Jim's Gems 2004: Arcade Fire, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan among the best albums of the year

REM and Leonard Cohen also have records marking their 20-year anniversary this year. Here are Jim Comet's highlights of the year 

Jim's Gems: My 10 albums for 2004

It was a mere 20 years ago but it seems like an eternity. The world was in absolute chaos. George W Bush was re-elected president, Greece won the European Championships, and a guy called Mark Zuckerberg rolled out some sort of ‘social network’ named Facebook. Closer to home, the smoking ban was introduced, the Northern Bank was robbed and of course Bryan McFadden left Westlife. Thank God we had some decent tunes to get us through it all. Here’s my 10 albums for that year.

1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Abattoir Blues/ Lyre Of Orpheus