Cleveland Guides

Sassy Brits, hoochie mamas and a dude named Beans attempted to invigorate a stagnant year for hip-hop.

Music that made the world safe for the word “alternative” again.

White men learned to dance, and the emoting was as thick as the eyeliner on the year’s best pop-rock records.

This was the year electronic dance music got its head — and its ass — out of the past.

Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you’ve been jamming and dig this year’s buried black-music treasures.

This year, blood-soaked extreme metal took its rightful place in the world of heavy music.

Grab a slice of 2004’s best roots music while it’s still hot.