ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2014

http://i.imgur.com/htMIKBH.jpg

lol

btw - hooray for Gigi Masin! Amazing collection of tracks, and great work by the Music From Memory guys for putting this together.

dj q - great album albeit one i felt like i should have gone back to a lot more than i did? like, i enjoyed it in a low-key way but it never turned into an addiction. "notice me" and the epic "through the night" are highlights

DJ Q is like Funkystepz for me in that his tunes (instrumentals especially) are like mini-Autobot components of a whole and they just don't sound right on their own. Like nearly everything on the album is good and I think I voted for it but I keep thinking about how much more thrilling they'd be pitched up in the mix and all piled on top of one another. As someone who came up through records like the Brown album and Exit Planet Dust, I like dance albums to feel like DJ sets and the album didn't capture the rushiness of his own sets, when it quite easily could have done.

OTM. Q's tracks have a consistent vibe and are relatively short for dance tracks, so a mixed album (possibly with a separate-track vinyl release for DJs) would have been a lot more useful.

My highlight was 'Trust Again' FWIW

Yeah the thing that prevented me loving Ineffable more is that it wasn't clear to me why I was listening to discrete album tracks from the best DJ in the world. It's still a great album but can't compete with one of Q's better MoS or Nocturnal sets let alone seeing him spin live (best night ever still).

Voted for Fennesz and Alvvays from yesterday's run, I liked the Katy B and Lee Ann Womack albums as well, the latter is completely out of my wheelhouse but yeah it definitely deserves to place.

Just saw that Avi Buffalo split - wonder if anyone but me threw a vote to At Best Cuckold. (The other worthwhile indie-pop record, which I forgot about for a bit just now.) Really hit the spot for jangly self-loathing.

― Simon H., woensdag 28 januari 2015 1:35 (13 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I threw it a vote. Loved their debut album, the second one was really good too. No way it'll pop up here though.

just struck me that unless ariana grande places in the top 40 (which i think...possible but unlikely?), she'll get shut out completely. no track, no album, not even a guest spot

Still getting over the fact that "Bang Bang" finished higher on the tracks poll than anything on her album.

I'm beginning to think that nothing I voted for will actually place in the top 77. :( I guess Neheh Cherry or Mirel Wagner or Meshell Ndegeocello still might appear, though their chances feel a bit slim already.

Also, it was probably pointless to vote for two classical albums, because the only classical that has any chance of making it in these polls is indie-friendly crossover stuff like that Winged Victory album.

or Clean Bandit

;)

I think Neneh Cherry has a good shot at making it!

really really hope mirel wagner does! i actually counted up everyone who loved it in her thread. it came to less than the total votes albums around this mark are getting though :///

Ian William Craig?

Fingers crossed for Gazelle Twin, Lamb, and Mr. Twin Sister. Its today or never.

http://i.imgur.com/EzpzehY.jpg

40 LANA DEL REY Ultraviolence [390 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote]

It's a great album and it took me a while to realise it. Was top 10 for me.

people still rate this person hm?

'shades of cool' was quite haunting, haven't heard the rest

Lana Del Rey
Straight in at number 40
Video Gaaaaames

dont feel comfortable with this albums promotion of violence

the mk remix of "west coast" was a biiiiiig tune for me in 2014. i need to keep more up-to-date on house remixes of LDR if not her source material

sort of admire that she's retreated even further into her thing though

great album, played it a tonne this summer

Had this in the bottom half of my list, big improvement on her first album.

i liked the original "West Coast" a lot, shocking more because it was the Black Keys guy than because it was LDR.

the mk remix of "west coast" was a biiiiiig tune for me in 2014. i need to keep more up-to-date on house remixes of LDR if not her source material

― lex pretend, Wednesday, January 28, 2015 2:15 PM

Not heard the MK remix but did play the Zhu one a lot this year

virtually no difference from her placing in 2012:

40 LANA DEL REY Ultraviolence [390 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote]
35. LANA DEL REY Born to Die (392 Points, 11 Votes)

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my first album vote to place

This album was a massive grower for me. Was really disappointed with it the first couple of listens but I kept coming back to it and ended up putting it in my top 10. I was surprised how well it did in all the end of year critics lists.

http://i.imgur.com/MV057fR.jpg

TIE-38 ANGEL OLSEN Burn Your Fire for No Witness [390 points, 14 votes, 1 first place vote]

The Angel Olsen was solid and good but somehow I never got DEEP into it

she's good

ooh a tie!

The Lana Del Rey album has a couple of good songs on it; unfortunately one of them is called "Fucked My Way To The Top"

i vaguely assumed that song was a 'lol this is what people think of me' satire like "Blank Space"

Really like Angel Olsen's voice but the songs just didn't stick at all. Thought she would be a lot higher.

i know nothing about Angel Olsen. Who is she and what does she do?

thought i'd like angel olsen, didn't hate it but the songs really didn't stick and the scratchy arrangements weren't enough to keep me persevering...

Yay Angel Olsen! Third vote placed.

Really like Angel Olsen's voice but the songs just didn't stick at all.

Never really got into the first Lana Del Rey album but love this one. There are some bad songs but the good ones are amazing.

know nothing about Angel Olsen. Who is she and what does she do?

kinda leonard cohen, kinda roy orbison, kinda pixies. this album was great and her writing is wonderful, best song is probably 'hi five'. such a warm, human album. still didn't vote for it though

"cruel world" tho

(re: LDR)

I feel like a lot of people who loved Video Games but were really disappointed with her first album really like Ultraviolence.