| Best Of '014 |
| 20 |  | Sharon Van Etten
Are We There
A beautiful, slow burning singer songwriter album jam packed with emotional swells and valleys. |
| 19 |  | Iceage
Plowing Into the Field of Love
Plowing Into the Field of Love sees Iceage expand their sound into noise rock and country territory with great success. |
| 18 |  | Clipping
CLPPNG
Noise rap group clipping make their version of a gangster rap album with fiery verses and glitchy, loud production. |
| 17 |  | Mick Jenkins
The Water[s]
Mick Jenkins gives his view of the extremely violent south side of Chicago with atmospheric production and hyper-conscious lyrics. |
| 16 |  | FKA Twigs
LP1
In a big year for FKA Twigs? career, she also released a very good album. The production is very dense, but accessible and FKA Twigs? singing
and songwriting is good. |
| 15 |  | Botanist
VI: Flora
VI: Flora is a stunning black metal album. I never knew a black metal album could sound so much like sunshine. |
| 14 |  | Busdriver
Perfect Hair
Rapper and producer Busdriver made an extremely over-the-top album with Perfect Hair. Every sound on the record seems odd and weird, but
once the music settles, it is a rewarding album. |
| 13 |  | Panopticon
Roads to the North
Panopticon fuses black metal and bluegrass music on the very intriguing Roads to the North. |
| 12 |  | Open Mike Eagle
Dark Comedy
Dark Comedy is an extremely witty, conscious, and, yes, even funny rap album. |
| 11 |  | Behemoth
The Satanist
One of metal?s best albums this year. The riffs are on point, the production is crushing, and the songwriting is pretty catchy. |
| 10 |  | Milo
A Toothpaste Suburb
Spoken word rapper milo releases another extremely solid album with many clever, wordy, and memorable lyrics. |
| 9 |  | Ariel Pink
Pom Pom
Ariel Pink?s weirdo pop approach is in full force on pom pom with plenty of catchy and well written songs. |
| 8 |  | Death Grips
The Powers That B - Part I: Niggas on the Moon
Niggas on the Moon is probably Death Grips' most abstract album yet lyrically and production wise which only makes this listen that much more
fun. |
| 7 |  | Bent Knee
Shiny Eyed Babies
Bent Knee?s debut album showcases their amazing songwriting ability and a knack for explosive and emotional performances. |
| 6 |  | Sun Kil Moon
Benji
All drama aside, Mark Kozelek?s Benji is simply a great singer songwriter album. His music puts you in a certain time and a certain place at
ease. |
| 5 |  | Freddie Gibbs and Madlib
Pinata
When I heard that this collaboration was in the works, I knew that Pinata was going to be brilliant and it did not disappoint. Madlib?s production
is excellent and usual and Freddie Gibbs with his flow and lyrical content just take this album to the next level. |
| 4 | | Flying Lotus
You're Dead!
Flying Lotus with You're Dead! creates a 38 minutes psychedelic fueled jazz-hip hop trip. This
album has so many sounds and ideas it?s almost dizzying, but in the end Flying Lotus? music
makes a grand and cohesive statement about the death and life itself. |
| 3 |  | Run the Jewels
Run the Jewels 2
Killer Mike and El-P deliver another bust-your-shit open rap album. The beats are hard as hell,
Killer Mike and El-P are on point as ever as MCs, and Run the Jewels 2 feels so much more
complete and balanced compared to their first release. |
| 2 |  | St. Vincent
St. Vincent
St. Vincent is one of my favorite singer songwriters active today and this album only adds to her
growing and exceptional discography. On this album, St. Vincent explores more electronic and
experimental sounds and executes them amazingly. |
| 1 |  | Swans
To Be Kind
This album is noise rock perfection and the essence of Swans? music. To Be Kind is about two
hours long and has many challenging songs which make this album hard to approach, but Swans
lure the listener into their world of anger, helplessness, and wonder. |
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