Morrissey - You Are The Quarry: Morrissey's seventh solo album was a hit-packed affair, with 'Irish Blood, English Heart' and 'First Of The Gang To Die' among the singles successes. The album caused controversy with it's artwork, with some countries released a cropped version which did not feature the machine gun.
Beyonce - Dangerously In Love: Nothing on the album came close to 'Crazy In Love', but Beyonce's debut album was a huge success nonetheless, setting the foundations for one of the biggest stars on the planet.
The Futureheads - The Futureheads: The Sunderland band released their first, and most successful album in 2004, which, along with original hit 'Decent Days And Nights', the band became best known for their raucous version of Kate Bush classic, 'Hounds Of Love'.
Slipknot - Vol.3: the Subliminal Verses: The shock-rockers teamed up with Rick Rubin for their third album, and at the same time ditched the explicit languange that had been so prevalent on their previous releases.
Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters: A shimmering debut full of excellent pop songs that bounces between joyful 70s piano glam rock, disco and frenetic electroclash. The NY outfit have never quite reached the same dizzying heights since, but how can you top the brilliance of 'Take Your Mama' and 'Filthy/Gorgeous' anyway?
Courtney Love - America's Sweetheart: Love's first solo outing since the demise of Hole probably wasn't the best it could have been thanks to her drug problems at the time, but lead single 'Mono' still sounds brilliant.
Kanye West - The College Dropout: Before Yeezus, before leather jogging pants, before Kim, there was this Kanye. Heralded as one of the best hip hop debuts of all time, The College Dropout showcased Kanye's soulful, melodic production and quick witted, observant lyricism. A classic.
George Michael - Patience: Remember when the controversial video for the single 'Shoot the Dog' was released? Yep, that was a decade ago. Blimey. Michael hasn't released a record since, although it's widely rumoured he will in 2014.
Air - Talkie Walkie: A moody, atmospheric compilation of beautifully crafted electronica that still sounds fresh today. It's crazy that the likes of 'Cherry Blossom Girl' and 'Alone in Kyoto' are a decade old.
Usher - Confessions: Without a doubt the R&B singer's best album, Confessions is a refreshingly frank record with an impressive roster of excellent hit singles - 'Burn', 'My Boo' and of course the massive 'Yeah!' which is still amazing today.
Prince - Musicology: Psychedelic funky wizardry from The Purple One, who will ALWAYS be relevant.
Keane - Hopes and Fears: A lot of criticism is unfairly aimed at the rather harmless East Sussex four piece, but this pleasant compilation of piano-gilded rock contained gems such as 'Somewhere Only We Know' and 'Bedshaped' which are still rather lovely.
Interpol - Antics: The utterly flawless Turn On The Bright Lights was never going to be an easy record to follow-up. But, the best-dressed band in New York pulled off with style and aplomb - adding a new warmth and pop sensibility to produce a monolithic 10-track slab of gloomy brilliance.
Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine: This brutal onslaught of bass-heavy, filth-fused noise rock provided welcome release from the short-sharp indie stylings that dominated the age. They split in 2006, reformed in 2011, and the world is still begging for a follow-up.
Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak: The second album from the Tennessee foursome was a ballsy and awesome affair that contained the classics 'Taper Jean Girl', 'The Bucket', 'Four Kicks' and 'King of the Rodeo'. It was another massive step towards them stealing the garage rock throne from The Strokes and going on towards stadium-filling world domination.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus: The critically-adored thirteenth album from the towering Godfather of Goth was a monolithic achievement. All killer, no-filler double-album of poetry, romance, fire, fury and epic narratives, it's regarded by fans as favourites and generally as one of the finest albums of recent decades.
U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb: 'Vertigo' may be a revolting Bono-by-numbers stream of piss, but the balls-out bombast of the rest of the record help U2 earn nine Grammy Awards overall in 2005 and 2006, winning in all of the categories in which it was nominated.
The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free: An intrinsically British 'rap opera', the album tells the tale of man's relationship with a girl named Simone, alongside the mysterious loss of �1000 from his home. While many concept albums are regarded as pompous, the humour and humanity of the LP (not to mention the fact it's loaded with classics like 'Dry Your Eyes' and 'Blinded By The Lights') have led to this being known as one of the best albums of all time.
Jay Z and Linkin Park - Collision Course: It may be just six tracks long and clock in at just over 20 minutes in length, but this meeting of mega-giants mashing up their classics would go on to sell over 5million copies worldwide - giving rock and rap clubs the staple classic 'Numb/Encore'
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes: Certainly one of the finest American indie albums released in 2004, the band provided the world with an awesome slab of abstract lyrics, spine-tingling melodies and sheer brilliance.
Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News: The fourth album from MM is worth it alone for the modern-day classic 'Float On', let alone the universally-acclaimed masterclass in frenetic fuzz-box excellence that the rest of the record provided. Awesome stuff.
Arcade Fire - Funeral: This is where it all started for the now seminal Arcade Fire, a modern classic, it collates the group's collective experiences of losing family with the appropriate levels of emotion and reconciliation.
Bjork - Medulla: A brave album even for Bjork it is built entirely on accappella and human sounds provided by the likes of beatboxers Rahzel and Shlomo, choosing to tackle weighty issues including racism and childbirth.
Eminem - Encore: Certainly not Eminem's best offering, it perhaps marked his slide into mediocrity as complex lyrics were replaced by simplicity and all to familiar patterns and trappings emulated throughout his career.
Fatboy Slim - Palookaville: A marked departure for Norman Cook, it saw him move into the use of more organic songwriting by incorporating real instruments and samples.
Kasabian - Kasabian: The debut of Tom Meighan and Sergio Pizzorno brought the kind of swagger that had been missing from the charts since the Oasis days.
Paul Weller - Studio 150: Named after Weller's Amsterdam recording studio, the album is simplistic in its portrayal of what is an exhibition of great songwriting.
The Prodigy - Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned: Deemed as a lacklustre follow up to Fat of the Land, it is something of an unappreciated gem that saw the band experimenting with a new production style.
Rufus Wainright - Want Two: The darker sibling to Want One as described by Wainright is a mixture of tragedy and romance.
Razorlight - Up All Night: Razorlight weren't always a big indie joke. Ten years ago, before the band gave way to Johnny Borrell's ego, the band released their debut album and scored huge hits with 'Golden Touch' and 'Vice'.
My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge: MCR split in 2013, but ten years ago, were at the top of their game with their second album, which sold over a million copies in America alone, and spawned the hits 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)', 'Helena' and 'The Ghost Of You'.
Graham Coxon - Happiness In Magazines: The album that truly made Coxon a solo star, his 2004 collection includes some of the finest tracks of his career, including 'Freakin' Out' and 'Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery' - both of which still sound fresh, a decade later.
The Killers - Hot Fuss: It all began for the Las Vegas superstars in 2004, who hit the ground running with their debut album and indie-disco essentials, 'Mr Brightside', 'Somebody Told Me' and 'All These Things That I've Done'.
Green Day - American Idiot: The band's biggest album since Dookie saw them moving into rock opera territory enabling the composition of a new elevated iteration of punk anthem.
Green Day - American Idiot: The band's biggest album since Dookie saw them moving into rock opera territory enabling the composition of a new elevated iteration of punk anthem.
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand: When will anyone ever tire of shouting along to the opening lyrics of 'Take Me Out'? Never, that's when. An indie classic and a Mercury Prize well-deserved.