is a gorgeous pop album that deals maturely with a wide range of emotions and ideas.

A record that could easily be mistaken by record geeks as a 60s underground lost-classic... like maybe Quicksilver Messenger Service’s first album.

It’s not prog rock. It’s not punk rock. It’s not emo. It’s not indie. It’s just music, and it will incinerate your mind if you let it.

Wrongly cast as a chicken-fried version The Strokes after 2003’s stellar Youth & Young Manhood, on their latest, Aha Shake Heartbreak, The Kings prove that they’re a band of significant depth and originality.

Musically imaginative, robustly performed, and drawn from a golden well of warmth and intelligence.

Contrary to what its title might imply, there’s really not a whole lotta "new" goin’ on here.

Beam’s songwriting has always been the defining element of Iron & Wine, and it’s evident on these tracks, especially the lovely “My Lady’s House” with its gentle and loving theme.

Government Commissions is a must-have for any Mogwai fan, as the live version of “Like Herod” alone is worth the price of the full CD.

Rouse’s ambiguity and storytelling, so strong on Under the Cold, coupled with the quirky pop pastiche that found it’s backbone on 1972, is what his latest effort is all about.

Hood’s particular brand of indie rock is easily recognizable and refreshingly unique, and despite a few faults along the way, Outside Closer is an excellent album, if not totally fulfilling of its promise.

It’s a virulent mixture of political discourse, political polemic, self-aggrandizement, self-diminution, childish humor, and intelligent irony; but, above all, everything is pulled off with undeniable character.

Manzanita is an uneven album that nonetheless reveals a great talent and a terrific voice.

Genre mash-ups this ambitious aren’t easy to come by; albums that accomplish that goal with the effortless grace of Eggs are even rarer.

Worlds Apart is easily the most accessible album for the band.

Emoh is one of the first surprisingly great albums of 2005.

Despite all the bleeps and blurbs of this album’s electronic window dressing, it’s still Oberst’s emo-tive honesty and lyrical daring that makes up for the album’s forgettable moments.

I’m Wide Awake is an uneven product, full of everything there is to loathe and love about Oberst.

While Knuckle Down doesn’t wow with new musical directions, the album undeniably satisfies by being familiar and stunning.

A career-defining work.

Gonzalez bathes us in a sound so big and enveloping that it’s impossible not to bask in its powerful, optimistic glow.

A gentle yet insistent collection of songs, Wilderness is marked by its subtle beauty and meticulous attention to sonic detail.

If you get one psych album this year, make it Valende.

As eclectic as Chasny’s influences may be, there isn’t much here that would sound out of place to underground rock fans.

All Harm Ends Here is undoubtedly the band's defining release, a true gem of understated songwriting and melancholy rock.

While the rest of the album fails to live up to the breadth of “City” and “Crumbs,” and while it takes serious missteps on the shockingly bad “Man and a Woman” and “Yahweh,” this is, by and large, an album to be thankful for, regardless of your demographic.

One of the band’s finest releases and arguably the most comprehensive statement to date on just where the musicians were coming from, the roads they took to get where they ended up, and even possibly where they were headed.

In the end, most of the songs on MM..Food? are of typical Doom quality (for the uninitiated, that means â??excellentâ?), but the album is severely bogged down both by a few duds and by a trio of interludes in the middle of the album.

The songs that are good are amazing, but the songs that aren’t quite as good could end up being skipped over, which is a shame, seeing as how there isn’t a bad song, per se, on the album.

About as good as a live album can get.

The Anomoanon spin small miracles of magic on Joji by merely using a 70s rock-radio framework as a springboard for deceptively modern and intricate synchronized guitar leads, vocal harmonies borrowed from the Flying Burrito Brothers, and a taut rhythm section lifted from On the Beach/Zuma-era Neil Young.

You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine is the kind of “feelings” album that fans of noise-rock or hardcore can listen to without fear of being soft. For the rest of us, it’s an indulgence of our more dramatic emotions.

Every note on the album feels intricately placed. Every word sung feels thoroughly vetted. Luna has nary a molecule of atmosphere to spare on this record.

Unfortunately one great number can't save the whole act.

Think Polyrock or Chairs Missing-era Wire in terms of the stripped-down elementalism of the instrumentation, but think Ikara Colt in terms of delivery.

The songs themselves aren’t as outstanding as they could be, and it sure doesn’t help that the production choices give them less of the overwhelming energy that the Pharmacists are known for.

While it may still fall short of the high-water mark established with Clarity, Jimmy Eat World’s latest is still a strong contender for the best album of 2004.

When Le Tigre ventures out on an extended wire in a familiar direction with tunes like "On the Verge," "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo," and "After Dark," the ensemble proves that this long-awaited follow-up to Feminist Sweepstakes was not in vain.

A far better album than it has any right to be.

While most of the songs on Crimes stand out as being extremely well written musically and lyrically, the production needs an extra mention for being flawless.

Overall, what could have been yet another cash-cow milker actually turns out to be a curious and compelling piece of therapy for Frank Black as a writer and performer.

So if you can make it to track six - the lush “Only Love Can Set You Free” - Love Songs For Patriots becomes far more palatable from then on in.

Incumbent crescendos and contemplative guitar interludes notwithstanding, Mono has chosen to cloak itself in the inescapable fog of its forefathers and influences rather than transcend the sum of its parts.

Real Gone is incredible because of its songs, some of which stand among Waits' finest work.

Most of the songs on Power are quite impressive, and a good number are excellent, but there are some songs that were probably better left in the studio.

A phenomenal noise record.

For an artist who continues to mature and expand, Treble & Tremble may not be his magnum opus, but it is a delightful indie-pop album.

The listener gets acoustic ballads, guitar-driven rock exercises, poppy refrains, and jazz-inflected asides in a single package, and at no point does it really feel that the Scottish quartet is overextending itself or sacrificing the vitality of its work for the ability to slap the name of another sonic digression on the board.

Rather than break new ground, Rademaker, Losielle, and friends have chosen to have some fun making a record that would have sounded fantastic 20 years ago. While maybe not quite fantastic today, somehow it manages to sound fresh enough in 2004 that you’ll be glad you gave it a chance.

Antics is a very strong record that is home to a number of truly incredible songs.

This is an updated version of Drive Like Jehu, often faster, angrier, and, conversely, more sparse and peaceful.

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending is a polychromatic, sweeping collection of gorgeous guitar-pop gems, a clever and harmonious amusement park filled with fun rides listeners will want to board over and over.

One of her most assured and intimate records to date.

Although this is one of the most linear and easy-to-navigate Giant Sand records, some might be put off by the album's lapses in noisier and raucous dynamics.

The Thrills still have more musical verve than many other second-album victims, but too much of this album seems as if The Thrills have wearied of their own sunny musical dispositions.

“Something Hyper” and “Xian Undertaker” are exceptional and worth hearing. However, the rest of the album provides very little payoff.

Sally Timms has a profound knack for interpreting a song.

One of the most engaging and thrilling pop statements of 2004.

Much like Slint, Mandarin’s sound is often infused with an eerie coldness that seems to melt when the songs begin to grow exponentially in texture.

This album shows that these guys have plenty of room to expand stylistically while still absolutely owning blues rock.

If The Citizens' intended destination is a place of their own craft that lies beyond the boring boundaries of traditional pop, they can stop driving.

This record is so far beyond anything that she has done in the past that it is absolutely certain to alienate the majority of the listening public and more than a few of her fans.

With Radical Connector, Mouse on Mars is taking an important step forward – both in terms of musical vision and international standing.

Radian has given soul and warmth to the body electric on Juxtaposition.

Those whose expected Pollard to bow out in a blaze of lo-fi glory will be sorely disappointed, but true fans will recognize just how well the mid-fi approach suits Pollard.

The band's style has clearly altered, but the transition is graceful, making Engine Down another enjoyable release.

Instead of evolving out of the band's unique style, Clinic has decided to enhance it and deepen it.

A staggeringly uneven salad of powerpop alt-country and even R&B that succeeds as often as it fails.

With absolutely perfect production, the end result is one that’s embracing, textured, warm, and still fun.

Despite Fortune’s several throwaway tracks and sometimes generic alt-country feel, it serves as a reminder that The Mendoza Line’s prolific songwriters are still capable of churning out catchy, accessible pop songs.

May be his most mature, fully realized offering to date, though not necessarily his most thrilling.

In the end, the album’s rather limited scope is justified by the masterful detail with which it is rendered, granting the listener limited entry to a place most of us wouldn’t want to stay long.

The band's most eminently danceable record, featuring enough grooves to work your dance party while still retaining enough good ideas to deliver a challenging experimental record that fits well with the rest of the band's catalogue and points to exciting new directions the future could take.

Blue Cathedral's shifting textures and long, sub-orbital freak-outs signify no lull in purpose for the Comets on Fire. It does signify a step towards a maturation of sound for a band now with three releases under its belt - specifically, a perfect place to be.

With repetitive, though bizarrely catchy refrains of failed puppy love and crushes gone awry, Kiss and Tell markets itself to an audience that still borrows money from mom in order to purchase the release.

This is a really special record.

The majority of the record is solid and enjoyable, but taken in its entirely, Riot is a bit tiring.

Honestly, there is no precedent for this album.

Some of his melodies are so easily memorable they make The Thrills sound like Rammstein.

For every standout track on the record there is another song where Sparta takes a step back to assess the situation and falters a little bit.

Revival is a good album, and I don’t intend to imply that some of the slower tunes or more laid-back lyrics are simple throwaways, it’s just that this is definitely a change of direction for a band that has followed a relatively clear path for such a long time.

I’m not sure what stands out the most about The Cover Up, whether it’s the tremendous production values or the clear confidence the band has with its music.

With soaring, beautiful vocals, lush layering, intricate guitars and rhythm, and a flair for the dramatic, ...It Falls Apart is both powerful and lovely, at times dark and at times soaringly beautiful, and it is truly the band’s crowning achievement.

Despite the experiments with the various flavors of hip-hop and glitch techno, Spacesettings is a solid album from some of the more exciting artists in the IDM scene.

A work like this is only self-indulgent if its accoutrements aren't justifiable. Wilco makes every note count on this album: however miraculously, it all manages to cohere. And the songs are undeniably stunning.