3DD 2014 Albums of the Year Voting Thread

[dee dee]

A few years ago shuffle started an awesome best of year thread and tabulated the results for us along with some of our comments on our favorite albums. I was hoping you guys might want to keep it going this year.

Submit your favorite albums of 2014 in this thread. List up to 25 albums along with optional comments. First place votes receive 25 points, 25th place 1 vote, etc. Album must be released in 2014 according to allmusic.com. Deadline for voting will be December 27.

[Zip City]

What's TDD? Is that like 3DD?

[dee dee]

If u think that's bad wait to u See all the errors I'm bound to make counting votes

[allisonsdc]

What's TDD? Is that like 3DD?

I was giving my son's friend a ride home a few weeks ago, and he pointed to a sticker on the car window and asked, "What does 'DBT' stand for?" My son answered him, and his friend replied, "Oh, I thought it stood for 'Don't Back Talk."

Thanks for offering to tabulate the album rankings, Dee Dee! After looking at the Uncut and Decibel lists for 2014, I realized that there are still a bunch of albums I need to listen to before making my top 25 list but I'm working on it and will post my list before Dec. 27. I'll be interested to see the results of the 3DD rankings.

[linkous]

No way could I stretch to 25. After about No 15 I would just be listing albums for the hell of it, almost just to make up the numbers, so I'll stick to a top 10.
(That's not to say I didn't really enjoy albums like Real Estate, Tweedy, New Pornographers, Thurston Moore, Steve Gunn, Leonard Cohen and others)

1 Beck - Morning Phase

2 Aphex Twin - Syro

3 Caribou - Our Love

4 The Bug - Angels and Devils

5 Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes

6 Perfume Genius - Too Bright

7 Gruff Rhys - American Interior

8 Ty Segall - Manipulator

9 Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

10 Drive-By Truckers - English Oceans

[beantownbubba]

What's TDD? Is that like 3DD?

I was giving my son's friend a ride home a few weeks ago, and he pointed to a sticker on the car window and asked, "What does 'DBT' stand for?" My son answered him, and his friend replied, "Oh, I thought it stood for 'Don't Back Talk."

Thanks for offering to tabulate the album rankings, Dee Dee! After looking at the Uncut and Decibel lists for 2014, I realized that there are still a bunch of albums I need to listen to before making my top 25 list but I'm working on it and will post my list before Dec. 27. I'll be interested to see the results of the 3DD rankings.

Yes, no matter how many albums I listen to in a day, by the end of the day my list is longer than it was the day before as I keep reading about albums I need to hear before compiling my list. A hopeless task, but the effort must be made. Yesterday I heard 2 that might make my list and 3 that won't while adding about a half dozen more to listen to. Discouraging.

[Duke Silver]

#1 Favorite Waitress, The Felice Brothers
#2 Wild Animals, Trampled By Turtles
#3 HEAL, Strand of Oaks
#4 Lateness of Dancers, Hiss Golden Messenger
#5 Songs of Innocence, U2
#6 Lost in the Dream, The War on Drugs
#7 S/T, Hard Working Americans
#8 Attica!, Wussy
#9 Rain Plans, Israel Nash
#10 Do to the Beast, Afghan Whigs

#11 English Oceans, Drive-By Truckers
#12 They Want My Soul, Spoon
#13 St. Vincent, St. Vincent
#14 Salad Days, Mac DeMarco
#15 Marigolden, Field Report
#16 Way Out Weather, Steve Gunn
#17 Somewhere Else, Lydia Loveless
#18 Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son, Damien Jurado
#19 Small Town Heroes, Hurray for the Riff Raff
#20 Benji, Sun Kil Moon

edit: rearranged for 3rd time on 12/23

[Tequila Cowboy]

The new Cracker record comes out next week and I really kind of hope it makes my list so I'm not finishing mine until I've had a chance to give it a few listens at least.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I won't have a list ready to go by the end of December as I'm sure I'll be getting some new records at Christmas that I won't have an ample amount of time to listen to but major props to dee dee for compiling this years' lists.

[Mike127]

1. Hiss Golden Messenger – Lateness of Dancers
2. Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
3. Hurray for the Riff Raff – Small Town Heroes
4. Drive By Truckers – English Oceans
5. St Paul & the Broken Bones – Half the City
6. Delines – Colfax
7. Caleb Caudle – Paint Another Layer on My Heart
8. Fire Mountain – All Dies Down
9. John Fullbright – Songs
10. Lydia Loveless – Somewhere Else
11. Roseanne Cash – The River & The Thread
12. Frazey Ford – Indian Ocean
13. Old Crow Medicine Show – Remedy
14. Water Liars – Water Liars
15. Kelsey Waldon – The Goldmine
16. Shakey Graves – And the War Came
17. Shovels & Rope – Swimmin Time
18. Jenny Lewis – Voyager
19. Zoe Muth – World of Strangers
20. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires - Dereconstructed
21. The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
22. Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison – Our Year
23. Chatham County Line - Tightrope
24. Eliot Bronson – Eliot Bronson
25. Centro-Matic – Take Pride in Your Long Odds

[StormandStatic]

1. Wye Oak – Shriek
2. Grouper – Ruins
3. Hiss Golden Messenger – Lateness of Dancers
4. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
5. Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else

[Jonicont]

1. Lydia Loveless-Somewhere Else
2. DBT-English Oceans
3. Ty Segall-Manipulator
4. Otis Gibbs-Souvenirs of a Misspent Youth

More to come

[Smitty]

1. Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else
2. Drive-By Truckers - English Oceans
3. Sun Kil Moon - Benji
4. Lucinda Williams - Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone
5. Jenny Lewis - Voyager
6. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness
7. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
8. Robert Ellis - Lights from the Chemical Plant
9. Ryan Adams - s/t
10. War on Drugs - Lost in a Dream
11. Tweedy - Sukeraie
12. Strand of Oaks - Heal
13. Caleb Caudle - Paint Another Layer
14.Hard Working Americans - s/t
15. mogwai - Rave Tapes
16. Jessica Lea Mayfield - Make My Head Sing
17. NQ Arbuckle - the Future Happens Anyway
18. Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast
19. Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings
20. Real Estate - Atlas
21. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern
22. St Paul & Broken Bones
23. Old 97's
24. Mac Demarco
25. Lee Bains

[RevMatt]

I am anticipating a buying spree in the next couple weeks so I will withhold my list. Overall, it has been a fantastic year for new releases. I suspect I will be discovering great 2014 albums well into 2015. One thing that stands out in my mind is that 2014 has been one of the strongest years for female artists in recent memory.

My prediction for 3DD is that the top five will be English Oceans, Sturgill Simpson, Lydia Loveless, St. Paul and The Broken Bones and Shovels and Rope.

There are a few people on this site whose lists I anxiously awake because they have a history of turning me on to great bands.

[TruckerTomer]

Ok, here's my top 25:

25. Centro-Matic - Take Pride in Your Long Odds
24. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Hypnotic Eye
23. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams
22. Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
21. Hard Working Americans – Hard Working Americans
20. Spanish Gold – South of Nowhere
19. Water Liars – Water Liars
18. Justin Townes Earle – Single Mothers
17. Lydia Loveless – Somewhere Else
16. Trigger Hippy – Trigger Hippy
15. Tweedy – Sukierae
14. St. Paul & The Broken Bones – Half The City
13. Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Phosphorescent Harvest
12. The Hold Steady – Teeth Dreams
11. Marc Ford – Holy Ghost
10. Strand of Oaks - Heal
9. J. Mascis – Tied to a Star
8. Rich Robinson – The Ceaseless Sight
7. Dean Wareham – Dean Wareham
6. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
5. Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie
4. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
3. The Delines - Colfax
2. DBT - English Oceans
1. Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers

[jimmyjack]

Sorta boycotting "lists" this year but since it's 3DD and it's, err, comprehensive and reflective of the community, count me in as a +1 for these:

DBT
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes
Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers
Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather
Elisa Ambrogio - The Immoralist (most sadly overlooked album of 2014 imo)
Jerry David DeCicca - Understanding Land (ok, tied with this one)
War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings
Thurston
Sturgill
Mark Olson - Goodbye Lizelle
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Intensity Ghost

A few others, too, but these are the ones likely to get more than one vote from other board members

[linkous]

Can we also have a vote for Compilations/Re-issues - maybe limit that to a top 5/10?

[tinnitus photography]

i back that idea.

[cortez the killer]

Sorta boycotting "lists" this year but since it's 3DD and it's, err, comprehensive and reflective of the community, count me in as a +1 for these:

DBT
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes
Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers
Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather
Elisa Ambrogio - The Immoralist (most sadly overlooked album of 2014 imo)
Jerry David DeCicca - Understanding Land (ok, tied with this one)
War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings
Thurston
Sturgill
Mark Olson - Goodbye Lizelle
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Intensity Ghost

A few others, too, but these are the ones likely to get more than one vote from other board members

No Farmer's Corner?

[tinnitus photography]

things to keep in mind while reading the lists

[Tequila Cowboy]

things to keep in mind while reading the lists

[dee dee]

Sorta boycotting "lists" this year but since it's 3DD and it's, err, comprehensive and reflective of the community, count me in as a +1 for these:

DBT
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes
Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers
Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather
Elisa Ambrogio - The Immoralist (most sadly overlooked album of 2014 imo)
Jerry David DeCicca - Understanding Land (ok, tied with this one)
War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings
Thurston
Sturgill
Mark Olson - Goodbye Lizelle
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Intensity Ghost

A few others, too, but these are the ones likely to get more than one vote from other board members

Hey JJ. Are these in order? Wasn't sure if you wanted me to score them.

[dee dee]

I put some questions in the poll section regarding extra points for #1, compilations, and reissues. I left the vote open for 7 days.

[StevieRay]

Alphabetical by Album Title:

Kris Delmhorst Blood Test
Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires Dereconstructed
Lucinda Williams Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone
Drive-by Truckers English Oceans / Dragon Pants
Hard Working Americans eponymous
Trigger Hippy eponymous
Water Liars eponymous
St. Paul & The Broken Bones Half the City
Mark Ford Holy Ghost
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Hypnotic Eye
Pixies Indie City
Hiss Golden Messenger Lateness of Dancers
Jack White Lazaretto
The War On Drugs Lost in The Dream
Sturgill Simpson Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
The Levon Helm Band Midnight Ramble Sessions, Vol.3
Old 97's Most Messed Up
Chuck Prophet Night Surfer
Caleb Caudle Paint Another Layer on My Heart
Chris Robinson Brotherhood Phosphorescent Harvest
Isreal Nash Rain Plans
Hurray For The Riff Raff Small Town Heroes
Lydia Loveless Somewhere Else
Tweedy Sukierae
Ray LaMontagne Supernova
Centro-matic Take Pride in Your Long Odds
The Hold Steady Teeth Dreams
John Hiatt Terms of My Surrender
Rich Robinson The Ceaseless Sight
Anders Parker There's a Blue Bird In My Heart
J Mascis Tied to a Star
Thom Yorke Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
The Black Keys Turn Blue
Steve Gunn Way Out Weather
Steven Malkmus Wig Out at Jagbags

INPO: English Oceans is top five material along with Somewhere Else, Lateness of Dancers, Take Pride in Your Long Odds, and Night Surfer.

[beantownbubba]

Alphabetical by Album Title:

INPO

Are you trying to make dee dee's life harder?

[StevieRay]

Alphabetical by Album Title:

INPO

Are you trying to make dee dee's life harder?

So, full respect to dee dee, I just don't like to rank art beyond basic tiers. The "top five" I mention are hard enough to single out. Give them a "+1" like JJ says. Heck: give Down Where the Spirit Meets The Bone a "+1"

Should I just stay off this thread?

[beantownbubba]

I've finally reached the point where I'm listening to more stuff that's already on the must hear before I vote list than I'm adding to the list. What a relief One can never hear everything, but hopefully I'll be able to vote shortly feeling comfortable that I've at least made an appropriate effort. Several recent first time listens will no doubt crack my top 10 so I'm glad I'm going the extra mile.

Stevie Ray, of course it's fine for you to post your year end list in any manner you choose, and I'm sure I will always read it w/ interest as I did this one. But it's also fine w/ me if dee dee chooses not to count your entry or to edit/re-arrange it any way he wants.

[dee dee]

I'm all for everyone participating in the thread but I can't count anything unless it's rated. The original best albums of 2014 had good discussion going as well without the ratings.

[Shakespeare]

1 | weezer | everything will be alright in the end
theyre great again, huzzah. i could write an essay about everything that makes this such a satisfying album, but ill just say its fucking awesome to finally have another weezer album i want to listen to till ive memorized every single riff, solo and vocal affectation. ive defended a lot of their recent work and to be honest i still dont think theyve made a terribly album (though not for lack of effort) but this is needs no defending. everything that made weezer great on blue and pinkerton is on display here. people who have been whining and waiting for a return to form need to hear this, and if it doesnt do anything, its time to admit you just grew out of what great weezer music has to offer. i really hope this is a return to form and theyre back for real, but even if they never make another good album again, im glad they finally delivered the later era classic i always felt they still had left.
2 | yob | clearing the path to ascend
i feel like mike scheidt makes heavy music from an entirely different plane of existence than anyone else in the game, and this is probably his masterpiece. 4 songs in an hour, and it really takes you to some fucked up places. nothing to lose is my favorite song cuz that churning riff is ridiculous, but marrow is the centerpiece. anyone whos ever doubted the sheer emotional power heavy music is capable of needs to hear that song.
3 | ex hex | rips
35 minutes of effortlessly thrilling guitar heavy power pop. id previously only heard mary timony via wild flag, and i thought/think her and carrie had great potential chemistry, but hearing her shred on her own here was a treat. this is just such a fun album, you can really tell its exactly what they set out to make, and they had a goddamn blast making it.
4 | gruff rhys | american interior
ill admit this is the album i thought would be gruffs jump the shark moment. the whole concept just seemed like too much, even for someone as melodically gifted as he is. he proved me wrong though, and that concept ended up being exactly what made this such an impressive album. his previous solo albums have all been great, but theyve all had that collection of songs feeling. this is an album. you can feel his passion for the subject, and the theme helped reign his impulses in a bit, even if he still included the requisite batshit freakout. the album works well even if you arent familiar with the story behind it, but knowing it adds a ton of emotional weight, especially to the second half.
5 | prince | artofficialage
just like with weezer, i certainly wasnt exoecting a new prince album to place this high, but god damn, he did it. that fucker hasnt sounded this comfortable and brilliantly insane in years. goes without saying this is his best album in some time, and id honestly put it pretty high up there in terms of his best ever. it delivers everything great prince music does, and never sounds forced. pop radio is probably never gonna pay much attention to him again, but on here it feels like hes creating trends again, and after a lengthy period where it felt like he was akwardly chasing them instead, ill take it.

6 | thou | heathenthou was the best discovery of the year for me. i was able to binge on summit and tyrant for a few months before this came out, and it was just enough time to get enough of an diea of what this band was about that heathen was able to blow me away by taking it all even further. since i started getting into metal in the last few years ive been looking for albums that feel totally immersive. like they create a world of their own, bring you in, and leave you exhausted and reflective when they end. this checks all of those boxes and then some. this one does it with crushing riffs, and a great sense of dynamics. i cant wait to see where they do next.
7 | priests | bodies and control and money and power
i do a shit job of keeping up with new local bands, even though dc still has a thriving punk scene. oh well. this is an explosive album/ep/whatever they want to call it. at times it can feel a bit too sleater kinney light, but the best moments on here take cues from corins wail, throw in some surf rock guitar and a big chorus, and end up with something entirely their own. sometimes they can get a bit too ham fisted with the politics, but with songwriting this good, whoc ares. id be on board with a song as catchy as doctor even if it was a fundamentalist christian manifesto set to music
8 | inter arma | the cavern
i feel like this is a much more conicse display of evertythng that made sky burial such a great album. i was hesitant at first cuz i figured a band like this making a one track album would just feel like a pale imitation of dopesmoker, but this is absolutely its own thing. i can hear how it could be split into tracks but it really works best as a 45 minute piecetheyd apparently been working on this before sky burial, but just now got around to finishing and recording it. idk how similar the original versions were, but its crazy to think this was the first material they worked on as a band. this is a really exciting band tbh, and one i wish id caught live any of the dozens of chances i had when i lived in the same city.
9 | pale blue dots | lots of dots
i never thought this album would exist so that it was a pleasant surprise goes without saying. bunf has kinda been the mystery man behind super furry animals. ive always known hes played a key role in their songwriting, but its been hard to discern just how key, especially as gruff and cian's solo work have made their specific sfa contributions abundantly clear. im not sure if this release will explain anything but it does show just how talented a dude he is. his sfa songs have always been good, but theyve been getting progressively better with each album, and i think this is his best batch yet. its a shame its such a short release, and an even bigger shame its pretty much already been forgotten by everyone by all but the most die hard sfa fans. goes without saying that any sfa fan needs to hear this, but id extend that to anyone into psych pop in the elo vein. lots to love here. linkous if youre out there, give these songs a whirl. i believe theyre still on the strangetown recordings soundcloud
10 | bob mould | beauty and ruin
i was very surprised at how much i enjoyed this. i honestly think its one of the best things he's ever done, solo or with either band. his crunchy power pop solo work can get a bit samey, but he sounds more focused than usual on here, and it really makes for a cohesive bunch of songs. i always feel kinda uncomfortable mentioning things like this, but the fact that he wrote the album as a response to his dads death really lends it an emotional weight that even his catchiest stuff has sometimes lacked. but even with that aisde, this is bob mould doing what bob mould does best. i don't know you anymore is one of those melodies you hear once and swear you've known for decades. it always makes me happy when artists deliver masterpieces so late in their career, and this definitely qualifies.

11 | wrekmeister harmonies | then it all came down
the first wrekmeister album was definitely something i didnt expect to like, but i listened to it while walking through this weird foresty area last fall and it really hit me. im getting more and more into music that requires patience like this. its never gonna be my primary thing, but my appreciation has grown, especially now that i have a mindless computer job. stuff that builds over 20+ minutes like this makes for a good way to kill time and zone out. this release follows a similar pattern to the first one, but doesnt feel like a rehash or anything. considering the slight tweaks to the cocnept of the project, as well as the collaborator list basically doubling between releases, im very interested in where it goes next
12 | fumaca preta | fumaca preta
a friend posted about this on anoher board and the cover was so up my alley i looked them up immediately. the title track was so fucked up and heavy but not in the kind fucked up and heavy way i was used to. instantly hooked. getting into the albjm itself was a bit trickier cuz that songs a bit of an outlier. i wish there was more like it, but there are so many ideas on this album thats a silly complaint. i can see how that variety might be a turn off, but i think it makes for a nice listen, and more importantly, makes me excited to hear where they go next. there are a lot of different bands on here, they can choose to be just one and stretch it into an album, or keep the kaleidoscopic nature intact on lp2.
13 | centralstodet | Solkurva, Krök, En Böj
there is literally nothing to this tape but a bunch of dudes with guitars shredding for 45 minutes. no vocals, no choruses, just a ton of weed and eer and great chemistry. its seemingly pieced together from hours of material, and ii kinda wish theyd just releasd it all tbh. havent heard much from these guys sicne this dropped but im eagerly awaiting more.
14 | spoon | they want my soul
its a spoon album. its a great album, as spoon albums tend to be. it makes minor tweaks to the spoon formula, setting it apart just enough to not be boring without going far enough to turn anyone off. again, as spoon albums tend to do. theyre the most reliable band in indie rock, and that sounds like faint praise but knowing spoon is still around and still able to be spoon when the time comes for a new album is very comforting. i couldnt get into divine fits so its nice to know it wasnt cuz britt lost his ability to write a song. ill just go ahead and reserve a spot for spoon in the 10-15 range on my 2017 list now. its what they do.
15 | tweedy | sukiarae
i didnt think old man tweedy had this in him. its too many songs, obviously, and the second disk is a bit of a drag, but there are enough great songs on here, and theyre enough out of the recent wilco comfort zone to warrant this being its own project, that im glad he did it. tweedy junior certainly isnt an elite drummer at the moment, but he knows what hes doing and has enough of his own style that i wouldnt mind seeing this as a longer running project. this was obviously an album born more out of the cathartic need to process their wife and moms cancer diagnosis, but i think theres great potential between them if they choose to do more together.

16 | beck | morning phase
lots of people write this off as sea change 2 but i really dont hear it. yeah theres a similar vibe and that one guitar strum is pretty much a straight lift, but this definitely functions as its own thing imo. its a very measured and mature album, which sounds boring and dadrocky, but i am shakes after all. becks never been a guy i come to for lyricism but i think his focus on this album works. wave sucks though. i like becks voice but i dont think its itneresting enough to pull off tracks like that where its pretty much the only thing going on. i listened to this a ton earlier this year when it snowed every other day for a while and i was walking 2 miles to work every day, and it really fit perfectly.
17 | young hunter/ohioan - split
i didnt know anything about either of these bands but i ordered this tape early this year and it really stuck with me, especially the young hunter side. both bands capture this desert sound brilliantly. ohioan do it via a long, sparse, heavily acoustic drone, whereas young hunter do it with thick smoky riffs and grooves not far from the sound of qotsa's s/t.
18 | goat | commune
this is a more streamlined version of world music i guess. thats not to say they dumbed themselves down for a big label, this is still full of everything that amde world music so great, but the mystery was gone. not their fault obviously, but considering how the debut seemingly dropped out of nowhere and captured so much attention, a follow up was bound to feel like a lesser release. its a shame, cuz this is another great album.
19 | king buzzo | this machine kills artists
i was gonna pass on this release entirely cuz acoustic melvins songs werent even a thing i could imagine in my head, but one of the pre-relase songs was oddly endearing, so i bought it anyway. i think it worked. it feels like he approached the entire project differently than a usual melvins release. instead of writing his usual riffs and simply recording them on an acoustic guitar, he adapted his singing and playign to fit the cocnept. the riffs are still heavy as fuck, and he gets a ton of sound out of just an acoustic guitar, but i wasnt left with a disappointed "cool, now plug in and play it with dale" feeling, so this was a pleasant surprise.
20 | pallbearer | foudnations of burden
just as good as the debut, maybe even better. delivers the same huge set of doomy epics that swallow you whole and spit you out in an hour, confused and wet.

21 | thou | the sacrifice
functions as a companion piece to heathen. recorded at the same time, and has a similar feel, but i can also see why some of this was left off. if you want a smaller dose of what thou's about, from their heavyweight sludge epics to the subtle drones to the nirvana covers, eps like this or baton rouge you have much to answer for are well worth hearing, and not far from their main albums in terms of quality.
22 | sturgill simpson | metamodern sounds in country music
i did not get this ones acclaim at all when i firts heard it, and i still kinda dont. i went in expecting some gram parsons or gene clark psych country masterpiece, cuz thats how it seems to present itself. it really isnt. its actually the opposite cuz sturgill has clearly studied legends like willie and waylon. i dont doubt that hes trying to take country music to strange new places, but the result, save for two songs on here) just sounds like a long lost mid 60's lp. thats not a bad thing, and hes really damn good at what he does, i just dont get this media idea that this will be the album to save country music or take it to new heights. maybe next time he will but this is just really good idol worship imo.
23 | eyehategod | eyehategod
didnt really have any expectations for this but they sound as pissed off and disgusting as ever. bluesy riffs buried in layers of feedback and sludgy drums, topped off with mike williams shredded vocals. yeah its a formula, but it doesnt sound like theyre just going through the motions.
24 | owls | two
i think this is every bit as good as the debut, maybe even better. all the owls trademarks are there, but it feels like a more consistent set of songs. maybe nothign as great as the first track on the s/t, but that album loses steam towards the end and this one finishes strong. owls arent a band for everyone; both the jitteriness of the music and the wordiness of the lyrics can be a turn off. but if you can get past it they make totally unique emo-ish music.
25 | nux vomica - nux vomica
ive only recently been listening to this but its doing similar things as yob or itner armas new ones. three really long tracks, packed with moments of crushing power and quiet beauty. im a guy who usually needs instant appeal like a riff or a melody so if you can make 10-20 minute tracks that dont have me checking the time at all, youre doing something right. this is new to me, so its still growing, but i definitely feel it warrants a spot on the real list.

26 | mark lanegan | no bells on sunday
its kinda a shame he put this out on its own instead of mixing it with the best songs on phantom radio. this is a great release, phantom radio was not. theres a great full length album between them, but alas.
27 | earth | primitive & deadly
i have kinda mixed feelings about this. i like the vocal contributions, and they still feel like earth songs, but it makes for a weird album experience. modern day earth albums, to me, are all aout creating these soundscapes that flow into each other for an hour or so. the angels of darkness albums were a great example. this one delivers the same experience, but having vocals pop up briefly then disappear for 10+ minutes can be kinda jarring. still though, for a band that could have easily gotten comfortable and just made another earth album, it was an admirable change of pace.
28 | roots | and then you shoot your cousin
this was kinda hard to get into, and i think to do so you need to take it as something otuside of hip hop, though im not sure where it belongs instead. its weird that at the highest commercial point of their career theyre making their darkest, most difficult music. i mean the roots were never gonna become a gleeful pop band just cuz they were making money but its still crazy that they got this gloomy and depresing.
29 | paul cary | coyote
i rememer liking this, but it fell out of the rotation pretty fast and never really returned, so maybe i didnt. i remember when i first heard ghost of a man, it was huge. this wasnt huge. i wasnt awaiting this as eagerly as some folks i know, so i wouldnt call it a disappointment, but after waiting so long it was just a good enough album and that keeps it pretty low on the list
30 | a pregnant light | my game doesnt have a name
i listened to this a few times and was really impressed by how effortlessly it bounced around between various black metal-ish sounds and even some more straightforward punk influences. i meant to buy a copy but i forgot, or it would have grown on me enough to rank much higher

other 2014 albums i heard but dont feel like ranking cuz they left me kinda w/e, but i feel like mentioning them all anyway:
prince and third eye girl or however the fuck he spells it - plectrum electrum
i always enjoy hearing pricne let loose and shred a bit, this was just kinda an awkward release. if it had been his one album this year i would have ranked it, cuz its solid enough, but aoa is just lightyears ahead of it in every way. still, the fact that he put out two worthwhile releases this year makes up for how frustrating hes been in recent years

electric wizard | time to die
this isnt bad by any means and it probably is a return to form but it just left me with that "why not just play dopethrone" feeling. i hate being that guy, but it is what it is. plus ive since read about how they fucked their original drummer over with this release. brought him back into the band after a few years, recorded the album with him, then fired him for seemingly no reason and refused to pay him for the album performances they used anyway. looking to a metal band for ethical standards is dumb, but come on. i still hope they tour the states just so i can hear funeralopolis or return trip live though.

mark lanegan | phantom radio
marks one of my all time favorite singers but this felt pretty lifeless. i lvoed blues funeral and i really liked the ep he put out before this, so its not a matter of disliking his electronic binge but there wasnt much for me on here. harvest floor is great, torn red heart is too, but overall it just felt like lanegan by numbers.

black keys | turn blue
i liked this more than most when it came out but it didnt have a whole lot of staying power unfortunately. feel like theyve gotten as much mileage out of their current sound as posisble but id keep milking it too if i were in their position. make the money while its there. this band isnt an overnight success story so the people who cry sellout can fuck off cuz theyve earned it.

afghan whigs | do to the beast
not to sound bitter, cuz ive made this point too many times already, but this should have been a twilight singers album. when rick dropped out of the reunion, it wasnt the afghan whigs anymore. it just wasnt, even with dulli still writing songs. mostly i just feel this album was a bad idea. i like the twilight singers, so i knew greg could still write great songs, and i had an icnredible time at the whigs reunion gig i saw a few years ago. stretching it into an album though? bad idea. as a twilight singers release i would have had reasonable expectations here. as an afghan whigs comeback, sky high, and it didnt deliver. the hardest thing to do as a creative person is recapture the mental state that drove you to make past work. dulli tried here and did not succeed.

drive by truckers | english oceans
its weird how many people are talking this up as a return to form or something worthy of being ranked with dbt's many classic albums. its fine, all of their releases are, but it just feels like a bunch of retreads. like theyve written all these songs before, and some of them as recently as within the last two years. considering the band turmoil they had between the big to do/go go boots and this ones release, i expected them to come back with more of a spark. they didnt, but part of what makes patterson such a great songwriter is how much he puts out, so it was bound to happen.

fucked up | glass boys
i really dont remember much about this or whether i liked it or not, so idk. fucked up is a band i need a specific mood to really enjoy, so maybe i just didnt have it often enough this year to get into this.

melvins | hold it in
the stuff i like most on here is the weird sorta skate rock stuff that was written by the butthole surfers dude. kinda weird. i admire how prolific the melvins are, and how willing they are to bring in new people to fit their ever changing music, but id like to see them take a bit more time and deliver another classic

reigning sound | shattered
gregs voice on this took some serious getting used to. i was fine with it, and the songwriting is near his usual level, but it just never really clicked with me. ill give it another shot when its warm again and see if thats changed. as it stands, its a pleasant release from a man with several vital and potent classic performances under his belt.

foo fighters | sonic highway
i love dave grohl and even i want him to go away for a few years. ive always defended his obvious love of music, so i dont have any realy problem with him undertaking a project like this, i just wish hed spent some time making a good album to go along with it. there are a few solid enough tracks on here but it just feels like a missed opportunity to really do something special with the foo fighters formula. combine that with the fact that hes been absolutely everywhere this year, and it just pisses me off. this should have been released like the sound city soundtrack. with lower expectations it could have delivered, but with it being a foo fighters album with even more hype than usual, nope.

the war on drugs | lost in the dream
this is a fine enough album it just bored the hell out of me. i like wagonwheel blues a lot, even as derivative as it is, but this just did not work for me. i can definitely understand people liking it, but not the way its been presented as some sort of masterpiece.

and of course:
sun kil moon | benji
nothing baffles me as much as this albums success. i dont know if im more confused by longtime koz fans enjoying it or new koz fans getting into him because of it. usually my thinking ehre would be "i dont like the album but the guy deserves the moeny so if others do, cool" but his 2014 has been such a colossal embarrassment from the moment this was announced, i cant even muster that. koz is a brilliant songwriter and an even better singer, and its a shame that he seemingly cant be arsed to do either anymore.

[dee dee]

and of course:
[b]sun kil moon | benji
nothing baffles me as much as this albums success. i dont know if im more confused by longtime koz fans enjoying it or new koz fans getting into him because of it. usually my thinking ehre would be "i dont like the album but the guy deserves the moeny so if others do, cool" but his 2014 has been such a colossal embarrassment from the moment this was announced, i cant even muster that. koz is a brilliant songwriter and an even better singer, and its a shame that he seemingly cant be arsed to do either anymore.

I guess your opinion of me will be significantly lower when I rate this album #1. I find the stories very easy to relate to, I dig the hyper literal lyrics and while I don't enjoy the arrangements as much as an album like Ghosts of the Great Highway, I like them fine.