Keith DuCharme

2004 was a great year — great movies, great music and great games. There were a handful of disappointments — “Fable” for the Xbox and M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” to name a couple — but they were overshadowed by everything else. Consider the list below to be people and things worth your time and money.

Best albums: 1. Modest Mouse “Good News for People who Like Bad News” 2. Helio Sequence “Love and Distance” 3. Air, “Talkie Walkie” 4. Wilco “A Ghost is Born” 5. Green Day “American Idiot”

Best Album Re-Issue: Nine Inch Nails “The Downward Spiral”

Best single: The Von Bondies “C’mon C’mon”

Best new artist: Kanye West

Worst album: Ashlee Simpson “Autobiography”

Best Movie: “Sideways”

Best Actor: Paul Giamatti “Sideways”

Best Actress: Li Gong “Zhou Yu’s Train”

Worst Movie: “Paparazzi”

Film I Haven’t Seen Yet But Really Want To See: “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”

Best Movie Trailer: “House of Flying Daggers,” International trailer

Best Game: ESPN NFL 2K5

P. Kim Bui

This was the year indie became popular. We’re not quite sure why, maybe it’s their increased inclusion on movie soundtracks and TV. Whatever the reason, the films and albums that were once squeezed into small independent record stores and artsy-indie theatres that seem to always be named “The Varsity” started playing on the big screen and Clear Channel. The villagers rejoiced. Hooray.

Best albums: 1. The Killers “Hot Fuss” 2. Say Anything “Is a Real boy” 3. Garden State Soundtrack 4. Elliot Smith “From a Basement to a Hill” 5. Franz Ferdinand “Franz Ferdinand”

Best Album Re-Issue: I’m cheating, but Nirvana’s “With the Lights Out”

Best single: Modest Mouse “Float On”

Best new artist: The Killers

Worst album: Avril Lavigne “Under My Skin”

Best Movie: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

Best Actor: Zach Braff “Garden State”

Best Actress: Uma Thurman “Kill Bill Vol. 2”

Worst Movie: “Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2”

Film I Haven’t Seen Yet But Really Want To See: “Napoleon Dynamite”

Best Movie Trailer: “Kill Bill Vol. 2”

Best Game: Halo 2

Kathryn Fiegen

We all do it. Much like John Cusack’s character in “High Fidelity,” we love to categorize things into “Best,” “Worst” and “Top 5.” What’s more, we love to talk about it. So, here is my “Best,” “Worst” and “Top 5” for 2004. These are my highest highs and biggest disappointments for the year.

Best albums: 1. Death Cab for Cutie “Transatlanticism”

2. Muse “Absolution” 3. Franz Ferdinand “Franz Ferdinand”

4. Tom Waits “Real Gone” 5. Say Anything “Is a Real Boy”

Best single: Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps”

Best new artist: Say Anything

Worst album: Incubus “A Crow Left of the Murder”

Best Movie: “Saved”

Best Actor: Johnny Depp “Finding Neverland”

Best Actress: Kate Winslet “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

Worst Movie: “13 Going On 30”

Film I Haven’t Seen Yet But Really Want To See: “Saw”

Best Movie Trailer: “Napoleon Dynamite”

Best Game: Sims 2