The 20 Best Albums of 2014

There was more to this year than 1989 (though of course that's on here).

In no particular order. And not including the Frozen soundtrack, because (1) it came out in 2013 and (2) please, no more.

1. Taylor Swift, 1989

Big Machine

1989 was, without question, the biggest album of 2014. It sold 1.287 million copies in its first week out, making it the highest-selling album released this year and giving it the highest debut week for an album since 2002. But numbers aside, it was actually pretty good. T-Swift's first official attempt at pop was full of sugary '80s beats and choruses that refused to leave your brain no matter how many times you tried to get them out. Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, though, you know?

2. Ariana Grande, My Everything


If you still think Ariana Grande is nothing but a kid-friendly copy of Mariah Carey, then you haven't been paying attention. Sure, they both have that breathy high-register thing going on, but the comparisons end there. From the EDM-pulses of "Break Free" to the inescapable sax loop of "Problem," My Everything proved that Ariana has finally become her own woman, cat ears and all.

3. Azealia Banks, Broke With Expensive Taste

Azealia Banks/Prospect Park

After years of label drama and Twitter rants, Azealia Banks finally, finally released her debut one random Thursday afternoon, Beyoncé-style, and it turned out to be worth the wait. She'd already shared more than half the songs on it in some form or another, but you would too if you'd ever made anything even half as catchy as "212." New songs like the salsa-tinged "Gimme a Chance" and the Ariel Pink collaboration "Nude Beach a Go-Go" make it clear that Azealia has a lot more to give than just raunchy, flavor-of-the-week rap songs (which might explain why she had so much trouble getting her label to finally release BWET).

4. Miranda Lambert, Platinum


This is country music for people who don't like country music (and people who do, of course, but they don't need convincing). Plenty of pop songs could benefit from whatever magic makes the title track as catchy as it is, and "Somethin' Bad" (featuring Carrie Underwood) stands out as one of the greatest duets of 2014 in a year full of truly fabulous duets.

5. First Aid Kit, Stay Gold


The hardest thing to understand about First Aid Kit is that they're just two sisters in their early 20s and not a couple of grizzled old hippies still hoping to see a Green Party candidate elected as president. Maybe they just have old souls or something. Anyway, their folksy harmonies are positively mesmerizing, as is their ability to make old-fashioned Americana sound cool and new again.

6. Tinashe, Aquarius


Tinashe's ubiquitous hit "2 On" is only the tip of the smoky, low-key R&B iceberg. Think the Weeknd but a lady or Drake but with less bragging. Not to put too fine a point on it, but her name means "God is with us." Just saying.

7. Lana Del Rey, Ultraviolence


Lana Del Rey finally perfected her sad girl persona on Ultraviolence, which (1) contains a song literally called "Sad Girl" and (2) sounds like it was beamed in from the seediest party in Laurel Canyon circa 1969. If that's not your thing, then fine, we can't be friends, but if it is your thing, come sit by me in this hot tub that belongs to my middle-aged gentleman lover and I'll pour you a Sidecar.

8. Kelis, Food

Ninja Tune

Kelis might never escape "Milkshake," but that doesn't mean she won't keep pushing herself farther on every one of her albums. Food (which isn't actually about food even though the songs have names like "Jerk Ribs" and "Friday Fish Fry") is an intriguing mix of R&B, soul, and pop backed up by Kelis's smooth vocals. Just try getting through the wistful slow jam "Floyd" without tearing up even a little bit. It's hard, isn't it?

9. Lykke Li, I Never Learn


Do you need a good cry? Then this is the record for you. Lykke Li considers I Never Learn to be the third and final album in the trilogy she began in 2008 with Youth Novels, and it's probably good she's ending this series now because if she didn't, we'd all drown in a flood of our own tears. Unshakeable melancholy aside, I Never Learn is gorgeous from start to finish, full of soaring power ballads interspersed with a couple of upbeat pop songs that are still pretty damn sad (looking at you, "Gunshot").

10. Beyoncé, BEYONCÉ Platinum Edition


OK, fine. There's only a handful of new songs on the platinum edition, several of which are remixes. But the original came out so late in 2013 that it barely had the chance to get on any best-of lists last year, and don't even try to act like you didn't have this on repeat all winter long. Nothing warms the soul in the cold February months like Beyoncé making you feel weird about the word "cherry."

11. One Direction, Four


You might think you don't like One Direction's classic rock-inflected arena pop, but then you picture Harry/Louis/Liam/Zayn/Niall singing any of their lovelorn lyrics to you, personally, and all of your resolve crumbles. Where is music? Who is a chorus? NB: "Girl Almighty" is the best Paul Simon song released in 2014.

12. Ex Hex, Rips


Mary Timony, late of Wild Flag and earlier of Helium and Autoclave, is apparently incapable of being in bad bands, so right off the bat, you know Ex Hex is going to be good. But the best part about Rips (besides it being the greatest rock record of the year) is that it doesn't even sound like Ex Hex tried very hard to make it. This is not to say that it's bad or sloppy, but more that it comes across like it burst out of their heads fully formed and ready to shred. And it does shred. It is called Rips, after all.

13. Jessie Ware, Tough Love


"Say You Love Me." My god, "Say You Love Me." Listen to it 100 times in a row until you're nothing but a quivering pile of tears and goo. Then repeat the process with the rest of Tough Love and ask yourself why Jessie Ware isn't the most famous person in the entire world yet.

14. Various Artists, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1


As "curator" for this album, Lorde got a bunch of her famous friends — including Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Diplo, Chvrches, and Grace Jones — to help her write songs about Katniss. Her own "Yellow Flicker Beat" was one of the best songs of the year, while Charli XCX contributed an uncharacteristically low-key ballad called "Kingdom." Moral of the story: Hire Lorde to do every movie soundtrack from now until forever.

15. Angel Olsen, Burn Your Fire for No Witness


Burn Your Fire for No Witness begins with just Angel and her guitar, which sets the tone for a remarkably intimate (cheesy but true) folk-rock album that's really hard to shake. It's simple, yes, but it's so, so pretty. Even when she adds extra instrumentation — drums, oh my! — the focus stays on her warbly, lovely voice.

16. Dolly Parton, Blue Smoke

Dolly Records/Sony

Dolly can do no wrong. The end.

17. Jenny Lewis, The Voyager

Warner Bros.

BRB, going to get "I'm just another lady without a baby" tattooed on me. But seriously, no other 2014 record came as close as this one did to nailing the anxieties every woman feels about getting older. If it wasn't clear before that Jenny Lewis is a national treasure, The Voyager really drove it home.

18. FKA twigs, LP1

Young Turks

Before she got famous in the latter half of the year for dating one Mr. Robert Pattinson, FKA twigs (aka Tahliah Debrett Barnett) was better known for her minimalist R&B, impressive voguing abilities, and visually arresting music videos. LP1 might be an acquired taste for people used to the overstimulation of top 40 radio, but there's no denying that Barnett's voice is gorgeous. This is also a great record to have sex to, if you're looking for one.

19. Perfume Genius, Too Bright


Mike Hadreas has the voice of an angel, and that's all there is to it. I don't have anything else to say about Too Bright except that I'm not allowed to play it in my apartment anymore because I love it so much that my boyfriend is getting jealous.

20. St. Vincent, St. Vincent

Loma Vista

All that time Annie Clark spent hanging out with David Byrne last year obviously rubbed off on her, because St. Vincent is her weirdest, most interesting record to date, full of bloops and beeps and weird sounds that somehow don't overshadow her excellent voice. Also, she shreds. A lot. Eat your heart out, Eddie Van Halen.

Follow Eliza on Twitter.

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