Top 20 of 2014: 20-11

Hello blogosphere. I'm back, out of nowhere, like the Millennium Falcon at the end of A New Hope, to rescue you from your year of listening to the wrong music.

I realize it seems a bit disingenuous to abandon my blog and still post a top 20 list... but let's be real. I have been making these stupid lists before the blog, and this year was no different. I may as well put it up here for my 2 readers to see and benefit from.

2014 was an excellent year for music as far as I am concerned. Any one of these albums is definitely worth your time.

Here we go.

20. Ariana Grande - My Everything

It looks like I am tagging this one at the end of my list to make it seem like I'm a "man of the people", but half of the songs on here dominated a solid month of my life this year. The reason this is not higher is the other half of the tracks. However, my AriG playlist that includes the good half from here and the better half from Yours Truly is top 5 material.

19. Agalloch - The Serpent and the Sphere

With the acoustic interludes by Musk Ox, this album is an excellent chill out album with excellent balance. I wouldn't be surprised if this one sticks with me longer than some of the others on this list because of how easy it is to listen to.

18. Fennesz - Bécs

I thought this album would be much higher on my list come the end of year, but my judgement had been clouded by the song "Liminality". That song alone is absolutely worth your time.

17. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness

This is perhaps the surprise of the year, largely due to my own unfair labels I attached to this album without hearing it. Angel is a perfect mix of Chad VanGaalen and Hank Williams that is perfect for a long drive on a country road.

16. Jozef van Wissem / SQÜRL - Only Lovers Left Alive

I knew nothing about this movie right up until a second ago when I google searched for the album's cover art. Apparently it's a movie about vampires. It looks awesome. If it's anything as good as this soundtrack, I'll probably love it.

15. YVETTE - Process

YVETTE takes all the right pieces from Liars' Drum's Not Dead and HEALTH's self-titled to make the most fun noise rock I've ever heard.

14. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2

This might have some of the best "album flow" I've ever heard from a rap album. I first listened to this album in London, and it made me feel like a real American Gangster. 

13. Mr Twin Sister - Mr Twin Sister

Look who's back! It's Twin Sister! But with a new name! A name I like a lot better! When I was surprised to find out Twin Sister was back, I queued up the album and whispered to myself "pleasedontsuckpleasedontsuck". In Heaven was just too damn good in my opinion, and I always figured there would be no way they could follow that up. I was thankfully proven wrong with this album. Their sound has changed, but their song writing is still top notch. A few slight missteps with The Knife knock offs, but the pros far outweigh the cons. Beyond excited to hear what they have in store.

12. Yob - Clearing the Path to Ascend

A truly heartfelt and uplifting record in the Metal subgenre labeled as "Doom". The feels are palpable on this one.

11. Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers

This album is here almost solely on the strength of the song "Violence". The whole album is an excellent mix of ambient and head-bobbing dance music, but when "Violence" comes on...