December 30, 2014
2014 was another sub-par year – with some above-par albums:
| 30 | Augustines Augustines Brooklyn indie-rock power. |
 |
| 29 | The New Pornographers Brill Bruisers Power-pop has never been so powerful or so poppy. Read review |
 |
| 28 | Tycho Awake Every so often, if you are lucky, a record will swoop down seemingly out of nowhere and grab hold of you. Read review |
 |
| 27 | Afghan Whigs Do the Beast The album is as good as any of their previous work, dealing as usual with their favourite subject that is the fairer sex and all the age old problems that the association with will inevitably bring. |
 |
| 26 | Delta Spirit Into the Wide Country alt-rock exactly the way it should be done. Read review |
 |
| 25 | Kevin Drew Darlings Broken Social Scene frontman stands stripped down and bare for the whole world to see. Read review |
 |
| 24 | Porter Robinson Worlds Intertwines dance beats with tear-jerking themes in a refreshing way. Worlds sheds light on the vastness of our minds, and celebrates the quixotic visions that are present in each and every one of us. |
 |
| 23 | Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2 The best hip-hop duo out there are even more than the sum of their impressive parts. |
 |
| 22 | The Secret Sisters Put Your Needle Down Put Your Needle Down on this sweet country LP. |
 |
| 21 | Trampled By Turtles Wild Animals Squaring roots-rock with today. |
 |
| 20 | Split Single Fragmented World Jason Narducy steps out from behind acclaimed others to deliver his own slice of the pie. Read review |
 |
| 19 | Nickel Creek A Dotted Line Progressive bluegrass trio return in finest form. |
 |
| 18 | Eels The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett Instead of Caution, there is much hope in the Tales of Mark Oliver Everett. Read review |
 |
| 17 | First Aid Kit Stay Gold Sweden’s pony girls Stay Gold. Read review |
 |
| 16 | Bear Hands Distraction QRO favorites are clawing their way to the top of New York’s alt-rock pile. Read review |
 |
| 15 | Royal Blood Royal Blood The riffs are blues derived, heavy and above all simple, with the vocals ranging from a prince falsetto to a Robert Plant guttural roar. This is an album that raises the bar for every band aspiring to succeed in the rock genre. |
 |
| 14 | Conor Oberst Upside Down Mountain Despite all of his changes, you still know what you’re looking for from Conor Oberst, and he delivers it. Read review |
 |
| 13 | Swans To Be Kind Whereas The Seer pummeled and roared with contained aggression, To Be Kind retains the same elements of repetition and discipline but with a broader sweep over the musical spectrum offering colour as well as light and shade. |
 |
| 12 | Warpaint Warpaint From free-flowing experimentation to skilled execution. |
 |
| 11 | The War On Drugs Lost In the Dream Jams meet eighties rock and more on a pinnacle release. |
 |
| 10 | Hamilton Leithauser Black Hours Frontman for The Walkmen keeps all you love about that band and puts his own spin on it in his solo debut. Read review |
 |
| 9 | Death From Above 1979 The Physical World Founders of dance-punk return with all the power you were looking & longing for. Read review |
 |
| 8 | The Apache Relay The Apache Relay Folk with significance and soul. |
 |
| 7 | Shovels & Rope Swimmin’ Time Husband & wife duo are swingin’ & Swimmin’. |
 |
| 6 | Ryan Adams Ryan Adams The fourteenth release of his extensive, successful solo career, Adams took a bit of a louder approach and earned him three Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Album. |
 |
| 5 | Jenny Lewis The Voyager The past has never sounded so present as Jenny Lewis returns to Jenny Lewis. Read review |
 |
| 4 | Elbow The Take Off and Landing of Everything England all-stars further hone their excellently skill grand/intimate emotional mix. Read review |
 |
| 3 | Spoon They Want My Soul You can’t keep a good Spoon down, as the confident band goes out-and-out cool. Read review |
 |
| 2 | St. Vincent St. Vincent The divine Annie Clark goes big and stays great on her best album yet. Read review |
 |
| 1 | Damon Albarn Everyday Robots As touching and effective as so much of today’s world isn’t. No one in the Brit-pop nineties could have imagined how far Blur’s puckish frontman would soar artistically. Read review |
 |
