As in the past, I've compiled my year-end lists of favorite albums across a spectrum of genres. I've also noticed, yet again, how difficult it can be to categorize some artists. I'm sure that readers might quibble with some of my choices and decisions in that regard. Where does one draw the line, exactly, between country and pop, between pop and rock, or between, rock, hard rock, and heavy metal? And what does "alternative" comprise anymore? I have tended to view the latter category as a "catch-all" for music ambiguous enough to straddle two or more of the other categories. Consequently, the albums included in my "alternative" list cover a rather diverse range of actual styles and sounds.
Well, I should say, before I go any further, that my favorite new release of 2014 was my fifth baby grand, Donovan Richmond Stuckwisch, who made his appearance just last week (22 December). And the sixth baby grand is already in production, due to be released in the spring of 2015; no doubt, he or she will be next year's top winner. Kudos to all my Stuckwisches and Wirgaus in Texas!
As far as all the runners up are concerned, eating Donovan's dust, to be sure, but making a good showing nonetheless, the results are compiled below. By the nature of the beast, these are entirely subjective assessments, essentially identifying my personal favorites, which amounts to what I like, what I have enjoyed listening to and found entertaining. In some cases, it may be a profound or thought-provoking lyric that caught my attention, in others a particular groove or sound. Whatever the factors may be, many of which may elude even me, the albums included in the 2014 Grampies have found their way into my life over the past twelve months, and have managed to make me smile. If there are surprises of one sort or another, well, perhaps that will make you smile, too.
The initial list indicates my 40 favorite albums across all of my categories or genres: country, pop, rock, hard rock & heavy metal, "alternative ambiguities," and guitarists. The subsequent lists, for each of these categories, indicate my 30 favorite albums from within the genre in question. I've listed them more or less in order of my preference, although the relative position of many entries could easily be adjusted from week to week, depending on my musical mood of the moment.
By way of final observation, I've been disappointed by some otherwise enjoyable albums that were basically ruined for me by the use of profanity, vulgarity, or even outright blasphemy, which I will not wittingly tolerate. A "colorful expletive" here and there I can live with, although I would prefer to do without it. But gratuitous cursing is both pointless and wrong. There were at least a few albums that were disqualified from my consideration on account of such language, and it's a shame. I also have no use for the provocative innuendo and pervasive sleaziness of so much of what passes for "pop" music these days, so I've deliberately avoided and excluded a lot of the most popular albums in that category. Any hints of that sort of thing that have slipped into my lists are either an oversight or a compromise for the sake of some other mitigating factors. On that note, without any further ado:
D. Rick’s 2014 Album Top 40
1. Slash - World on Fire
2. Gus G - I Am the Fire
3. Better Than Ezra - All Together Now
4. Night Ranger - High Road
5. Tim McGraw - Sundown Heaven Town
6. Phillip Phillips - Behind the Light
7. Augustana - Life Imitating Life
8. American Authors - Oh, What a Life
9. The Fray - Helios
10. Joe Bonamassa - Different Shades of Blue
11. Conquering Dystopia - Conquering Dystopia
12. Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun
13. Tesla - Simplicity
14. Gotthard - Bang!
15. Amaranthe - Massive Addictive
16. Kenny Chesney - The Big Revival
17. Colbie Caillat - Gypsy Heart
18. John 5 - Careful with that Axe
19. Uriah Heep - Outsider
20. OneRepublic - Native
21. Mr. Big - . . . The Stories We Could Tell
22. Angels or Kings - Kings of Nowhere
23. James Durbin - Celebrate
24. Miranda Lambert - Platinum
25. Chase Rice - Ignite the Night
26. Train - Bulletproof Picasso
27. Unisonic - Light of Dawn
28. Weird Al Yankovic - Mandatory Fun
29. Marty Friedman - Inferno
30. Brad Paisley - Moonshine in the Trunk
31. U2 - Songs of Innocence
32. DragonForce - Maximum Overload
33. Red Zone Rider - Red Zone Rider
34. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Hypnotic Eye
35. Blake Shelton - Bringing Back the Sunshine
36. Freedom Call - Beyond
37. Blackhawk - Brothers of the Southland
38. Primal Fear - Delivering the Black
39. Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie
40. The Black Keys - Turn Blue
Country
1. Tim McGraw - Sundown Heaven Town
2. Kenny Chesney - The Big Revival
3. Miranda Lambert - Platinum
4. Chase Rice - Ignite the Night
5. Blake Shelton - Bringing Back the Sunshine
6. Blackhawk - Brothers of the Southland
7. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
8. Dierks Bentley - Riser
9. Eli Young Band - 10,000 Towns
10. The Secret Sisters - Put Your Needle Down
11. Eric Church - The Outsiders
12. Ronnie Dunn - Peace, Love, and Country Music
13. Rascal Flatts - Rewind
14. Jo Dee Messina - Me
15. Joshua Scott Jones - The Healing
16. Sara Evans - Slow Me Down
17. Lady Antebellum - 747
18. Big & Rich - Gravity
19. Hunter Hayes - Storyline
20. David Nail - I’m a Fire
21. Little Big Town - Pain Killer
22. Jennifer Nettles - That Girl
23. Lucy Hale - Road Between
24. Brantley Gilbert - Just as I Am
25. Lee Brice - I Don’t Dance
26. Cole Swindell - Cole Swindell
27. Dustin Lynch - Where It’s At
28. Jason Aldean - Old Boots, New Dirt
29. Josh Thompson - Turn It Up
30. Garth Brooks - Man Against Machine
Pop
1. Phillip Phillips - Behind the Light
2. Augustana - Life Imitating Life
3. Colbie Caillat - Gypsy Heart
4. OneRepublic - Native
5. James Durbin - Celebrate
6. Train - Bulletproof Picasso
7. Weird Al Yankovic - Mandatory Fun
8. Caleb Johnson - Testify
9. Christina Perri - head or heart
10. Jason Mraz - Yes!
11. Ed Sheeran - x
12. Taylor Swift - 1989
13. The Script - No Sound Without Silence
14. Ingrid Michaelson - Lights Out
15. Sarah McLachlan - Shine On
16. The Belle Brigade - Just Because
17. One Direction - Four
18. Passenger - Whispers
19. Nina Persson - Animal Heart
20. Lake Street Dive - Bad Self Portraits
21. Drake Bell - Ready Steady Go!
22. Andy Grammer - Magazines or Novels
23. Bob Seger - Ride Out
24. Imelda May - Tribal
25. Sam Hunt - Montevallo
26. Neon Trees - Pop Psychology
27. She & Him - Classics
28. Danny Gokey - Hope in Front of Me
29. Jackson Browne - Standing in the Breach
30. You + Me - rose ave.
Rock
1. Night Ranger - High Road
2. Tesla - Simplicity
3. Gotthard - Bang!
4. Uriah Heep - Outsider
5. Angels or Kings - Kings of Nowhere
6. Red Zone Rider - Red Zone Rider
7. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Hypnotic Eye
8. Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie
9. California Breed - California Breed
10. House of Lords - Precious Metal
11. Black Stone Cherry - Magic Mountain
12. Ten - Albion
13. Harem Scarem - Thirteen
14. Sunstrike - Rock Your World
15. Nazareth - Rock ‘n’ Roll Telephone
16. H.E.A.T - Tearing Down the Walls
17. Free Spirit - All the Shades of Darkened Light
18. Framing Hanley - The Sum of Who We Are
19. Royal Bliss - Chasing the Sun
20. Charm City Devils - Battles
21. Sixx:A.M. - Modern Vintage
22. Work of Art - Framework
23. The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt
24. Brother Firetribe - Diamond in the Firepit
25. The Empty Hearts - The Empty Hearts
26. Whiskey Myers - Early Morning Shakes
27. The Strypes - Snapshot
28. Grand Design - Thrill of the Night
29. Threshold - For the Journey
30. KXM - KXM
Hard Rock & Heavy Metal
1. Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun
2. Amaranthe - Massive Addictive
3. Mr. Big - . . . The Stories We Could Tell
4. Unisonic - Light of Dawn
5. DragonForce - Maximum Overload
6. Freedom Call - Beyond
7. Primal Fear - Delivering the Black
8. Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls
9. Riot V - Unleash the Fire
10. Pretty Maids - Louder than Ever
11. Allen Lande - The Great Divide
12. Audrey Horne - Pure Heavy
13. Delain - The Human Contradiction
14. Lacuna Coil - Broken Crown Halo
15. Red Dragon Cartel - Red Dragon Cartel
16. Black Label Society - Catacombs of the Black Vatican
17. Wovenwar - Wovenwar
18. Winger - Better Days Comin’
19. Accept - Blind Rage
20. Epica - The Quantum Enigma
21. Black Veil Brides - Black Veil Brides
22. AC/DC - Rock or Bust
23. Falconer - Black Moon Rising
24. Sanctuary - The Year the Sun Died
25. Hammerfall - (r)Evolution
26. Stream of Passion - A War of Our Own
27. Striker - City of Gold
28. Xandria - Sacrificium
29. Red Circuit - Haze of Nemesis
30. FireWölfe - We Rule the Night
Ambiguous Alternatives
1. Better Than Ezra - All Together Now
2. American Authors - Oh, What a Life
3. The Fray - Helios
4. U2 - Songs of Innocence
5. The Black Keys - Turn Blue
6. Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland
7. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - 4
8. Little Hurricane - Gold Fever
9. Robert Plant - lullaby and . . . The Ceaseless Roar
10. Shades & Peters - Let the Record Spin
11. Chevelle - La Gárgola
12. Royal Blood - Royal Blood
13. Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright in the End
14. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams
15. Within Temptation - Hydra
16. Linkin Park - The Hunting Party
17. Anubis Gate - Horizons
18. Voyager - V
19. Bayside - Cult
20. Starset - Transmissions
21. Nothing More - Nothing More
22. Switchfoot - Fading West
23. Phish - Fuego
24. Evergrey - Hymns for the Broken
25. Flying Colors - Second Nature
26. NeedToBreathe - Rivers in the Wasteland
27. Ray LaMontagne - Supernova
28. While Heaven Wept - Suspended at Aphelion
29. The Madden Brothers - Greetings from California
30. Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways
Guitarists
1. Slash - World on Fire
2. Gus G - I Am the Fire
3. Joe Bonamassa - Different Shades of Blue
4. Conquering Dystopia - Conquering Dystopia
5. John 5 - Careful with that Axe
6. Marty Friedman - Inferno
7. Brad Paisley - Moonshine in the Trunk
8. Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Goin’ Home
9. Fabrizio Leo - Spectrum of My Past
10. Adrian Weiss - Easy Game
11. Animals as Leaders - The Joy of Motion
12. Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock - Bridge the Gap
13. Ace Frehley - Space Invader
14. Brian Setzer - Rockabilly Riot!
15. Bruce Bouillet - The Order of Control
16. Santana - Corazón
17. Neal Schön - So U
18. Peter Frampton - Hummingbird in a Box
19. Joanne Shaw Taylor - The Dirty Truth
20. Vandenberg’s Moonkings - Moonkings
21. Christian Muenzer - Beyond the Wall of Sleep
22. Ethan Brosh - Live the Dream
23. Jack White - Lazaretto
24. Lynch Mob - Sun Red Sun
25. Richie Kotzen - The Essential Richie Kotzen
26. Oz Noy - Twisted Blues, Vol. 2
27. Eric Johnson & Mike Stern - Eclectic
28. Eric Clapton & Friends - The Breeze (An Appreciation of JJ Cale)
29. Paul Gilbert - Stone Pushing Uphill Man
30. Eric Gales - Good For Sumthin’
No comments:
Post a Comment