20.Subhumans – You know everyone wears Subhumans shirts. It is like the average person that wears one of their shirts picks it out for its design rather than the history, and this type of ignorance turned me off for years from listening to the band. When one of their albums was available for download on punkhc, “The Day The Country Died”, I just had to give it a shot. Their music was fairly impressive, and on a track like “Zyklon B Movie”, they can string together a great chorus with hard-hitting music to make classics. When a track like “All Gone Dead” starts off an album, you know you are in for a history-making good, fun time, and one can begin to hear by the fourth or fifth track why exactly the band is so revered.

19.Soviettes – Billie Joe Armstrong has some good taste in music, be it what ey has done band-wise (The Network, Pinhead Gunpowder) or who ey has signed on eir Adeline Records label, namely the Soviettes. I first was turned onto The Soviettes when their track “Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha” was featured on April’s Rock Against Bush compilation. Finally, we are given more than a taste from the Minneapolis act, and they do not disappoint in the least. Mixing the earliest strains of British punk with the straight-forward rock strains started in America, The Soviettes make radio-friendly tracks that are nearly impossible to ignore. Coming out of the gates with a strong effort relatively early in their career, The Soviettes have no ceiling on the success they can achieve.

18.Nausea – At a party during my Junior year (January 2004?), I was talking to one of my dirty-hippie/liberal friend’s friends, who was wearing a shirt that I didn’t immediately recognize. I was wearing an Against Me! shirt and ey said that Nausea was a much more intense type of band, and ey was right. I don’t like much crust (and I don’t care if I get the genre of music wrong, but they smack of crush to me), but Extinction: The Second Coming is one of the most brutal albums to come out in the last 20 years.

17.The Evens - The Evens, who I saw at AMC this year, contain two members: Ian Mackaye and Amy Farina. Playing an amazing set that was reminiscent of early nineties alternative music, their music also included hints of mid-to-late nineties goth music. There is no kidding about it; Ian is one of the most talented musicians in the current period to pick up a guitar. This is not to say that Amy is a slouch, rather ey is able to keep with and accentuate Ian’s experimental time signature. Using a continual echo in the sound, The Evens made the room seem larger while still keeping the intimacy of the 150-plus packed in. All the crowd was a willing captive, not leaving but attuning themselves to the wavelength of The Evens.

16.Goldenboy – This was one of the freebies I received at Warped Tour. More personally than the label hucksters shoveling copies of shitty demos to anyone that would sign up to their e-mail list, one of the other zinesters that got a press pass to Warped gave me the disc to review for the zine. Providing a type of pop-punk that draws together Weezer, Green Day, SR-71, as well as the SoCal punk of the mid to late nineties, Norway’s Goldenboy have a professional air around them that shows a devotion that not many American bands have. “(Not) Going Home Alone” highlights the heavy influence of Weezer on the band, while the second track, “The Challenge” is diametrically opposed in style and direct influences. By removing any specific stylistic nods to a period in music, Goldenboy has skillfully created a type of punk that will be as vibrant as the Ramones’ first albums are today.

15.Blitzkid – Now, I have to be honest. While I did have the right name down for this band, I was confused for a moment trying to discern between Balzac and Blitzkid. I understand Balzac is from Japan, but Blitzkid’s “Lupen Tooth” (found on their “Trace of a Stranger” CD) was an incredibly catchy song created in the vein of the newer, better Misfits. (Yes, I know it is heresy, but the simple fact is that later Misfits are entirely better than the Danzig-led Misfits of yore). “Lupen Tooth” was a standout track on the This Is Horrorpunk compilation, a feat because there were just so many other acts that were at the top of their game on this album. After a litany of releases spanning over six years, Blitzkid will crack the ceiling and get even more publicity in this next year.

14.Case – A band that I only know of because of Captain Oi!s “Oi! The Demos” compilation, and can’t find much else about, mixes disco, an always-present bass line and an instantly memorable set of choruses in each and every song. The recording may be a little rough on these tracks, but everything sounds as fresh as if it was created just a week ago. The band is cohesive, the horn line is reminiscent of what the X-Ray Spex would be if they actually knew how to play their instruments, and unlike many of the albums of the period the vocals are actually easy to discern and lay on top of the instrumentation without drowning it out. Coupling vocals with the horns in a track like “Crazy Town” shows an eye for arrangement that is rare to find in any sort of music, much less in your average oi! band.

13.DEK – One of the youngest bands I’ve ever gotten material from, DEK plays a style of music that lost most of its fan before the band was born. Hell, before even this reviewer was born, the 82/streetpunk of DEK is refreshing in a pop-fed world. Each track speeds forward to its inevitable conclusion, and few tracks break the three-minute barrier. Their age has nothing to do with their music besides what one of The Skulls said on their “Monsters Crash The Party!” DVD – they are pure, uncorrupted by the lure of money or other diversions from their love, even momentarily. The band has more cohesion that most bands that have been grinding it out for years, with each track one step away from perfection. Instead of being dominated by a strong vocal or guitar presence, each track on “Boner” is communistic with each member contributing equally to the finished product.

12.Angelic Upstarts – I was “that guy”, buying the shirt of a band that I had heard many positive things about but never actually heard. The guilt of not really knowing much about the band made me stick the shirt deeper into my closet, until I downloaded 2,000,000 Voices. Tracks like “Ghost Town” and “You’re Nicked” show the best that the oi! scene had to offer in the early eighties, and other tracks like 1984’s “She Don’t Cry Anymore” show a band that was never complacent with their general music style. Angelic Upstarts rightfully deserve to be placed alongside the more revolutionary of punk, the Ramones and Dead Boys and Television, instead of being relegated to a second-class status.

11.Nekromantix – I always like the sound that an upright bass can create, but did not know many bands outside Defiance Ohio that used it to any great degree. Well – Blink 182 did use it on their self-titled album, but I digress. Nekromantix is the perfect mix of punk and goth, mixing 45 Grave with the Misfits, using the bass more often than the drums to push the tracks into a more hurried sound. 2004 saw the release of their newest album “Dead Girls Don’t Cry” on Hellcat Records, an album that contained such immediate classics as “Backstage Pass to Hell”. While the comparison is often made that Nekromantix sounds like Tiger Army, the simple fact is that Nekromantix plays circles around Tiger Army, and Dead Girls was a much more solid album than III.

10.Code 4-15 – When I walked by these kids during the Warped Tour, I honestly thought I had walked into an alternate universe where Green Day had assumed this form. When I actually stopped and took some time listening to them, I realized that in many ways, they were a stronger act than even Green Day. The cohesion of the band was incredible, the virtuosity of the act impressive, and even in the studio (“City Lights”, for example), the energy that rolls off this band is astounding. They were the biggest surprise of the day at Warped Tour, not a small feat to achieve, considering such giants as Bad Religion, The Briggs, The Vandals, and like were at this show. The vast majority of attendees at Code 4-15’s set wouldn’t stop cracking about how the band “ripped off” Green Day, but I would have to say you can’t rip off what you are better than.

09.Legbone – The first band I approached at Warped Tour, I felt bad for missing their set, as they were playing while we were stuck in traffic. I traded a copy of my zine for their five song EP, and I was transferred back a decade to The Offspring’s “Smash”. This band has been going for over a decade, and while some of the local band kids said that they were horrible live, I would put my money on Legbone providing their audiences with some of the most memorable live shows ever. Legbone doesn’t strike me as a band that is from Ohio – their sound is polished and intricate, something that not many bands from Ohio are able to do, usually accomplishing the one while being deficient in the other. Pick up “Different Path” from their website, and you will be treated to some of the freshest and most well-wrought punk rock to ever grace this side of the Mississippi.

08.Ten Foot Pole – Another band that I had heard of but never really approached, I finally snagged TFP’s new album “Subliminable Messages” a few months ago. Blowing it off at first, two tracks immediately jumped out at me the first time I put it on. These tracks, the funny (and reminiscent of a South Park episode) “Last Call For Russell’s Balls” and the introspective and history-lesson-like track “The Quest” showed a pop-punk band that came more out of the tradition of Up Syndrome and Unwritten Law than Good Charlotte and Blink 182. The immense ground covered by TFP in the space of twelve tracks snows a band that has learned a lot since their 1994 debut, “Rev”.

07.Amber Pacific – Hey, can you get any more emo than these kids? No, but their EP “Fading Days” is one of the best and most succinct of any album to come out during 2004. They mix the sheer power of Billy Talent and Yellowcard along with the musicianship of A Wilhelm Scream and The Movielife. “Fading Days” starts off with “Thoughts Before Me”, a track fueled on by a chord progression on the guitar and Matt’s vocals, which provide a third way between the screeching guitars and the splashy high hat of the drums. Slowly opening the pivot track, “The Last Time”, Amber Pacific makes their impassioned plea to the masses of their listeners, all while still pleasing those individuals who are listening for the arrangement. While “The Last Time” is not as radio-friendly as the previous tracks, Amber Pacific change up the general sound while still keeping a common thread which thrives in “The Last Time”.

06.The Specifics – Skoi (Ska/Oi) out of Pickerington, I’ve had to have this band play more shows of mine than any other out-of-town act. Their songs are miles beyond what is being put out by 99% of the punk scene both in terms of arrangements and instrumental virtuosity. Placing a current style of punk (The Casualties, The Virus) alongside 77 and 82 punk (The Partisans, The Ramones), they create a new and fresh brand of punk music for the future. Playing out more often than practically any of the local bands (excepting Deadwillrise), The Specifics have rapidly garnered a following at every venue they’ve played. They are working on a new EP to follow up their critically-acclaimed debut to be released sometime in 2005.

05.Sham 69 – Call me ignorant, but it took me this long to find out about this seminal oi/punk band. Due to the magic that is punkhc.dyndns.org, I was able to download a greatest hits collection, and were struck by their intelligence and sharp political commentary, shown most convincingly by their re-working of “You’re A Better Man Than I”. “If The Kids Are United” is a track that shows that even 25 years before the current that unity is needed for any meaningful change in society. “Hersham Boys” is the perfect mix of country and punk, in one of the earliest cross-over tracks to be found in the movement. The sheer amount of bands that cover “If The Kids Are United” show that the band’s influence has not waned in the years since their peak.

04.Shayne Underwood – This is cheating a little bit, since Shayne and I have been friends for nearly a decade, but Shayne’s new project, the formerly untitled/now Bloody Irish Boys can’t escape its proper laudation. Every time we would go over to eir’s house to drink, ey would put on the latest mix of eir music. The early versions of the tracks had goofy, fake sounding traditional instruments like violin and accordion, and the creative process, urged on by Shayne’s burning desire for perfection, was a sight to hear with each subsequent visit. The disc is almost finished, with an early to mid 2005 release date expected, and it will be the most talked-about album in Lancaster since White Trash’s LP. This project is the height of the endeavors that Shayne has taken in the period since I’ve known eir, and if ey sticks with it, there will be no limits to eir fame.

03.A Global Threat – For a while, I avoided anything that was on Punkcore. Finally, I caved in this year and downloaded stuff by The Virus, Cheap Sex, and finally got around to A Global Threat after seeing a tattoo that one of my buddies T-Bird has. A Global Threat has been around for a few years, but I was able to pick up “What the Fuck Will Change” from punkhc.dyndns.org , and really dug it. Breakneck punk that has a message that people can actually discern and music that will throw your body in the pit. Each track, it seems, has that one chorus that will have everyone smashing their bodies toward the microphones to sing along with, and with the average track lasting about 1:30, no one can say they will get bored with their music. They are one of the few bands on this list that still are together, so catch them next time they are out on tour, and make sure you wear your shitkickers.

02.Rise Against – My friend (and local drug fiend) J loves this band, and I ended up purchasing two of RA’s previous albums for eir back during the first half of the year. I had heard some tracks on compilations, and I just wasn’t really that impressed with the band. Fast forward to the beginning of my Senior year, where I got a five-track sampler of RA’s new album, “The Siren Song of The Counter-Culture”, which had as its first track the superb “Paper Wings”. Tim’s scratchy yet smooth voice propels the entirety of “Siren Song” into the middle-ground between punk and emo, making something memorable accessible to the largest possible community. “Siren Song” is one of the best albums of 2004 for the sheer number of classics on one CD – “Blood to Bleed” seems to be a more effectual AFI song than even Davey and the kids could create.

01.Stars and Stripes – The oi! band started by members of hardcore-legends Slapshot, the music is beyond perfection – think if Skrewdriver actually had a knack for their instruments instead of putting forth only catchy melodies. The songs are all tongue-in-cheeks, and some – like “Shaved For Battle” – is a direct play on a classic, “These Boots Are Made For Walking.” Even stronger in sound than legends Bound For Glory, the “ignorant” viewpoints espoused in songs like “Drop The Bomb” mirror perfectly typical racist-skin views on foreign policy. This act actually re-formed to release 2004’s “One Man Army”, a feat which shows that there are enough like-minded individuals to merit making a second album.