6 - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

Near impossible for this one to not be in just about everyone's top 10 for 2004 (love double negatives, don't you?), Franz Ferdinand seemed to come out of nowhere. And what a perfect first single was "Take Me Out?" I mean, I remember hearing it for the first time thinking in the first 10 seconds, "Geez, how boringly British can you get?" Of course no more than a minute later, the Ferdinands abrupty slapped me across the face for having such a thought and started to beat me with a swagger that I am sure is illegal in most of the US. Strong, ethralling, entertaining, and surprising throughout the album.