The 55 Best Albums of 2014 (1-11)

At the end of the day, the top albums came down to the ones I found myself listening to the most.  There were albums I respected but I never had the urge to play, so they ended up lower on the list.  These were the albums that kept finding themselves in my heavy rotation.  These albums deserve top billing. Probably the biggest surprise here is the U2 album.  I have no idea why so many people criticized its delivery method.  People have been complaining that the old system doesn't work anymore; labels and bands need to try new things.  U2 did. They gave the fans exactly what they asked for and the people still complained.  People didn't complain this much about Zooropa (which deserved it). My favorite criticism of the band is now they're corporate.  I hate to break it to you all, any band on a record label is corporate. U2 took a risk and I commend them for it. I'd rather a band take a risk and fail then play it safe and be ordinary.  If people stopped complaining and listened, they might actually be surprised. Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (1-11):

1.  Broken Bells - After the Disco
2.  Antemasque - Antemasque
3.  Eagulls - Eagulls
4.  TV On The Radio - Seeds
5.  White Sea - White Sea
6.  Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
7.  Cheatahs - Cheatahs
8.  Jack White - Lazaretto
9.  James Vincent McMorrow - Post-Tropical
10. Run The Jewels - RTJ2
11. U2 - Songs of Innocence

  Buy all of these albums and more...now!!  

My 11 Favorite Albums of 2014

It's been a weird year in music.  There's actually been a lot of great music...but nothing that has yet to stand above the rest.  There's been no real consensus on what albums are 2014's calling card.  From site to site, it seems there's a lot more variety than most years.  And my top 11 is no different.  While there seems to some shared love for James Vincent McMorrow, Against Me!, Cloud Nothings, and The War On Drugs, my favorite album of the year (the infectious Broken Bells) is nowhere to be found on any list.  The Jack White peaks into a couple lists but has been widely slammed, probably because the album was made for vinyl and listening to any other way takes it down a notch. Strangely, it happens to be my favorite non-White Stripes Jack White recording to date.  I've seen Pure X and Conor Oberst get a couple mentions (albeit low on lists).  White Sea and First Aid Kit are two budding artists hitting their strides, yet fail to get mentions.  Last on my list is the addictive EP by the band Movement.  Everyone's raving about How To Dress Well (which is another good album) but I feel like Movement is doing the same thing but is already leaps and bounds ahead.  But this is the great thing about music...there's something for everyone to love. Happy 4th!  Enjoy songs from the albums below...plus a few other good tracks from this year. Here are my 11 favorite albums of 2014 (so far):

1. Broken Bells - After The Disco
2. James Vincent McMorrow - Post-Tropical
3. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
4. Jack White - Lazaretto
5. Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain
6. Cloud Nothings - Here And Nowhere Else
7. Pure X - Angel
8. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
9. White Sea - White Sea
10. The War on Drugs - Lost In the Dream
11. Movement - Movement EP

     

Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!

The 11 Best Solo Songs By Jack White

Fun Fact:  Jack White originally planned to become a priest and even went so far as to be accepted into a seminary school as a young teen. Here are the 11 Best Solo Songs By Jack White:

1. Sixteen Saltines (Blunderbuss)
2. Love Is Blindness (AHK-Toong BAY-Bi Covered)
3. Weep Themselves To Sleep (Blunderbuss)
4. Freedom At 21 (Blunderbuss)
5. Missing Pieces (Blunderbuss)
6. Machine Gun Silhouette (Love Interruption)
7. Wayfaring Stranger (Cold Mountain)
8. Take Me With You When You Go (Blunderbuss)
9. Love Interruption (Blunderbuss)
10. Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy (Blunderbuss)
11. Inaccessible Mystery (Forever At 21)

Buy Jack White's new album, Lazaretto...now!!!

Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!

The 11 Best Record Store Day Successes

At 4:00 AM Saturday morning, I pulled up outside a record store in Sherman Oaks, armed with a few graphic novels, a half-read Malcolm Gladwell tome and 2-liter bottle of Pepsi Max.  I was not alone.  In fact, I was 9th.  In a line that would later that day stretch to over 150-people long, I was part of the core group of dedicated music purists.  The starting line-up.  The Breakfast Club of vinyl.  A tenth member showed up at 4:30, in hopes he was the first one to arrive looking for the Cake box set.  When he found out he was the third one to walk up desiring its glory (knowing the store only obtained one copy), he tossed his hand in the air, disgusted by the whole event and marched off cursing with a wicked lisp.  We were a united front and no one was going to break our tribe.

For the next 7 hours, we discussed our purchases.  Who was getting what?  We strategized with each other, plotting which albums we were sure to get, while at the same time conscious of the others' picks.  Like the crossing of the streams in Ghostbusters, there could be no overlap.  With three people in line only there to get the Paramore release (that's dedication...but it is a cool-looking record), our competition was minimal.  Once we had announced our choices, once we had determined our lists, we no longer allowed to make changes or additions that affected anyone else's lists.  That would be seen as treasonous...and there's no telling the severity of the scowl that would be emitted from a pissed off music nerd.  

Finally, the rest of the line showed up as the crack of six came around.  But we were the tribal council.  We had the power in the front of the line to determine who was getting what.  If the twelfth person in line came only for the Joy Division EP, and I was thinking about getting it, it meant I held all the power over their music-buying fate.  But even vinyl aficionados have morals. There were no cuts.  There was no buying for a friend.  There were also no assholes.  We respected each other's right to be there. At the end of the day, we're a community and we protect our own.

As massively successful that Record Store Day is for the fans and styluses everywhere, it is always amazing to watch what limited edition, colored-vinyl, filled with live demos of covers has the most sustainability outside of the store.  I'm not talking about which album you enjoy listening to the most, that's personal, and there's no list for that.  I'm talking about which albums garner the most online demand.  Some of the albums that were predicted to be draws like Outkast, the side by side series, and even the new Conor Oberst had very little online life.  Even the highly hyped Green Day Demos red vinyl was being outbid by the CD version of the same title.  But some titles...some titles exceeded expectations and will now live on in legend of the RSD history.

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Successes:

1. R.E.M. - Unplugged (307) - I've been waiting for this release for 23 years.  It does not disappoint.  Online it's selling for 350% over its list price and there seems to be no dip in the demand.  Despite its popularity it sounds fucking incredible. Only 1000 of these were made, which means it will be in demand for a long time.
2. Cake - Box Set ($330) - All of Cake's seven albums, plus an 8th never-released album, all printed on different colored vinyl.  Even though it sells for more than REM, it cost twice as much originally.  This thing was so popular it literally caused  a guy to cry in line because he didn't get it.
3. Ghostbusters ($100) - The surprise of the day.  Whoever thought a 30 year old movie theme song on glow in the dark vinyl would be wanted by everyone in line.
4. Garcia ($148) - Jerry's first solo album on white vinyl.  Dead fans who are not dead are fighting tooth and nail for this one.
5. The Liars - Mess On a Mission ($75) - This might edge out Paramore for the coolest looking record.  Clear vinyl with yarn inside.  A truly unique release.
6. Devo - Live at Max's Kansas City ($107) - From 1977, this is a great uncovered gem by a legendary band. 
7. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World ($96) - A cult classic soundtrack draws a cult classic crowd. 
8. Death Cab For Cutie ($95) - DCFC with an orchestra...this is the kind of release RSD is made for.
9. Childish Gambino ($80) - Donald Glover may be a funny guy, but he had the best packaging of the day.
10. Life Without Buildings ($102) - An obscure release by an obscure 80s band for the first time in America.  If you don't get this now, you'll never get it.
11. Jack White - Lazaretto ($475) - Even though this is selling for the most amount of money online, it's not really fair to compare it to the others since you could only purchase it at one location.  It's still cool as shit.  Looks like Jack just raised the bar for coolest RSD release.  Your turn Wayne Coyne.

Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!

The 111 Best Albums of 2012

Thanks to all those who voted!

Here are the 111 Best Albums of 2012:

1. Japandroids - Celebration Rock (Bonus Track)
2. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (Bonus Track)
3. Jack White - Blunderbuss (Bonus Track)
4. Kendrick Lamar - g.o.o.d. kid, maad city
5. Grizzly Bear – Shields
6. The xx - Co-Exist
7. Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls
8. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel
9. Sharon Von Etten - Tramp
10. Beach House - Bloom
11. Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits
12. The Lumineers – Lumineers
13. Tame Impala – Lonerism
14. Bob Mould - Silver Age
15. Ben Folds Five - The Sound of Life of the Mind
16. Shins - Port of Morrow
17. Grimes - Vision
18. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist
19. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods
20. Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is An Animal
21. Soundgarden - King Animal
22. Chromatics - Kill For Love
23. Lana Del Rey - Born To Die/Paradise
24. The Walkmen - Heaven
25. Jimmy Cliff - Rebirth
26. Father John Misty - Fear Fun
27. Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
28. First Aid Kit - Lion’s Roar
29. Burial - Truant/Kindred EP
30. Bahamas - Barchords
31. Swans - The Seer
32. Pinback - Information Retrieved
33. Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania
34. Bloc Party - Four
35. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
36. Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet On Sky
37. Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams
38. Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light
39. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
40. Bob Dylan - Tempest
41. Fun. - Some Nights
42. Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself
43. TY Segall – Twins
44. Bobby Womack - Bravest Man in the Universe
45. Passion Pit - Gossamer
46. Liars - WIXIW
47. Gary Clark Jr. - Black and Blu
48. The Corin Tucker Band - Kill My Blues
49. Olafur Arnalds - Another Happy Day
50. Wintersleep - Hello Hum
51. Matt Skiba and the Sekrets - Babylon
52. Titus Andronicus - Local Business
53. Crystal Castles - III
54. Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball
55. Hot Chip - In Our Heads
56. Jesse Ware - Devotion
57. Four Tet - Pink
58. Glen Hansard - Rhythm & Repose
59. Sun Kil Moon - Among The Leaves
60. Avett Brothers - The Carpenter
61. Band of Horses - Mirage Rock
62. The Lighthouse and the Whaler - This Is an Adventure
63. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Lost Songs
64. The Big Pink - Future This
65. Yellowcard - Southern Air
66. Harold Budd - Bandits of Stature
67. Pilot to Gunner - Guilty Guilty
68. Muse - The 2nd Law
69. Said The Whale - Little Mountain
70. P.O.S - We Don't Even Live Here
71. Fang Island - Major
72. Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
73. Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
74. Aesop Rock - Skeleton
75. Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit
76. Lambchop - Mr. M
77. Metric - Synthetica
78. Jon Samuel - First Transmission
79. Loscil - Sketches From New Brighton
80. Lostprophets - Weapons
81. Mumford & Sons - Babel
82. Lee Fields & the Expressions - Faithful Man
83. Bad Veins - The Mess We’ve Made
84. Everclear - Invisible Stars
85. Forgetters - Forgetters
86. Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream
87. Niki & the Dove - Instinct
88. Classics of Love - Classics of Love
89. Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again
90. Yukon Blonde - Tiger Talk
91. Goodnight Lights - As Far As the Moon
92. Joel Plaskett Emergency - Scrappy Happiness
93. Vijay Iyer Trio - Accelerando
94. Marconi Union - Different Colors
95. Purity Ring - Shrines
96. Minus The Bear - Infinity Overheard
97. Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Big Moon Ritual
98. Field Report - Field Report
99. Twin Shadow - Confess
100. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
101. Two Door Cinema - Beacon
102. Rhett Miller - The Dream/The Interpreter Live At Largo
103. Maus Haus - Light Noise
104. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
105. Battles - Dross Glop
106. Minilogue - Endlessness EP
107. Amos The Transparent - Goodnight My Dear
108. Django Django - Django Django
109. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz
110. Jeff The Brotherhood - Hypnotic Nights
111. My Bloody Valentine - The EPs 1988-1991

Buy these albums and more now!!!

The Best Albums of 2012 (1-11)

It's the end of the year.  2012...and we survived.  Unless some mad Mayan rises from the grave in the next three days and turns us all into zombies and the inevitable Irwin Allen disaster picture.  Anything's possible.

So here are my top pics for favorite albums of 2012.  It's really a toss-up between Jack and Corin.  I went with Corin in the final coin flip because I find myself going back to the record more than JW.  It's honestly the strongest thing she's put out since the heart of the Sleater-Kinney years...if not better in some ways.

Now it's your turn.  Send in your top album pics for 2012 and I'll compile them in my super 111 best album list that I'll post about a week from now.

Remember it doesn't have to be twenty.  It can be any number of albums you liked.  Just post them in the comment section or email me.

Have a great new year!

Here are the Best Albums of 2012 (1-11):

1.  The Corin Tucker Band - Kill My Blues
2.  Jack White - Blunderbuss
3.  The Big Pink - Future This
4.  Lana Del Rey - Born To Die/Paradise
5.  Passion Pit - Gossamer
6.  Shins - Port of Morrow
7.  The xx - Coexist
8.  Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit
9.  The Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits (Bonus Track)
10.  Niki & Dove - Instinct
11.  Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods

Buy these albums and more...now!!!

The 11 Best Albums of 2012...so far

As you probably know from my rantings this year, finding great music has been in short supply.  I feel like I want to like more music than I actually do.  I follow the new releases pretty religiously...to the point that Tuesday is as sacred in my house as Sunday is in most of middle America.  I'm always looking for the next Bon Iver, the XX, or Arcade Fire.  But with the mediocre batch of releases this year...I'll settle for the next Motion City Soundtrack at this point.  (Okay, maybe not that)

This batch of releases is actually fairly solid...just nothing mind blowing...not yet.  Great music does have to grow on you.  And maybe some of the highly-touted releases (The Men, Torche, Kelly Hogan, Sharon Van Eten, Liars, Father John Misty, Ceremony, Daughn Gibson, Pallbearer, Dexys, Screaming Females, or The Walkmen) will grow on me.  Until then...this is what we have to work with.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2012...so far:

1. The Big Pink - Future This
2. Jack White - Blunderbuss
3. Schoolboy Q - Habits & Contradictions
4. Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods
5. Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
6. The Cribs - In The Belly of the Brazen Bull
7. The Shins - Port of Morrow
8. Japandroids - Celebration Rock (only $2.99...limited time!!)
9. Joey Bada$$ - 1999  (this one is free!!)
10. Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls
11. Jay Farrar - New Multitudes

What are your favorites this year?  

The 11 Best Albums by Danger Mouse

One of the signs that a band or artist is truly unique is if it is impossible to cover their songs and do the material justice.  Artists like Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Guns N Roses, even the Beastie Boys have such distinct styles that are so-intricately infused with their personalities that is it virtually impossible for another artist to come along and mirror that originality.  I think this is a sign of a truly great artist.  To create your own voice that is so distinct, you know a song or a voice the instant you hear it.  Today’s pop music is so bland, that there is no difference between the artists.  The singers are interchangeable with the music.  Lady Gaga could swap songs with Justin Bieber and there would be no difference in the quality of the recordings.  Even an artist like Danger Mouse that doesn’t even sing, has a style so unique and distinct, his vision is felt on every song he touches, proving that being original still matters.

Here are the 11 Best albums by Danger Mouse:

1.      Jay-Z/The Beatles - The Grey Album

2.      Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

3.      Danger Mouse and Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life

4.      Beck - Modern Guilt

5.      Gorillaz - Demon Days

6.      The Black Keys - Attack and Release

7.      Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse - Dark Night of the Soul

8.      Martina Topley-Bird - The Blue God

9.      The Good, The Bad, & The Queen - The Good, The Bad, and the Queen

10.  Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

11.  Danger Doom - The Mouse and the Mask

Buy Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi's new album, ROME.  now!!


Fun Fact:  In 2006, Danger Mouse and famed  graffiti artist, Bansky, secretly replaced 500 copies of Paris Hilton’s dance album “Paris” on record shelves with a mock album featuring one 40-minute song filled with Paris Hilton sound bites.

The Unknown: Jack White's The Upholsters

I had a discussion with my friends about the lowliness of the music industry.  Many of them think that the internet is the reason for the downfall.  Though I will admit it adds to the problems...I don't think it is the problem.  One of the biggest problems in my opinion is that music today (popular music, that is) really sucks.  Okay, some decent bands sneak through...but think about the last decade...the 00s.  Now, see how many great bands...and I mean truly great bands...debuted in the 00s.  The White Stripes, you say?  Nope, came out in the 90s.  Ryan Adams?  Nope, 90s.  Wilco, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Green Day, Incubus, Weezer, Beck, Modest Mouse, Muse, QOTSA, Death Cab For Cutie...all 90s.  Right now...the best I can come up with who debuted in the 00s are The Killers, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Kings of Leon and Jack Johnson.  Five artists...that's all.  If you've only found five artists with genuine talent over the past decade...maybe the problem isn't the downloaders...maybe it's you. 

Here is Jack White's The Upholsters:

1.  Apple of My Eye
2.  I Ain't Superstitious
3.  Pain

Buy Jack White's new album with the Dead Weather, Sea of Cowards.