twenty-something

Following up on my Top Ten Songs of 2004 yesterday, here are my picks for the year's best albums. Well, I don't know about best -- but they were certainly my faves.

Top Five Albums

5. U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
I bought the hype, and I bought the album. And guess what? It's actually really good!

4. Donavon Frankenreiter - Donavon Frankenreiter
Donavon is Jack Johnson's pal and "prodigy," and he turned out a pretty amazing album. If you like JJ, you'll like this.

3. Jason Mraz -- Tonight, Not Again (live)
In 2003, I bought two tickets to see Mraz live in Providence. I screwed up the date, and Yelli and I headed down without checking the tickets. Turns out the show was the next night. We were too defeated to go back. This CD makes me really, really regret that decision.

2. Jem -- Finally Woken
People compare her to Dido. That's unfair. She's better. Lots of quirky tunes on this one, all of which are awesome.

1. Gavin DeGraw -- Chariot Stripped
You get the entire original Chariot album, PLUS a second disc of acoustic "reimagined" versions and a cover song. I love me some Gavin, and I love me both discs here.

Honorable Mentions

I managed to scrape together 62 other songs that I dug in '04. Here is a link to an iMix with some of my other favorite songs from the year. Not everything's here, but this is what I could think of.