Progressive Torch and Twang Top Albums for 2004

1. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose (Interscope)
2. Tom Waits
- Real Gone (Anti-)
3. Drive
-By Truckers - The Dirty South (New West)
4. Cary Hudson
- Cool Breeze (Black Dog)
5. Richard Buckner
- Dents and Shells (Merge)
6. Buddy Miller
- Universal United House of Prayer (New West)
7. Old Crow Medicine Show
- Self-Titled (Nettwerk America)
8. Anders Parker
- Tell it to the Dust (Baryon)
9. Chuck Prophet
- Age of Miracles (New West)
10. Steppin’ In It
- Hidden in the Lowlands (Hippo Coop)
11. Various Artists
- Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck (Sugar Hill)
12. Lyle Lovett
- My Baby Don’t Tolerate (Curb/MCA)
13. Black Keys
- Rubber Factory (Anti-)
14. Patterson Hood
- Killers and Stars (New West)
15. Steve Earle
- The Revolution Starts Now... (Artemis)
16. Ingham County Regulars
- Self-Titled (517-REC-ORDS)
17. Patti Griffin
- Impossible Dream (ATO)
18. Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch
- You Can’t Save Everybody (Compass)
19. Dave Alvin
- Ashgrove (Yep Roc)
20. Tim Eriksen
- Every Sound Below (Appleseed)
21. Jim White
- Drill A Hole in the Substrate... (Luaka Bop)
22. King Wilkie
- Broke (Rebel)
23. Tony Joe White
- The Heroines (Sanctuary)
24. Dale Watson
- Dreamland (Audium/Koch)
25. Slaid Cleaves
- Wishbone (Philo)
26. BR5
-49 - Tangled in the Pines (Dualtone)
27. Giant Sand
- ...is All Over the Map (Thrill Jockey)
28. Billy Joe Shaver
- Billy and the Kid (Compadre)
29. Reverend Horton Heat
- Revival (Yep Roc)
30. Moot Davis
- Self-Titled (Little Dog)
31. Various Artist
- Por Vida: Songs of Alejandro Escovedo (Or Music)
32. Jim Lauderdale
- Headed for the Hills (Dualtone)
33. Elvis Costello and the Imposters
- The Delivery Man (Lost Highway)
34. Various Artists
- Cold Mountain Soundtrack (DMZ/Columbia)
35. Wilco
- A Ghost is Born (Nonesuch)
36. Bobby Bare Jr.
- From the End of Your Leash (Bloodshot)
37. Adrienne Young
- Plow to the End of the Row (Addie Belle)
38. Various Artists
- Just Because I’m A Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton (Sugar Hill)
39. Honest D. Smith and the Steel Reserve
- Horseradish Rag and Other (Jacknife)
40. June Star
- Sugarbird (Atomic Twang)
41. Nathan
- Jimson Weed (Nettwerk America)
42. Iris Dement
- Lifeline (Flariella)
43. Various Artists
- Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster (American Roots)
44. Daisy May
- Sleepless (Self-Released)
45. Various Artists
- The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family (Dualtone) 

Best of the Rest:

Flatfoot - The Legend of Big Sid (self-released)
Emmylou Harris
- Stumble Into Grace (Nonesuch)
Darrell Scott
- Theatre of the Unheard (Full Light
Los Lobos
- The Ride (Hollywood)
Todd Snider
- East Nashville Skyline (Oh Boy)
American Cosmos
- Right Down to Nothing (517-REC-ORDS)
Bottle Rockets
- Blue Sky (Sanctuary)
Robert Earl Keen
- Farm Fresh Onions (Audium)
The Mavericks
- Self-Titled (Sanctuary)
Kasey Chambers
- Wayward Angel (Warner Bros.)
Mindy Smith
- One Moment More (Vanguard)
Tift Merritt
- Tambourine (Lost Highway)
Junior Brown
- Downhome Chrome (Telarc)
Gibson Bros.
- Long Way Back Home (Sugar Hill)
Meat Purveyors
- Pain By Numbers (Bloodshot)
Mountain Heart
- Force of Nature (Skaggs Family)
Marah
- 20,000 Streets Under Sky (Yep Roc)
Flatlanders
- Wheels of Fortune (New West)
Allison Moorer
- The Duel (Sugar HIll)
Leftover Salmon
- Self-Titled (Compendia)
Rodney Crowell
- Fates Right Hand (Columbia)
The Crickets & Their Buddies
- Self-titled (Sovereign)
Ricky Skaggs
- Brand New Strings (Skaggs Family)
Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
- The Trouble with Humans (Lonestar)
Mark Erelli
-
Hillbilly Pilgrim (Signature Sounds)
 

Reissues & Compilations:

Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys - Live at the Mechanics Hall (Acoustic Disc)
Blaze Foley
- Oval Room (Lost Art)
Peter Case
- Who’s Gonna Go Your Crooked Mile? (Selected Tracks 1994-2004) (Vanguard)
Jimmy Martin
- Don’t Cry to Me (Thrill Jockey)
Various Artists
- Can’t Your Hear Me Callin’ (80 Years of Bluegrass Music) (Sony)
Beat Farmer
- Tales of the New West (Rhino)
Elvis Costello
- Almost Blue (Rhino)
Dwight Yoakam
- Dwight’s Used Records (Audium/Koch)
Earl Scruggs
- The Essential Earl Scruggs (Sony/Legacy)
Bob Dylan
- Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall (Sony)
Merle Haggard
- The Essential Merle Haggard (Sony/Legacy)
Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks
- It Came From Nashville (Landslide)
Red Allen
- Keep on Going (Rebel)
Red Allen
- Lonesome & Blue (Rebel)
Ralph Stanley
- Great High Moutain (Rebel)
Doug Sahm
- The Genuine Texas Groover (Rhino Handmade)
Jay Farrar
- Stone, Steel, & Bright Lights (Transmit Sound)
The Sadies
- Favourite Colours (Yep Roc)
Iris Dement
- Lifeline (Flariella)
Jeffrey Focault
- Stripping Cane (Signature Sounds)
Tres Chicas
- Sweetwater (Yep Roc)
The Holmes Brothers
- Simple Truths (Alligator)
Robyn Hitchcock
- Spooked (Yep Roc)
Alison Krauss
- Lonely Runs Both Ways (Rounder)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Abattoir Blues / Lyre of Orpheus (Anti-)
Dirk Powell
- Time Again (Rounder)
Jason Ringenberg
- Empire Builders(Yep Roc)
Greg Brown
- Honey in the Lion’s Head (Trailer)
Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers
- Believe (Yep Roc)
The Gourds
- Blood of the Ram (Eleven Thirty)
Jeff Plankenhorn
- Plank (Blue Corn)
Jon Rauhouse
- Steel Guitar Rode (Bloodshot)
Geraint Watkins
- Dial “M” for Watkins (Yep Roc)
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
- Oh, My Girl (Barsuk)
The Silos
- When the Telephone Rings (Dualtone)
Various Artists
- The Nashville Acoustic Sesions (CMH)
Old 97s
- Drag It Up (New West)
Grant Lee Phillips
- Virginia Creeper (Zoe)
Albert Lee
- Heartbreak Hill (Sugar Hill)
Two Dollar Pistols
- Hands Up (Yep Roc)