Typically, with these kinds of “list pieces” where I showcase some or all of the albums from a particular year that were selected from the massive best 1,000 albums project (a five-year journey where I wrote about the thousand albums that had the largest impact on my life), I use the word “best” in the article title.
However, for years like 2014, where the “highest” ranked album (Prhyme, more on it just below) happened to be ranked #362 out of 1,000, I switch things up and simply go with “With great albums from 2014” in this case.
But that’s not to take anything away from Prhyme or any of the other 2014 albums you’ll see below. They’re all fantastic, and quite an array of eclectic and intriguing selections at that, says I.
So here we go.
1) Prhyme – Prhyme(#362 of the best 1,000 albums ever)
I never get tired of that rat-TAT-TAT-TAT drum beat that kicks off the title track, “PRhyme,” which is one of my favorite hip hop songs of this century. The surprisingly slow bass line, wild jazz loop samples, and the electric rap skills of Royce da 5’9” and producer DJ Premier make the track a true standout.
2) Allah-Las – Worship the Sun (#383)
Allah-Las – and this holds true for their self-titled debut album, Allah-Las, for that matter – defy easy definition. They fall into the garage rock side of the rock and roll spectrum (and, which, by the way, I’m usually all in if the band is decent right there), but usually one thinks of much louder bands ranging from The Kingsmen to The White Stripes. They’re clearly influenced by quieter, moodier, indie rock style vibes, but they shouldn’t be confused with a band like The Shins either.
3) U2 – Songs of Innocence(#541)
It’s an interesting choice that “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone),” a tribute to The Ramones’ frontman, is decidedly not a punk rock song. Instead, it’s quintessentially U2: rousing and soothing and pleasing rock and roll that works perfectly well at a moderate volume.
And the song, like Songs of Innocence as a whole, mixes in elements and influences from the band’s past, particularly the sound of The Joshua Tree updated with slightly fuzzed up elements from the Achtung Baby era and electronic influences that the band has experimented with over the years.
4) Wu-Tang Clan – A Better Tomorrow (#544)
The album has that feel of an older, somewhat wiser, somewhat still knucklehead collective of world-class hip hop artists and Shaolin inhabitants still doing their thing – and feeling pretty good about it at that.
5) First Aid Kit – Stay Gold (#611)
I’m pretty sure I listened to “My Silver Lining,” off Stay Gold, via Spotify’s New Music Friday feature. It caught my attention right away, and remains in heavy rotation ever since.
The vocals, courtesy of Swedish folk duo and sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, are simply gorgeous. And the song is catchy and pleasing and soothing and exciting somehow all at once.
6) Jack White – Lazaretto(#680)
While I sometimes find Jack White’s solo work to be a little uneven, I see it in terms of his continually pushing himself as an artist. Not all experiments are going to work, and something you can easily say about White is that he never rests easy; he’s always pushing for something different, chasing new musical terrain.
And as they say, it’s all in the journey anyway.
The highs on Lazaretto far outweigh the lows, so we can easily say that it’s a successful experiment.
7) Parquet Courts – Sunbathing Animal(#807)
There are so many things I’m enjoying about this best 1,000 albums ever project.
Two of the biggest ones are:
- Promoting music I deeply love that most people haven’t discovered
- Having my own mind blown by music I hadn’t discovered before
Parquet Courts falls clearly and cleanly into the second category. And further, they gloriously refute the notion that “rock is dead,” something I’ll admit I’ve asked myself from time to time in recent years.
Parquet Courts is also the very rare band or musical act where I pretty much at a baseline (at least) like everything they produce. I just really like their sound, and pretty much every song they produce is some combination of (at least) interesting, engaging, or exciting music.
8) The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Revelation(#945)
“Vad Hände Med Dem?” is a mix of jangle pop and moody indie rock that somehow and oddly works beautifully. I have no idea what it’s about or, indeed, even what language it’s in (Dutch? Don’t @ me, as the not that young kids say on social) but that’s perfectly fine by me. As you’ll read more about below, this is great music for driving around Seattle on a rainy day or, better yet (and let’s pretend it’s the Before Times for kicks) hanging out in a coffee shop with your headphones on, watching the people and the world go by in a melodic and jangle jumping haze.