Top 100 Albums I Heard For The First Time In 2014
According to Sputnik I`ve rated over 200 albums this year! Here is my list of the top 100 albums I heard for the first time this year from any year. |
| 100 |  | Sigur Ros
Kveikur
3.2- (post-rock) A beautiful backdrop to every day living in the wintery cold of Canada, the industrial drums provide nice contrast to the bright, blissful soundscapes adding this sense of depth and heaviness to their music. |
| 99 |  | Lost Ubikyst in Apeiron
Abstruse Imbeciles Nailed on Slavery
3.2- (progressive metal) I'm still not sure if I love this or hate this. An insanely cheesy, over the top progressive metal album with a massive scope(I mean just look at the freakin' title). Would recommend to fans of Devin Townsend. |
| 98 |  | Epica
The Quantum Enigma
3.2- (power metal) A shallow and forgettable album that is extremely fun to listen to on the rare occassion. This album is pure over the top cheesy goodness. |
| 97 |  | All That Remains
The Fall Of Ideals
3.2- (metalcore/ melodic death metal) |
| 96 |  | 68
In Humor And Sadness
3.3- (noise rock) Although The Chariot may have broken up we still have the side project of their vocalist 68. The instrumentation is a little more subdued and at times blues influenced, songwriting is more diverse than previous work but isn't as consistent or effective. Definitely a great album to satisfy fans of The Chariot none the less. |
| 95 |  | Destrage
Are You Kidding Me? No.
3.3- (metalcore) Really silly, mathy, metalcore featuring lyrics about subjects such as beer and zombies. This band unlike Protest The Hero don't take themselves seriously, and just want to rock out to some noodly wankery and chugs. |
| 94 |  | Death Grips
The Powers That B - Part I: Niggas on the Moon
3.3- (death grips genre) |
| 93 |  | Forest Swords
Engravings
3.3- (downtempo) |
| 92 |  | Busdriver
Cosmic Cleavage
3.3- (hip-hop) Busdriver is a really interesting artist that has been gaining a lot more attention recently. His vocal delivery is likely to be very controversial and off putting to some people. The beats are also really off kilter and flow together really well from song to song. The beats are fairly minimal but always strange and taseful, only Busdriver could make rapping over a honking bicycle horn sound good. |
| 91 |  | Within The Ruins
Invade
3.3- (metalcore) |
| 90 |  | Pig Destroyer
Explosions In Ward 6
3.3- (deathgrind) A fairly overlooked album in the Pig Destroyer discography. While nothing amazing it is overall a solid deathgrind album. |
| 89 |  | Andrew Jackson Jihad
Knife Man
3.3- (folk-punk) I can't help but love Jihad, his tongue-in-cheek humor and bitter silliness is like watching a George Carlin set. |
| 88 | | Full Of Hell And Merzbow
Full Of Hell & Merzbow
3.3- (grindcore) This is full of hell's heaviest album yet, very menacing atmosphere an extremely thick and dense album. I just wish Merzbow shined more on this album, it didn't feel like the band and Merzbow had very good synergy or chemistry with one another. The harsh noise interludes fit in amazingly with the dense atmosphere. |
| 87 |  | Eric Dolphy
Out To Lunch
3.3- (jazz) A bizarre album full of off-kilter sounds and progressions. Has a fair bit of wank, some impressive musicianship that bounces all over. |
| 86 |  | Make Them Suffer
Neverbloom
3.3- (deathcore) A fairly standard deathcore band, however they tastefully and very successfully include synths in their music that give their music a distinct cold, wintery atmosphere. |
| 85 |  | Batsumi
Batsumi
3.3- (jazz fusion/ afrobeat) |
| 84 |  | Coil
Black Antlers
3.3- (ambient/ post-punk) Highly recommend this band to fans of Swans. A lot of tension, droning, winding pieces with an occasional flair of viciousness. |
| 83 |  | Zaum
Oracles
3.3- (doom metal)- More like 'dune metal' more sort of spiritual kind of desert doom metal in the vein of OM's Adviatic Songs. |
| 82 | | Black Milk
If There's A Hell Blow
3.4- (hip-hop) |
| 81 |  | SOHN
Tremors
3.4- (pop) I see a big future ahead for SOHN, he is definitely a great producer that has already collaborated with a few other artists. |
| 80 |  | Saint Pepsi
Hit Vibes
3.4- (vaporwave) Poor to lazy songwriting, not much substance but holy cow is this fun. |
| 79 |  | Nile
Annihilation of the Wicked
3.4- (technical death metal) bang your head. |
| 78 |  | The Antlers
Familiars
3.4- (dream pop/ art pop) A perfect christmas album. It has a really absorbing atmosphere to get lost into, a really pleasant listen but nothing here is too gripping. |
| 77 |  | Wovenhand
Refractory Obdurate
3.4- (psychedelic rock) |
| 76 |  | Merzbow
Venereology
3.4- (harsh noise) This is easily the most abrasive on this whole list, not for the feint of heart. Primal, unrelenting layers and layers of squeeling, grinding and blistering noises. This album as a whole has a really consistent feel to it, and although it is like dipping into cold water, at first it is hard to enjoy but as you get into it you really start to vibe with the raw energy of it all. |
| 75 |  | Trap Them
Darker Handcraft
3.4- (hardcore) watch your ass Converge [2] |
| 74 |  | Citizen
Youth
3.4- (pop punk) One of my favourite pop punk albums. While it isn't anything innovative, it strikes me in the right way. Really enjoy the production on this. Some tasteful interplay between instruments, good pacing between slower and faster moments. |
| 73 |  | Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
Push The Sky Away
3.5- (indie rock) |
| 72 |  | Sweet Smoke
Just A Poke
3.5- (jazz fusion/ progressive rock) |
| 71 |  | Run The Jewels
Run The Jewels 2
3.5- (hip-hop) |
| 70 |  | Battles
Mirrored
3.5- (math rock) One of the strangest albums I ever heard. It is the music equivalent to a Saturday morning cartoon. |
| 69 |  | Bill Callahan
Dream River
3.5- (americana) |
| 68 |  | Ash Borer
Ash Borer
3.5- (atmospheric black metal) A perfect summer black metal album. This album sounds like a thunderstorm. |
| 67 |  | August Burns Red
Constellations
3.5- (metalcore) A much more clean and well put together album after the somewhat amateur sounding Messengers. It still holds a lot of the same values as old ABR, but the better production has taken away some of their charm. |
| 66 |  | No Joy
Wait To Pleasure
3.5- (noise rock/ shoegaze) An abrasive-shoegaze-pop record without frills. Catchy and loud. |
| 65 |  | The Body
I Shall Die Here
3.5- (ambient) unbelivably menacing, crushing and downright disturbing albums. One of the most shocking and intense albums I've heard but it drags on far, far too long with not enough ideas. |
| 64 |  | Zealotry
The Charnel Expanse
3.6- (death metal) Sounds like a labyrinth, technical songwriting with an overarching theme that holds it all together. Would recommend if you're a fan of None So Vile. |
| 63 |  | Pyrrhon
The Mother Of Virtues
3.6- (death metal) Listen to this if you're a fan of chaotic, abrasive death metal like Gorgut's Obscura. Very tight songwriting and flow despite the chaos, it is marred however by lackluster production. |
| 62 |  | Milo
A Toothpaste Suburb
3.6- (conscious hip-hop) I feel like Milo's personality is either going to make people love or hate his music. He is quirky as hell with his lyrics about doubt, self-depreciation and nerdy references. This is the whitest rap you'll hear all year. |
| 61 |  | CunninLynguists
Oneirology
3.6- (hip-hop) A gorgeous album with a very ominous, dreamy, dark tone to the beats. While the lyrics or rapping may not be the best it has an incredible atmosphere that overarches all the songs and holds it together. |
| 60 | | Flying Lotus
You`re Dead!
3.6- (hip-hop/ jazz fusion) |
| 59 |  | Oneohtrix Point Never
R Plus Seven
3.6- (vaporwave/ ambient) |
| 58 |  | Banks
Goddess
3.6- (pop) A fantastic pop album that features a seductive, yet fragile atmosphere. Banks shows all sides of herself from her insecurities, desires, to her sexual fantasies and prowess. Minimal beats that often can act as hooks on their own merit. Would recommend to fans of The Weeknd. |
| 57 |  | Quicksand
Slip
3.6- (rock/ post-hardcore) Really good all around, every instrument is interesting and does a great job. A lot of passion and energy in this album. It is easy enough to listen to but still manages to get noisy and dissonant at times. Would recommend this to fans of At The Drive-In. |
| 56 |  | Pig Destroyer
Demo
3.7- (deathgrind) This is a really great demo that often gets overlooked. At times Hayes' vocals sound like Lord Worm, the sound production is awful and the riffs rip hard. |
| 55 |  | Suffocation
Effigy Of The Forgotten
3.7- (death metal) A truly brutal affair, very heavy downtuned guitars with piercing guttural vocals that carve their way like a shark through the thick heaviness of the soundscape. |
| 54 |  | Banks
London
3.7- (pop) Some of Bank's best tracks on this EP, while the full album is more complete it is a lot more hit and miss. |
| 53 |  | Jawbreaker
Dear You
3.8- (punk rock/ emo) |
| 52 |  | Abyssal
Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius
3.8- (death metal) A really underrated album. In a lot ways I like this more than Denouement. On this album Abyssal stray a little more from their comfort zone and can be surprisingly technical at times. A very slow, somewhat repetitive album that manages to throw in a curveball often enough to keep it interesting. |
| 51 |  | Joe Henderson
Inner Urge
3.8- (jazz) I'm always a sucker for an album filled with tasteful cymbals. This album is really heavenly and not too dissimilar from A Love Supreme if it wasn't as good. |
| 50 |  | Biohazard
Urban Discipline
3.8- (metal/ punk) An album that isn't quite metal and isn't quite punk but somewhere in between. Very angry and passionate delivery, not disimiliar to Rage Against The Machine. This band was around at the same time or even before RATM playing this style of music. |
| 49 |  | The Brave Little Abacus
Just Got Back from the Discomfort
3.8- (emo) An album with a dedicated cult following and it isn't hard to understand why. It's bright, hopeful, fragile and has very diverse songwriting for an emo album. |
| 48 |  | Kraftwerk
Trans-Europe Express
3.8- (synth pop) One of the most important bands to ever exist, and this is one of their best albums. Repetitive lyrics, shifting backgrounds, and long-burning tension builds. This is an album that is kind of abrasive, it is very hypnotizing you have to be in the right mind state to fully enjoy it. |
| 47 |  | Obituary
Slowly We Rot
3.8- (death metal) One of the most maniacal albums I've ever heard. It is a shame that the vocals are mixed so high and the production is kind of shoddy. |
| 46 |  | Training For Utopia
Plastic Soul Impalement
3.8- (metalcore) really angry old school metalcore. |
| 45 |  | MDC
Millions Of Dead Cops
3.8- (hardcore punk) This album must have been insane to hear for the first time in 1982. Really passionate performances, intense with lots of energy. |
| 44 |  | Sugary Sweet Machines
Tours Of The Bleak
3.8- (ambient) A great album by resident sputnik users. Although tagged ambient, it is a really busy album with lots of interesting ideas and oddball harsh soundscapes. If you want to learn more, here's my review: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/62084/Sugary-Sweet-Machines-Tours-of-the-Bleak/ |
| 43 |  | David Bowie
Station To Station
3.8- (rock) Sometimes it is hard for me to understand older albums fully. I love innovative music, or music that sounds weird or different. I know at its time this album was very individual and interesting but as compared to how many bands have followed similar styles it makes it hard to appreciate the nuisances of this album. However that isn't to say this isn't still an excellent album, full of long winding songs that never drag and crisp, rock out tunes to sing along to. |
| 42 |  | Cannibal Corpse
The Bleeding
3.8- (death metal) All Cannibal Corpse albums sound the same this one just sounds slightly better. |
| 41 |  | Aspherium
The Fall of Therenia
3.9- (melodic death metal) An overly long but really satisfying album. It is dense and heavy but still has a nice flow of melody and atmosphere. The band also wears the influence of many classic melodic death metal bands on its sleeves. The clean vocals especially sound like In Flames, and instrumentally as well at times. |
| 40 |  | Drake
Take Care
3.9- (cloud rap) Say what you will about Drake but this album is great. It breaks away from the stereotypes of mainstream rappers and Drake reveals a much more dreamy, vulnerable side of himself to the world. |
| 39 |  | Steven Wilson
The Raven That Refused To Sing
4- Very solid 70's prog rock worship. |
| 38 |  | Julian Casablancas and The Voidz
Tyranny
4- (alternative rock) This album is a god dammed mess, it jumps from genre to genre, from idea to idea sometimes without the most poise or cohesion but it is a very interesting listen to say at the least. |
| 37 |  | Death Grips
Government Plates
4- (death grips genre) One of the most controversial death grips albums among fans also happens to be my 2nd favourite. On this album Ride is much less present while bleeping and blooping instrumentals reign supreme. |
| 36 |  | Drawn And Quartered
Hail Infernal Darkness
4- (death metal) Death metal of a very similar breed to Close To A World Below. Recommended if you like your death metal crushing and evil sounding. |
| 35 |  | Waxahatchee
Cerulean Salt
4- (folk) Katie recently got signed, so that is great news! One of the better singer-songwriters out there right now. Fairly unique voice, great lyrics, an emotional roller coaster of an album. |
| 34 |  | Quasimoto
The Unseen
4- (hip-hop) It is difficult to understand why Madlib gets so many other people to rap over his beats because he has a lot of merit in his own right. Quasimoto follows the adventures of a meticulously crafted villainous character and his trip through the cityscape. Very odd flow and vocal delivery backed up Madlib's as per usual high quality beats. |
| 33 |  | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
4.1- (post-hardcore) I've only recently started delving into this band but I can tell they're something special. Really dissonant and abrasive music with angular progressions, excellent drumming, the way the instruments all play off of each other is very impressive. |
| 32 |  | Destroyer
Streethawk: A Seduction
4.1- (indie rock) This is Dan Bejar at his most raw. Destroyer songs either usually come in the form of grand displays of bells and whistles or quiet acoustic pieces. This album disregards all of the bells and whistles Dan normally employs but manages to stay just as grand. This album has some of Dan's best lyrics, some of his most dizzying songwriting while being one of the most bare Destroyer albums. If you want to read about this album more here is my review for it: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/62172/Destroyer-Streethawk%3A-A-Seduction/ |
| 31 |  | Snowing
Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit
4.2- (emo) A sloppy, mathy album with huge amounts of guts and passion. |
| 30 |  | Black Milk
No Poison No Paradise
4.2- (conscious hip-hop) I've been praising this man around sputnik for months now. This album is truly great, Black Milk is a great artist who deserves more attention. This album tells a very personal tale that skips around from childhood perspective, to struggling artist, to struggling star to give a compelling narrative. The beats are really dark and contemplative. My review if you want to know more: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/64988/Black-Milk-No-Poison-No-Paradise/ |
| 29 |  | The Men
Leave Home
4.2- (punk rock/ noise rock) Sharp, diverse, intense, unconventional. This album covers a lot of ground for being such an in your face release. It touches on nearly every facet of noise rock at one point or another and dabbles around with some hazy production and punk rock vibes. |
| 28 |  | The Smashing Pumpkins
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
4.2- (rock) An album that just knows how to rock out, has a good amount of diversity but kind of overly long for its own good. |
| 27 |  | The Twilight Sad
Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
4.2- (indie rock/ shoegaze) hopeful, honest, fragile, scottish accent. A really slept on band that I'd highly recommend to fans of The National. |
| 26 |  | Have A Nice Life
The Unnatural World
4.2- (post-punk/ shoegaze) Ethereal, depressing, melancholic. |
| 25 |  | Deerhoof
Breakup Song
4.2- (pop) really diverse but still flows really well, easily one of most deerhoof's most engaging albums and possibly their best. |
| 24 | | MF DOOM
MM.. Food
4.2- (hip-hop) Possibly MF's best under the MF DOOM moniker. Clever lyrics, great beats. |
| 23 |  | Gorguts
Considered Dead
4.2- (Old school death metal) Although Gorguts would later go on to become a much more unique and innovative band, this album is extremely solid for a standard death metal album. Killer guitar tone. |
| 22 | | Destroyer
Destroyer`s Rubies
4.2- (indie rock) While Streethawk: A Seduction is the height of Dan Bejar at his stripped down emotional/ acoustic self this album is the height of Destroyer's bells and whistles sounds. Everything on here feels the most purposeful, the most grand while still retaining that honesty that Dan injects into his music. |
| 21 |  | Tool
Aenima
4.2- (alternative metal) An album that is inferior to other Tool albums. |
| 20 |  | tUnE-yArDs
Nikki Nack
4.3- (pop) More fun than a barrel of monkeys, really nice tribal beats and drumming. An album that is hard not to smile at. |
| 19 |  | Deftones
White Pony
4.3- (alternative metal) A drug induced hazy night in the backstreets of the bad area of town. |
| 18 |  | Swans
To Be Kind
4.3- (post-rock/ post-punk??) Massive, epic, primal are some of the words used to describe this. Droning guitars, massive tension and over an hour of absolute insanity. |
| 17 |  | Macintosh Plus
FLORAL SHOPPE
4.3- (vaporwave) This album really is something special. After hearing this I spent at least a week listening to nothing but vaporwave, a very strange but interesting genre. I'm interested to see where it will be headed next. |
| 16 |  | Demilich
Nespithe
4.3- (death metal) An extremely strange album, full of off-kilter riffs and burp vocals. |
| 15 |  | Waxahatchee
American Weekend
4.3- (folk/ lo-fi) An artist I recently discovered and have become quickly smitten with. Very sad, lo-fi folk music along the lines of elliott smith. |
| 14 |  | Full Of Hell
Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home
4.3- (grindcore) Heavy as fuck. |
| 13 |  | Laurel Halo
Quarantine
4.3- (ambient pop) Her voice is disgusting, hideous sometimes downright bad. But when looked at the big picture, they really couldn't have been any other way. Quarantine is a maniacal electronic album that lightly spirals out of its head. |
| 12 |  | Freddie Gibbs And Madlib
Pinata
4.3- (gangster rap) Pinata isn't trying to achieve anything new, but for what it is it is an incredible ride through the life of Mr. Gibbs. Madlib has still got it, and the two work very well together. |
| 11 |  | Demolition Hammer
Epidemic Of Violence
4.4- (technical thrash metal) Unrelenting and raw are the two words that could best describe this thrash album. Very punk influenced, with some incredible drumming and riffs. |
| 10 |  | Portishead
Third
4.4- (trip-hop) A more stripped down Beth, with vulnerable lyrics and sharp production. |
| 9 |  | Fela Kuti
Shuffering And Shmiling
4.5- (progressive rock/ jazz fusion) Happiness in album form. |
| 8 |  | Tool
10,000 Days
4.5- Quite possibly Tool's most emotional release. A powerful album filled with more ambient sections and lighter songwriting, but it still manages to really drag the listener in. |
| 7 |  | Miles Davis
Bitches Brew
4.7- Hard to believe how much this was improvised. Very free spirited and jammy, while remaining emotional and complex. |
| 6 |  | Pig Destroyer
Prowler In The Yard
borderline 5- (deathgrind) It is no secret that I love this band. Monstrous vocals, amazing riffs, everything is just so on point. |
| 5 |  | Kate Bush
Hounds Of Love
borderline 5- (progressive pop) A concept album that needs to be listened to in full to get the whole effect. The first half feels like a romantic fairytail while the second half takes this motive and twists it in the most bizarre and unnerving way imaginable. |
| 4 |  | Judas Priest
Sad Wings Of Destiny
borderline 5- (heavy metal) A definitive album. Skillful playing, complex song writing, lots of emotion, diversity and incredible vocal performance. |
| 3 |  | Jethro Tull
Thick As A Brick
borderline 5- (progressive rock) A massive album that is easy to get lost in. Very fun and carefree. |
| 2 |  | Organized Konfusion
Stress: The Extinction Agenda
borderline 5 (hip-hop) a very hard hitting, charismatic boom bap album with a lot of quotable moments. The interplay between the two rappers is great and the beats really stand out as exceptional for its genre. |
| 1 |  | John Coltrane
A Love Supreme
5/5- (Jazz) a truly heavenly album that is rich in texture, emotion and complex with numerous layers to explore. The interplay between instruments on here is something truly magic. |
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