Best Of

Personally, I was a little underwhelmed by 2013. The albums that I did like, I spun on repeat endlessly. But I was disappointed by major label releases from Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, and Lady Gaga. Here’s to an even better 2014! Kanye West – Yeezus Kanye has become the quintessential example of separating the artist from his music. As West’s persona became more outspoken and over-the-top in 2013, his music spoke for itself. Yeezus is a keen blend of the stripped-back, mechanical tone of 2008’s 808s & Heartbreak and the bombastic song structures of 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,…

The year 2012 was a pretty good one for music if you ask me. So good in fact, that I felt like expanding my usual top 10 into a top 15. So here it is, followed by my thoughts on a bunch of other music I heard this year. Full steam ahead!  15. The Beach Boys – That’s Why God Made The Radio This really shouldn't be on my list. This album is deeply flawed, it’s extremely cheesy, over-produced, and more than a little awkward (those Mike Love lyrics are shudder-worthy to say the least). But I can't deny it,…

 10. Europe – Bag Of Bones Swedish rock stalwarts Europe released their ninth studio album this year, and for fans of the band (myself included), it couldn’t have been better.  Their previous set Last Look At Eden was a very solid record that found the band sounding as good as they ever had.  With Bag Of Bones, however, they have stepped it up a notch and managed to produce what is possibly their best ever album.  Front man Joey Tempest still has the power in his pipes to handle every high note required here with ease, and there are plenty…

It sure did seem to me that a lot of average albums came out this year. Maybe it's the relative ease at which music can be recorded these days and the even easier way it can be released, but I often found myself thinking most band's full lengths would have been better off as four song EPs. Have we come to a point where the convenience of producing music has led to an abundance of mediocrity? Of course I only heard a fraction of the music that was released in 2012 and didn't spend any time with discs by Green…

It was the year of Prog Resurgent in some respects, with powerful albums from a pair of the genre’s current champions. Releases from big names and personal old favorites also cut a wide swath this year, albeit with mixed results. And a pair of newcomers—one truly new and one reimagined for a new age—made sterling debuts. There were both highlights and lowlights, to be sure, but all in all, 2012 was a fine year full of music worth celebrating.  The Boys Are Back In Town Award Ben Folds Five – The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind No reunion…

Sometimes radio rewards me with something I actually want to listen to. In a year where songstresses like Adele and Florence Welch are reigning supreme and the indie acts I remember debuting are now six albums deep, there was much to love. I found a handful of albums that I played to death, and while that means I neglected some indie standouts, some of the discs here are guaranteed to be my favorites for years to come. Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials Continuing her reign as one of rock’s coolest, boldest singers, Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine…

Nothing makes you feel old like a year in which you liked more reissues, retrospectives, and restarts than new music.  But frankly, 2011 felt like a year in which the market was flooded with new music that, with a few notable exceptions, didn’t live up to the promise of what came before.  That, of course, doesn’t mean there weren’t high points—it just means they were achieved by bands I was already well aware of when the year started. Best Idea That Shouldn’t Have Worked This Well (But Did) Tedeschi Trucks Band -- Revelator What to do when husband and wife…

  10. Adele -- 21 UK singer Adele released her second album in January this year, and to my delight, it bettered her stunning debut (2008’s 19) by a fair margin.  21 is an edgy and powerful statement and the quality of the material was greatly enhanced by Adele’s vocals, which boasted considerable power and a very flexible range.  “Rumour Has It,” “Turning Tables,” and “Set Fire To The Rain” are definite standouts among this stellar collection of songs.  21 has been nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2012 Grammy Awards and would be a very worthy winner indeed. …

So, for about ten years, we've been told that the Internet has fractured popular music to the extent that there would be no more "blockbuster" acts of universal appeal. That theory had to undergo revision this year with the release of Adele's 21. It dropped in January and for the rest of 2011, it stayed in the Top 10. Other artists have accomplished similar feats over the past decade (see Norah Jones or even Adele's most compared peer, the late Amy Winehouse), but Adele managed to lure hip-hop fans into her world as countless remixes of her songs hit clubs…

Is 2011 over already? Apparently so, and that means it’s time for another top ten. One thing that became immediately apparent to me after assessing this year’s music is how many of its best records are by artists who’ve been around for decades. But hey, if they’ve still got it who am I to discriminate? Here’s my top ten (in the usual descending order) followed by six more albums I liked this year and six that I didn’t as much (in no order). 10. Justice – Audio, Video, Disco The general critical consensus of Justice’s sophomore album seems to be…