Liner Notes: Top Twenty Albums of 2014, Part I

Some things are not as easy to do when you start having children. You don’t always get out to the hot new restaurants. Going to the movies is a rare treat. You’d like to read more books, but when exactly do you have time to read books?

Music, thankfully, is another story. In 2014, more artists are more easily accessible wherever you are. You can listen to music while you’re working or when you’re in the car. You can listen to headphones while you’re taking the dog for a walk or when you’re at the gym. Whether you’re downloading files or using a streaming service, more music than you could ever listen to is essentially just floating in the air, waiting snagged by the device of your choice.

As a result, more and better music is available than ever before. If someone tells you that there isn’t any good music these days, feel free to verbally slap them upside the head. So much music is out there. It’s easier than ever for artists to make and share their music. OK, the music industry may be up the creek, and low-paying streaming services and no-paying piracy are the new normal. That’s a problem. But there’s so much music to be heard.

The challenge, especially for those of us who feel compelled to make and share best-of lists, is actually listening to all of it.  No, not even all of it, but what about just enough to put together a list that isn’t poorly researched or (worse) lame?

Spoon's They Want My Soul

When I find a record I love, I tend to over-listen to it for a couple of weeks. E.g., for two weeks in August, Spoon’s They Want My Soul was easily my favorite album of the year. I didn’t listen to anything else. I’m glad I did that, because I really enjoyed the crap out of that album. Then, in November, I got sucked into a loop of listening to nothing but Miles Davis albums. That was also great.

Point being, it can be awfully hard to make sure you’re listening to everything new that’s coming out all the time. Sometime around Thanksgiving I started seriously thinking about what might be on my year-end Top Twenty list, and realized I still hadn’t heard a number of albums I was excited about.

Truth be told, I didn’t get to everything. How could I? Possibly, my favorite album of 2014 will be one that I don’t even listen to until next year (or later). Obviously, list making isn’t a scientific endeavor. It’s extremely flawed but fun as hell. It’s more about sharing awesome music, and maybe arguing about it, but mostly sharing.

Here’s my list from last year, conveniently divided into part one and part two. And here’s the must-read 2013 list from my co-contributor.

A few honorable mentions from 2014 (aka, I like these and they were probably good enough or better than others on my list, but there you go):

Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers

Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness

Charli XCX - Sucker

Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots

Future Islands - Singles

How to Dress Well - What Is This Heart

Jack White - Lazaretto

Jenny Lewis - The Voyager

MSM&W - Juice

Phantogram - Voices

Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams

Stephen Malkmus - Wig Out at Jagbags

Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

Tennis - Ritual in Repeat

The Black Keys - Turn Blue

Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes

Tune-yards - Nikki Nack

Tweedy - Sukierae

And now on to the list: The Top Twenty Albums of 2014