So what do Tom Waits, Wilco, Arcade Fire, and Mastodon all have in common? They all top the list of the top 10 albums of 2004, as compiled by the hipsters on staff at Twist & Shout, one of Denver’s coolest independent record stores.

Of course, if you get 50 cool kids in one room to vote on their fave records of the year, you won’t come up with a neat little list of ten albums. With a 32-way tie for #7, they seemingly called it quits for #8, 9, and 10. Good idea. With over 50 highly-recommended albums on the list, this is a gold mine for finding some of the year’s best, but lesser-known releases.

My personal recommendations from the list? Arcade Fire’s Funeral, Blonde Redhead’s Misery is a Butterfly, Luna’s Rendezvous, and Iron and Wine’s Our Endless Numbered Days.

You can also check out their list of holiday gift ideas, with music selections plus DVDs, books, and other music-geek friendly odds and ends.