*** Reaper's Favorite Albums of 2014 ***

[Reaper16]

I'm really late with the list this year guys. Sorry about that. I've had a massive cold and I've been unable to concentrate on things, so writing these lil write-ups was much more difficult than normal. If anything here doesn't make sense you can blame it on the illness.

As always, this is a list of my personal favorite albums of the year. It's not meant to be an objective "best-of" list, because while I listen to hundreds of new albums each year I still fall far short of listening to enough to feel comfortable making an objective claim. As always, my general preferences for hip-hop & heavy metal mean that you probably won't see your favorite punk album or twee indie rock album. Probably. Hopefully you'll find some albums you will come to dig through this list.

I'll be posting the write-ups & youtube embeds throughout the evening. The main list will be updated here in the OP.

30. Flying Lotus – You’re Dead!
29. Jason Feathers – De Oro
28. Mike Mictlan - Hella Frreal
27. Glass Animals – Zaba
26. Robert Plant (& the Sensational Space Shifters) – Lullaby…and the Ceaseless Roar
25. Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel
24. Mr. Twin Sister – Mr. Twin Sister
23. Ces Cru – Codename: Ego Stripper
22. D’Angelo (and the Vanguard) – Black Messiah
21. Angeleena Presley – American Middle Class
20. Panopticon – Roads to the North
19. Taake – Stridens Hus
18. Devin Townsend – Sky Blue (Z2 disc 1)
17. Alcest – Shelter
16. tUnE-yArDs – Nikki Nack
15. Todd Terje – It’s Album Time
14. TV on the Radio – Seeds
13. Agalloch – The Serpent & the Sphere
12. Behemoth – The Satanist
11. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Hypnotic Eye
10. Freddie Gibs & Madlib – Pinata
09. Opeth – Pale Communion
08. G-Side – GzIIGodz
07. Death Grips – the powers that b, pt. 1: ****as on the Moon
06. Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
05. Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires – Dereconstruction
04. Killer Mike & El-P – Run the Jewels 2
03. St. Vincent – St. Vincent
02. Sun Kil Moon – Benji
01. Swans – To Be Kind

[-King-]

Have you listened to Logic- Under Pressure or JColes new album yet?

[Sannyasi]

Did you listen to Open Mike Eagle's Dark Comedy? That was one of my favorite hip hop albums of the year

[Molitoth]

I should also add "Nothing More".

There are a couple of lame songs on the album, but production quality in itself is fantastic.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Pharaohe Monch: PTSD. I listened to this concept album quite a bit after it first dropped. There are some clunkers on here, but I found the whole album to be his most accessible and enjoyable offering from his catalog.

I loved PTSD and agree with this assessment.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by -King-

Have you listened to Logic- Under Pressure or JColes new album yet?

J Cole's album was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I don't like it, really. But I don't dislike it, which is a huge step up in how I usually view Cole.

Logic's album is very good in a certain sense. But it's also just Kendrick worship to such an extreme point that it kind of pisses me off. I was craving originality every time I listened to that Logic album.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by Sannyasi

Did you listen to Open Mike Eagle's Dark Comedy? That was one of my favorite hip hop albums of the year

No, I didn't. I think I will now.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I would just like to peak my head in to say that while I am not much of a music person, I am in awe of the depth of Reaper's knowledge of the art form.

Reaper knows metal better than I know my dick.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

J Cole's album was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I don't like it, really. But I don't dislike it, which is a huge step up in how I usually view Cole.

Logic's album is very good in a certain sense. But it's also just Kendrick worship to such an extreme point that it kind of pisses me off. I was craving originality every time I listened to that Logic album.

Thats exactly how I felt about the two. I really like Logics album, but yeah, all it is is a repackaged GKMC.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by -King-

Thats exactly how I felt about the two. I really like Logics album, but yeah, all it is is a repackaged GKMC.

Couple of other rap and hip hop albums that I liked pretty well:

Wara from the NBHD, Kidnapped: I'd slept on this album, then I saw it on the Bitter Southerner's best of Southern Music 2014 list (great blog by the way). Jazzy, disconnected beats. Since we're making GKMC comparisons... this is kind of a southern version.



PRhyme, PRhyme: I'd also slept on this one until I saw it in a list. DJ Premier with Royce Da 5'9". It's old school east coast hip hop. Nothing original or inventive, but it's damned good. Lots of nice cameos as well.



clipping, CLPPING: Not sure that I like this whole album. It's a little bit of Death Grips a little bit of Flatbush Zombies. Noisy and disconcerting. It's a little unsettling. The track "Body & Blood" is pretty impressive, though.

Video is NSFW:



Reaper, thanks for the Ces Cru recommendation. I've been listening to that album non stop since you posted it up. Really good.

[Sannyasi]

CLPPNG was a very pleasant surprise for me. While I could appreciate what they were doing last year with their Midcity mixtape it wasn't really the type of thing I could come back to again and again. CLPPNG on the other hand is a lot more accessible while still retaining their sound. Its gotten a lot of play at the gym for me since it came out.

[Pablo]

Been jamming the **** out of some Sturgill Simpson the last couple of days.

[Molitoth]

My Revised List of albums I enjoyed this year, in no particular order:

Dream the Electric Sleep - Heretics
††† (Crosses) – ††† (Crosses)
Lesser Key – Lesser Key
Nothing More – Nothing More
Opeth – Pale Communion
The Contortionist – Language
Skyharbor - Guiding Lights
Machine Head – Bloodstone & Diamonds
Pink Floyd – The Endless River
Rishloo - Living as Ghosts with Buildings as Teeth
Silence is a Virus - Imperial


Albums I still want to visit or revisit.

He Is Legend – Heavy Fruit
Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World
Wovenwar – Wovenwar
The Atlas Moth – The Old Believer
Pallbearer – Foundations of Burden
Chevelle – La Gárgola
Animals as Leaders – The Joy of Motion
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Cynic – Kindly Bent to Free Us
Devin Townsend Project – Z²

[ModSocks]

Gotta say, im pretty disappointed in the list this year. I come into this thread every year and am able to walk away with some new material to listen to, which is really nice since im not into the music scene at all.

This year.....im hard pressed to find something i like and have to force myself to find the positives in some of these selections.

[ModSocks]

Originally Posted by NewChief

I do like this one though.

[Reaper16]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

Gotta say, im pretty disappointed in the list this year. I come into this thread every year and am able to walk away with some new material to listen to, which is really nice since im not into the music scene at all.

This year.....im hard pressed to find something i like and have to force myself to find the positives in some of these selections.

Try some recommendations from other posters in this thread too.

BTW - what were some albums in years past that you discovered through my annual list? I can try to recommend things based on that.