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Best Music of 2014

2014 was not the best year for music. Two weeks ago I had no idea how this list would look. Up until mid-December there was not a great album released in 2014 (In 2013 there were at least five). There were several very good ones released throughout the year. But as I set about making my top albums list, I found myself unable to call anything the best of the year. I even thought about making a top 20 in-no-order list. Fortunately, something happened in mid-December that made everything clear; that threw the state of music in 2014 into sharp relief. The rest of my top 10 fell neatly into place, so here goes.

10 Years Later - Side 1 of Hot Fuss

Meet someone born between 1987 and 1991, and chances are The Killers 2004 debut Hot Fuss holds some kind of emotional significance for them. That group was in middle school and high school when Hot Fuss was released 10 years ago in June 2004.  (I would argue that those of us in the class of 2008 have the largest claim to Hot Fuss inspired emotional resonance, since we were preparing to enter ninth grade - deep in the throes of puberty and mid-2000's emo.)

The Killers - Hot Fuss - June 15, 2004

However, talking about Hot Fuss isn't really talking about Hot Fuss. We're really only talking about side 1 of Hot Fuss, those magical first five tracks that swept in, grabbed hold of our hearts, and refused to let go until we admitted that, yeah, sometimes we like to feel things. (It should here be noted that I'm referring to side 1 as the natural first half of the album, tracks 1-5. LP versions of Hot Fuss include "Andy You're a Star" on side 1, but the less said about that disaster the better.)

20 Best Albums - 2013

2013 was a strange year in music. Hardcore/heavy/screamo music made a surprising comeback; several established artists released, to much hype and gimmickry, bloated, self-indulgent bore-fests; indie rock was strong at the top, but otherwise very uninspiring; hip hop said, "let's get weird" to the whole affair. It was summarily difficult to get a good read on what I liked and didn't like this year, much less narrow it down and order it 20-1. But try I must, and list I shall. Onward and upward or whatever.

(By the way, if you missed my Best Moments of 2013 post, read it here.)

11 Best Moments in Music - 2013

I'm working on my 2013 Best Albums list, but I want to try something a little different this year, too. I want to highlight my favorite moments from music this year. We've all said, "I love in that song when...", right? That's what I'm looking at here. It could be a whole song or a drum fill, a killer bridge or a simple guitar line.  I'm looking for the moments that left me speechless, saying "wow" and half-speed scrubbing back 30 seconds to hear it again. It's no surprise then that many of these come from albums in my top 20. Consider this a preview.

The Gospel and Guns

This post isn't my normal fare, but I need to write some things down on this subject.  Forgive me for posting so glaringly off-topic.

Since Newtown I've had guns on my mind and on my heart.  I've shaken my head in disgust at the NRA and followed the Brady Campaign on Twitter (@bradybuzz). I've started Facebook fights and prayed about it.  I genuinely think less of one of my former Facebook friends because of his opinion, as wrong as that is.  Nobody is going to change their mind, unfortunately, and that's sad.  

I'm not going to write anything about policy in this post.  I won't write about background checks or assault weapons bans or high capacity magazines.  That conversation is going on all around the country.  

I want to talk about the Gospel.

Top albums of 2012.

I did not post in 2012. I apologize. I had a lot on my plate, ok? I graduated. I started my career. I changed cities. I bought a flannel shirt. Get off me.  

Oddly enough, this year I had more blog-worthy material than ever, as I went to Coachella and Bonnaroo. And went to a bunch of shows. That just screams "Recap!!!", but it wasn't to be. Maybe I had better things to do. Maybe I forgot I had a blog. Who knows.

Anyway, this year I listened to more music than ever. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day combined with a subscription to Rdio (highly recommend!!) had a lot to do with that. Here are the 21 best albums of 2012.