The 55 Best Albums of 2014 (12-22)

Lots of guilty pleasures on the list today.  And I may be the only one on the planet who liked the Foster the People album. Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (12-22):

12.  Foster The People - Supermodel
13. Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain
14. Klaxons - Love Frequency
15. Spoon - They Want My Soul
16. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
17. Gardens & Villas - Dunes
18. First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
19. Pure X - Angel
20. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
21. The Sunshine Underground - The Sunshine Underground
22. FKA Twigs - LP1

  Buy 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 Songs By The War On Drugs

With the news of Tom Petty's new album, Hypnotic Eye, (a major news flash in itself) the initial thought that hit me...seems to have hit just about everybody in the collective music community that the universe might just be aligning for the perfect tour:  Tom Petty with special guests, The War On Drugs.  It was epic enough that Christine McVie was returning to Fleetwood Mac (too bad Rilo Kiley isn't still around to open).  But to have two seemingly connected bands (one the leader and the other the padawan) release albums at almost the same time seems too good to be true.  The War On Drugs new album is their best album to date.  It's one of the first albums of the year I've been urging my friends to go out and buy.  With WOD's obvious similarities to Petty & co...the mere thought of the two of them sharing a stage was something more of a lost dream than a potential reality.  Like Wilco & Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam & Neil Young, Steel Panther & Spinal Tap...sometimes dreams do come true...let's keep our fingers crossed that this one might just happen. Here are the 11 Best Songs By The War On Drugs:

1. Best Night (Slave Ambient)
2. Taking the Farm (Wagonwheel Blues)
3. Baby Missiles (Slave Ambient)
4. A Needle In Your Eye #16 (Wagonwheel Blues)
5. Your Love Is Calling My Name (Slave Ambient)
6. Arms Like Boulders (Wagonwheel Blues)
7. Comin' Through (Future Weather)
8. Brothers (Slave Ambient)
9. Show Me the Coast (Wagonwheel Blues)
10. Pushing Corn (Barrel of Batteries)
11. The History of Plastic (Future Weather)

Buy The War On Drugs new album, Lost In The Dream...now!!