My 2014 List
Yeah, a tad bit late, but I haven't found the time to do it earlier. So since I don't listen to many new records, this isn't really a Top 2014 list. It's just a ranking of the albums I've listened to throughout the whole year. Not too many, but damn there were a few brilliant ones. |
| 58 |  | KoRn
The Path Of Totality
Rating: 1.5 / 10 // Actually I just checked this out, because I wanted to know, how bad it really is and how crappy a dubstep version of them sounds. Not exactly a surprise it turned out to be awful, even potentially harmful. |
| 57 |  | Kesha
Animal
Rating: 2 / 10 // Every year I throw in a few supposedly crappy records I don't know anything about and give them two or three spins. This time I decided to take a few pop artists with inferior ratings and of course Ke$ha deserved a spot. Though, if this wouldn't have been produced so cheap and completely destroyed by the electronic stuff and the auto-tune at least some songs could have turned out really good. |
| 56 |  | Miley Cyrus
Can't Be Tamed
Rating: 2.5 / 10 // See below. Her obvious attempt to imitate every successful pop artist - reaching from ABBA to Rihanna - is pretty crappy. Somehow one song instantly clicked with me and that's really the only thing that sets this apart from Ke$ha. |
| 55 |  | Justin Bieber
My World 2.0
Rating: 3 / 10 // See Ke$ha. Definitely no expectations and it really is one boring and cheesy affaire. Whoever decided to record "Eenie Meenie" should be deported to Guantanamo, on the other hand Usher gets a little plus for "Somebody To Love". That one turned out pretty well. |
| 54 |  | Katy Perry
One Of The Boys
Rating: 3.5 / 10 // See Ke$ha. She's just boring as hell. Nothing interesting about her and that whole record is the usual pop "rock" thing without anything that really sticks. Also never liked her voice. |
| 53 |  | Jack Johnson
Sleep Through The Static
Rating: 3.5 / 10 // Gotta say, I never really was a fan of him, but I always thought his music was ok, at least nothing that could be really annoying. But this is one unspectacular record. I mean, if you want to put a baby to sleep, it might be perfect. But that's not exactly the reason why I listen to music. There's really nothing in the second half to keep one awake. |
| 52 |  | Creed
Human Clay
Rating: 4 / 10 // One of the records my brother left here when he moved out. I just never listened to it, cause, well, it's Creed. Until last week. After the first spin i really thought this could very well be the most boring rock album I've ever heard. That hasn't changed really. Got one pretty strong track, a few others that manage to not bug me. But, damn, am I sure this won't get many listens. |
| 51 |  | The Black Eyed Peas
Monkey Business
Rating: 4 / 10 // A bit nostalgia, a bit curiosity if this could really be worse than "Elephunk". And no, it isn't. This is mildly entertaining at times, but only a guy as deluded as will.i.am can think it makes sense to throw 15 tracks on this. Half of them are useless, some really embarrassing, but it has its moments. A few of them... |
| 50 |  | Kid Rock
Born Free
Rating: 4 / 10 // Still trying to find a good record by him and this can't be it. Somehow I think he's got more potential as a cheesy country guy than as the rap rock poser he once was. On the other hand this isn't exactly entertainment, it's rather a 40 year old desperately trying to sound emotional. |
| 49 |  | Limp Bizkit
Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog...
Rating: 4.5 / 10 // Another one from my brother and as much as one has to hate Fred Durst, this still has something to offer. "My Generation" is the best song I know from them and it even has two or three other ones. Of course the rest is either generic or utter crap, but still. Though maybe my expectations are just so low, even this isn't too much of a disappointment. |
| 48 | | EAV
Nie Wieder Kunst
Rating: 4.5 / 10 // Austrian joke band. Worst album I know by them. Don't bother to listen, you won't understand a word. |
| 47 |  | Eminem
Relapse
Rating: 4.5 / 10 // Catching up on some Eminem and since Encore was the last I've heard, this seemed like the logical next step. Don't know, mostly boring and annoying. Tired beats, not much to say, but tracks like "Deja Vu" or "Underground" still show a better Em. It's just that he is remarkably unfunny throughout most of this, even more than on other records. |
| 46 |  | Papa Roach
The Connection
Rating: 4.5 / 10 // Heard "Silence Is The Enemy" and was surprised that they could make something that is REALLY entertaining, no matter how cheap it might sound. The album on the whole doesn't have too many of those moments, but a few stand outs are there. Sadly also their very worst songs. |
| 45 |  | Pharrell Williams
G I R L
Rating: 5 / 10 // A bit disappointed by this after only knowing "Happy" before. That one is really a great track, hardly anything else here is. The Daft Punk track is mildly interesting so is "Marilyn Monroe" and the Alicia Keys duet, everything else is there, but he really isn't doing too much here. |
| 44 |  | Daft Punk
Human After All
Rating: 5 / 10 // Monotonous even for their standards. The more aggressive approach doesn't really help, still got some jams like "Robot Rock" or "Technologic". Pretty annoying on the whole tough. |
| 43 | | Anna F.
...for real
Rating: 5.5 / 10 // Austrian pop artist. Mildly entertaining, not more, not less. |
| 42 |  | Papa Roach
Getting Away With Murder
Rating: 5.5 / 10 // The proof that Papa Roach is the most average band I've heard so far. Always two or three pretty strong tracks, but the rest lacks any character. They're the nu metal equivalent to late Phil Collins. There's nothing interesting, hardly anything that feels earnest. |
| 41 |  | Taylor Swift
Red
Rating: 5.5 / 10 // Meh. Has "We Are Never" and the title track. On the other hand also has "22" and "Stay Stay Stay". Good and evil outweigh each other pretty much, but she's done better before. |
| 40 |  | Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Rating: 6 / 10 // Really not my cup of tea. About two truly great tracks, especially "Lion In A Coma". Most other songs feel pretty lacklustre and maybe even a little forced though. The whole electronic stuff mixed with that kind of World music feel isn't really mesmerizing, it's rather annoying. |
| 39 |  | Clara Luzia
Falling Into Place
Rating: 6 / 10 // Austrian indie artist. Could have done so much better, but not the worst for piano-based pop. |
| 38 |  | Bob Marley And The Wailers
Survival
Rating: 6 / 10 // The worst I know by him so far. As noble as the message might be, the arrangements seem lazy and somewhat burdened. There's no life in some of those songs. The title track is really good work and the ensemble on the whole still knows how to balance each other out, but it lacks the Marley spirit. |
| 37 |  | Radiohead
Pablo Honey
Rating: 6 / 10 // Yeah, a bit strange to hear this after knowing their later work. Has some great moments nevertheless, oddly the opener and closer are the best among them. But neither the rather uninteresting lyrics, nor the dream pop/grunge sound really suits them. On the other hand, post-grunge has done so horrible things to music, that they probably could have been the best there too. |
| 36 |  | Daft Punk
Discovery
Rating: 6 / 10 // A little disappointed. Maybe there are too many ideas, maybe I just don't like the lyrics and maybe it's just that most of the songs aren't really catchy for me. Anyway, I expected a bit more. Still got "Face To Face" though. |
| 35 |  | Fall Out Boy
Infinity On High
Rating: 6 / 10 // Still don't think they are a horrible band, though they got progressively worse after their debut. So this is just the logical next step. The more varied sound is quite good and they manage to make "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs", "Fame < Infamy" or "Carpal Tunnel", but the flaws are so obvious, it almost hurts. How could they release some of those songs? Well, it's Fall Out Boy after all... |
| 34 |  | The B-52s
The B52's
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Strange and definitely not my band. I probably just don't get their humour, but I don't find their "let's throw some disco into our post-punk" approach not too appealing either. Got to admit they are quite good musicians though and the bass rules mostly. |
| 33 |  | Avicii
True
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Gonna get some hate for this, but there are some strong tunes on here. There's also a little bit of crap on here, though I would have expected much more of that from a Swedish idiot like him. Whatever bad thing that says about me, this isn't a crappy record. |
| 32 |  | La Roux
Trouble In Paradise
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Don't know why people think this is better than the debut. Both aren't too amazing, pretty much on the same decent level. Only this is less annoying, but also has less guts. Therefore it is easier to listen to, but also not as memorable as the first half of her the self-titled LP. And the synth pop ballad that is really emotional is still to be made. |
| 31 | | 5/8erl In Ehr'n
Bitteschön!
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Austrian blues/jazz band. Pretty good work. |
| 30 |  | The Beatles
Please Please Me
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // This could probably have been a great record, if properly produced. And if the lyrics wouldn't be lacking character. At times it is really great music, songs like "Chains" or "Do You Want To Know A Secret" would be good on later albums as well, but at times their 'singing' gets really difficult. Well, start small or something. Still remarkably good for that. |
| 29 |  | La Roux
La Roux
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Likeable attitude, some really good 80s tunes, some really annoying vocals. Nothing against a high voice, but that's too much even for some 80s revival. Except for that and the occasional minute of complete boredom it holds up quite well. |
| 28 |  | The xx
xx
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Great idea, mediocre execution, I guess. The atmosphere could have been really amazing, but his voice is useless and the beats are far away from fitting in at times. "Crystalised" is damn great work, too many others find themselves in monotony or cheesiness. |
| 27 |  | Weezer
Maladroit
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Probably their best record in the 00s. Since we all know that that doesn't mean anything, it doesn't even come close to the heights of "Pinkerton". But the metal style is really great for those short pop tunes and despite the inevitable pseudo-emotional Cuomo filler, it contains some great jams like "Take Control" or "Slave". |
| 26 |  | Lisa Hannigan
Passenger
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Since she single-handedly outshone Damien Rice on his debut, checking out her solo stuff seemed kind of obvious. She doesn't really manage to use her great voice properly always. Especially the first four tracks are great work, but she wanders around in the field of mediocre folk pop a bit too often. |
| 25 |  | Box Car Racer
Box Car Racer
Rating: 6.5 / 10 // Don't really like DeLonge or his voice. Despite that, this is decent work. Thanks to its hard rock sound. And the at times actually grown up lyrics. A bit too much of the later stadium rock, save the world-guy at times, but definitely worthwhile. |
| 24 |  | Ja, Panik
DMD KIU LIDT
Rating: 7 / 10 // Austrian indie rock band constantly switching from german to english and back. Therefore nice and not without character. A bit lazy at times. |
| 23 |  | Gerard Way
Hesitant Alien
Rating: 7 / 10 // Not that I like him, it wouldn't even be on here, if my best friend wouldn't have given him to me. And, surprise, it really works. The whole britpop and Bowie sound and especially Ways vocals are a bit of an obstacle, but actually its nice pop throughout. At least if you manage to skip "Zero Zero" every single time. |
| 22 |  | Savages
Silence Yourself
Rating: 7 / 10 // Not more than a joke to compare them to Joy Division, but even with all that gimmicky feminist crap and the pseudo-meaningful lyrics it's undeniably great music. Just really good post-punk, that maybe even manages to cross the bridge to the Dead Kennedys at times. I'll never like them, but I'll without a doubt respect their musical talent. |
| 21 |  | Regina Spektor
What We Saw From The Cheap Seats
Rating: 7 / 10 // She's great, really. Just a bit too goofy at times. If she would manage to dial her little weirdo-parts down a bit, this would be one hell of a record. I mean, "All The Rowboats", "Ballad Of A Politician" and "Jessica" already are, so no reason the other tracks can't be amazing too. |
| 20 |  | Green Day
Warning
Rating: 7 / 10 // Gets too much hate. One of their most creative records and one of their most mature ones. Also their most defensive, which is probably why many people don't really like it. But not just have the writing skills of Armstrong improved drastically since "Insomniac", but its slick sound and pretty funny lyrics are quite helpful too. Maybe it's just me, but they work as a folky power-pop band. |
| 19 |  | Taylor Swift
Speak Now
Rating: 7 / 10 // Her best record. And dammit, what a first half. Not even close to making a bad track there. It gets a little difficult later on, but at least she throws in "Better Than Revenge" before the end to save the day. Probably the best song she's made so far. |
| 18 |  | Genesis
Duke
Rating: 7.5 / 10 // Yeah, I don't know. I just don't see me listening to this. It's really great work and "Duke's Travels" is most certainly their best 80s track, but something about it is just...don't know. Maybe it isn't something that's there, but rather something that isn't. Anyway, can't say they've done a bad job here. |
| 17 |  | Flogging Molly
Drunken Lullabies
Rating: 7.5 / 10 // Not their best one, but undeniably catchy and still with some great lyrics. Actually it's pretty much a "Swagger" pt. 2, only something is missing this time. I'd say the more personal tone of their debut was a little more convincing than the often rather trivial songs here. Nevertheless one fine record. |
| 16 |  | Linkin Park
The Hunting Party
Rating: 7.5 / 10 // Well, that was a surprise. I got to admit, "Guilty All The Same" hit hard after all the lazy electronic stuff they've done the years before. The album isn't flawless, but then again "Keys To The Kingdom" is the best thing they released since "Given Up". And the raw production suits them really well, and Brad Delson is allowed to use his guitar again, and.... I'll stop. |
| 15 |  | Yellowcard
Ocean Avenue
Rating: 7.5 / 10 // Pretty fine pop punk this is. Maybe a bit too much of the pop side on the second half, but the harder edge of a song like "Way Away" makes up for that. It's a bit difficult to judge, cause the lyrics are like they always are on a pop punk record and the voice isn't exactly breathtaking either. But it's damn catchy and all in all that's its purpose, so... |
| 14 |  | Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Rating: 7.5 / 10 // It has "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You", which is about as big of a plus one can have. But the blues sound doesn't suit them too well, except for Page, who is at his best. It still lacks some of the balance of later records and Plant sounds dazed and confused at times than amazing. |
| 13 |  | St. Vincent
St. Vincent
Rating: 7.5 / 10 // Damn, she has talent. Maybe if she would be 2% less weird, I'd be fully convinced. Or maybe if she'd be even weirder. Can't say for sure. All I know is, some of these tracks are great, great work, especially when it comes to the music. It still falls flat at times and I don't really want her to sing about "Prince Johnny" anymore. |
| 12 |  | Damon Albarn
Everyday Robots
Rating: 8 / 10 // The great thing for me about the Gorillaz wasn't the endless experimentation or the hip-hop influences. No, it was the great melancholic ballads Albarn managed to put together. So this is probably the best he can do for a guy like me. His voice fits perfectly for that mood and even if I'm sure not every one of those tracks is completely thought through and he will at some point regret to have put "Mr. Tembo" on this, it succeeds thanks to the great lyrics and its stripped down sound. So, if lonely press play. |
| 11 |  | Jay-Z
Reasonable Doubt
Rating: 8 / 10 // Like the flow, like the lyrics, like the production. What else to say? Not much. I'm really no hip-hop guy, I just want to check out a few classics and this was what found its way into my collection this year. Undeniably great record and "Brooklyn's Finest" is amazing work. |
| 10 |  | Damien Rice
My Favourite Faded Fantasy
Rating: 8 / 10 // Austrian blues/space rock band. And these guys are really great. Sounds like they came directly out of the 70s, except for the fact they mixed in some breakbeat like samples in there. But one can hear a bit of Led Zeppelin and The Who through their songs and that can't be too much of a bad thing. So, highly recommended. |
| 9 |  | The Steaming Satellites
The Mustache Mozart Affaire
Rating: 8 / 10 // Austrian blues/space rock band. And these guys are really great. Sounds like they came directly out of the 70s, except for the fact they mixed in some breakbeat like samples in there. But one can hear a bit of Led Zeppelin and The Who through their songs and that can't be too much of a bad thing. So, highly recommended. |
| 8 |  | Dead Kennedys
Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
Rating: 8 / 10 // If you look at everything separately this is really crappy. The humour is questionable, Biafra sounds laughably bad and the production is quite difficult as well. Throw it all together and you get this: Some crazy, but amazing tunes about how screwed up society is. Nothing else to expect though, knowing "Holiday In Cambodia". |
| 7 |  | Bob Marley And The Wailers
Natty Dread
Rating: 8.5 / 10 // Now this is, what I'm talking about. The Marley spirit. Blues-tinged reggae with great vocals, great background singers, great lyrics, great everything. Now, its simple song structures and overtly similar sound might cost him some points, but overall Marley has done an amazing job here. Probably the best album he's made after Bunny and Tosh left. |
| 6 |  | Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
Rating: 8.5 / 10 // Arguably awesome. Arguably some minor complaints from my side though. "The Lemon Song" is rather special, meaning not needed, and "Thank You" lacks the character of other tracks. Still got "Whole Lotta Love", "Ramble On" and "Heartbreaker" though, so everything's fine. |
| 5 |  | Bad Religion
Suffer
Rating: 9 / 10 // Probably the best punk record I know so far. Of course they all practically sound the same, it's punk goddammit. But the lyrics kick ass, Graffin sounds great and of course there's Gurewitz. So do what you want, guys! |
| 4 |  | Soap And Skin
Narrow
Rating: 9 / 10 // Her WEAKER album. Damn, I stumpled upon her and hardly ever really praise any artist, but she deserves it. This is amazing, although with quite obvious weak spots. But whoever can make a perfectly cathartic and touching track out of "Voyage, Voyage" deserves every praise possible. |
| 3 |  | The Beatles
Rubber Soul
Rating: 9 / 10 // Well, it's the Beatles, what should I do. No, seriously, really great record. So far better than Revolver for me, mostly cause it is more cohesive and has a much better flow. Also there's no "Yellow Submarine", but instead "What Goes On", which could be Ringo's only time to deliver one of the best tracks on any Beatles record. |
| 2 |  | Joy Division
Closer
Rating: 10 / 10 // My best friend always says there's no album that suits me better. Take from that whatever you want, but it is truly astonishing. And haunting and glommy and about 30 other things I don't know how to describe. In short: Perfect. |
| 1 |  | Soap And Skin
Lovetune For Vacuum
Rating: 10 / 10 // But this is even perfecterer (that's right, isn't it?). I doubt there's a way to combine the words depressing, hurt and beautiful any better than she does it. Actually out of my Top 10 best songs I "discovered" this year, six are from her. So this is really out of question. No. 1 forever. |
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