Best Albums:
1. The Head and the Heart - Let's Be Still
2. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
3. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
4. Hey Marseilles - Lines We Trace
5. Matt Pond - The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand [yep, he dropped the "PA"]
6. Volcano Choir - Repave
7. Tegan & Sara - Heartthrob [Both Matt Pond and Tegan & Sara tried to make more poppy-dancey albums to try to get more attention/sales than previous albums. I like both of their "not poppy" stuff, but I also enjoyed both these albums.]
8. Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park
9. Lucius - Wildewoman
10. Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You
11. Mandolin Orange - This Side of Jordan
12. Josh Ritter - The Beast in its Tracks
13. Mikal Cronin - MCII
14. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co. (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [This year they re-released Magnolia Electric Co. because A) It was the 10 year anniversary of its release and B) Jason Molina, the force behind Songs: Ohia/Magnaolia Electric Co., died this year. I included this re-release on the list because it comes with a bonus disc of unreleased tracks, including demo versions of songs. I absolutely love these stripped down versions.]
15. Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings The Kinks
Best Songs:
(Note: I put a playlist down at the bottom where you can stream the songs. I put songs from the above albums first -- with the exception of Colin Meloy because the tracks aren't available online -- and then the other songs are in no particular order. The final three songs are youtube clips, since that's the only place they're available for streaming.)
1. The Head and the Heart - 10,000 Weight in Gold
Best Songs:
(Note: I put a playlist down at the bottom where you can stream the songs. I put songs from the above albums first -- with the exception of Colin Meloy because the tracks aren't available online -- and then the other songs are in no particular order. The final three songs are youtube clips, since that's the only place they're available for streaming.)
1. The Head and the Heart - 10,000 Weight in Gold
2. Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers
3. The National - Fireproof
4. Hey Marseilles - Tides
5. Matt Pond - Love to Get Used
6. Volcano Choir - Comrade
7. Tegan & Sara - I Couldn't Be Your Friend
8. Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow [She was only 24 when this album came out. I picked her popular "See, isn't she sassy and liberal!" country song. But she has a lot of good ballads as well, like Silver Lining and It Is What It Is. Her writing reminds me of Dolly Parton and her voice kind of reminds me of Lee Ann Womack.]
9. Lucius - Don't Just Sit There
10. Neko Case - Local Girl
11. Josh Ritter - A Certain Kind of Light
12. Mikal Cronin - Weight
13. Songs: Ohia - Just Be Simple (demo version)
14. Arcade Fire - Afterlife [This album was a disappointment. This is pretty much the only song from the album that I love]
15. Guards - Silver Lining
16. Rilo Kiley - Let Me Back In [Rilo Kiley released an album of b-sides and unreleased tracks this year. So glad to finally have a studio recording of this song!]
17. The Milk Carton Kids - Snake Eyes
18. Sylvan Esso - Hey Mami [This duo consists of vocals by Amelia from the folk trio Mountain Man and electronic beats by Nicholas Sanborn. At least make it to 1:33]
19. Mother Falcon - Marigold [There's like 18 members in this band! So many instruments!]
20. The Civil Wars - Tell Mama
21. Iron & Wine - Winter Prayers
22. Maria Taylor - Up All Night [This song about Maria having a baby and becoming a mom is adorable]
23. CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share
24. Frightened Rabbit - Holy
25. The Avett Brothers - Apart From Me
26. San Fermin - Sonsick
27. Charles Bradley - Strictly Reserved For You
28. Adam Green & Binki Shapiro - Don't Ask for More
29. The Postal Service - Turn Around [The Postal Service also re-released a 10th Anniversary deluxe edition of their album Give Up -- was I really in college 10+ years ago?! This is one of the new tracks they added.]
30. Jim Guthrie - Difference a Day Makes
31. Marcus Mumford & Oscar Isaac - Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song) [A cover of the traditional folk song, from the movie Inside Llewyn Davis, which stars Oscar Isaac.]
32. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Holy Roller
33. Billie Joe Armstrong & Norah Jones - Silver Haired Daddy of Mine [I never would have imagined Billie Joe and Norah would do a duet album together, but it works. Their voices go well together (I assume Norah sounds good with just about anyone). Their album ("Foreverly") consists of Everly Brothers covers. They covered all the songs that appear on the 1958 Everly Brothers album "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us", which is a collection of traditional songs. This particular song is an old Gene Autry song from the 1930s.]
34. City & Colour - Golden State [You know all those songs about how California is so awesome? This is the opposite of that. Another Canadian-not-that-impressed-with-the-allure-of-California song, a la Joni Mitchell "River"]
35. Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful [One of the songs I was most surprised to find myself liking -- I'm not exactly a Lana Del Rey fan. But this song just does it for me.]
36. Noah Gundersen & The Forest Rangers - Day is Gone [Song from the final scene of this season's Sons of Anarchy episode. The song paired with the scene -- I won't give spoilers -- gives me goosebumps and sometimes makes me teary-eyed.
37. She & Him - London
38. Mandolin Orange - Cavalry
39. Shearwater & Sharon Van Etten - Stop Draggin' My Heart Around [a Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks cover]
40. Laura Gibson - Live Long in Oregon [It's only 1:00 long, but I love it. Laura wrote this song to advertise Oregon's health care exchange. And the commercial is adorable.]
Posts
I'm going to have to give the Vampire Weekend album another listen because it made so many Top 10 lists this year but I wasn't really feeling it. Unbelievers, Step, and Worship You were my favorite tracks but none of them made by Top Songs of the Year list.
ReplyDeleteCharles Bradley's new album blew me away. He's probably my favorite singer who's making music right now.
And did you check out Steve Martin and Edie Brickwell's album? It's so damn good.
I like the Paul Simon vibe on the Vampire Weekend album. I also have positive memories attached to the album (I already really liked the album before, but with the memories attached it's even more elevated for me). A lot of the songs make me think of a sunny May day. My favorite songs on the album are Unbelievers, Step, Diane Young, Everlasting Arms, Don't Lie, and Obvious Bicycle.
ReplyDeleteBut I've definitely had albums like that, where it made so many Top lists and it just didn't do it for me.
I love that Charles Bradley sounds like someone that's been making albums for decades and decades. Like someone I'd have a record of that I inherited from my parents' collection. I was amazed to learn his first full length album came out in 2011. And I love that he used to be a James Brown impersonator.
I'll definitely check out Steve Martin & Edie Brickwell's album. Thanks for the recommendation!