2014 ended up being one of my favorite years for music in a long while. It just seemed like every few weeks there was a new album to dive into and experience. There were times where it felt overwhelming, as if there was so much to listen to I felt ashamed I couldn’t give each album the time it deserved. But, here we are at the end of the year, and here we are tasked with trying to put numbers to the madness. I’ve done my best to put my favorite albums of the year in some kind of order … I hope you find as much to enjoy here as I have.
Top 30 Albums of 2014
- Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues
- Noah Gundersen – Ledges
- Copeland – Ixora
- The Hotelier – Home, Like Noplace is There
- Sir Sly – You Haunt Me
- Bleachers – Strange Desire
- The Lawrence Arms – Metropole
- Tycho – Awake
- Punch – They Don’t Have to Believe
- Counting Crows – Somewhere Under Wonderland
- Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
- FKA Twigs – LP1
- Bad Suns – Language & Perspective
- Manchester Orchestra – Hope
- Perfume Genius – Too Bright
- Flying Lotus – You’re Dead!
- The Gaslight Anthem – Get Hurt
- Yellowcard – Lift a Sail
- Every Time I Die – From Parts Unknown
- Hard Girls – A Thousand Surfaces
- Prawn – Kingfisher
- Mongol Horde – Möngöl Hörde
- Charlie Simpson – Long Road Home
- Pup – Pup
- Jessie Ware – Tough Love
- American Hi Fi – Blood and Lemonade
- Run the Jewels – RTJ2
- Lagwagon – Hang
- Joyce Manor – Never Hungover Again
- Taylor Swift – 1989
I loved Against Me!’s album from the moment I first hit play and that feeling only grew as I checked back in throughout the year. There were other albums that I had an emotional connection to — but none quite like this. Well done Against Me!, 2014 belongs to you.1
Honorable Mentions
No matter how hard I try and put everything into a solid list, there’s always going to be more music I love than spots that exist. Plus, I always either forget something or miss something and end up not knowing where it should go. These are the albums that just didn’t quite make the cut or are stranded on the island of misfit toys — sorry guys!
- This Wild Life – Clouded
- Imogen Heap – Sparks
- Anberlin – Lowborn
- Sims – Field Notes
- Andy Burrows – Fall Together Again
- Restorations – LP3
- Dikembe – Mediumship
- Ariana Grande – My Everything
- Andrew Jackson Jihad – Christmas Island
- Parquet Courts – Sunbathing Animal
- The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
- Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
- ODESZA – In Return
- Pianos Become the Teeth – Keep You
- Tiger’s Jaw – Charmer
- Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties – We Don’t Have Each Other
- Manchester Orchestra – Cope
- Augustana – Life Imitating Life
- Young the Giant – Mind Over Matter
- Magic Man – Before the Waves
- Shad – Boarding Pass EP
- Walk the Moon – Talking is Hard
- Hans Zimmer – Interstellar Soundtrack
- The Menzingers – Rented World
- Andrew McMahon – Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
- James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical
- Tokyo Police Club – Forcefield
- Jamie T – Carry On The Grudge
Movies I Enjoyed in 2014
These aren’t in any order and are categorized by movies I saw this year — even if they were older. I would definitely recommend giving them a watch. Also, this is just what I can remember seeing and really liking off the top of my head — I should probably keep better track of movies I watch throughout the year.
- Edge of Tomorrow
- Citizenfour
- Norte, the End of History
- Interstellar
- Whiplash
- Stranger by the Lake
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- 22 Jump Street
- The Way, Way Back
- Boyhood
- Listen Up Philip
- Non-Stop
- The Spectacular Now
Books I Enjoyed in 2014
- Hatching Twitter
- Creativity, Inc.
- Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
- Live by Night
- Hyperbole and a Half
Apps I Enjoyed in 2014
Things I Am Excited About in 2015
I’m looking forward to (probably) a new Brand New album, maybe a new Fun. album, and definitely a new Fall Out Boy album. I am really excited to continue our podcast and whatever else may come along.
Thank you to everyone that is reading this, read anything else I wrote this year, listened to a podcast episode, followed me on Twitter, and to all of you that continue to help make this website my full-time job.
Note: If you grab anything from this list through Amazon the affiliate link ends up giving me a little extra back as well.