The Best Pop Music of 2004

A look back at the best pop music of 2004, including hits from Britney Spears, Usher, Outkast, and more.

Introduction

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a year with so many good pop albums. We’ve had comebacks (Madonna, Britney Spears), debuts (Joss Stone, Amber Cove), and controversies (the rise of emo, the Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction”). It’s been a great year for pop music, and here are our picks for the best albums of 2004.

Best Pop Albums of 2004

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over fifteen years since 2004, but it’s true! A lot has changed in the world of music since then, but that doesn’t mean that the pop music from that year wasn’t great. In fact, there were a lot of amazing pop albums released in 2004. Here are a few of the best.

Britney Spears – In the Zone

In the Zone is the fourth studio album by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 12, 2003, by Jive Records. Its music incorporates dance, house, reggae, trip hop, and hip hop styles with instrumentation from guitars, drums, synthesizers, strings, and Middle Eastern musical instruments. Its themes deal with love, dancing, relationships, and sexuality. Contributions to the album’s production came from a variety of producers; including Bloodshy & Avant, R. Kelly, Trixster and Matthewunderwood.

Spears began working on the album during the filming of her 2002 film Crossroads; she recorded songs with producers including Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds as well as Mikey Bassie and Robert Goldberg during June 2002 in Nassau. Recording continued at Spear’s home studio in Kentwood until December 2002 when she left for early 2003 to focus on the production of her next film Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003). The album was partially mixed by Serban Ghenea at Windmark Recording before being completed by Jaymes Foster at The Record Plant in Hollywood; it was mastered by Brian Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.

In the Zone received positive reviews from music critics; many complimented Spears improved vocal performance as well as its holistic fusion of various genres throughout its tracks such as pop rock (“Me Against the Music”), dance-pop (“(I Got That) Boom Boom”), reggae (“Boys”), house (“Breathe on Me”) and hip hop (“Touch of My Hand”). It debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 413,000 copies A commercial success in many countries such as Australia where it topped for seven non-consecutive weeks earning a Platinum certification from ARIA , Canada where it holds similar record for creating more number one hits from an album than any Canadian artist in history untill Bieber came along .and Europe where “Toxic” topped several single charts . In Japan ,the album became a massive success reaching number two overall behind only Love Psychedelico ‘s HaeLE . It additionally peaked within the top ten in Switzerland , New Zealand ,Hungary , Poland .

The record received critical acclaim from contemporary music critics.”

Justin Timberlake – Justified

Released in November 2002, *Justified* was Justin Timberlake’s debut solo album after leaving *NSYNC. The album features production from The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Rick Rubin, and includes the singles “Like I Love You”, “Cry Me a River”, and “Rock Your Body”. Justin Timberlake won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Cry Me a River” at the 46th Grammy Awards.

Christina Aguilera – Stripped

Christina Aguilera’s second album, released in late 2002, was a runaway success, selling over 14 million copies worldwide. Her follow-up, Stripped, was released two years later and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album’s first single, ” Dirrty,” was a radical departure from Aguilera’s previous image as a virginal pop princess. The sexually charged song and its accompanying video caused a sensation, and “Stripped” quickly went platinum.

Best Pop Songs of 2004

2004 was a great year for pop music. There were a lot of great songs that were released that year. In this article, we will countdown the 10 best pop songs of 2004.

“Toxic” – Britney Spears

“Toxic” is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for her fourth studio album In the Zone (2003). It was released on January 13, 2004, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. The song was written by Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, with additional writing from Cathy Dennis and Henrik Jonback. Curtis Scorzelli served as the track’s art director. Spears generated strong controversy and media interest with her music video, which features various scenes of her in lingerie and other provocative clothing, riding a mechanical bull and seducing a man wearing a gas mask.

The track won Spears her first Grammy Award at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005 in the category of Best Dance Recording; it remains her only Grammy to date. “Toxic” peaked atop of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for three non-consecutive weeks in February 2004, making it Spears’ second number-one single on that chart after “(You Drive Me) Crazy”. “Toxic” has sold over five million copies worldwide.

A number of remixes were made of the song, including versions by Bloodshy & Avant, Peter Rauhofer, Bill Hamel and Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns; all these remixes improved upon commercial success internationally. The song has been included on five of Spears’ concert tours: The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004), The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009), Femme Fatale Tour (2011), Britney: Piece of Me (2014–17) and her Las Vegas residency show Britney: Domination (2019).

“Cry Me a River” – Justin Timberlake

When “Cry Me a River” was released in November 2002, it became an instant smash hit. The song was written by Timberlake and produced by Scott Storch, and it quickly rose to the top of the charts. The song is about a relationship that has ended, and Timberlake sings about how he feels betrayed by his former lover. The song was nominated for four Grammy Awards, and it won two of them.

“Beautiful” – Christina Aguilera

On December 6, 2004, Christina Aguilera released her fourth studio album, Back to Basics. The album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). “Beautiful” was released as the second single from the album on February 15, 2005. The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Conclusion

All in all, 2004 was a great year for pop music. There were a wide variety of sounds and styles represented, and many of the songs that were released this year have gone on to become timeless classics. If you’re looking for a soundtrack to help you remember the good times from this year, then look no further than this list of the best pop songs from 2004.