Well I don't know any of these albums BUT I'm excited for your top 2. I'm thinking RAM will make an appearance?

Haven't heard any of these sadly

3 | 4

Burials is like a phoenix, excellent comeback of AFI

Pearl Jam

I'm here for Pearl Jam. Sirens <33

I used to like AFI so much, their album December... is amazing

I only really liked the AFI album, from this handful. Oh well

Korn AFI, never been a big fan of them, but they release good singles this year, I need to check out that album

If you liked Decemberunderground, you'll LOVE Burials, I have a feeling.

It might.

Actually, only one of you completely guessed the top two correctly...right down to the order. Oh, and one more thing: The blurbs for the top two are LOOOONG. And #1, in particular, may just be my favorite album blurb ever.

Daft Punk Random Access Memories Favorite Songs: Get Lucky, Giorgio By Moroder, Touch, Give Life Back to Music, Doin' It Right I think it's fairly safe to say that this was the most hyped album of the year, right? EVERYONE was looking forward to this album, in some way, shape or form. Daft Punk are the trailblazers, the duo that look forward and provide the template for others to follow. They are the gold standard of dance music, and everyone follows their lead. It would be just like Daft Punk, then, for them to continue to be trailblazers by looking back instead of looking forward. They do not follow trends. They do not listen to the popular opinion. They MAKE the popular opinion. And boy, was this album ever popular. No one could have been prepared for the introduction of this album's purpose. "Get Lucky" is the perfect introduction to Random Access Memories. It's the mission statement, the intention of the band to make you move your feet and dance until the night is over, and, most importantly, the first time we see Daft Punk show us what this album would REALLY be about. Random Access Memories is not just about looking at past influences and providing their own takes. It's not just about paying homage to the artists that morphed them into what they are today. Heck, it's not even just about teaching the young'ns a history lesson. It's about reminding us that there will always be a place in the world for disco and funk music in the world of dance. You can have your dubstep and electronic cake and eat the disco and funk cake, too. When "Give Like Back to Music" first comes on, it's a blast of the senses. It starts out so epically, so grand, that you expect an incredible explosion when it reaches its boiling part...but, instead, it settles into the album's driving force: A smooth funky beat and a disco overtone. Sure, there are moments when the album breaks slightly from this force. "Instant Crush" and "Doin' It Right" are decidedly modern takes on the electronic revolution of the 80's, for example. As the closing track, meanwhile, "Contact" is the look into the future that everyone else expected to hear from this album, but even then, it feels slightly 80's by design and somewhat of a Daft Punk retrospective. But make no mistake about it, this is a disco and funk album under the guise of a Daft Punk album. "Giorgio By Moroder" is, perhaps, the best example. Thanks to its length, it feels like one of those extended versions of disco bangers, but it's way more than that. It's a direct tribute to the godfather of disco, featuring the man himself talking about what inspired his sound and his drive. And the song follows his every word, changing its sound to reflect what the godfather was telling us. As it changes, you start to hear a more modern sound creep in, trying to push its way into the equation...and then, BAM! The last minute or so is Daft Punk's vision of the future, perhaps the most rousing piece of music on the entire album, and it encapsulates this incredible album in one song. And I can't write about this album without mentioning "Touch", the AMAZING collaboration with the ubiquitous love song writer Paul Williams. It's so beautiful that I nearly cried when I listened to it for the first time. Just like the album, it deserves to be heard at least once. Queens of the Stone Age ...Like Clockwork Favorite Songs: I Appear Missing, Smooth Sailing, ...Like Clockwork, Keep Your Eyes Peeled, My God Is the Sun I remember thinking when I listened to Random Access Memories, "Okay, this is my album of the year. NOTHING is topping it. I mean, look at this album. "Get Lucky"! "Giorgio By Moroder"! "TOUCH"! Nothing's topping that collection of songs." Two weeks later, something came along that, somehow, topped it. And it was from an old friend, a friend that had been gone for over a half-decade, a friend that I was eagerly anticipating the return of. My anticipation grew after it was announced that Dave Grohl would be the drummer for the album. For those of you who don't know, Dave Grohl was the drummer for one of the greatest rock albums of all time and Queens of the Stone Age's masterpiece, Songs for the Deaf. Needless to say, I was so pumped that I could not stop typing in caps. Even with that anticipation, I wasn't quite prepared for what ...Like Clockwork provided. This was not just Queens of the Stone Age at their best. This was rock music at its best. This was a revelation in a year where it felt like rock music, as a whole, was treading water, unsure of itself, unsure how to break out of its shell. Sure, there were great albums released by rock bands this year, but there were not quite enough of them. Rock may just be at its lowest point overall, a sea full of a lack of originality and a lot of uncertainty about its future. Little did we know that all we needed was a band from one of the most prosperous times in rock and roll's history to give rock music the kick in the ass it has needed for years. When 'Keep Your Eyes Peeled" starts off the album, it's like you are dragged, kicking and screaming, deep into a desert and stranded, left to fend for yourself in the elements. You feel helpless, you feel scared, and you feel like there's nothing that can be done to save you. That feeling permeates the entire album. "I Sat By the Ocean" is that moment where it really occurs to you just how screwed you really are. "If I Had A Tail" and "My God Is the Sun" is the slow and gradual process of you falling apart and losing your mind. "Kalopsia" and "Fairweather Friends" is the hallucinations, the brief glimmer of hope that proves to be false. "Smooth Sailing" is the documentation of what happens when you realize that all hope is gone, and you let yourself fall deeper into the madness. "I Appear Missing" is the slow descent into death, the end of everything and the end of existence. As for the title track at the end, it's the first moments of the afterlife, those moments where you see yourself floating above and watching your lifeless body from below. Needless to say, ...Like Clockwork is not a happy album. It's dark, desolate, sometimes depressing, and sometimes heartbreaking. At all times, though, it's absolutely incredible. It's not often when an album can inspire such imagery from me, but ...Like Clockwork is definitely that kind of album, an album where you can lose yourself for days while listening to it and sway the entire time to its destruction and desolation. It's the best rock album (and, by proxy, the best album period) I have listened to in nearly a decade. If someone tries to tell you that rock music is dead, simply point them in the direction of ...Like Clockwork and watch as they realize that rock music has a pulse after all.

And that...is THAT. That top two actually did not take as long to write as it looks, really. I could have said much more about the albums, actually. I'm sure you're glad I didn't. But you all know what's coming up next. It's the big one, my top 100 singles of the year! I have NO idea when that will start, as I still have a lot of work to do. Maybe I'll even do a surprise list in the meantime, as I work on the top 100. We'll see. I hope you enjoyed this look at my ten favorite albums of the year, though, and I'll see you when I see you.

The Paradigm Shift, Burials

RAM Top 2. Well-deserved

Will RAM be as high as it on your list for mine? We'll see :

I wish Arcade Fire's album was a lil higher.

Yeezus was very disappointing for me as a huge Kanye fan.

Daft Punk!
Flawless list.

not a fan of these

I don't know the #1

But great for RAM, I love that album

Lovely top two!

Queen Of The Stone Age

I need to check that QOTSA album.

Oh shoot. I've heard music from both Top 2 artists this year. As you know, RAM was one of my favorites of the year. As for the QOTSA album, I liked their single I Appear Missing. Can't wait for the next set.

Sorry I haven't commented in a bit! I have missed your top six, BUT I AM HERE NOW!

Love Lightning Bolt! I agree that it is really good. Also props to singling out "Sirens," that's one of PJ's best. They really are so good at ballads, but then they are also really great at the hard rocking stuff too, as you point out. SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE! I have yet to hear the AFI album, as they aren't on my radar any more. Not in a spiteful way, they just aren't. I like the Sing the Sorrow comparison though, so I will have to give it a listen. You have always been a huge booster of Volbeat and I appreciate that. They really are an interesting band. And speaking of being a big booster of a band, Korn! Glad that their new album is good. Now I have heard your top two, and they are both really good choices. Your Daft Punk write-up is really great, and I def co-sign your love of "Touch." A perfect song! And Like Clockwork is really great, as well. Every time I listen to it, it gets better and reveals more. You are absolutely right that it is dark, though. I heard Homme on WTF and he talked about how he developed MRSA and briefly died during surgery. Just insane stuff that obviously went into the writing of this album, as you talk about beautifully in your write-up. Such a great album. I am going to listen to it again right now, thanks for the reminder!

Your albums list was fantastic! I am excited for the start of the top 100 singles AS THE YECA ROLLS ON!

Never heard these sorry