-So my love of Lord of the Rings has been tested lately with these mediocre Hobbit movies. And everyone is always skeptical about licensed games. For good reason because they usually suck. Luckily Monolith was able to take this property and mimic what Rocksteady was able to do with the Batman Arkham games. It's a little bit canon, a little bit not. For instance, at the pace I was going Sauron would've been dead within another week, making Frodo's eventual journey much less interesting. What works about this game is not the storyline, it's the story you make as you play. Each enemy you encounter has a name and signature traits. If you get killed by some rando that AI gets promoted and gains power, and also taunts you the next time you encounter them in the wild. Naturally this infuriated me enough to get distracted enough to let my guard down enough to get killed again, creating another signature foe. Eventually you work your way up to the war chiefs, either killing them or taking command of their minds and using them to fight other war chiefs. It's really fun, and easy to get lost in this world.
3. South Park: The Stick Of Truth
-Another licensed game that had no business being so good. Helping this time around was that Trey Parker and Matt Stone worked directly with an already great developer, Obsidian of Fallout: New Vegas fame. I don't think it's even hyperbole to call this the funniest video game of all time. Not only with the excellent storyline and character work (all voiced by who they should be voiced by) , but just the random moments that happen throughout the game. Opening a door could lead to a house full of collectables or a guy making love to a horse. Butter yells "ALRIGHT EVERYONE GET ON THE EFFIN GROUND" as you first walk into the bank. You battle the Underpants Gnomes underneath your parents ... while they're doing it, having to dodge your fathers testicles in an epic quicktime event. So many of these events are peppered throughout the game, but I don't wanna spoil any more. Except one more that's kind of hidden, needing one to use the old Konami code in the woods to access my favorite South Park characters ... Hail Satan!
2. Super Smash Bros For 3DS
-It's Smash Bros for 3DS, the title alone explains why this is so high. Melee is one of my all time favorite games, but I don't know if I can go back to the days without Mega Man. I'm addicted. I also love Pacman and Robin and Charizard. I would have ranked the Wii U version #1 most likely ... if I had a Wii U. 2015!
1. Dragon Age: Inquisition
-Bioware might be the best developer on the planet, with only Naughty Dog and Bethesda even worthy of challenging them. Mass Effect 2 was my favorite game of the last generation and in the all time top 5. The whole trilogy is just bonkers great, I've never felt so invested in a video games characters. While the first two Dragon Age's were good (the first was really really good), they never achieved the brilliance of Mass Effect ... until now! Inquisition is a beast of a game, with my 75+ hour playthrough considered short. The story is always a rush, with the time magic mission specifically being among the best stuff Bioware has ever done. The characters are loveably flawed, and you even have opportunities to kill/exile your own party members if you find them unfavorable. The romance is cute, although I wasn't able to close the deal before killing Corypheus. All I wanted to do was have interspecies lesbian sex in a video game, but that elf bitch Sera wouldn't give it up no matter how many pranks I played on my top military commanders. I guess that's always gonna be the problem with going after the quirky weird girl. Thank you for lessons in love, Bioware. My only complaints with the game were a few annoying audio bugs and that the final boss is a chump. Luckily there were ten epic dragon fights, as well as a few other exciting boss encounters, to make up for it. I also look forward to playing again on the Templar side to see what their missions are like. Maybe this time I will close the deal with a lady (or man!) That I'm more invested in a video game romance than many important real life things is the main reason that Dragon Age: Inquisition takes #1 in a year full of excellent games.
Long live PS4!
And for fun, since I don't feel like doing music, here are my most anticipated of next year, by release date (or when I assume they will come out).
Hotline Miami 2 and Axiom Verge - Two indies that will hopefully be coming out this month.
Project S.T.E.A.M. - Strategy RPG made by the Fire Emblem developers. Hell yes.
The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask 3D - I never played it on N64 so I'm very excited for a new Zelda game.
Mighty No. 9 - AKA new Mega Man just without the license!
The Witcher 3 - Witcher 2 was great. This one looks like it, but a thousand times bigger.
Batman Arkham City - Well obviously
Metal Gear Solid 5 - I expect this will be out by September at the latest. Snake Eater is my favorite Metal Gear, so I'm very excited about returning to that era.
Disgaea 5 and Persona 5 - Will we get them in America in 2015? Not sure! Persona is likely, but Disgaea isn't as popular.
Uncharted 4 - The brief history of Delaystation 4 has me doubtful that will be a 2015 release, but I'm hoping!
Alienation - Housemarquee's new game
No Man's Sky - See Uncharted 4
Final Fantasy XV - See Uncharted 4
Star Wars Battlefront - See Uncharted 4
Legend of Zelda Wii U - My #1 because Nintendo games always work and they come out on time. :-D I will be buying a Wii U for this.
O!!! You have posted some amazing sets! Great job in including the U2 album and looking past the ridiculous complaints of the whole iTunes thing It really is a good album! Love the Donkey Kong Country 2 reference in the Mastermind write-up haha! Love War on Drugs and Royal Blood. That Sleeper Agent song you linked to was great! Tito Chavos Guerrera, ha!! And you know how I feel about the almighty SLOAN already. In the top ten!!! So awesome!! Spread the gospel!!
I can't say much about the video games list, though I enjoyed reading it. The South Park game being great is exciting! I remember renting the N64 game the day it came out at Blockbuster, and holy **** what a disappointment. The shot of Cartman tossing the snowball up and down in his hand still haunts my dreams! And the Woodland Critters are in it?!? Great! Hail Satan, indeed! I always loved Smash Bros, so I need to play the new one. That's my kind of speed!
So many great albums here. Ariana, Lights, Sleeper Agent... I'll admit I dropped the ball on Lily Allen, and this comes as someone who not only was a top fan of hers in '06, but as someone who played "Hard Out Here" into the ground. Maybe Sheezus will make a last minute entry into my list if I listen to it again before I post my albums.
The Black Keys I like My Everything too! Ariana is growing as an artist, I love her album.
Sheezus was... disappointing... but is not that bad! I was just expecting another masterpiece from Lily
It's been many days since an update and the likelihood me not finishing for the first ever gets higher and higher. So let's do this now!
8. The Physical World by Death From Above 1979
Favorite Song: "Right On Frankenstein"
7. Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters
Favorite Song: "I Am A River"
6. My Krazy Life by YG
Favorite Song: "Left Right"
5. Everything Will Be Alright In The End by Weezer
Favorite Song: "Futurescape Trilogy"
Apologies to all these great albums for not doing full write ups for them. Many of these are returning favorites. Foos are certainly no stranger, placing in the top ten albums twice (I think) before. They're so great that they could rank high just farting into a mic, yet they still do something special like Sonic Highways, honoring the best musical cities with audio and video. Death From Above seemed like a one and done, one of the greatest ever. Then they had to go and ruin it by releasing another great album! YG wins debut album of the year, although that's mostly because I heard Royal Blood too late. Not to take away from YG, clearly he deserves to be year with his excellent revival of west coast gangster rap. Plus he's got MUSTARD ON THE BEATS YO. Weezer might be the best story of the year though. I didn't hate Raditude, Hurley or even Red Album. They were kinda just there for me. I'd jam out to a song here and there and then forget. I didn't think they were capable of creating another Pinkerton, something that truly connected with me. I am very happy to report I was wrong!
I'll do the top four soon! Keep on dancing, America.
Ah screw it, let's just do it now. I've actually settled on a number 1, and don't wanna get mixed up again.
4. Lazaretto by Jack White
Favorite Song: "Lazaretto"
Jack White is another artist that could fart for two hours and still make a hit, so we're lucky he's still putting effort into making each one of his albums unique. Lazaretto takes a bunch of previously unused sounds, folk and countryish and puts them with White's usual amazing guitar riffs. My favorite song on the record has dueling fiddles! Who uses dueling fiddles or who else could possibly make it sound so damn good? If it's too country for you, "High Ball Stepper" is a face melting instrumental that is one of the best pure rock songs of the year. The other standouts to me are the piano driven "Alone In My Home" and the perfect for karaoke "Just One Drink".
3. RTJ2 by Run The Jewels
Favorite Song: "Oh My Darling Don't Cry"
In case I don't do a song lists I'll just go ahead and crown "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" as the #1 song of the year. Congrats!! It really wasn't even close, the race was over the second I heard "F them all they can eat my D thats word of pimp". It's should be called "Rap Gods". The proof is in the video.
My goodness, I get so pumped every time I listen to that. Here's "Close Your Eyes And Count To F", for Ryan, since I don't think you've heard it and it has motherlovin Zach Del La Rocha on it.
So yeah, having two of the top ten songs of year is the best way to get a top three album. I had RTJ1 ranked in the 30s last year, which was probably too low but these things happen. I do truly believe that RTJ2 is a significant jump in quality though. Last years album was a response to Watch The Thrones. This year they realized they could be the best hip-hop group on the market and snatched the crown without hesitation.
2. They Want My Soul by Spoon
Favorite Song: "They Want My Soul" / "Rent I Pay"
Wow so I went back on my #1 again in a short time. The truth is that both this and the real #1 absolutely deserve, so I would've regretted and celebrated my choice no matter what. Should I just make it a tie? Nah that would be lame. The decision is made. Anyways, before this year, if asked, I would have said "I like Spoon, but I'm not that big of a fan". They've never ranked on my chart before, which is weird since I'm sure I liked their last two albums which debuted during chart years. The funniest part is, I ranked Britt Daniel's side project Divine Fits back in 2012 but had no idea of its connection to Spoon!!! So I think that proves my Spoon non-fandom and I won't sound so ridiculous saying this is the best Spoon album in their long career. Since discovering this, I've found that 2002s Kill The Moonlight is also a classic, but I still give the edge to Soul. Just a solid rock record through and through, even with the electo diversions. "Rent I Pay" , "Do You" , "They Want My Soul" and "Let Me Be Mine" would all be in my top 25 of the year if I do a songs list. This album is so good that I feel terrible for not giving it #1 and also because I can't do a longer write up or I might change my mind again. Point is, before 2014 I would be like Spoon "meh" but now it's like SPOOON F YEAHWOOOOOOO. I would be the one person at the concert who would cheer the normally most awful of words "Now we're gonna play something from our new album."
So if this album was so good then why isn't it #1? Well .... ummmm ... I hope you rock fans don't get too upset at me about this...
Sir Spaceman already did an incredible job honoring the great David Letterman, and I could never hope to match that, but thought I could at least do him the honor of using his show as the video for my #1 artist of the year. And apparently Taylor doesn't like her non-official videos being up on youtube.
So yeah. Taylor Swift is #1. She was #2 a few years ago, so this isn't too much of a bump in that sense. While I'll always love "State Of Grace" and "We Are Never..." more than anything on here, I have to give 1989 the overall edge in quality. It still feels weird though, no pop artist has ever taken the top spot on either chart before, and with RTJ taking the #1 song (first ever hip-hop #1 since I consider Beasties to be half and halves, Arnold Palmers of their genres) it might seem like I thought this was a bad year for rock, which isn't the case at all!!! Rock actually had a big upswing this year, with the guitar starting its reconquest over the keyboard.
So how did this happen then? It started with Taylor making this big deal about changing her style to pop , then releasing a few electronic songs to prove it. I was slow to warm to these, well specifically "Out Of The Woods", "Shake It Off" only took a few plays. I didn't hear "Welcome To New York" before hand, but that is definitely the biggest departure. Searching for that sound we've never heard before. However, that's not really all that true is it? Everything that has ever been great about Taylor is here, just with less fiddles and guitars. So it's less of Taylor switching to pop, and more of her becoming a Goddess of Pop. Because she has always been pop, it's just now that she has mastered the craft.
The longevity of this album is quite incredible. Nearly three months later and I still haven't gotten sick of a single song, and many have actually greatly improved in my ears, including the above mentioned "Out Of The Woods". I love her faded "ARE WE OUT OF THE WOODS" that comes after the chorus. It's the exact same line she just repeated ten times, but it's so much different and so crucial to making the song great. "Bad Blood" , the most adorable diss track ever, was primed to get old quickly withs its preppy cheerleader style chorus, yet for reasons unknown it still remains incredible every time I listen to. "Blank Space" , my favorite song, could have easily gotten annoying after blowing up, I hear it at work at least twice a day. Yet instead of cringing, it gives me a brief moment of peace before I go back to wanting to go home (not knocking my job, it's great, but I think everyone always wants to leave work the second they get there, no matter what they do lol). "Style" is going to dominate this summer, and I have no doubt this cool John Hughes inspired track will make the season all the better.
What really put this over were the final two songs "I Know Places" and "Clean". I had enjoyed these the first time, but wasn't really paying attention to just how great they were. For the last month or so the pair have become my go to pop songs and always put a smile on my face. Quite often I've nearly succumb to the temptation of belting "BAAAAABBBBBYYYY I KNOW PLACES WE WON'T BE FOUND" in public places. This would prove troublesome for a few reasons. People would probably think me a gay rapist, which would be awkward, mostly for the latter part. So yeah, as much as I love the song, it might get me beat up, locked up or even roofied by Bill Cosby. What other song on this list could claim that?
1. Blank Space
2. I Know Places
3. Style
4. Wildest Dreams
5. Bad Blood
6. Welcome To New York
7. Clean
8. Shake It Off
9. How You Get The Girl
10. All You Had To Do Was Stay
11. Out Of The Woods
12. I Wish You Would
13. This Love
So yeah, that's why Taylor Swift is #1. After writing five paragraphs about it maybe it wasn't so close as I thought lol. NO DISRESPECT TO SPOON though, you guys deserve #1 too. It just didn't work out this year. All hail Taylor Swift, Goddess of Pop, breaker of traditions, opener of minds and the most adorable person on the planet. If you disagree she will just ... shake shake shake ... shake it off.
Thanks for tuning in to another edition of my year end list. I hope it was satisfying. Sorry again for the rushedness of the end and double sorry for all the great albums that deserved the full write up and video treatment.
I might do a full songs list, I want to but it will require new inspiration. At the very least I'm gonna post my full albums list from the past ten years, since I dug them out of the archive.
Goodbye 2014 and hello 2015!
so far
1. Sleater-Kinney - great stuff! How long will they hold it? FIND OUT IN 11 MONTHS.
Holy crap, I came in here to comment, and you've finished! Very impressive!
I never heard the full DFA album, but that first post otherwise is perfect! All great albums! Though the album you have ranked highest is the one I have lowest on my own list lmao. Never thought that would happen! But seriously, great combo write-up on them all!
Lazaretto! **** Yeah Jack White! The duelling fiddles really are nuts. Great to see you have Run The Jewels so high! And wow you really did love that new Spoon album. We discussed that in the past. I don't have room for it on my own list (why do I keep bringing up my list? Who gives a ****!), but it really is good, and i'm glad it converted you into a fan! And thanks for the shout-out in the T Swift write-up haha! Love that you included that performance!! I laughed out loud at you saying Beastie Boys are the Arnold Palmer of the genre. That is perfect. But your Swift write-up is so good, any album that can inspire that much passion is such a wonderful thing.
Your year-end was superb, as always! You got it all done!! And Sleater-Kinney as #1 for 2015 already, **** YEAH. I haven't even had a chance to listen to it yet, but i'm not surprised. "Bury Our Friends" is the greatest song, and I have such love for them. It will be fun to see how they chart throughout the year!
Oh man, this is huge! Excellent writeup. You did an amazing job of making the case for why Taylor Swift ruled 2014 and going all in on the personal/emotional connection of music and how the way songs make us feel is really one of the most important things. APPLAUSE
Foo Fighters is a incredible band Lazaretto is a good song, I should probably check out Jack White's album!
Spoon and wow, 1989 #1 didn't expect that! I still haven't heard that album in full... but I should! I love BS and SIO
As promised, the history! With little tidbits on the side. The format changes often and I apologize for this. And for the massive text block lol. I don't know how to make columns on the site.
2003: Thread has been deleted, but I remember my top 3!
1. Linkin Park - Meteora
2. Blink 182 – Blink-182
3. 50 Cent - Get Rich Or Die Tryin’
2004: Same with 2003!
1. Lostprophets – Start Something
2. Beastie Boys – To The 5 Boroughs
3. Taking Back Sunday – Where You Want To Be
2005: Dane Cook was originally #1, but I later disqualified him for not being a musician, which I probably should have done in the first place.
1. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans
2. The Bravery – The Bravery
3. Kanye West – The College Dropout
4. Nine Inch Nails – With Teeth
5. Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
6. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
7. Foo Fighters – In Your Honor
8. David Banner - Certified
9. Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better … With Franz Ferdinand
10. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
11. Fort Minor – The Rising Tied
12. Horse The Band – The Mechanical Hand
13. Arcade Fire - Funeral
14. Alkaline Trio - Crimson
15. Oasis – Don’t Believe The Truth
16. The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute
17. Fall Out Boy – From Under The Cork Tree
18. System of a Down – Hypnotize
19. System of a Down – Mesmerize
20. Mike Jones – Who Is Mike Jones?
21. Avenged Sevenfold – City Of Evil
22. Common - Be
23. Lindsay Lohan – A Little More Personal
24. Beck - Guero
25. Coldplay – X&Y
26. Queens of the Stone Age – Lullabies To Paralyze
27. The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
28. Silbermond – Verschwende Deine Zeit
29. The Redwalls – De Nova
30. Bun B - Trill
31. Reggie And The Full Effect – Songs Not To Get Married
32. Weezer – Make Believe
33. Gorillaz - Demon Days
34. Depeche Mode – Playing The Angel
35. Audioslave – Out Of Exile
36. Nada Surf – The Weight Is A Gift
37. Thrice - Vheissu
38. Paul Wall – The People’s Champ
39 .Straylight Run – Prepare To Be Wrong
40. Stereophonics – Language Sex Violence Other?
41. Korn – See You On The Other Side
42. Juelz Santana – What The Game’s Been Missing
43. Ashlee Simpson – I Am Me
44.The Game – The Documentary
2006: Panic At The Disco was a 2005 release, but I cheated ... again.
1. My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade
2. Panic! At The Disco – A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out
3. Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
4. The Killers – Sam’s Town
5. Nelly Furtado – Loose
6. Taking Back Sunday – Louder Now
7. Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere
8. TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
9. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor
10. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier
Unranked
Angels and Airwaves – We Don’t Need To Whisper
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, I’m Not
Beck – The Information
Billy Talent – BT2
Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury
The Decemberists – The Crane Wife
The Game – Doctor’s Advocate
Ghostface – Fishscale
The Hold Steady – Boys And Girls In America
Incubus – Light Grenades
Justin Timberlake – Future Sex/Love Sounds
Lostprophets – Liberation Transmission
Mastodon – Blood Mountain
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
Rise Against – The Sufferer And The Witness
The Strokes – First Impressions Of Earth
T.I. – King
Thom Yorke – The Eraser
Weird Al Yankovic – Straight Outta Lynwood
Wolfmother – Wolfmother
2007: I didn't do an album list in 2007 because I couldn't decide on a #1 or if I liked Linkin Park's Minutes To Midnight (I do now!). I gave it to James Murphy in 2010, which wasn't cheating too much since it was very much in the running. Maybe Fall Out Boy would have won, but I was so burnt out on that album by that point. Based on my rather long song list from that here, I think it would've gone a little like this.
1. LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver
Fall Out Boy – Infinity On High
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Kelly Clarkson – My December
Kanye West – Graduation
The Hives – Black And White Album
Radiohead – In Rainbows
A Day To Remember
Paramore – Riot!
Arctic Monkeys
Linkin Park – Minutes To Minute
Bruce Springsteen – Magic
Justice - Cross
Jay-Z – American Gangster
Beastie Boys – The Rat Cage
Queens Of The Stone Age –
Feist
Horse The Band
Nine Inch Nails
Walk Hard OST
Velvet Revolver
UGK
2008: Not much to say here. It was the first time The Black Keys charted.
17. Rising Down - The Roots
16. Ghosts I-IV - Nine Inch Nails
15. Off With Their Heads - Kaiser Chiefs
14. Attack & Release - The Black Keys
13. Oracular Spectacular - MGMT
12. Chinese Democracy - Guns N' Roses
11. Narrow Stairs - Death Cab For Cutie
10. Feed The Animals – Girl Talk
9. Day & Age – The Killers
8. Viva La Vida – Coldplay
7. This Gift – Sons & Daughters
6. Consolers Of The Lonely – The Raconteurs
5. Tha Carter 3 – Lil Wayne
4. 808s And Heartbreaks – Kanye West
3. Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket
2. Dear Science – TV On The Radio
1. Death Magnetic – Metallica
2009: Another year with no album list. This year had a very clear #1 though, as I remember having no doubt in my mind that it was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. However, maybe if I had heard Metric's Fantasies before 2010 it might have changed things. That's a tough call that I will not be making right now.
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
A Day To Remember
The Dead Weather
Kelly Clarkson
Eminem
Silversun Pickups
The Flaming Lips
Set Your Goals
Lily Allen
Franz Ferdinand
311
The Lonely Island
Arctic Monkeys
Cage The Elephant
Paramore
Muse
2010: This was a weird year as I tried to do an album/song combo list that mostly turned into an album/album list. This is also the year with my all time biggest screw up, putting My Dark Twisted Fantasy at least 10 spots too low. I was very low on hip-hop and high on electronic. Also, you'll notice two future #1s putting in their debut appearances at 33 and 32.
40. Broken Social Scene
39. Band Of Horses
38. Interpol
37. Parkway Drive
36. Tokyo Police Club
35. Eminem
34. My Chemical Romance
33. Taylor Swift
32. Bad Religion
31. Dr. Dog
30. Girl Talk
29. Underworld
28. Jimmy Eat World
27. Brandon Flowers
26. Holy ****
25. Ted Leo and The Pharmacists
24. Rusko
23. Broken Bells
22. Deadmau5
21. The Apples In Stereo
20. Hot Chip
19. Vampire Weekend
18. Dirty Heads
17. Minus The Bear
16. A Day To Remember
15. Kanye West
14. Ratatat
13. Blood Red Shoes
12. Four Year Strong
11. Holy Ghost
10. Cee Lo Green
9. Sex Bomb-omb
8. Titus Andronicus
7. Gorillaz
6. Bassnectar
5. The Arcade Fire
4. The Dead Weather
3. The Black Keys
2. Robyn
1. LCD Soundsystem
2011: Back to just albums. The Sounds were a late year discovery, and I was so in love with them that putting anyone else at #1 seemed silly. I dunno why, but I was also hesitant to put Decemberists there, even though King Is Dead is an all time great. Sadly this will probably be the very last appearance of Beastie Boys, one of the GOATS.
45. "The Black Belles" by The Black Belles
44. "David Comes To Life" by ****ed Up
43. "Lycanthropy" by Werewolf Congress
42. "Undun" by The Roots
41. "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" by Girls
40. "Blood Pressures" by The Kills
39. "The King of Limbs" by Radiohead
38. "Tha Carter IV" by Lil Wayne
37. ".OGDRULEY" by Druley
36. "Smoke RIng For My Halo" by Kurt Vile
35. "Reptilians" by Star****er
34. "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson
33. "Rome" by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi
32. "Thank You Happy Birthday" by Cage The Elephant
31. "Kaputt" by Destroyer
30. "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds" by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
29. "Wounded Rhymes" by Lykke Li
28. "Mylo Xyloto" by Coldplay
27. "Holy Ghost!" by Holy Ghost
26. "Siberia" by Lights
25. "Balls Out" by Steel Panther
24. "The Hunter" by Mastodon
23. "Angles" by The Strokes
22. "Circuital" by My Morning Jacket
21. "Turtleneck and Chain" by The Lonely Island
20. "All Day" by Girl Talk
19. "Velociraptor" by Kasabian
18. "21" by Adele
17. "Soul Punk" by Patrick Stump
16. "Divergent Spectrum" by Bassnectar
15. "Suck It and See" by Arctic Monkeys
14. "Wild Flag" by Wild Flag
13. "Torches" by Foster The People
12. "Watch The Throne" by Jay-Z and Kanye West
11. "Codes and Keys" by Death Cab For Cutie
10. "Audio, Video, Disco" by Justice
9. "Yuck" by Yuck
8. "I'm With You" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. "Hot Sauce Committee Part 2" by Beastie Boys
6. "Nine Types of Light" by TV On The Radio
5. "The Double Cross" by Sloan
4. "Wasting Light" by Foo Fighters
3. "El Camino" by The Black Keys
2. "The King is Dead" by The Decemberists
1. "Something To Die For" by The Sounds
2012: Japandroids! Such a great name for a band and such a great album. Dr. Dog went coast to coast, becoming the first ever January released album to top the chart.
40. King Animal by Soundgaren
39. Living Things by Linkin Park
38. Vitamin D by Datsik
37. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
36. Leaving Atlanta by Gentleman Jesse
35. A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits
34. Dead Sara by Dead Sara
33. The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends by The Flaming Lips
32. Anxiety by Ladyhawke
31. Shakedown by Hacienda
30. Local Business by Titus Andronicus
29. Researching the Blues by Red Kross
28. Slaughterhouse by Ty Segall Band
27. Silver Age by Bob Mould
26. Apocryphon by The Sword
25. Twins by Ty Segall
24. Shrines by Purity Ring
23. VaVa Voom by Bassnectar
22. Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City by Kendrick Lamar
21. Zoo by Ceremony
20. On the Impossible Past by The Menzingers
19. I Bet on Sky by Dinosaur Jr.
18. The Idler Wheel... by Fiona Apple
17. The 2nd Law by Muse
16. Blunderbuss by Jack White
15. Neck of the Woods by Silversun Pickups
14. Attack on Memory by Cloud Nothings
13. Ugly by Screaming Females
12. Wrecking Ball by Bruce Springsteen
11. Locked Down by Dr. John
10. Not Your Kind of People by Garbage
9. The Sheepdogs by The Sheepdogs
8. ĦUno! by Green Day
7. Master of My Make-Believe by Santigold
6. Sounds From Nowheresville by The Ting Tings
5. Synthetica by Metric
4. Celebration Rock by Japandroids
3. Blak and Blu by Gary Clark Jr.
2. Red by Taylor Swift
1. Be The Void by Dr. Dog
2013: #<3
45. "Prism" by Katy Perry
44. "Regions Of Light and Sound Of God" by Jim James
43. "Magna Carta ... Holy Grail" by Jay-Z
42. "Mosquito" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
41. "The Wack Album" by The Lonely Island
40. "Sleeper" by Ty Segall
39. "A Color Map Of The Sun" by Pretty Lights
38. "Old" by Danny Brown
37. "Comedown Machine" by The Strokes
36. "B.O.A.T.S. II-MeTime" by 2 Chainz
35. "Run The Jewels" by Killer Mike and El-P
34. "Miracle Mile" by STRFKR
33. "Bankrupt!" by Phoenix
32. "Major Arcana" by Speedy Ortiz
31. "Save Rock And Roll" by Fall Out Boy
30. "Awayland" by Villagers
29. "The Terror" by The Flaming Lips
28. "Nomad" by Bombino
27. "Head In The Dirt" by Hanni El Khatib
26. "In Rolling Waves" by The Naked and Famous
25. "Hesitation Marks" by Nine Inch Nails
24. "Days Are Gone" by Haim
23. "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" by Franz Ferdinand
22. "The Next Day" by David Bowie
21. "Sunbather" by Deafheaven
20. "Beyonce" by Beyonce
19. "Sleigh Ride" by Fuzz
18. "Sound City: Reel To Reel OST" by Dave Grohl
17. "The Greatest Generation" by The Wonder Years
16. "Shaking The Habitual" by The Knife
15. "Pure Heroine" by Lorde
14. "Heartthrob" by Tegan and Sara
13. "13" by Black Sabbath
12. "The Bones Of What You Believe" by CHVRCHES
11. "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire
10. "The 20/20 Experience" by Justin Timberlake
9. "Common Courtesy" by A Day To Remember
8. "Random Access Memories" by Daft Punk
7. "Amok" by Atoms For Peace
6. "Paramore" by Paramore
5. "B-Room" by Dr. Dog
4. "...Like Clockwork" by Queens Of The Stone Age
3. "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" by Eminem
2. "Yeezus" by Kanye West
1. "Modern Vampires Of The City" by Vampire Weekend
2014: You just saw all this. Taylor is Queen B now.
50. Do It Again by Royskopp and Robyn
49. Seeds by TV On The Radio
48. Strange Desire by Bleachers
47. A Better Tomorrow by Wu-Tang Clan
46. Unraveling by We Were Promised Jetpacks
45. New Crown by Wolfmother
44. The Satanist by Behemoth
43. Once More 'Round The Sun by Mastodon
42. 48:13 by Kasabian
41. I Never Learn by Lykke Li
40. Voices by Phantogram
39. Honor Is All We Know by Rancid
38. Morning Phase by Beck
37. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
36. Heartstrings by Leighton Meester
35. Shattered by Reigning Sound
34. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
33. The Both by The Both
32. Bazaar by Wampire
31. Wasted Years by Off!
30. Manipulator by Ty Segall
29. Ghost Stories by Coldplay
28. G I R L by Pharrell Williams
27. The Outsiders by Eric Church
26. Rips by Ex Hex
25. Hesitant Alien by Gerard Way
24. Oxymoron by Schoolboy Q
23. The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets by Marmozets
22. Cadillactica by Big K.R.I.T.
21. After The Disco by Broken Bells
20. Turn Blue by The Black Keys
19. My Everything by Ariana Grande
18. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
17. Little Machines by Lights
16. Education, Education, Education And War by Kaiser Chiefs
15. Mastermind by Rick Ross
14. Songs Of Innocence by U2
13. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
12. Royal Blood by Royal Blood
11. Sheezus by Lily Allen
10. About Last Night by Sleeper Agent
9. Commonwealth by Sloan
8. The Physical World by Death From Above 1979
7. Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters
6. My Krazy Life by YG
5. Everything Will Be Alright In The End by Weezer
4. Lazaretto by Jack White
3. RTJ2 by Run The Jewels
2. They Want My Soul by Spoon
1. 1989 by Taylor Swift
O!! Glad you came back to post your HISTORY. I love reading the various changes to your countdown over the years, in both taste and style of countdowns. Though i'll say, though there are some things you like more/like less which is common, your taste for the most part has remained quite consistent. If I could just pick one favourite from your many year-ends, it would be the Walk Hard soundtrack!! I am so dumb for not charting that on my list, as I have played that thing over the years way more than probably most of the albums I ranked in 2007. Oh well! You were very smart to chart it.
Once again, amazing year-endO! From all of us at ATRL, me, Joe "ILL CHECK" Burns, Wendell, Corporate Kane, we'd like to say thank you for making your list and we hope to see you again later this year for the next edition!
Meteora is one of my favorite albums of all time
A Little More Personal! I still like that album, and of course "I Am Me", good memories with Ashlee
Robyn and deadmau5 in 2010 so many good albums!
I'm liking the former MCR singer's solo song. It's catchy and fun. I want to hear Q's album. I enjoy Man of the Year, Studio ,and Collard Green. I want to see that edited version of Man of the year to see how bad it is. Well, glad you like AM now. Big K.R.I.T.'s album is another one I want to check out, liked him from 2011. I'm listening to Broken Bells' Perfect World and it's so amazing and kinda catchy. The sound is the kind I like to get lost into.
TV: I don't want TV anymore. I either watch videos or go watch on Netfix. I did like Parks And Recreation, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Archer, and South Park. Silicon Valley is something I want to watch. I also want to watch Game Of Thrones and damn at your #1.
Got to check The Black Key's album. I'm graceful that I get U2's album for free on iTunes, but I didn't know about until my brother told me about it. I still need to hear it. People like Royal Blood so I will check out their album. Figure It Out is an awesome song. I want to play Super Smash Bros. I'm remember playing on the N64 as a child with my friends and cousins. Foo! Weezer! Spoon and Jack! Gotta hear the Run the Jewels album. It's on in a lot of Best ofs. Tay #1? You also have Ariana on here. Good for you.
Like that your history of your Best of. Very interesting to see all the albums you liked throughout the year like albums from Linkin Park, 50 Cent, Game, Coldplay, Korn, JT, and much more. It's nice that you guys keep coming back for the Best of event.