Spoiler alert: U2 is number one

December 1, 2014 1:19 PM

Rolling Stone has announced its 50 best albums of 2014.
posted by Clustercuss (210 comments total)

Whether we do it or not, I totally thought the post's title was a joke until it wasn't.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:22 PM on December 1, 2014 [39 favorites]

No No No No there are still 31 days left and I haven't even gotten my "must finish before December projects for work" list done yet, so no, this list is not out today and no.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:24 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Way less embarrassing of a list than I expected. Four Stars.
posted by josher71 at 1:25 PM on December 1, 2014

Further evidence of Rolling Stone's long continuing place in dad rock irrelevance.
posted by The Michael The at 1:25 PM on December 1, 2014 [22 favorites]

Rolling Stone writes about music now?
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:27 PM on December 1, 2014 [11 favorites]

2014 was another phenomenal year for music, illuminating darkness when it often seemed that the only light was from buildings burning in Ferguson, Missouri.

"Oh, I hope a blithe and myopic play at being relevant doesn't portend a similar treatment of an already pretty narrow field."

*reads first few items*

"Eeyuuup"
posted by johnnydummkopf at 1:29 PM on December 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

Moss, alas, has been gathered.
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:31 PM on December 1, 2014 [53 favorites]

What a coincidence. A random tweet in my feed today referenced this masterwork of sycophantic Rolling Stone reviewing, which in turn led me to this site.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:33 PM on December 1, 2014 [7 favorites]

I'll say this for them: they're all on one page.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:33 PM on December 1, 2014 [62 favorites]

No metal? Eat shit, RS.

Mastodon's Once More 'Round the Sun was fucking amazing and Exodus and Overkill put out slabs of thrash perfection. Cannibal Corpse's A Skeletal Domain was a tour de force.
posted by Renoroc at 1:33 PM on December 1, 2014 [12 favorites]

I think the biggest news here is that a Top 50 list was presented in a single page. Kudos RS.

On preview: what Sing Or Swim said.
posted by gwint at 1:35 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

There were some good albums on the list, but it's a strange amalgamation that gives undue deference to those who have put out albums for 20 years.

I would have added to any list Beck's Morning Phase, but honestly as I comb through the albums I've been listening to this year, a shocking number of them were released in 2013, with 2014 being fairly lackluster and disappointing.
posted by Muddler at 1:37 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift and U2. Wow, no. Jeez.
posted by New England Cultist at 1:37 PM on December 1, 2014

My exposure to Songs of Innocence has almost entirely been through hearing a mellow U2 song in the midst of the 80s and 90s punk which constitutes the majority of the music on my boyfriend's iPhone. As a result, I kind of hate the album; it's like those songs exist solely to ruin the vibe. (And no, not even "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" goes with the rest of his music, even when it immediately followed a Ramones song -- which was pretty funny.)
posted by lesli212 at 1:38 PM on December 1, 2014

I think the biggest news here is that there were 18 albums better than Jackson Browne's latest! What an incredible year for music!
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:38 PM on December 1, 2014 [10 favorites]

Here are some albums that are on my list, but aren't on theirs:

Jhene Aiko - Souled Out
A-Villa - Carry on Tradition
The Budos Band - Burnt Offering
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Pinata
Michael Gordon/Rushes Ensemble - Rushes
Grouper - Ruins
Jason Adasiewicz's Sun Rooms - From the Region
King Avriel - Thesis
Statik Selektah - What Goes Around
SZA - Z
Christina Vantzou - No. 2
Mirel Wagner - When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atomos

If you're into it, I encourage you to comment with a list like this of your own.
posted by box at 1:39 PM on December 1, 2014 [16 favorites]

Huh, they actually branched out to some decently interesting territory in the bottom ranks. Sadly, too many Big Names, too, perhaps to keep them from getting too far afield general pop support.

But ugh, the U2 write-up...

There was no bigger album of 2014 – in terms of surprise, generosity and controversy. Songs of Innocence is also the rebirth of the year. Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. put their lives on the line: giving away 11 songs of guitar rapture and frank, emotional tales of how they became a band out of the rough streets and spiritual ferment of Seventies Dublin.

Surprise, generosity and controversy? Put their lives on the line? By telling their backstory in song and giving it away for people who have iTunes accounts? Radiohead gave away In Rainbows seven years ago. SEVEN! OK, they didn't "lay bare their souls" or whatnot, but that's not an accomplishment for a band - that's just another set of stories to tell.

And best use of Endless Page scrolling, plus spiffy mid-page linking (check out the URL as you scroll down).
posted by filthy light thief at 1:40 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

He may keep homes in Paris and the Bahamas, but Lenny Kravitz has never stopped being a New Yorker.

This is a spoof, right?
posted by colie at 1:45 PM on December 1, 2014 [15 favorites]

This is a spoof.
posted by box at 1:48 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I was glad to see Hurray for the Riff Raff on there. They are wonderful!
posted by likeatoaster at 1:48 PM on December 1, 2014

>If you're into it, I encourage you to comment with a list like this of your own.

Cibo Matto's Hotel Valentine is really, really good. It's a really mature album, and I love the brazilianish, jazzy feel on a lot of the songs (which I'm guessing comes as a result of Hatori's Smokey & Miho collab?)
posted by lesli212 at 1:51 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

St Vincent is only #4? Nope. Nope. Nope.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 1:51 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Aphex Twin made the list?? DAMMIT!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 1:53 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I think by now even most dads are aware of how uncool this list is.
posted by mcmile at 1:54 PM on December 1, 2014 [5 favorites]

Man I'm like the biggest U2 fan that still dares to admit such affiliations and even I wouldn't have put it at number 1. Though I do like the album.
posted by kmz at 1:58 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

but Lenny Kravitz has never stopped being a New Yorker.

This is a spoof, right?

He's a very rich media personality from a famous family - that's pretty much a requirement for a lease in Manhattan these days.
posted by The Whelk at 1:58 PM on December 1, 2014 [7 favorites]

Two records on their list will probably end up on mine (Caribou's Our Love and that Alvvays LP) and that makes me feel sort of like I do when I find out Sound Opinions likes something I like. Which is to say, old, hopelessly out of touch and well on the road to pleated khakis, windbreakers and houses with bonus rooms.
posted by thivaia at 1:59 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I am a dad and I disapprove of this message.
posted by 1adam12 at 2:01 PM on December 1, 2014 [11 favorites]

At this point reading rolling stone for the music reviews is about as credible as reading playboy for the informational articles.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 2:05 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'd be highly skeptical of anyone who reads Playboy for any reason but the articles in this, the internet era.
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:09 PM on December 1, 2014 [8 favorites]

Further evidence of Rolling Stone's long continuing place in dad rock irrelevance.

I dunno, man, there was a good ratio of decent stuff in there among some things that seemed to come from bands I stopped paying attention to 20 years ago. The top 10 was a bit questionable I guess, but I'd go so far as to say it's actually pretty bold--pretty sure picking U2 as a "best of the year" at this point alienates even Rolling Stone readers.

I encourage you to comment with a list like this of your own.

My own list would include Shabazz Palaces, Madlib and Freddie Gibbs, Step Brothers (even though the raps are a bit weak), Kool AD but I'm not sure whether I preferred the 2013 or 2014 one, and ... guess I listened to a lot of rap this year. Probably some other things. Yes.
posted by Hoopo at 2:11 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

People who know more about music inside baseball than I do--are any of these picks released by record labels with lo/no budget publicity or marketing etc? Because otherwise this seems like RS editorial staff ensuring their access to pricey fun press junkets.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:15 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

I'd be highly skeptical of anyone who reads Playboy for any reason but the articles in this, the internet era.
I'd be highly skeptical of anyone who reads Playboy for any reason but the articles in this, the internet era.

Amazon tried suggesting some of these albums at me before. None of them ranked above mild disappointment, and I liked the first couple of FlyLo albums.

I don't know if I have any personal picks for 2014. Even my own 2014 album, I like less than most of my previous work. But I could just be cranky right now or something.
posted by Foosnark at 2:15 PM on December 1, 2014

Rolling Stone's mobile site took overtook my iPhone in a slow-load of death, which I promptly tried to navigate out of. I then landed on some other RS page about various musicians covering Paul Fucking McCartney songs and had to force quit to get out of the whole nightmare.

That's all I need to know about this top 50 article, thanks.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 2:15 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

I am tickled that I deleted Rolling Stone's #1 album of the year without even listening to it.
posted by aubilenon at 2:16 PM on December 1, 2014 [14 favorites]

Further evidence of Rolling Stone's long continuing place in dad rock irrelevance

I'm in my fifties and I can't remember a time when a list from Rolling Stone was less than 50% wrong and misguided. I clearly remember when my brother got married and RS had just released a list of the greatest albums of the rock era or some sort. The amount of bad and controversial calls in that list had all the groomsmen, bridesmaids, and ushers picking apart the thing a good part of the weekend until we got too drunk to care.
posted by Ber at 2:20 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

ROSETTA LeNOIRE
posted by Sys Rq at 2:21 PM on December 1, 2014

None of them ranked above mild disappointment, and I liked the first couple of FlyLo albums.

I'm glad someone said it because I felt all alone on that. Not that it's a bad album at all, it just sounds like the same ground he tread on Cosmogramma
posted by Hoopo at 2:22 PM on December 1, 2014

In light of the past biases of Rolling Stone, it's sort of interesting that half of their top ten albums this year were by women.
posted by psoas at 2:22 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'll bite, box (and by the way your list looks great, lots of stuff I haven't heard or heard of)

Flowers - Do What You Want To, It's What You Should Do
A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Sea When Absent
Gold-Bears - Dalliance
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Days of Abandon
Martha - Courting Strong
18+ - Trust
The Luxembourg Signal - The Luxembourg Signal
Baby Ghosts - Maybe Ghosts
Let's Whisper - As Close As We Are

That, along with the Alvvays record that was on the rolling stone list, is probably my top ten of the year as best I can figure off the top of my head.
posted by wyndham at 2:25 PM on December 1, 2014 [8 favorites]

U2 is number one

But Bono is Number Two.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:30 PM on December 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

Any best of list that doesn't include Couch Slut's My Life as a Woman should be ashamed
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 2:33 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Why are neither Damien Rice nor Azealia Banks on this list.
posted by wrabbit at 2:36 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

i don't know what's worse - that i've heard very little of any of these or that it just doesn't sound interesting enough to listen to, except for alt-j, but that's probably because i've been listening to a lot of incredible string band lately and the idea of pulling radiohead and miley cyrus through it intrigues me

but i'd never heard of them before this

*goes back to incredibly obscure weirdness from the 60s and 70s*
posted by pyramid termite at 2:36 PM on December 1, 2014

LOL. I mean we can't even fault Rolling Stone with catering to old farts. Michael Gira put out another 2 hour opus, and he's pushing 60! But alas Swans are no where to be found.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 2:37 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Foo fighters? Black keys? Weezer? Skrillex? Skrillex??!Those are even more egregious examples of "past their prime in a really bad way" than U2. U2 is at least in the "hall-of-fame so we love them" category like jackson browne and bruce springsteen. That's a stupid category, but it's more defensible than celebrating Weezer, Black Keys, or the Foos, who are boring and rehashing old ideas without the benefit of hall-of-fame status. oof.

My top 12, in no order:

St Vincent, St. Vincent (#4 on RS)
Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels 2 (#8)
Flying Lotus, "You're Dead" (#11)
YOB "Clearing the Path to Ascend" (#50)
War on Drugs "Lost in the Dream" (#23)
Aphex Twin "Syro" (#41)
Pallbearer "Foundations of Burden" (N/A)
This Will Destroy You "Another Language" (N/A)
Behemoth "The Satanist" (N/A)
Courtney Barnett "The Double EP's: a Sea of Split Peas" (N/A)
Perfect Pussy "Say Yes to Love" (N/A)
Sunny Day in Glasgow "Sea When Absent" (N/A) (Thanks for the reminder wyndham)
posted by DGStieber at 2:37 PM on December 1, 2014 [13 favorites]

Foo Fighters - Bland Extrusion Model #229
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:39 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

U2 - Songs Your Dad Used To Listen To
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:39 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

by the way your list looks great, lots of stuff I haven't heard or heard of

I don't think I understand your criteria for quality.
posted by stopgap at 2:39 PM on December 1, 2014 [8 favorites]

Where's Rod Stewart's "Tribute to the Great American Songbook"?
posted by jeff-o-matic at 2:40 PM on December 1, 2014 [5 favorites]

I'm a dad. I started at number one and it took to number 18 before I had listened to anything on the list.
And that was the only thing to which I had listened, except perhaps accidentally.
I've always been behind the times and expected dad-hood would fix that.
Now . . . I'm failing at that too!

(yeah, I'll admit it. I listened to a bunch of early Bad Religion while driving across East Texas this weekend. I thought that was dad music. shit.)
posted by Seamus at 2:40 PM on December 1, 2014

The future Dads call it "Dad Rock" now, but

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

In other words, you'll be wearing the equivalent of mom jeans soon enough.
posted by Nevin at 2:44 PM on December 1, 2014 [7 favorites]

I don't think I understand your criteria for quality.

I like to discover new music.
posted by wyndham at 2:45 PM on December 1, 2014 [7 favorites]

Singer Paul Banks gives us a guided tour of his stylishly appointed pain cave

He he he
posted by echocollate at 2:46 PM on December 1, 2014

On the RS list I've been enjoying:

- St. Vincent
- Hurray for the Riff Raff
- Flying Lotus
- Caribou
- Leonard Cohen
- The War on Drugs

I'd submit for consideration:

- Budos Band
- Cibo Matto
- Cloud Nothings
- DRGN KING
- The Echelon Effect
- Ex Hex
- Grouper
- The Horrors
- Hozier
- Jim Black
- Life without Buildings
- Little Dragon
- Minus the Bear
- Natural Child
- Quilt
- Tony Allen
- Tune-Yards
- Yelle

Looking forward to discovering stuff others are pointing to! Thanks!

Full disclosure: I'm a dad. /not going gentle into that good night
posted by Lyme Drop at 2:52 PM on December 1, 2014 [8 favorites]

> by the way your list looks great, lots of stuff I haven't heard or heard of

> I don't think I understand your criteria for quality.

I don't think there is necessarily an equation of novelty and quality, but rather the enjoyment in finding something new that others like. And if there is some overlap in someone's Top Pick List with your own preferences, then it indicates there's a decent chance that you have similar tastes in music.

Anyway, I'm surprised that Pink Floyd's new album, The Endless River, didn't get mentioned, considering the "dadrock" jabs thrown at the list. It's even more amusing in that they actually referenced "Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd" in a review. But I guess 3.5 stars doesn't push the album to a Top 50 placement.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:53 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Spoiler alert: U2 is number one

lemme guess. A stunning return to form.
posted by philip-random at 2:56 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Somehow it just occurred to me that Yeezus was released last year
posted by Gymnopedist at 2:58 PM on December 1, 2014

Michael Gira put out another 2 hour opus, and he's pushing 60! But alas Swans are no where to be found.

IMO the Swans record is as redundant as the U2 record. /ducks
posted by Lyme Drop at 2:59 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

I've been pretty out of the new music loop this year, but I'd submit

Metronomy - Love Letters
Todd Terje - It's Album Time

In addition to some of the stuff already on the list like St. Vincent, FKA Twigs, and Spoon. I really need to give the new Caribou album a whirl.
posted by JauntyFedora at 3:00 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

two songs by alt-j and i'm done - first song a rather twee sounding black keys with a video that looks like outtakes from a 70s mountain dew commercial, second song, a rather sedate sounding synth tune with miley cyrus sample and some guy running through the woods being hunted by unseen elves who have a shitload of arrows to waste, as they're mostly bad shots

it's not bad, but it's not getting me, either
posted by pyramid termite at 3:05 PM on December 1, 2014

Dad here. I gave up on both U2 and Rolling Stone at least twenty years ago.
posted by octothorpe at 3:05 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

No Nickelback on this list. Please update me when the revised version is up.
posted by Metro Gnome at 3:08 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Number one album for me this year: Thank You Scientist - "Maps of Non-Existent Places". They are also the best new band I saw in concert this year.
posted by keli at 3:12 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

"sunbathing animal" by parquet courts - well, if you played a one chord polka guitar song and sped it up to 78 rpm, this is what it would sound like - no swing, quite relentless - not sure about this, although the lead guitar is good
posted by pyramid termite at 3:13 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

omg - someone go tell jackson browne an old man's singing on his album
posted by pyramid termite at 3:17 PM on December 1, 2014

Hmm, I actually like the new Taylor Swift album, and I'm a 40 year old guy.
posted by Pendragon at 3:18 PM on December 1, 2014 [5 favorites]

Wyndham:

Flowers - Do What You Want To, It's What You Should Do
A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Sea When Absent
Gold-Bears - Dalliance
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Days of Abandon
Martha - Courting Strong
18+ - Trust
The Luxembourg Signal - The Luxembourg Signal
Baby Ghosts - Maybe Ghosts
Let's Whisper - As Close As We Are


Cool! There's like 5 bands on this list I've never heard of that would all sound right at home on Slumberland Records or Sarah Records circa 1994. Had no idea there was a twee pop revival going on.
posted by malphigian at 3:20 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Seriously, why are any of you clicking on this? Stop giving attention to Rolling Stone. It needs to die.
posted by lumpenprole at 3:32 PM on December 1, 2014

This is in my top 10,000 of top 50 websites.
posted by clvrmnky at 3:33 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I dunno, I've been pondering this U2 album a fair bit lately. I liked them quite a lot 20 years back, even though I was far more firmly entrenched in the Husker Du/Replacements/Fugazi/etc etc side of things. I've actively disliked or found completely, instantly forgettable pretty much everything they've done since Pop, but a few trusted music writers seemed so keen on this new one that I gave it a few more goes after an initial scornful dismissal upon my first listen.

I still find it utterly safe and mired in nauseatingly slick, smoothed-out, toothless production (which puts me in mind of Butch Vig's engineering of the Foo Fighters, which makes me angry every damn time I hear one of their songs, because I reckon they'd be a pretty good if extremely repetitive band if they would just leave things a bit less processed and loudnessified), but I will admit it is better than anything else they've done in a long time, and the lyrics aren't quite as embarrassing as they have been since... well, since probably Unforgettable Fire, to be honest, but even more so for the last 20 years.

Small positives don't really make me want to listen to it any more than I have, though, because there's just so much more good stuff out there these days, and also music I missed when it came out (how did I not get into Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros at the time, I wondered to myself this week -- Streetcore is fucking great), passionate stuff that makes me feel younger rather than older even if it's made by old farts, which isn't the objective, but you know, helps.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:34 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

In other news Rolling Stone is changing its name to Trolling Stone to reflect its focus on controversial listicles.
posted by humanfont at 3:40 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Heh. This may be the first time I've ever clicked through to a top list expecting to be able to brag about how I hadn't listened to anything on it, and hardly even recognized any of the artists, only to find that the first entry on the page (at #50) was the album I was listening to when I clicked the link.

No metal? Eat shit, RS.

Yob's Clearing the Path to Ascend at #50 is an excellent album, and is very much metal. Not so sure about Mastodon these days, though (insert link to that twerking video here).
posted by effbot at 3:41 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Seriously, why are any of you clicking on this?

It was on Metafilter.
posted by josher71 at 3:41 PM on December 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

Springsteen had the #1 spot originally but Apple inserted U2 automatically.
posted by brundlefly at 3:44 PM on December 1, 2014 [7 favorites]

For the record I haven't been listening to much album-length material this year but for record of the year I'd go for the Dense and Pika remix of Paul Woolford's Erotic Discourse.
posted by 1adam12 at 3:52 PM on December 1, 2014

I've been kind of surprised at the absence of tune-yards' (I refuse to do the capitalization thing) new album Nikki Nack from these year end lists (or, in the few cases where it's mentioned, it's near the bottom of the heap). Critics went nuts over their previous album w h o k i l l (it won the Pazz & Jop), and I think the new one steps up the game. Metacritic disagrees, but still, on metacritic, it's an 86 for w h o k i l l and an 83 for Nikki Nack, so it's not like the new one got panned or anything.

Anyway, it's nice that St. Vincent's moment in the sun continues. Own that throne, Annie Clark.

My album of 2014 is Tanya Tagaq's Animism, but I suppose that will be a 2015 release in the markets that count for this sort of thing (US, UK).
posted by erlking at 3:53 PM on December 1, 2014

I'll bite! These are fun.

My top 10 albums from this year (and it was a great year for music):

10: The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
9: Broken Twin - May
8: Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
7: Taylor Swift - 1989 (shove it folks this album is awesome!)
6: Sun Kil Moon - Benji
5: Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
4: Clark - Clark
3: Lake Street Dive - Bad Self Portraits
2: White Hinterland - Baby
1: Aphex Twin - Syro

Here are the other records I loved this year that didn't make the top 10:

First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
Beck - Morning Phase
Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
FKA Twigs - LP1
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
Mozart's Sister - Being
Kishi Bashi - Lighght
Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
Phantogram - Voices
Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
S. Carey - Range of Light
Bad Plus - Rite of Spring
Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear
This Will Destroy You - Another Language
Fennesz - Becs
David Lang - Love Fail
EMA - The Future's Void
Owl John - Owl John
Lykke Li - I Never Learn
Grouper - Ruins
Lucius - Wildewoman
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
Tycho - Awake
Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather
Todd Terje - It's Album Time
Perfect Pussy - Say Yes To Love
HAERTS - HAERTS
Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain
Cibo Matto - Hotel Valentine
Perfume Genius - Too Bright
tUnE-yArDs - nikki nac
posted by Lutoslawski at 3:58 PM on December 1, 2014 [13 favorites]

So I have a question: what is the good/hip music magazine?

In the 70's it was Rolling Stone, in the 80's it was Spin (IMHO), but what should I read these days?

I imagine that the answer isn't a dead-tree publication (although I would love to hear this answer), but a website, in which case, which I'm also interested in.
posted by el io at 4:05 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Was there a Wilco album this year? Because that would be the best album.
posted by chavenet at 4:07 PM on December 1, 2014

I think the last time I listened to an entire album by anyone was, like, 2006
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:08 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Was there a Wilco album this year? Because that would be the best album.

There was a Tweedy and son album. It was aight.
posted by Lutoslawski at 4:10 PM on December 1, 2014

el io - I feel like the go-to response is Pitchfork except that their top 20 for 2013 (I dutifully listened to most of it) was half hip hop and half really unlistenable distortion-based albums, which...I mean, if that's your thing--
posted by radicalawyer at 4:13 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Also there is no Weep album on here (by MeFi fave--via his show The Venture Bros--Doc Hammer). Every album they've done = massive levels of amaze.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 4:16 PM on December 1, 2014

So I have a question: what is the good/hip music magazine?

rateyourmusic.com is a website that's got a flood of reviews on a crapload of albums - it's good for what it is, which is a lot - don't know what's hip anymore, but the site's major weaknesses seems to be r&b/rap/hip hop, which is hated by way too many people there, and current pop, which seems to be hated just because it's a cool thing to hate
posted by pyramid termite at 4:21 PM on December 1, 2014

My hastily assembled list for 2014:

Elephant - Sky Swimming
Alvvays - Alvvays
Especia - Gusto
Tennis - Ritual in Repeat
Kero Kero Bonito - Intro Bonito
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City (which kind of doesn't count because it's a reissue)
♡kitty♡ - impatiens

But if I had to pick a single album, it wouldn't be a 2014 album but a 2013 album I discovered too late: T H E by Tricot.
posted by chrominance at 4:24 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Ah yes, Rolling Stone, that bastion of serious, hard-hitting music journalism.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 4:24 PM on December 1, 2014

No metal? Eat shit, RS.

That tells me everything I wanted to know without looking at the list.
posted by skycrashesdown at 4:32 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

In the 70's it was Rolling Stone

Cutting edge in the sixties but by the early seventies they were mired in what they thought was important (sixties artists Jann Wenner and Dave Marsh liked). OK, they got it right on Springsteen and somehow managed to keep some credibility when some of their writers championed punk, but damn, no one in college and especially high school gave two shits about what RS said in the 70s. Creem was more fun, Crawdaddy more astute (although often mired in the aesthetic of the previous decade as well). For example, EVERY fucking release by the Stones (post-Exile) and Dylan (post-Blood on the Tracks) was the stereotypical "return to form".

I remember reading about RS sending a reporter and photographer to search NYC one night because there was a rumor that Mick and Bianca were in town, hanging with Bowie. To the reporter's eternal horror, they found their heroes hanging out...backstage at a Zeppelin show at the Garden. Hell, I think even Harrison was there. Scandalous. Jann probably wanted to kill the story.
posted by Ber at 4:41 PM on December 1, 2014

It was on Metafilter.

Such a dadsite
posted by Hoopo at 4:55 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

For various dumb reasons we have a print subscription to Rolling Stone. Each time we get it I like to flick through and see how far in the first U2 reference is - it's never far.
posted by Artw at 5:04 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

no Mouth Silence = no deal
posted by rorgy at 5:04 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

I think the last time I listened to an entire album by anyone was, like, 2006

Do yourself a favor - sit in the dark with some headphones and a drink, and listen to an old favorite album, start to finish. You won't regret it.
posted by davebush at 5:17 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Firstly, holy crap I had no idea Cibo Mato made another album. They RULE.

Secondly, some 2014 albums for consideration:

Agnes Obel - Aventine (atmospheric chamber pop)
Fink - Hard Believer (trip-hop influenced singer songwriter)
Buck 65 - Neverlove (indie experimental hip-hop)
Alt-J - This is All Yours (extremely underrated sophomore album)
Tove Lo - Queen of the Clouds (guilty pleasure grrl power pop)
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:29 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

For various dumb reasons we have a print subscription to Rolling Stone. Each time we get it I like to flick through and see how far in the first U2 reference is - it's never far.

I'm sensing the genesis of a new drinking game.
posted by Lyme Drop at 5:33 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Caution: rules of said game will require careful balancing to prevent death.
posted by Artw at 5:38 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

U2 should've titled that album Malware, because that's what it was.

They took what could've been a real gesture of generosity and turned it into an egotistical stunt by deciding on my behalf that I wanted it, rather than just offering it for free.

And I saw Bono's apology. Fuck that guy.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 5:45 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Seriously, why are any of you clicking on this?

Because people around here get stabby if you don't RTFA.
posted by Celsius1414 at 6:01 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Spoiler alert: U2 is number one

that should be

Trigger Warning: U2 is number one
posted by thetruthisjustalie at 6:16 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Who is number two?
posted by Artw at 6:24 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

FartBarf, as it should be.
posted by dr_dank at 6:26 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

U2 should've titled that album Malware, because that's what it was.

IMO, the backlash was a bit over the top, simply because it was Bono and U2. Granted, they vastly overestimated the love they'd get back, but I don't think all the venom was warranted. And, wasn't Apple just as guilty?
posted by davebush at 6:28 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

I'll bite! These are fun.

My top 10 albums from this year (and it was a great year for music):

Just off the bat, yeah, FKA Twigs and the newest War on Drugs albums are great. Although technically speaking War on Drugs is Dylan + Knopfler + Springsteen + the Verve (Storm in Heaven era), so it's actually Dad Rock.
posted by Nevin at 6:37 PM on December 1, 2014

Why didn't Time Magazine try to ban the term "Dad Rock?" Oh, because it's something white guys say.
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:38 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I don't think I enjoyed anything this year. Swans was okayish, Broadrick's stuff was okayish. The new I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness was very ordinary. Weltuntergangsstimmung by Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat was probably my favourite album I listened to but that's from 2012. In summary then: breezes.
posted by turbid dahlia at 6:51 PM on December 1, 2014

IMO, the backlash was a bit over the top, simply because it was Bono and U2. Granted, they vastly overestimated the love they'd get back, but I don't think all the venom was warranted. And, wasn't Apple just as guilty?

Yeah it's like when you buy an ereader and Martin Chuzzlewit or something equally stupid is already loaded: it gives you something to delete on the train ride home.
posted by turbid dahlia at 6:52 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

7: Taylor Swift - 1989 (shove it folks this album is awesome!)

Cosigned. I've had "Out of the Woods," "Blank Space," and "Wildest Dreams" on repeat for the past 2 weeks.
posted by Asparagus at 7:00 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Just off the bat, yeah, FKA Twigs and the newest War on Drugs albums are great. Although technically speaking War on Drugs is Dylan + Knopfler + Springsteen + the Verve (Storm in Heaven era), so it's actually Dad Rock.

The only one of my dad rock music boxes you missed is John Hiatt. And I'll be over on YouTube checking these guys out if you need me.
posted by wintermind at 7:07 PM on December 1, 2014

I've never heard of Alvvays until now so yay this thread!

Random stuff I dug, in no order:

anything from the PC Music label (no albums, just a bunch of songs)
Grouper - Ruins
Wussy - Attica!
Mike Adams - Best of Boiler Room Classics
George & Jonathan - George & Jonathan III
Neil Cicierega - Mouth Sounds
Angel Olsen - Burn No Fire For Your Witness
Christina Vantzou - No. 2
The Caribbean - Moon Sickness
Kyary - Pika Pika Fantajin
Wild Beasts - Present Tense
Perfect Pussy - Say Yes To Love
Ben Frost - Venter
Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers
BRNS - Void
Todd Terje - It's Album Time
Wye Oak - Shriek
Boris - Noise
Rich Gang - Tha Tour Pt. 1 Mixtape
Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like A Bell
FKA Twigs - LP1
u-Ziq - Rediffusion
Aphex Twin - Syro
The History of Apple Pie - Feel Something
The Juan Maclean - In A Dream
Giant Claw - Dark Web
Pharmakon - Bestial Burden
Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused
Swans - To Be Kind
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
Ariel Pink - pom pom
Arca - Xen
Hookworms - The Hum
posted by naju at 7:17 PM on December 1, 2014 [5 favorites]

My top three: Brubaker's eponymous debut, I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell from Current 93, and Laibach's Spectre. Hardly bought any music this year, and nothing groundbreaking, but those were all fun.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 7:25 PM on December 1, 2014

Just quickly, and mostly mentioned: Sun Kil Moon, Aphex Twin, War on Drugs, Goat, Hookworms, Allo Darlin', Caribou, New Pornographers, First Aid Kit, East India Youth, Run the Jewels.
posted by Pink Frost at 7:55 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

You people are all hung up the U2 part. I am confused by "album".
posted by srboisvert at 7:55 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

So much music to dig into in this thread... I've got some catching up to do. Yeah!

Dad here. I gave up on both U2 and Rolling Stone at least twenty years ago.
My cohort includes an increasing number of grandparents, and I share your sentiment.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 7:58 PM on December 1, 2014

And they're reissues, but Illmatic XX and that Bootleg Series Basement Tapes joint definitely have a place on my list.
posted by box at 8:05 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

YOU are number 6.

cf. Time Magazine
posted by Artw at 8:14 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

You people are all hung up the U2 part. I am confused by "album".
My cohort includes an increasing number of grandparents, and I say, "Get off my LAWN!", angrily shaking my cane.
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 8:15 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Rolling Stone is an easy target, but they certainly know more about music than I do. I was never cool, but now that I'm well into middle age I'm definitely not cool and haven't even heard of 75% of these people. So this is a perfectly good list for this square to peruse and find out about some good music.

I sort of need these kinds of lists these days.
posted by zardoz at 8:17 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

I was gald to see Lana up there, an Tenari Wen back there, glad to see some New Black Keys, and to k.ow Cohen is still...With the exception of Lana, Elbow and Arcade Fire, I went back in time this year to Robin Trower's work then east to anything Valery Gergiev directed, anything Anna Netrebko and Elena Garanciá sang.
posted by Oyéah at 8:21 PM on December 1, 2014

Unabashed fan of U2, and if you think Songs of Innocence was the number one album of the year, you need a bat to the head. It's better than No Line On The Horizon, but Bono gargling was better than that album. I don't see, in any realistic world, ranking the album higher than #47 or so, and honestly it shouldn't be in a top 50 list at all.
posted by jscalzi at 8:22 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Undoubtedly a better list
posted by naju at 8:37 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Rolling Stone is an easy target, but they certainly know more about music than I do. I was never cool, but now that I'm well into middle age I'm definitely not cool and haven't even heard of 75% of these people.

Yeah that's sorta how I feel. It's quite possible this list sucks but Rolling Stone can actually name 50 albums which came out this year which puts them ahead of me.
posted by Justinian at 9:20 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Well, Rolling Stone isn't a single person. If you have a personal top 50 it means you gave time and consideration to at least an album a week.

I punched up a quick "2014" smart playlist and my itunes library says I have 74 albums that came out this year; I couldn't name 20 of them without looking at it. I could tell you which albums or songs I like best but I couldn't number them 1-50 in any kind of meaningful way because who does that with art?
posted by The Hamms Bear at 10:00 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2

naju, i am FEELIN you
posted by Zerowensboring at 11:00 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Not the worst EOTY list I've seen so far -- U2 at #1 is a chuckle. Some good tracks I enjoyed from 2014:

Electronic
Lone - 2 is 4
The Bug - Function
Objekt - One Fell Swoop
Lee Gamble - Motor System
Vessel - Red Sex
Andy Stott - Violence
Actress - Rule
Moiré - Mr. Figure
Call Super - Sulu Sekou
Recondite - Levo
tobias. - Instant
Leon Vynehall - It's Just (House of Dupree)
Donato Dozzy & Nuel - Aqua 3
Aphex Twin - Produk 29

Hip-hop
Migos - Cross the Country
Hit-Boy and HS87 - Grindin' My Whole Life
YG - Bicken Back Being Bool
Vince Stapes - Hands Up
Lil B - No Black Person is Ugly
Shabazz Palaces - #CAKE
ilovemakonnen - I Don't Sell Molly No More
Dej Loaf - Try Me
Fetty Wap - Trap Queen
Snootie Wild - Made Meft. K Camp
Future - Move That Dope ft. Pharrell Williams, Pusha T
Pusha T - Lunch Money
T.I. - About The Money ft. Young Thug

Folk/Rock/Alt
Real Estate - Had to Hear
The War on Drugs - Red Eyes
Parquet Courts - What Color is Blood
Mac Demarco - Salad Days
posted by ageispolis at 11:03 PM on December 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

U2! Ha! Pretty elaborate setup for that punch line.
posted by univac at 11:53 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I bought two of these records in the course of 2014. So, you know, at least they got that much right...
posted by Paul Slade at 1:15 AM on December 2, 2014

To me the thing that's interesting is the sheer diversity of names that are coming up - I have no idea about the actual sounds that accompany those names. It's like Momus said it would be: we are in the future, and everyone is famous for fifteen people.

Out of the RS list, I've only listened to the St Vincent album in detail, and there are others that I would like to get more acquainted with (Aphex Twin, Run the Jewels... uh ... the Prince album I think, maybe). It would be on my top ten list if I had one, but I find that recently instead of listening to lots of records out of which I choose ten or whatever, I have a much smaller number of records that I listen to a lot. FWIW, apart from St Vincent, that list for me this year in no particular order is: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Pika Pika Fantajin; Shiina Ringo - Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku & Hi Izuru Tokoro; Knifeworld - The Unravelling. Next year, hopefully, new albums from Capsule, The Chap and Sweet Billy Pilgrim - all names that won't trouble either Rolling Stone or threads like these.

Whereas when I was younger this would just seem to be affectation (I did have perverse tastes; it wasn't affectation, really; I hated being asked who I listened to, as I'd have to explain who those people were, and I didn't have the wit to just lie and say Dire Straights and Prince), these days it's perfectly normal - everybody's listening to a personal list of favouritest bands. Compared to my youth, musical tastes are more diverse and less dismissive, but there's far less of a common culture of shared musical experience. It exists - the line-ups on Later or at Glastonbury - but I'm not sure that most of it is the stuff people really like, just the stuff that's held in common. Which I think is quite an interesting thing.
posted by Grangousier at 1:24 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

"Bono to start aid drops of raw emotional honesty to Africa"
posted by Erberus at 1:55 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

Renoroc: "No metal? Eat shit, RS. Mastodon's Once More 'Round the Sun was fucking amazing and Exodus and Overkill put out slabs of thrash perfection. Cannibal Corpse's A Skeletal Domain was a tour de force."

I'll just jump in with Behemoth's The Satanist.
posted by brokkr at 2:06 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

(To be read in Laurie Anderson's voice. Because everything should be)

You're cool.

You've made it to middle age but you're still cool.

Your hairline is receding but people see the shades and think "you're cool."

And the leather jacket? That's cool.

These jeans? There was a good deal on these jeans at debenhams. That's cool.

So you can rock up on your Yamaha smoking your cigarette.

And say to all the girls "I'm a middle manager in insurance."

And they'll say "that's cool." Because everyone knows people who work in insurance make lots of money.

And money's cool.

And you like rock n roll.

Because rock n roll is cool.

And rock n roll won't die. Rock n roll doesn't need to change

Rock n roll was always cool

And you listened to rock n roll when you were a teenager. Sitting in your bedroom.

And you were cool

And you'll always be cool.
posted by Erberus at 2:07 AM on December 2, 2014 [8 favorites]

Dear music reviewers, how can words help me evaluate music I haven't even experienced? Rather than wasting time dancing about architecture, it would be much more useful if the expert musicfans made a list of the best 50+ songs of 2014, and put them into a Youtube playlist, that I could listen to while I'm working.

There is an off chance I might even like one or two of them enough to illegally download legally purchase some albums.
posted by dgaicun at 2:17 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

Undoubtedly a better list

Looks pretty similar to me. I mean, that one has Yob at #52. Rolling Stones had them at #50.
posted by effbot at 2:59 AM on December 2, 2014

The real problem I have with lists like these is the notion that year-by-year is a meaningful way to think of music. I've always been of the opposite opinion: if I'd heard enough released-in-2014 music to create a list like this, I would be highly suspect of my own opinions and tastes. A year, or rather a handful of months, is not enough time with which to appreciate an album.

Over the weekend, I discovered about 13 albums by bands related to my single favorite band of all time. The albums ranged as far back to the 80s, with a good chunk of 90s releases, a bunch of assorted 00s, and a few from the last two years. I doubt any of them made anybody's lists the year they were released; if year-over-year is the valuation model we go by, none of these thirteen albums deserves any notice at all. Nor does my favorite band for that matter, or my second– or fourth–favorite, and my third would've been deemed irrelevant past his first release, at the tender age of nineteen.

I'm fine with the mocking of Rolling Stone for its U2 fetishization, but to my mind the response of "any such list is ENTIRELY INVALID unless it contains THESE THIRTY CUTTING-EDGE RELEASES" leaves me equally uncomfortable. Sometimes it feels to me as if our culture's decided that the real problem with High Fidelity was that its rankings weren't comprehensive enough.
posted by rorgy at 3:02 AM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]

The most important thing about music is that it be new. It goes bad very quickly.
posted by thelonius at 3:31 AM on December 2, 2014 [5 favorites]

I really loved the new Ana Tijoux and Juana Molina albums.
posted by pxe2000 at 3:57 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

Yeah that's sorta how I feel. It's quite possible this list sucks but Rolling Stone can actually name 50 albums which came out this year which puts them ahead of me.

Yeah, I'll admit that I've mostly lost track of music. I do have the Google Spotify clone service but mostly I just listen to the same old music that I alway have. My musical brain sort of stopped around the mid-nineties alt-country period and hasn't really progressed a lot since then.
posted by octothorpe at 4:50 AM on December 2, 2014

No Blake Mills. Wrong.
posted by Wolof at 5:32 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

I have heard of just under half of these acts (21, I think), and of those I have heard of I think I knew of two songs.
One was U2, because of the iTunes thing, and Lenny.... which I thought was a pisstake when I walked in to hear it.

My takeway is that Prince put and album out and Aphex Twin is still making music... which are shocking facts.
posted by Mezentian at 5:49 AM on December 2, 2014

I'm surprised to see Sturgill Simpson on on this list, and relatively high, too (which I suspect is not uncommon situation for him). If you have any love for country, do yourself a favor and check him out.

His tiny desk concert was a thing of awesome power and beauty.
posted by crumbly at 5:56 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

The new AC/DC album was released today, so it looks like this list needs to be revised.
posted by I_Zimbra at 6:16 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

I'd love to see a list of someone's¹ top 50² first albums in 2014³. Does anyone know of such a list⁴?

¹ or anyone's.
² or any multiple of 10.
³ or any recent year.
⁴ or just give me your own recommendations!^5
5 sorry if this request has already been covered in the top 50 comments of this thread in 2014. I didn't read that list.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 6:32 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

My favorite album of the year was First Aid Kit's "Stay Gold". The fact that two Swedish sisters are producing the best Americana Country I've heard in years blows my mind.
posted by pashdown at 6:39 AM on December 2, 2014 [3 favorites]

I've got to give the plus-one to Ageispolis for recommendations on Mac DeMarco, the War on Drugs, and Real Estate -- definitely my top three indie/alt-y records of the year.

Others I liked: Ex Hex, Deerhoof, Aaron Freeman, Flying Lotus, Fear of Men, fka Twigs, Freddie Gibbs/Madlib, Half Japanese, New Pornographers, the Young, Spoon, Ty Segall, Tune-Yards, Cheatahs.
posted by saintjoe at 6:51 AM on December 2, 2014

Stereogum's Top 50
posted by josher71 at 6:58 AM on December 2, 2014

My favorite album of the year was First Aid Kit's "Stay Gold". The fact that two Swedish sisters are producing the best Americana Country I've heard in years blows my mind.

What's so surprising about that? Everyone's favourite country act is Swedish.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:03 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

I've been knocked out by FKA twigs this year, and I've also loved EMA's The Future's Void, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Elbow and Lana del Rey. And I've had Perfume Genius on repeat as well-- Queen is fucking amazing.
posted by jokeefe at 7:51 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

And the biggest disappointment of the year for me was the St. Vincent album, so there you go. I like intricate, orchestral, too-clever stuff, so I'm going to cling on to her earlier albums instead.
posted by jokeefe at 7:58 AM on December 2, 2014

Came in for the counter-recommendations and was not disappoint. Way to go, Metafilter! Thank you for advice on how to spend the $20 of iTunes credit burning a hole in my e-pocket.

Things I have loved a lot this year that have not been mentioned: Imelda May's Tribal and Keaton Henson's Romantic Works. Also adding to the Agnes Obel love, since that has been on repeat a lot for me.
posted by immlass at 8:01 AM on December 2, 2014

Paws: Youth Culture Forever was my number one of the year.
posted by josher71 at 8:18 AM on December 2, 2014

I hadn't known about Tinariwen, so, I guess, this list is good enough for the likes of me.
posted by thelonius at 8:19 AM on December 2, 2014

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Owen Pallett - In Conflict

My tops:
Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
EMA - The Future's Void
Christian Löffler - Young Alaska
Elbow - The Take Off And Landing Of Everything
Aphex Twin - Syro
Swans - To Be Kind

ALSO GREAT:
Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused
Perfume Genius - Too Bright
Beck - Morning Phase
Cloud Nothings - Here And Nowhere Else
Torres - Torres
Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Echaskech - Origin
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
VA - Radical Friends
White Lung - Deep Fantasy
Caribou - Our Love
Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Sea When Absent
Thee Silver Mt. Zion - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything
posted by Theta States at 8:24 AM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]

Currently in my mid 40s but I never took to U2, even in high school. With that said, I have paid absolutely no attention to them. For those who like or liked them, have they done the usual band thing and declined from what they used to put out?

Nice to see Damon Albarn on the list, who in my opinion is one of the few people who has gotten better rather than worse. The list is definitely not all Dad rock.

It always amuses me that the Velvet Underground are also (in addition to their traditionally cited influences) somewhat responsible for twee.
posted by juiceCake at 8:32 AM on December 2, 2014

Ones I listen to the most for this year, in no particular order:

The Take Off And Landing Of Everything Elbow
Out Among The Stars Johnny Cash
Let It Go Jay Boy Adams
Supernova Ray LaMontagne
Redeemer of Souls Judas Priest
Somewhere Under Wonderland Counting Crows
Ryan Adams Ryan Adams
Between the Stars Flyleaf
This Is M.E. Melissa Etheridge
Nostalgia Annie Lennox
heartsoulblood Royal Southern Brotherhood
Ragged & Dirty Devon Allman
Primitive Son Eli Cook
Rumble Shake Crow Black Chicken
The Road Chosen Ryan McGarvey

Also saving this as a favorite so I can check out all the lists!
posted by bjgeiger at 8:40 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh, ha: I forgot one from my hastily assembled list: The History of Apple Pie - Feel Something. I blame my poor library metadata.
posted by chrominance at 8:50 AM on December 2, 2014

Love all these lists! Keep 'em coming.

-One I haven't seen come up so far: Mikey Georgeson and the Civilized Scene - Blood and Brambles
-Also very good: this new recording of Harry Partch's Plectra and Percussion Dances
-The album I probably listened to the most was this 3 disc reissue of Jon Hassel's City: Works of Fiction. Does it count as a new album if no one bought it when it was first released 24 years ago?
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:04 AM on December 2, 2014

juiceCake: It always amuses me that the Velvet Underground are also (in addition to their traditionally cited influences) somewhat responsible for twee.

I agree completely. Another song they did that you didn't link is I Love You, which is basically the blueprint to a lot of Felt albums, if you'll accept Felt as proto-twee.

The Velvet Underground's influence in music is deep and varied.
posted by wyndham at 9:04 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

#1 Kate Tempest - Everybody Down. Imo.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:28 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

That Ryan Adams record is good, agreed.
posted by josher71 at 9:45 AM on December 2, 2014

This RS list inspired me to check out Bruce Springsteen's retake on The Ghost of Tom Joad (this time with Tom Morello) from High Hopes, and it is fucking awesome. I mean, I liked it the first time, when it was sad. But angry is better. Whatever the hell happens to the guitars six minutes in, please give me more of that forever. So thanks, Rolling Stone.
posted by onlyconnect at 9:49 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

New Growlers record too y'all.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:50 AM on December 2, 2014

To be read in Siri's voice:

I'm a dad.

I like music.

I like discovering music.

Music makes me feel alive.

I used to like rock n roll almost exclusively. I was cool then.

That was a long time ago.

New music still feels like an adventure.

These days I take adventure where I can get it.

I like sharing music with my child.

I like sharing music with friends.

I like learning about new music from people on the internet.

I don't own a leather jacket, and I quit smoking 12 years ago.

(Sometimes I'll bum a cigarette at a party.

After smoking it I'll feel pretty much the opposite of cool.)
posted by Lyme Drop at 10:00 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

Nthing the "I dig the U2 album but in no way is it number 1."

My list, right now, includes:

Laura Mvula: Laura Mvula With Metrople Orkest
Hamilton Leithauser: Black Hours
Mike Doughty: Stellar Motel
Tony Allen: Film Of Life
Kelis: Food
Sinkane: Mean Love
Strand Of Oaks: HEAL
Liars: Mess
Sia: 1000 Forms Of Fear
posted by eustacescrubb at 10:01 AM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

This is fun! Here's mine:

Chromeo - White Women
Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso
Glass Animals - Zaba
Slow Magic - How to Run Away
ODESZA - In Return
Phantogram - Voices
RAC - Strangers
Ex Hex - Rips
Jungle - Jungle
Movement - Movement
posted by rosary at 11:13 AM on December 2, 2014

I'm so tickled that I made a blithe toss-off reference to "dad rock" at the start of this thread and some folks have been so up in arms about it, including a reference to it being "okay" because it's something "white guys say", which I can't even begin to parse... more like something white guys play, right? But really, relax folks, at this point "dad rock" as a term of art is very far from literal "music for dads". Yes, we have kids and like good music, no one's saying that's not possible.

Anyway, after further perusing the list, I love that Run the Jewels 2 is number 8, showing that even Rolling Stone can accidentally get something right. Albums I've loved in 2014:

Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere
The Both - The Both (I don't understand how this isn't more beloved)
Cormorant - Earth Diver
LCD Soundsystem - The Long Goodbye (Such a great counterpart to their studio albums)
Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun (Nice change for Mastodon to turn down the weird. I love weird, but it's not always necessary)
Myrkur - Myrkur
Old Man Gloom - The Ape of God (Two albums, same name, both awesome, speaking of weird)
Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden
Panopticon - Roads to the North
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2 (Possibly album of the year)
Sunn O))) & Ulver - Terrestrials (Everyone loved the Sunn O))) collab with Scott Walker, but for me this is the winner)
TV on the Radio - Seeds (Amazing songcrafting, a change similar to Mastodon w/r/t recent albums)
posted by The Michael The at 11:13 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Listening to John Zorn's The Last Judgement right now and oooo this might creep up on to my list soon. I can't say no to you, Mike Patton.
posted by Theta States at 11:19 AM on December 2, 2014

My musical brain sort of stopped around the mid-nineties alt-country period and hasn't really progressed a lot since then.

Are you me?
posted by entropicamericana at 11:56 AM on December 2, 2014

O you want rocksplaining? No prob.

Single Mothers -- Negative Qualities
Creepoid - S/T
Netherfriends - P3ACE
Hospitality -- Trouble
Frankie Cosmos - Zentropy
Ought - More than any other day
Have a Nice Life -- The Unnatural World
Young Fathers - Dead
Temples - Sun Structures
Moodoid - Le Mondo Moo
Cloud Boat -- Model of You
Kevin Morby - Still Life
Childhood -- Lacuna
Bilinda Butchers -- Heaven
Las Robertas -- Days Unmade
Ellis Island Sound - Regions
Le Man Avec Les Lunettes - Make It Happen
Posse -- Soft Opening
The Men -- tomorrow's hits
Modern Baseball - You're Gonna Miss It All
Wake Owl -- The Private World of Paradise
Lyla Foy -- Mirrors in the Sky

and probably a lot more.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:26 PM on December 2, 2014 [5 favorites]

*Dadsplaining
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:29 PM on December 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

Daaaaaaadddssss you're embarrassing meeeeeee
posted by Theta States at 12:33 PM on December 2, 2014 [3 favorites]

I've spent the last five minutes trying to do the "magic eye" thing with the Tom Petty cover and now I have a headache.

Probably still beats listening to the thing, though.
posted by malocchio at 12:52 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

My top 5 albums for 2014:

#1 - Teleman - Breakfast
#2 - Comet Gain - Paperback Ghosts
#3 - Literature - Chorus
#4 - Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham
#5 - Todd Terje - It's Album Time

Bonus:

Best Reissue 2014

Aztec Camera - High Land High Rain (30th Anniversary Edition)

* I'm a dad too.
posted by elmono at 1:10 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Dunno that people have been up in arms about it so much as having fun with it, The Michael The, though I suppose I can only speak for myself. Regardless, thanks for the inspiration!
posted by Lyme Drop at 2:38 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

My last few CD purchases have all been from Starbucks.
posted by Artw at 2:46 PM on December 2, 2014

I am right in Taylor Swift's target demo and definitely not too cool for her music (I liked some of her past stuff) but I found her latest generic, with all traces of personality autotuned out of it.

Didn't help that I put it on after Aretha live at Fillmore West. Not that anything else recent could compare to that, either.
posted by sallybrown at 3:08 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Remind me what an "album" is?
posted by telstar at 8:49 PM on December 2, 2014

My 2014 favourites, in no special order:
Paquito D'Rivera and Trio Corrente - Song for Maura
Jamie T. - Carry on the grudge
Dr, John - Ske-Dat-De-Dat . . . Spirit of Satch
Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings
Dori Caymmi - 70 Anos
Damien Rice - My Favourite Faded Fantasy
Brad Wells & Roomful Of Teeth - Roomful Of Teeth
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Hypnotic Eye
Robby Hecht - Robby Hecht
posted by abakua at 12:22 AM on December 3, 2014

Okay fine, here's my list

Rupert Poultice - Colors of Longing
Mariannella - The Babyshitters Club
Sudsy Ammonia & The Squeegees - Het Up To Get Hep
Beelskabub - Kwiskatz Skaderach
DeRon Wall - Insipidities
Puerile Band Name - A Pleasant Mother Pheasant Fucker
Esther Shrike - No I Will Not How Dare You
The Mumblegrums - Stumbletypubble
Shockfist - The BANG! Album
Sebaceous Cysterhood - Purulentia vol. IV
F St0p - Streets of Rage (The Aunt Molly Remixes)
garlicsalt - Letters To The Magistrate
Billy Milton & The Smiles - True Filth
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:47 AM on December 3, 2014 [6 favorites]

BABYSHITTERS CLUB
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:43 AM on December 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

Say what you want about modern music, they got some Minutemen level comedy names
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:44 AM on December 3, 2014

Currently in my mid 40s but I never took to U2, even in high school. With that said, I have paid absolutely no attention to them. For those who like or liked them, have they done the usual band thing and declined from what they used to put out?

I'd argue, yes.
I'd also argue that you can pretty much discount every album after about Rattle And Hum.... but it's very subjective.
Early U2 is great, no matter what people say. Under A Blood Red Sky (the live LP) is sublime.
posted by Mezentian at 4:58 AM on December 3, 2014

Primarily I see them as a footnote to Brian Eno's production career.
posted by Artw at 5:00 AM on December 3, 2014

Okay fine, here's my list

I desperately want to listen to so many of these.
posted by naju at 5:39 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Primarily I see them as a footnote to Brian Eno's production career.

I don't think it's fair to call The Unforgettable Fire as a footnote.
But there is so much U2 hate now, it's like the Star Wars prequels.
posted by Mezentian at 6:33 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Stumbletypubble used to be skinheads. Not cool.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:56 AM on December 3, 2014

I'd say U2 began to decline starting in 1995. That was the year they released the album Original Soundtracks 1. That album is beautiful, one of the best things they've ever done; it was their Kid A in many ways, though they needed Eno to even conceive of it, and it's really an Eno album with U2 as sidemen in some ways. Still, it was brilliant and haunting and risky.
But their label balked at the idea of marketing that album as a U2 album, because it's so not a pop record, and Larry and Adam were reportedly frustrated with it. They wanted to be a rock band again. They wanted to make some more hits, and Bono was tired of playing ironic-Bono characters; he wanted to play the sincere rockstar Bono character he'd cultivated in the 80s. So they turned their backs on the reinvention they'd pursued starting with Achtung Baby and continued with Zooropa.
Which is what happened. 1997's POP has some lovely moments, but also some really horrid songs ("The Playboy Mansion," "Miami"). After that, the band aggressively pursued a return to the classic echoey, arena-friendly U2 sound. The result was 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind, which was good but not great. Every album since then has been a little less interesting and powerful. They can still write a song, but they just don't let anyone interfere with their process. Rick Rubin tried to produce them in 2006 and they fired him because he asked them to change their process.

I think that moment, the moment when they decided to set aside their experimental, more electronic pursuits, and actively cultivate a sound that repeats the aesthetic of "Pride In The Name Of Love" (which, I hate hate hate that song) meant turning their backs on one of the things that made them really capable of true greatness - their willingness to fuck with their own sound and image. Every U2 album up to POP is a complete overhaul of their sound, and the B-sides from the 1980s and early 1990s are pretty amazing - showing how much they experimented in the studio. They set that all aside in the 2000s, and as a result started to be less and less interesting. Their choice, with Songs Of Innocence, to water down Danger Mouse's production by bringing in corporate rock producers like Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder. They ended up with this "too many cooks" feeling to the album's first half - some really pretty melodies get watered down by really predictable production and arrangements.
In a weird way, U2's scramble to remain relevant is the thing that hampers them from being truly relevant. That results in them having to resort to marketing gimmicks like the iTunes debacle.

What made them amazing in the 80s and 90s was their willingness to change their sound and their willingness to write really beautiful, but sad melodies. They'll probably keep churning out decent, but not great radio-friendly rock - maybe never as annoying or ridiculous as post-1980 Rolling Stones, but then again, they still have time.
posted by eustacescrubb at 10:20 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

The grim spectre of the Rolling Stones... Really Yoko saved the Beatles by destroying them and not a moment too soon.

Number 2 on the Rolling Stone list is Bruce Springsteen - I guess Dylan hasn't launched a lackluster album this year?
posted by Artw at 10:58 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

The grim spectre of the Rolling Stones... Really Yoko saved the Beatles by destroying them and not a moment too soon.

I'm so glad that Led Zeppelin didn't trudge on as a half zombie act after Bonham died. They've done a couple of one-off reunion performances and that Page-Plant thing in the mid-nineties but didn't follow The Stones or The Who as embarrassing self parodies of their earlier selves.
posted by octothorpe at 11:21 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Nobody else has Owen Pallett on their lists? Seriously?
In Conflict is sooooooo goooooooddddd!
posted by Theta States at 12:08 PM on December 3, 2014

I'd also argue that you can pretty much discount every album after about Rattle And Hum.... but it's very subjective.

Any long-lived band gets such a widely varying set of opinions about when they fell off (see also e.g. R.E.M. and Pink Floyd).

Like, there are people who think Rattle and Hum was U2's last good album, and there are people who think it's their first bad one. There are people who think Joshua Tree was their sellout moment, and there are people who think their sellout moment was that iTunes thing.
posted by box at 12:22 PM on December 3, 2014

I bailed on U2 after Achtung Baby an album that I initially liked but grew to hate most of the songs after hearing them played to death on rock radio. I found everything after that deathly boring.
posted by octothorpe at 12:46 PM on December 3, 2014

I just realized (I think) nobody's mentioned You Talkin' U2 To Me, Scott Aukerman and Adam Scott's U2 podcast. Even if you don't like U2 (which they do, a LOT), it's very fun.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:57 PM on December 3, 2014

I think Owen Pallett is one of the best songwriters alive today. He Poos Clouds is brilliant. I never got around to the new one, but thanks for the reminder!
posted by naju at 2:40 PM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

He Poos Clouds is brilliant.

what I've heard I like, but god, what an awful title!

As for U2, I do like what eustacescrubb has to say. I'm a long time fan, saw them in 1981-83-87 in venues every increasing in size. I can honestly track my loss of interest to Joshua Tree, particularly once I saw that tour live with an audience the size of a medium town. Their craft may have been stronger than ever but I felt left out, way the hell out in the multitude.

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't hear stuff I still liked right through to (and including) Passengers which, based on some stuff Eno has said, wasn't intended to be a U2 album at all. There's a lot about it in his book A Year With Swollen Appendices.

Beyond Passengers though, I can only name one song that's grabbed me and that's Beautiful Day which, in its time at the top, was simply better than average background noise from a million shitty cafes and bars tuned into random Top 40 whatever ...

Bottom line. U2 have overstayed their welcome ... by better part of two decades.
posted by philip-random at 10:19 PM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Bottom line. U2 have overstayed their welcome ... by better part of two decades.

Imagine if they'd broken up, and gotten back together.

Would that be better, or worse?
posted by Mezentian at 3:31 AM on December 4, 2014

Imagine if they'd broken up, and gotten back together.

If they came back with renewed creative energy and committed to trying something new, sure. There are bands still grinding on that I enjoy (Fleetwood Mac comes to mind) and the thing that makes them fun to see live is that they, or some part of they, are doing new music or still playing around with some of the old stuff.

(Though I have to admit I'm hoping Fleetwood Mac is doing a traditional victory lap with Christine McVie this time. I love some of the creative stuff Lindsay Buckingham does with older songs, particularly on his own tours, but this is the time for a greatest hits show if ever there was one.)
posted by immlass at 7:29 AM on December 4, 2014

I heard one of the songs from the new U2 album on the drive to work today and it was so innocuous that I had to concentrate hard to pay any attention to it for the entire three minutes that it was on.
posted by octothorpe at 9:28 AM on December 4, 2014

I think Owen Pallett is one of the best songwriters alive today. He Poos Clouds is brilliant. I never got around to the new one, but thanks for the reminder!
posted by naju at 5:40 PM on December 3 [1 favorite +] [!]

Check the Guardian review of his live performance: 5 stars!
Which is odd, because I checked and they only gave his album 3, which I think is criminal. ;)
posted by Theta States at 1:30 PM on December 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

One more for my list:

Gunslinger
Warner E. Hodges
Released: Oct 2014
Label: Nashvegas Flash
posted by bjgeiger at 7:33 PM on December 4, 2014

Looks like next year is sorted.
posted by Artw at 9:28 AM on December 9, 2014

Well, either that or Pat Benatar covers.
posted by entropicamericana at 9:36 AM on December 9, 2014

U2 sucked from the moment they didn't become the Virgin Prunes.
posted by malocchio at 5:21 PM on December 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Achtung Baby was a great album as was Zooropa. I lost my virginity with Ultraviolet playing on the boombox. Later same boombox, Lemon playing and the same girl was about to break my heart.
posted by humanfont at 5:48 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Okay, so D'Angelo shows us the error of making lists early. Raekwon's 'We Wanna Thank You' also gets a mention.
posted by box at 8:02 PM on December 20, 2014

Speaking of late arrivals:
I saw Kendrick Lamar's new track that debuted on The Colbert Report and holy shit if that just doesn't squeak in as one of the hottest things I've heard all year.
posted by Theta States at 6:45 AM on December 22, 2014

Probably the funniest—if most predictable—individual No. 1 pick of the season was Rolling Stone's coronation of U2's iTunes annoyance Songs of Innocence. Only two other publications, grandfatherly U.K. bibles Q and Mojo, bothered to list the record, and even those classic rock fetishists could only muster up enough enthusiasm to put it at No. 44 and No. 33, respectively.

But the rest of Rolling Stone's list holds comedic treasures as well, including a No. 2 record (Bruce Springsteen's The Promise) which appears on exactly zero other lists
posted by box at 2:52 PM on December 30, 2014 [3 favorites]

The U2-Rolling Stone thing was payola, right? It makes even less sense looking back on it.
posted by naju at 5:23 PM on December 30, 2014

Poorly-paraphrased Simpsons reference: RS moved so gradually to Boomer-house-organ-status that Boomers are the only people that didn't notice.
posted by box at 6:00 PM on December 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

The U2-Rolling Stone thing was payola, right? It makes even less sense looking back on it.

I quit reading Rolling Stone regularly in 1990 when they panned Depeche Mode's Violator from their old-folks poo-bah throne and from that perspective, their choice of U2 makes total sense. It's just who they are.
posted by immlass at 7:19 PM on December 30, 2014

The U2-Rolling Stone thing was payola, right? It makes even less sense looking back on it.

I doubt it. Once you've already sent the album for free to everyone whether they wanted it or not, there's not much sense in paying for reviews or top-10 list spots or whatever.
posted by aubilenon at 8:30 PM on December 30, 2014

Yeah, I think it's less payola and more a sort of nepotism. Once you're in their club, it's very hard to get bounced out (the last person I can think of is probably Chris Brown, and you might argue that he was never in to begin with). And when you're in, well, membership has its privileges.
posted by box at 5:28 PM on December 31, 2014