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!!
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.
