From Chad Liffmann:
1) AM – Arctic Monkeys
2) Random Access Memories – Daft Punk
3) Modern Vampires of the City – Vampire Weekend
4) Warp & Weft – Laura Veirs
5) Pure Heroine – Lorde
6) Trouble Will Find Me – The National
7) New – Paul McCartney
8) Once I Was An Eagle – Laura Marling
9) The Bones of What You Believe – Chvrches
10) Bankrupt! – Phoenix
From Kara Murphy:
This wasn’t the strongest year for music, overall. Needless to say, there were definitely some surprises – especially in the form of newcomers fronted by women. Here are ten albums that had the greatest impact on me, with a gratuitous description of the top five.
MS MR – Secondhand Rapture
Lizzy Plapinger is a darker, modern-day Beth Orton.
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
When “Get Lucky,” featuring Pharrell, is arguably the weakest track on an album, you know there’s a lot of depth to uncover. Five years in the making, this album’s richness and high-fidelity production makes as strong argument as one of its best statement songs: “Give Life Back to Music.”
CHVRCHES – The Bones of What You Believe
Do believe the hype: this is definitely one of the best debut albums of the year, if not the past few, from the Scottish electropop trio.
Junip – Junip
It’s small wonder Ben Stiller asked Junip’s frontman, José González, to score the soundtrack to his film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” – a true-life tale of a dreamer-turned-adventurer. González’s delivery is tranquil, at times, but his lyrical content and backing band bring a sense of urgency and passion to themes revolving around redemption.
Local Natives – Hummingbird
The departure of Andy Hamm was a tough, unexpected blow. Yet the group carried on as a foursome, experimented with their sound in a no-holds-barred fashion, and avoided a sophomore slump.
The Rest:
Kanye West – Yeezus
Moshe Kasher – Live in Oakland
Lorde – Pure Heroine
Deltron 3030 – Event II
Kate Nash – Girl Talk
See Page 4 for OJ Patterson and Michelle Viray
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