Most of the time when you get these lists, there’s just masses of text to deal with. Intros that last for months, explanations of how Publication X came to this result. Nobody bloody reads them. So forget all that – here’s 40 great albums of 2014 in the order we decided they’d go. The ones nearer the top are a bit better than those below them. You know how these things work.
(If you do want ‘more’ on these artists and albums, click the names/titles and you’ll magically transport yourself to a corresponding review. Wow! The Internet! There are also further words on the top 20 in issue 100 of Clash magazine.)
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1 FKA twigs – ‘LP1’ (Young Turks, pictured)
2 Flying Lotus – ‘You’re Dead!' (Warp)
3 Young Fathers – ‘Dead’ (Big Dada)
4 The Bug – ‘Angels And Devils’ (Ninja Tune)
5 Run The Jewels – ‘Run The Jewels 2’ (Mass Appeal)
6 St Vincent – ‘St Vincent’ (Loma Vista / Republic)
7 Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – ‘Piñata’ (Madlib Invazion)
8 Aphex Twin – ‘Syro’ (Warp)
9 Metronomy – ‘Love Letters’ (Because)
10 East India Youth – ‘Total Strife Forever’ (Stolen)
11 Ben Frost – ‘A U R O R A’ (Mute)
12 Scott Walker + Sunn O))) – ‘Soused’ (4AD)
13 Hozier – ‘Hozier’ (Island)
14 Jungle – ‘Jungle’ (XL)
15 Caribou – ‘Our Love’ (City Slang)
16 SOHN – ‘Tremors’ (4AD)
17 Sharon Van Etten – ‘Are We There’ (Jagjaguwar)
18 BadBadNotGood – ‘III’ (Innovative Leisure)
19 Chet Faker – ‘Built On Glass’ (Future Classic)
20 clipping. – ‘CLPPNG’ (Sub Pop)
21 LV and Josh Idehen – ‘Islands’ (Keysound)
22 Ought – ‘More Than Any Other Day’ (Constellation)
23 Swans – ‘To Be Kind’ (Mute)
24 Jack White – ‘Lazaretto’ (Third Man / XL)
25 tUnE-yArDs – ‘Nikki Nack’ (4AD)
26 Wiley – ‘Snakes And Ladders’ (Big Dada)
27 Grouper – ‘Ruins’ (Kranky)
28 Robert Plant – ‘Lullaby And… The Ceaseless Roar’ (Nonesuch)
29 First Aid Kit – ‘Stay Gold’ (Columbia)
30 Shellac – ‘Dude Incredible’ (Touch And Go)
31 DELS – ‘Petals Have Fallen’ (Big Dada)
32 Temples – ‘Sun Structures’ (Heavenly)
33 Liars – ‘Mess’ (Mute)
34 YG – ‘My Krazy Life’ (Def Jam, no review)
35 Kiasmos – ‘Kiasmos’ (Erased Tapes)
36 Mogwai – ‘Rave Tapes’ (Rock Action)
37 The Phantom Band – ‘Strange Friend’ (Chemikal Underground)
38 Shabazz Palaces – ‘Lese Majesty’ (Sub Pop)
39 Lana Del Rey – ‘Ultraviolence’ (Polydor)
40 Wild Beasts – ‘Present Tense’ (Domino)
If lists are your thing, follow Clash’s top 100 albums of our lifetime – that’s the last 10 years – here.
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