I’d like to preface this list by saying I had a tough time with media in general this year. I had to search the ends of the Earth to find music I liked for my “Top Ten Albums” list and I’m not looking forward to my “Top Ten Movies” list which at this point will be just one long article about how Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is “More than a movie.” But TV was my saving grace, in fact… There’s almost too many good TV shows. Here’s an example, last night they announced the winners of the Golden Globes and I’d never even heard of the show that won “Best Drama Series”. I believe it was a show called The Affair. I mean, when the best show on TV according to “TV People” is a show I’m not even watching then what else could I possibly be missing? That’s why I’m going to list a few shows I wish I had seen in place of our usual “Honorable Mentions”. Lets click to it!

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Yo! I’m Michael. This is my first post here, which makes me pretty nervous. Plus, when you consider that my first post is also a top ten list, well… I’m pretty confident when I say that no person has ever felt the level of pressure that I feel right now.

Anyway, I listened to a lot of music in 2014. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever kept up with new releases as much as I did this past year. Perhaps because of that, I feel it was a pretty great year for music, making it difficult to choose only ten of the 100-ish new releases I heard. Besides the albums on my honorable mentions list, there are albums that a) I heard too late in the year to fully embrace (D’Angelo’s Black Messiah, Nicki Minaj’s The Pinkprint), b) were technically considered EPs (Vince Staples’ Hell Can Wait, Isaiah Rashad’s Cilvia Demo) or c) only existed in a weird dream I had on Thanksgiving night (Kill Machine, the new collaboration by Frank Black and my middle school P.E. teacher). Still, I think I can stand by this list.
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2014 was a tough nut to crack for the Johnster. Yes, I am referring to myself and yes, “Johnster” will also be the name of my new filesharing website. Spoiler: All the files will be audio of people holding tape recorders next to radios. I don’t know if I’m less “with it” these days or that they changed what “it” was, and now what I’m with isn’t “it”, and what’s “it” seems weird and scary to me. All I know is I don’t want to become the middle aged guy getting wasted at the Death Cab for Cutie 30th Anniversary Show at the Chateau Ste. Michelle. I want to find new music I like and doggone it I’ll go to the ends of the Earth (the internet) to find it. I’d be lying if I said I heard most of these albums back when they came out. Most of them I heard two days ago but they seem okay. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.
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This is brutal. Almost exactly a year ago, in my post about my favorite albums of 2013, I joked I would never come back and edit the list. Now I’m kind of tempted. The last year was a big one for me, I mean I graduated (again), got a real job, bought my first car, and moved to Seattle all in about a six month span. I also spent less time working on the blog, as I got comfortable being the podcast host guy and felt less compelled to work on my post count. That, coupled with the fact that I no longer had bus rides to school during which I could listen to music, meant I took music a lot less seriously this year. So when I sat down to write my list, I realized I had four albums I really loved (mostly from the first half of the year when I was still in school) and about 20 that I thought definitely deserved a spot on my list below them.

I don’t know if that means it was a great year or an OK one, I should have paid more attention, I guess. But here are some albums that very narrowly missed my list: High Life, the Brian Eno and Karl Hyde collaboration, which has some awesome 9 minute songs on it. The latest Gaslight Anthem album, Get Hurt, which is a pretty great return to form for them. Salad Days by Mac DeMarco, which I hope will make John’s list at least. Warpaint’s self-titled album, which you should listen to right now. And a few albums that I think might have made my list if I listened to them more: The Moon Rang Like a Bell by Hundred Waters, Rave Tapes by Mogwai, Blue Planet Eyes by Preatures, and Sea When Absent by A Sunny Day in Glasgow.
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Unlike most years, 2014 didn’t ever really feel like a year where I had to go too far out of my way to find good music.  So much so that I’m still catching up with really good late December releases like Charli XCX’s Sucker (it’s like bratty pop music! But with guitars!) or D’Anglelo’s Black Messiah (it’s like Prince! But sloppier!), both of which I just haven’t spent enough time with to put in to consideration.  Also, I guess 2014 was a year in which I ended up listening to music in a lot of different formats, because looking at my list, I can see there’s at least one album I bought on vinyl, a couple I bought on CD, one I bought on iTunes, one I got for free directly from the artist’s website, and several that I acquired by much less respectable means.  Anyways… on to the list.

Honorable Mentions:
Tony Molina – Dissed And Dismissed
The Hold Steady – Teeth Dreams
Cloud Nothings – Here And Nowhere Else
Sharon Van Etten – Are We There

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