Top 100 Music Albums of 2014
by 
RockyRaccoon 
- Chart updated: 11/03/2025 14:45
- (Created: 01/10/2014 17:00).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 17 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 23 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Genres exist because it’s human nature to want to categorize things. We want to put everything, people, art, everything that exists, into little categories with certain attributes so that we don’t have to spend all of our time examining each individual thing to observe its unique properties. It’s just easier that way, it’s easier to see something and say “I now know what this thing is” because of how it has been categorized, either by us or someone else. This can be problematic though, especially in the world of music genres. If any one album fits perfectly into the hole of one genre, then chances are, that album is not particularly interesting (though this is not necessarily true). The best albums, the best music, transcends genres, they look genres in the face and directly defy them. The best music is the music that, when your friends ask about it, you say “It’s kind of a mix between….well it’s kind of like….. you know what just listen to it.” That’s what “You’re Dead!” is. There are so many different genres shoved into this 38-minute, 15-second album that it’ll make your head spin. This is one of the most all-over-the-place, neurotic, chaotic albums that I’ve ever heard. It’s really hard to pin it down in words, and that’s the beauty of it. Listening to this album is like being on a roller coaster with a loose lap-bar. The whole album deals with life and death, it feels like this album is about the futility of life, the futility of what you do with your life. It’s an album that absolutely requires, and will take by force, your whole attention, and needs multiple listenings, and even then, you might not even fully grasp what has just happened, as if you just witnessed a man resurrected from the dead, this album will be swirling around in your head and you may even question whether or not it actually happened, but be assured, it happened, and you loved every glorious, frantic second of it.
[First added to this chart: 10/16/2014]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,633
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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There is something so beautiful about the simplicity of a single note or a single chord. A single note or a single chord can often times evoke more emotion and more feeling than the most complex of pieces. I think it’s one of the things that makes Arvo Pärt’s “Tabula Rasa” as incredible as it is, the ability to take one note or one chord and make it say so much. That is what this album does. This is a simple album overall, Bing & Ruth are able to communicate a plethora of ideas and emotions through a completely minimalistic approach. And minimalism is the best word I can think of to describe this, it isn’t really ambient music because it’s too active, however it’s not far off. The music is always moving, it’s always going, even if it’s holding a note or a chord, it’s still silently moving. I have to give big, big credit to the clarinetists featured on this album, they are able to bend and manipulate pitches and notes in a way that fits absolutely perfectly with everything else on this album. Their tone and what they do is exactly what this album needs, the ability of this ensemble (simply two bassists, a cellist, two clarinetists, a tape-delay tech and a piano) to work together to create the atmosphere that they have created, one that begs the listener to just completely lose themselves, is just incredible. This is music you meld yourself with, it’s music that becomes a part of you and you become a part of it. You don’t do something listening to this album, you let this album wash over you, you listen to what it’s telling you. This is the power of music, to communicate things that cannot be communicated through words. This album is sadness, it’s loss, it’s longing, it’s pain, it’s the entire human experience wrapped up into one beautiful piece of work. It’s life-affirming.
[First added to this chart: 11/09/2014]
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Everybody dies. All over this album, there’s death. If it isn’t death, it’s life bringing someone down. This album is sad, but in a tragically beautiful way. If you’re unfamiliar with Sun Kil Moon, it’s the moniker under which former Red House Painters lead singer Mark Kozelek records. Kozelek has always been known for strong lyrics, but this is some of the most beautiful songwriting I’ve ever heard. Throughout this album, Kozelek is looking at life and questioning it, he’s questioning the chaotic nature of the world. He’s saying “why do bad things happen?” and I think what makes it so powerful, is that it sounds like it could be coming from anyone, it’s relatable. The very first song he sings about a cousin of his, Carissa, who dies in a freak accident taking out the trash when an aerosol can blows up. He says that shouldn’t happen, you don’t just struggle through life just to die cause someone accidentally threw away an aerosol can. But it happened, and Kozelek is trying to deal with that. In fact, a couple songs later on “Truck Driver”, virtually the same thing happens to his uncle, who dies burning trash and accidentally burns an aerosol can. Throughout this album, Kozelek is pondering life, he’s observing it, and he sings about love and loss in the most beautifully poetic way. This album is incredible, as I said, some of the strongest songwriting I’ve ever heard in my life.
Highlights include: “Carissa”, “I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love”, “Micheline” and “Ben’s My Friend”. [First added to this chart: 02/06/2014]
Highlights include: “Carissa”, “I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love”, “Micheline” and “Ben’s My Friend”. [First added to this chart: 02/06/2014]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,354
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Man, I don’t even know where to start with this album. It’s a blend of so many great things to make one coherent album that’s just fantastic. It exudes the powerful passion that bombastic Bruce Springsteen albums had, it has the wall of sound power of neo-psychedelia and dream pop, and often times lead singer Adam Granduciel sings with a cadence that sounds exactly like Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler. Everything about this album is expertly crafted, the composition, the lyrics, everything. This album can relax you, it can hit you with power and it can depress you. The songwriting is superb and the music is just fantastic. I can’t emphasize enough how much of an overall enjoyable listen this is.
Highlights include: “Red Eyes”, “An Ocean In Between The Waves”, “Under The Pressure” and “Lost In The Dream”. [First added to this chart: 03/24/2014]
Highlights include: “Red Eyes”, “An Ocean In Between The Waves”, “Under The Pressure” and “Lost In The Dream”. [First added to this chart: 03/24/2014]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,755
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Richard D. James is a genius. The man has an ability that few do, the way he is able to manipulate music, to subtly change small things here and there throughout songs is incredible. Sometimes instrumental electronic music can get boring, but not here, not even for a second. Every minute you’re discovering something new, like walking through a mansion, there’s another room, intricately decorated and you could spend hours just being in that room, but you move on to the hundred other rooms. It’s truly an incredible album, a beautiful album, and one well worth the wait.
[First added to this chart: 09/25/2014]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,921
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Black metal is tricky. It can either be incredibly boring or it can be mind-bendingly good. The key to doing the latter is, in my opinion, variety. It’s one thing to sit there and scream for 45 minutes over 20 layers of guitars, it’s another thing to compose something that creates emotion. Nux Vomica creates an atmosphere here, they make something truly incredible. The album is only three tracks long, but each one is better than the last, the whole album culminating on the final track. It was the final track that put it over the edge for me, that made me realize the true genius of this album. The track sounds like battle, it sounds like war. Like guns are firing, people are dying and the world is crumbling around you, but you survive, and things get calm. Then you survey the battlefield, and you see the destruction, you see the death, and slowly, slowly, you slip into insanity. This album is an incredible roller coaster ride and worth every second.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2014]
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I don’t even know where to begin with this album. It’s absolute insanity, as crazy and feverish as anything Swans or Current 93 have put out, like some kind of nightmare you never want to wake up from. This is a live collaboration project from Jenny Hval and Susanna Wallumrod, two Norwegian vocalists. All fifteen tracks on here are interconnected, one flowing into the other, and they all form one incredible piece that forces you to stop what you’re doing, shut up, and listen. Hval and Wallumrod are able to put something together that can sound like an absolute chaotic mess at times, but a controlled chaotic mess, if that makes any sense. It’s an album you have to hear to really get it, describing it is difficult. Just know, this album is a ride, a crazy, roller coaster of an album that will leave you going “What just happened?”.
[First added to this chart: 08/28/2014]
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Sturgill Simpson takes a page right out of Willie and Waylon’s book, making an album that sounds like it could be full of old covers. They’re structured exactly like old country songs, back when people said that country was just four chords and the truth. There’s a cover of When In Rome’s 80s hit “The Promise” which translates incredibly well into a country song. It goes from a catchy new-wave tune to a beautiful country ballad. All in all, this album is great, one of the best country albums to come out in a while.
Highlights include: “The Promise”, “Turtles All The Way Down” and “Panbowl”. [First added to this chart: 08/13/2014]
Highlights include: “The Promise”, “Turtles All The Way Down” and “Panbowl”. [First added to this chart: 08/13/2014]
Year of Release:
2014
Appears in:
Rank Score:
825
Rank in 2014:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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This was really impressive. This is how you write an indie rock album that will keep you interested. The music is enjoyable to listen to, it’s catchy, and it keeps you paying attention, it never retreats into itself, just playing the same thing over and over. It expands and goes on to new things. I got a major Local Natives vibe from these guys, similar two and three-part harmonies, though they’re a bit heavier in spots, adding more fuzzy guitar than Local Natives ever do. Overall, this album is really solid.
Highlights include: “You Are The Stars”, “Things Are Fallin’” and “How Do You Do It”. [First added to this chart: 03/03/2014]
Highlights include: “You Are The Stars”, “Things Are Fallin’” and “How Do You Do It”. [First added to this chart: 03/03/2014]
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Phil Beaudreau, lead singer of Shaimus, has embarked on a solo career and I have to say, if this is what’s coming from his solo career, I’m pumped. This is different than most of Shaimus’ stuff, it’s not nearly as rock-oriented, but rather more synthpop-like. Every instrument played on this album is played by Beaudreau, which is impressive when you listen to the album considering how much is going on throughout the album. The lyrics are great, the vocals are fantastic and virtually every song is catchy and enjoyable to listen to. There’s tons of variety too, even a song featuring a rapper by the name of Dawaun Parker, who also produced the album.
Highlights include: “Buried Alive”, “Take It High”, “Spark” and “Little Wild Fire”. [First added to this chart: 01/23/2014]
Highlights include: “Buried Alive”, “Take It High”, “Spark” and “Little Wild Fire”. [First added to this chart: 01/23/2014]
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Bleachers | 1 | 1% | |
| Thou | 1 | 1% | |
| The Chain Gang Of 1974 | 1 | 1% | |
| The Antlers | 1 | 1% | |
| St. Vincent | 1 | 1% | |
| Yob | 1 | 1% | |
| Royal Blood | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| |
73 | 73% | |
 |
8 | 8% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
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2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 87th to 88thArktika by Pelican (US) |
| Down 1 from 88th to 89thTransient by Krieg |
| Down 1 from 89th to 90thThe Singularity (Phase 1: Neohumanity) by Scar Symmetry |
| New entries |
|---|
| Days Of Thunder by The Midnight |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Singles by Future Islands |
Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 similarity to your chart(s)
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Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 23 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/16/2020 12:57 |  Larcx13 | 1,138 | 86/100 |
| ! | 05/11/2019 18:01 |  buzzdainer | 669 | 90/100 |
| ! | 03/31/2019 00:21 |  Purplepash | 1,704 | 88/100 |
| ! | 08/25/2018 04:13 | DJENNY | 4,341 | 100/100 |
| ! | 08/24/2018 16:40 | carpents | 50 | 93/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 5% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.9/100, a mean average of 90.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 11.0.
Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 favourites
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Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 17 comments |
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From Larcx13 10/16/2020 12:58 | #259338
Larcx13 10/16/2020 12:58 | #259338
You get a perfect score just for the effort put in.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From buzzdainer 05/11/2019 18:04 | #236152
buzzdainer 05/11/2019 18:04 | #236152
Genuinely pleased to see After the Disco getting some love on your chart, as I thought it was the best album of 2014. I've really come to appreciate what a great producer Danger Mouse is, as he's able to adapt his approach in a chameleon-like way to draw out the talents of the artists he works with. Overall a really enjoyable chart to puruse and sample from!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Boltzmann 08/24/2018 15:11 | #220055
Boltzmann 08/24/2018 15:11 | #220055
Not a list you encounter everyday. I guess I have to check out Flying Lotus again.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
rafalink 09/02/2015 13:20 | #149113
rafalink 09/02/2015 13:20 | #149113
Good list with awesome comments!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From platus 09/02/2015 12:31 | #149112
Refreshing list. Interesting to discover new music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
PatrickD 10/21/2014 05:39 | #124920
PatrickD 10/21/2014 05:39 | #124920
Just great!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Mercury 10/07/2014 20:21 | #123644
Mercury 10/07/2014 20:21 | #123644
I like it. I wish I had thought to listen to so much music for this year. I've been slacking.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
meccalecca 07/02/2014 13:05 | #115832
meccalecca 07/02/2014 13:05 | #115832
While there's a bunch of records I really didn't like, there's a lot to love, and the notes are some serious work.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
benpaco 06/16/2014 17:24 | #114575
benpaco 06/16/2014 17:24 | #114575
Totally admit to stalking yours' and camsh's charts to find recs, that's how I found ether in the first place :) Nice chart, love it!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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