lichter's 100 favorite albums of 2014

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

December 22 2014 06:59 GMT

So. I ended up listening to 250+ albums and ~2.7k songs this year. What in the fuck. That actually breaks a record for me for most new music listened to in one year. I don't think the year was particularly great, but for some reason I listened to a lot of new stuff. Probably because TL stressed me out and I needed new music to motivate me, I dunno.

So, my top 100 favorite albums of the year. I'll probably change my mind about some of these.

The Gloaming - "The Gloaming"
The War on Drugs - "Lost in the Dream"
Brontide - "Artery"
Musk Ox - "Woodfall"
Toumani & Sidiki Diabate - "Toumani & Sidiki"
Tinariwen - "Emmaar"
+ Show Spoiler +
Fear of Men - "Loom"
+ Show Spoiler +
Kishi Bashi - "Lighght"
+ Show Spoiler +
Luluc - "Passerby"
+ Show Spoiler +
Francois and the Atlas Mountains - "Piano Ombre - Massimo Paladino"
+ Show Spoiler +
Slow Magic - "How to Run Away"
+ Show Spoiler +
Sleepmakeswaves - "Love of Cartography"
+ Show Spoiler +
Wang Wen - "Eight Horses"
+ Show Spoiler +
Sevendeaths - "Concrete Misery"
+ Show Spoiler +
Remember Remember - "Forgetting the Present"
+ Show Spoiler +
Grouper - "Ruins"
+ Show Spoiler +
TOPS - "Picture You Staring"
+ Show Spoiler +
36 - "Dream Tempest"
+ Show Spoiler +
Wye Oak - "Shriek"
+ Show Spoiler +
Disemballerina - "Undertaker"
+ Show Spoiler +
Spoon - "They Want My Soul"
Future Island - "Singles"
Hauschka - "Abandoned City"
Hildur Gudnaddotir - "Saman"
Yuki Murata - "Gift"
Blackhoods - "Sunk"
Gates - "Bloom and Breathe"
Stardeath and White Dwarfs - "Wastoid"
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Days of Abandon"
Brooklyn Rider - "The Brooklyn Rider Almanac"
Carl Hultgren - "Tomorrow"
Stefan Wesolowski - "Liebstod"
Lantlos - "Melting Sun"
BADBADNOTGOOD - "III"
Christopher Tignor - "Thunder Lay Down in the Heart"
Temples - "Sun Structures"
Chapelier Fou - "Deltas"
Alexander Turnquist - "Alexander Turnquist"
Animals as Leaders - "The Joy of Motion"
Rumour Cubes - "Appearances of Collections"
Tycho - "Awake"
White Lung - "Deep Fantasy"
Slow Club - "Complete Surrender"
Pulse Emitter - "Equinox"
Anathema - "Distant Satellites"
Sharon Van Etten - "Are We There"
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - "Atomos"
Wander - "Mourning"
Mimicking Birds - "Eons"
Bruno Bavota - "The Secret of the Sea"
Beware of Safety - "Lotusville"
Pan & Me - "Ocean Noise"
Tuomas Holopainen - "The Life and Times of Scrooge"
Audrey Fall - "Mitau"
Samaris - "Silkidangar"
Gazpatcho - "Demon"
Her Name is Calla - "Navigator"
Ex Hex - "Rips"
Ben Howard - "I Forget Where We Are"
yMusic - "Balance Problems"
Wild Beasts - "Present Tense"
Equals - "Tracts"
Fennesz - "Becs"
Mono - "The Last Dawn / Rays of Darkness"
French for Rabbits - "Spirits"
Lee Field and the Expressions - "Emma Jean"
Hotelier - "Home, Like Noplace There Is"
Sleeping Bear - "Sleeping Bear"
Swans - "To be Kind"
Fatima Al Qadiri - "Asiatisch"
Tony Molina - "Dissed and Dismissed"
Antlers - "Familiars"
Owen Pallett - "In Conflict"
Show Me a Dinosaur - "Dust"
Kemialliset Ystävät - "Alas Rattoisaa Virtaa"
The Horrors - "Luminous"
Weary Eyes - "WWGBBYW"
She Keeps Bees - "Eight Houses"
Esben and the With - "A New Nature"
The Faint - "Doom Abuse"
Solstafir - "Otta"
Ceclia::eyes - "Disappearance"
This Patch of Sky - "This Patch of Sky"
Lawrence English - "Wilderness of Mirrors"
Lydia Ainsworth - "Right From Real"
Arc Iris - "Arc Iris"
Moonlit Sailor - "We Come Frome Exploding Stars"
Nothing - "Guilty of Everything"
Saor - "Aura"
Woven Hand - "Refractory Obdurate"
Villagers of Ioannina City - "Riza"
Emma Ruth Rundle - "Some Heavy Ocean"
S. Carey - "Range of Light"
Asgeir - "In the Silence"
Strand of Oaks - "Heal"
James Vincent McMorrow -" Post Tropical"
Hundred Waters - "The Moon Rang Like a Bell"
Sun Araw - "Belomancie"
Phantogram - "Voices"
Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal - "Songs of Time Lost"

Honorable mentions for albums I liked but don't know where to put:

Run the Jewels - "RTJ2"
Real Estate - "Atlas"
Leonard Cohen - "Popular Problems"
Andy Stott - "Faith in Strangers"
Maya Beiser - "Uncovered"
Aso Ai - "Lone"
The Men - "Tomorrow's Hits"

I might add more links to music if I feel like it. I guess if you're curious which of these you'd like, just ask!

herMan

Japan2057 Posts

December 22 2014 07:58 GMT

That's pretty impressive. My sin is to just stick with a certain playlist and not explore new music. Then one day I just wake up and find out a couple of new songs. Repeat.

I noticed you have some Finnish stuff there as well like Tuomas Holopainen and Kemialliset Ystävät. I'd guess that you listen to some metal and have explored the more known artists/bands already?

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

December 22 2014 08:10 GMT

I used to be a big metal head maybe.. 12 years ago, but not recently. I lost my appreciation for death and black metal vocals some time ago, which explains why albums by Behemoth, Sunn O))) & Ulver, Hoth, Agalloch, Junius, IQ, Merkabah, IQ, Wrekmeister Harmonies, Yob, Pallbearer, etc didn't make the cut.

Karis Vas Ryaar

United States4396 Posts

December 22 2014 08:20 GMT

How the heck do you have time to listen to 100 different albums?

On December 22 2014 17:10 lichter wrote:
I used to be a big metal head maybe.. 12 years ago, but not recently. I lost my appreciation for death and black metal vocals some time ago, which explains why albums by Behemoth, Sunn O))) & Ulver, Hoth, Agalloch, Junius, IQ, Merkabah, IQ, Wrekmeister Harmonies, Yob, Pallbearer, etc didn't make the cut.

The ulver sunn0 split has black metal vocals? I listened to it brefly/skimmed it and didn't catch any black metal vocals. also check out widek. really cool instrumental rock band. not sure if it's anything you're interested in but I like em

personally my two favorite albums of the year are probably Falconer's Black moon rising and Magnum's escape from the shadow garden. I also realized I didn't know like 95 percent of the albums on this list lol. cool that you put this together though

munch

Mute City2363 Posts

December 22 2014 08:55 GMT

Well this is going to take a while to get through. Lovely to see Complete Surrender on there,been playing non stop for me

REDBLUEGREEN

Germany1904 Posts

December 22 2014 10:19 GMT

Wow out of your top 100 I only know 2 artists :D

On my list Tycho's Awake would be higher, although it is not as great as Dive. Still the best artist to listen to when stoned imo

Solstafir...I used to really like them...then I saw them live...worst live band ever T_T I still listen to the occasional track but....UGHHH

aike

United States1629 Posts

December 22 2014 11:08 GMT

Nice to see Animals as Leaders and Samaris make the cut ;D I would probably have LUN by Destiny Potato, Little Histories by Cloudkicker, and Pulse by Sithu Aye.... oh and probably Clear by Periphery, While (1 is less than 2) by Deadmau5. I know I've probably listened to hundreds of new songs this year... but I can't off the top recall what they all are so I'll just leave it at those albums for me

Chexx

Korea (South)11232 Posts

December 22 2014 12:27 GMT

how can you remember it all too? And also this

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

December 22 2014 13:08 GMT

I made a draft list over the whole year while listening to everything at least 5 times, then I re-listened to everything over the past 2 months.

Glowsphere

United States170 Posts

December 22 2014 18:05 GMT

#10

Thanks for this... all I do is listen to stuff I already like, so this is a good opportunity to expand my horizons.

Skynx

Turkey7150 Posts

December 22 2014 20:54 GMT

#11

:O where is all the electronic music?

SetGuitarsToKill

Canada28396 Posts

December 23 2014 00:00 GMT

#12

Huh, I thought I kind of knew music, but I've can't say I've even heard of 20 of those band. I feel like such a pleb

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

December 23 2014 01:35 GMT

#13

On December 23 2014 05:54 Skynx wrote:
:O where is all the electronic music?

Well there's Slow Magic at least. I'm not super into EDM/IDM/D&B/etc like Lenzman's "Looking at the Stars". I'm more into the ambient side of eletronic music. That's why I named the blog favorite albums instead of best.

dravernor

Netherlands6192 Posts

December 23 2014 06:23 GMT

#14

I think I might propose to you.

Emerson_H

United States460 Posts

December 23 2014 11:13 GMT

#15

great stuff m8

I applaud your dedication

boxerfred

Germany8360 Posts

December 23 2014 12:07 GMT

#16

Try some Heaven Shall Burn.

jakethesnake

Canada4948 Posts

December 23 2014 15:23 GMT

#17

Wow, fantastic list. I've got some listening to do and some exploring to do over Christmas. Thanks!

And I can't recommend The War on Drugs - "Lost in the Dream" highly enough. That album is so amazing from start to finish.