Best Albums of 2014

What an amazing year for music. Narrowing down my list was so hard, as there were too many great albums to choose from. Any of these records would have been near the top of the list in 2013. I have to mention some other great releases that just missed making this list: Beck – Morning Phase, The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers, Sharon Van Etten – Are We There, Alvvays – Alvvays, Mac Demarco – Salad Days, and Lana Del Ray – Ultraviolence. There were others, too, but here’s my final list:

10. Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker
Booker is one of those artists that can make something old brand new again. Listening to this debut many compared him to Jack White and The Black Keys, but those comparisons are off by a few generations. The raw approach here sounds like it was recorded in an old fashioned honky tonk; producer Andrija Tokic (who worked most recently with Alabama Shakes) leaves the grittiness intact. Booker also swings a little more than White and the Keys. Expect a lot more to come from him. (Listen to: “Chippewa”)

9. Jenny Lewis – Voyager
I’ll profess some ignorance here, but I had not heard of Jenny Lewis and her old band Rilo Kiley before this album started getting buzz, but I am now a convert. Lewis’ songwriting style is so direct and personal, you feel like she’s reading her journal. There’s some serious regret and soul searching in these songs, but there’s also a brightness to the music that counteracts the emotions. It’s a great balance, a great job by Ryan Adams as producer (Beck produces one track, “Just One of the Guys” which is a standout. (Listen to: “Late Bloomer”)

8. Jack White – Lazaretto
It’s a testament to how strong of a year it was in music that this record barely cracks my top 10. Simply put, Jack White is the only rock star of the moment, and will probably go down as one of the best artists ever. Overall, this is a bit edgier than his first true solo album, Blunderbuss, but White also brings in some Nashville influences on some numbers (the violin on the title track for instance). In both his music and his overall style, White is a study in contrasts between old and new, and — like Zeppelin in the 70’s — he is able to make something truly original out of older styles. (Listen to: “That Black Bat Licorice”)

7. Gary Clark, Jr. – Live
This is really the album I was hoping when I listed to his debut album Blak & Blu. The studio sheen from that record is gone, and the live setting lends more emotion to those songs. Along with his songs from the debut, he also digs into some blues standards (“Catfish Blues”, “Three O’Clock Blues”) and lets his guitar playing shine. Unlike Benjamin Booker, Clark plays things fairly straight – he’s a direct descendent of players like Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Herbert Sumlin. Pretty good company, though. (Listen to: “From This Valley”)

6. The Black Keys – Turn Blue
Turn Blue is The Black Keys experiment in psychedelia record. Turning away from the straight blues rock of El Camino and Brothers, this record sees the band stretch things out, and get into more of a groove. Things are kicked off by “Weight of Love”, which sounds a little like Pink Floyd. There are some exceptions (the album closer, “Gotta Get Away” sounds like an outtake from El Camino), but these songs wander into wonderful spaces. Taken as a whole, this is probably their best record yet, though song for song it may be a bit below their previous two efforts. (Listen to: “Weight of Love”)

5. The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
If Turn Blue was stretched out, what do I say about the songs on Lost in the Dream? With more than half of the songs here longer then six minutes, band leader Adam Granduciel creates a trippy buzz that is grounded in classic rock. The opener, “Under Pressure” is a magnificent, sprawling epic ending in nearly three minutes of a beautiful aura of feedback. The production on the record is incredible, and creates the mood that the title infers. While you’re at it, read this great article about the making of the album on Grantland. (Listen to: “Under Pressure”)

4. U2 – Songs of Innocence
The backlash against its iTunes distribution seems to have overshadowed the music on Songs of Innocence, but this is a record that shows U2 is still relevant. The songs here are tighter than on their last album, No Line on the Horizon, though they feature a bit less straight ahead guitar and a little more electronica. Lyrically the songs are Bono’s autobiography in many respects, from his early musical awakenings (“The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)”) to “Iris (Hold Me Close)” about his mother. U2 is not a band that takes anything lightly, and there’s craft in these songs; but not so much that you don’t hear the fun in them. (Listen to: “The Troubles”)

3. Robert Plant – lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar
Robert Plant may be having the most interesting late career of any act from the 60’s and 70’s. Rather than play the nostalgia card by reviving Led Zeppelin, Plant is creating interesting new sounds, while continuing to mine his early folk and blues influences. If this song was by a new artist it would have been at the top of everybody’s list for 2014, but somehow critics always assume an artist’s best days are behind them. The three record run Plant is on now is better than anything he has done since Zeppelin. Listen to this record! (Listen to: “Pocketful of Golden”)

2. St. Vincent – St. Vincent
St. Vincent’s latest is a culmination of her early work, and a fully realized masterpiece. This is pop music like you’ve never heard, edgy, electronic, and with St. Vincent’s great guitar work added in. Lyrically, she is razor sharp, looking both outwards and inwards with equal insight. These are songs you wish would get played on radio, but they’re too intelligent. The songs here also owe more than a little to St. Vincent’s collaboration with David Byrne; many would be right at home on a Talking Heads record. (Listen to: “Prince Johnny”)

1. Ray Lamontagne – Supernova
I doubt this album topped many critics list for the year, but this is by far the one I have listened to the most. Lamontagne strayed from his musical comfort zone and enlisted Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys to produce, and the combination makes for the best album of the year and of Lamontagne’s career. Adding psychedelia and a layered sonic sound to Lamontagne’s honey voice, Auerbach creates a more definite mood than Ray has had before. The songs are among his most accessible to date, though challenging just the same. Great production, great songs, unbelievable vocals – pretty good combination. (Listen to: “Airwaves”)