Scott: Before the best of 2004 list, I made the comment that it was an unimpressive year for music. Well, looking more closely at 2003, I can?t say it was much better. I?m guessing that the new world of downloading has made the quality Album/CD, an endangered specie, as musical acts realize that a good portion of consumers are focused on singles.

The early days of rock and roll had this same business model, as it was not until the concept albums of the 1960?s that this changed. I don?t think it?s any coincidence that the best musical period occurred over the next 10 years. When disco hit, the single became king once again and by the time MTV exploded onto the scene, trying to make a classic LP was an afterthought. Led by Nirvana, the early 90?s were a true rock and roll renaissance, as even radio played bands who were interested in more than the demographic appeal, but unfortunately that was short-lived.

After the masses decided they were tired of wearing flannel and having to think while listening to music, out came a slew of boy bands and teen queens selling image more than ever before. While the beginning of this decade showed promise with a bunch of new bands taking musical risks, the mix of downloading and radio station monopolies strictly guiding play-lists have created a paucity of quality releases. Hopefully something will shake this up.

Will: I disagree that the downloading based paradigm has affected music negatively. What it's done is give a measure of control to the consumer. Most albums are two or three good songs and filler. It's always been like this - I can think of albums without filler, but not enough to need more than one hand to count them. The downloading should be giving us more music and better music. The music industry has gotten to the point where singles last six months, get pounded in heavy rotation until we can no longer stand them, and two or three years between albums make it difficult to build momentum. The Beatles, The Stones, Prince ... how many acts released an album a year or more? Now, unencumbered by distribution costs and the album format, couldn't artists put out music on a whim? Couldn't an artist say "I have four songs I like. I'll put those on iTunes." Boom, we have four new songs - package them as an EP or don't. Buy 'em if you like or don't - there's more where those came from.

The industry -- or rather, the artists -- now have more freedom, more opportunity, and that should be better for everyone.

Scott:Now, having said all this, check out the music listed below, as it's all quality stuff.
Will's No. 10: Rock N Roll, Ryan Adams and I'm Staying Out, Caitlin Cary
This wasn't the album either expected. Adams wanted to put out his version of a Smiths album, later released as "Love Is Hell." Cary was doing demoes with friends after her first solo record. Both members of the lamented Whiskeytown came out with great, yet different albums. Adams does an homage to rock, each song taking on some era, from The Stooges to The Strokes. Having a bibliography might help find all the influences. It won't change how good this album sounds. It's the album Adams' fans all wanted; it doesn't seem to have made him happy. Cary, on the other hand, sounds blissful. Instead of becoming John Oates, she's validated herself over two albums as the equal of a Mary Chapin Carpenter or Shawn Colvin. Now, if we could just make those Whiskeytown reunion rumors come true. Hopefully, it happens before the inevitable self-destruction.

Scott's No. 10: Fire- The Electric Six
Okay, follow with me, because this is going to get complicated. Have you ever had the desire to hear a heavy metal band which had disco flourishes, fronted by a singer who sings like Tom Jones? Oh and let's not forget lyrics that are more bombastic than Tenacious D. Well, hailing from Detroit, here comes Electric Six. Join the Dance Commander at the Gay Bar and look out "for the fire at the Disco, fire at the Taco Bell!"

Will's No. 9: How the West Was Won - Led Zeppelin
A live album, taped in 1973, making the list 30 years later? Yeah, it's that good. I'm no Zep worshipper, but this is a band at its most powerful playing live. It may be late coming yet there is no denying that for a while, Led Zep was the greatest rock n' roll band in the world. Been a long time, been a long time ...

Scott's No. 9: Welcome to the Monkey House- The Dandy Warhols While being big stars in Europe, The Dandies have never been able to break through the radio clutter that stifles the US. I?m not sure this group has ever fulfilled it?s potential, but the Monkey House is the best overall release of their career. (Standout Track: We Used to Be Friends)

Will's No. 8: Unclassified, Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Wow. Guitar heroes are few and far between these days. Kenny Wayne Shepherd wants to be Kid Rock, Jonny Lang wants to be ... something, and Shannon Curfman's vanished. Randolph doesn't play guitar, but pedal steel, giving him a unique sound. He does the most with it when he's playing blues. Like Jeff Healey, his song selection will make or break him publicly, but a tour with Eric Clapton seemed to crystallize Randolph's sound.

Scott's No. 8: Keep It Together- Guster
The power pop album of the year. Guster has been doing the breezy harmony thing for a few years, but this disc is their best effort, yet. Download the song, Amsterdam, if you don?t believe me.

Will's No. 7: Soul Sessions, Joss Stone and Introducing Ricky Fante I'm combining these similar albums. Both have a retro, Stax/Volt feel. Joss Stone broke into the mainstream due to her teen idol looks and Aretha-class pipes. Covering a White Stripes tune helped too. Ricky Fante isn't as well known, but has the same vibe. He sounds like Al Green on many tunes, a pretty high compliment. Check both out - they both show the difference between "retro" and "classic."

Scott's No. 7: Rock N Roll- Ryan Adams
While not in the same league as Prince and Elvis Costello, Adams has suffered from some of the same things these true musical greats have dealt with, being too prolific for their own good. I've always liked some of his material on each release, but on Rock N Roll Adams' promise is fully delivered. Known for his alt.country sound, Adams flips from garage rock to New Order-influenced beats, while still keeping his Paul Westerberg slant on the world.

Will's No. 6: A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay
Chris and the boys put together a step forward from the great "Parachutes" album, expanding the palette while becoming more mainstream at the same time. "The Scientist" is one of the deeper songs, unfolding in subsequent listens, that I've heard in years. "Clocks" has that classic riff that just revs you up. Love or hate their recognizable sound and their Paltrowian media footprint, this album is still at the head of the class of the contemporary British sound.

Scott's No. 6: Electric Version-The New Pornographers
Man does this disc sound great. I can?t say I?m a big fan of lead singer Neko Case?s solo work, but when she?s backed by the beautiful arrangements of Carl Newman, the band sounds unlike anything I?ve ever heard.

Will's No. 5: The Wind, Warren Zevon
Perhaps this overranks on sentimentality, but I can't listen to it without getting a lump in my throat. This album functions as an extended goodbye for the terminally ill Zevon, both for him and for his friends who are all over the album. Is it his best work? No. He's another of the million artists who never overcame an early masterwork ("Excitable Boy") and lost relevance in his later career as music marched on. He never went the Jimmy Buffett/James Taylor route, staying true to what he heard and this album is a perfect farewell.

Scott's No. 5: Get Born- Jet
These guys must have been the greatest cover band in the world. Sure "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" is a riff rip of Iggy Pop and yeah, "Look What You've Done" sounds like an unreleased Oasis song, but they are great damn songs. Actually, a fun game is to listen to each song and guess whom they are lifting off of. My favorite thing Jet does is take Bon Scott type AC/DC songs and meld them with Beatles melody. Are these guys the Stone Temple Pilots of this decade?

Will's No. 4: Elephant, The White Stripes
Not so much revolution as evolution, "Elephant" was the one where the Whites got it 'right' - if right is the right word. It's great, yet looks to me more like a consolidation album, the culmination of the work they put in the last few years before moving on to something else or adding something. I have no idea where this band might take things, but with the Stripes and Black Keys, we've got the colors in the right spots.

Scott's No. 4: Fever to Tell- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
When your band is led by a singer who wails like P.J. Harvey, but with some of the vocal timbre of Chrissy Hynde, you are off to a great start and Y3 delivered on all the hype that surrounded their debut. Mixing the seductive sounds of Karen O., with Sonic Youth-inflicted music, made for another great debut in 2003. (Standout track: Maps)

Will's No. 3: Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne
This is what pop should be: Smart, not created. Every track of this album, like some early Beatles albums, could be a single. It's their entire sensibility that each song should be catchy, poppy, sing-a-long, hook-heavy and on most songs, they hit the mark. "All Out of Time" is an absolute classic of perspective, "Stacy's Mom" ranks with the great singles and videos of all time, and "Bright Future in Sales" should be the theme song of far too many people I know.

Scott's No. 3: Liz Phair- Liz Phair
When I first heard Liz Phair?s 4th release, I was in shock, hating the pop sheen she had added. Then something strangely started to happen as I listened for a second and then third time. I had to admit, the new version of Liz might not have the lo-fi charms of "Exile in Guyville", but she still has the same edge and with more confident vocals. I think there?s something wonderfully subversive about having the edgy, intelligent words of Phair playing right next to the Britneys and Jessicas. Many alternative music icons refuse to branch out and reach a bigger audience. Phair has proven that you can do this and still keep your lyrical edge. (Will: Good, not great album, but she is still smokin' hot.)

Will's No. 2: O, Damien Rice
Blake Kirkman pushed this album on me. I didn't dig "Volcano" when I heard it on the radio. It was just too challenging and robbed of its context in this album -- and this is nearly a concept album -- it didn't make sense. Rice's work just digs into your consciousness almost imperceptibly. You'll find yourself listening over and over, humming the tunes as you walk, and somehow, it's greatness is in both its subtlety and theatrical nature. Find me another album that pushes the genre as much as this (other than my #1 pick) and ends with an operatic flourish, literally.

Scott's No. 2: Welcome Interstate Managers- Fountains of Wayne
Now what I was saying about Guster being the best power pop album of 2003, well strike that from the record. This New Jersey band writes songs centered on the strangeness of suburbia, while backing their stories with a blend of Beatlemania and Rik Ocasek crunch. This release is loaded with great singles, but make sure to check out the ballad, "All Out of Time."

Will's No. 1: Speakerboxx/The Love Below, Outkast
The word 'masterpiece' is overused. This double album is a true masterpiece. More point to the crazy eclectic Prince-isms of Andre 3000, but don't overlook the same challenge of the genre that Speakerboxx is. Big Boi makes a lot of noise trying to push the boundaries of hip-hop from within the box that Andre broke out of. This album ranks with the greats and I anxiously await Summer 2005 when "Ten The Hard Way" comes out, "reuniting" Outkast. It is also hard for me to separate this album from fall of 2003. I first listened to it driving up to see the Cubs-Marlins NLCS. That's powerful imprinting, folks!

Scott's No. 1: Elephant-White Stripes
When we last left Jack and Meg White, they were turning country blues into a distorted symphony, with "White Blood Cells." Well, on "Elephant" the Stripes have put together a diverse group of songs that kick out the jams, while keeping a constant, hypnotic beat. Sure The Strokes were the band that the media focused on when the garage rock sound hit in 2001, but it's the White Stripes that are the band that has surpassed all of their contemporaries.

Scott Epilogue: I realize that many, including Will, are going to question how could I keep Outkast off my list? I can only answer that I have a lot of respect for the wonderfully strange world that Andre 3000 congers up on The Love Below, but Speakerboxx doesn't belong next to it. So don't call me a Love Hater, just not a fan of all of what came out of my speaker box.