Year-End Lists

Billboard: 10 Best Albums of 2014 (as voted by Billboard staff)

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. 1989
   Taylor Swift
2. Run the Jewels 2
   Run the Jewels
3. In the Lonely Hour
   Sam Smith
4. The Voyager
   Jenny Lewis
5. X
   Ed Sheeran
6. Strange Desire
   Bleachers
7. I Never Learn
   Lykke Li
8. Syro
   Aphex Twin
9. Lost in the Dream
   The War on Drugs
10. Piñata
    Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Film Comment: 20 Best Films of 2014

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Boyhood
   Richard Linklater
2. Goodbye to Language
   Jean-Luc Godard
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
   Wes Anderson
4. Ida
   Pawel Pawlikowski
5. Under the Skin
   Jonathan Glazer
6. Stranger by the Lake
   Alain Guiraudie
7. Citizenfour
   Laura Poitras
8. Birdman
   Alejandro G. Iñárritu
9. Inherent Vice
   Paul Thomas Anderson
10. The Immigrant
    James Gray
11. Two Days, One Night
    Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
12. Only Lovers Left Alive
    Jim Jarmusch
13. Mr. Turner
    Mike Leigh
14. Force Majeure
    Ruben Östlund
15. Norte, the End of History
    Lav Diaz
16. Whiplash
    Damien Chazelle
17. Stray Dogs
    Tsai Ming-liang
18. National Gallery
    Frederick Wiseman
19. MANAKAMANA
    Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez
20. Snowpiercer
    Bong Joon-ho

Clash Magazine: Top 40 Albums of 2014

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. LP1
   FKA twigs
2. You’re Dead!
   Flying Lotus
3. Dead
   Young Fathers
4. Angels & Devils
   The Bug
5. Run the Jewels 2
   Run the Jewels
6. St. Vincent
   St. Vincent
7. Piñata
   Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
8. Syro
   Aphex Twin
9. Love Letters
   Metronomy
10. Total Strife Forever
    East India Youth
11. A U R O R A
    Ben Frost
12. Soused
    Scott Walker & Sunn O)))
13. Hozier
    Hozier
14. Jungle
    Jungle
15. Our Love
    Caribou
16. Tremors
    SOHN
17. Are We There
    Sharon Van Etten
18. III
    BADBADNOTGOOD
19. Built on Glass
    Chet Faker
20. CLPPNG
    clipping.
21. Islands
    LV & Joshua Idehen
22. More Than Any Other Day
    Ought
23. To Be Kind
    Swans
24. Lazaretto
    Jack White
25. Nikki Nack
    Tune-Yards
26. Snakes & Ladders
    Wiley
27. Ruins
    Grouper
28. lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar
    Robert Plant
29. Stay Gold
    First Aid Kit
30. Dude Incredible
    Shellac
31. Petals Have Fallen
    DELS
32. Sun Structures
    Temples
33. Mess
    Liars
34. My Krazy Life
    YG
35. Kiasmos
    Kiasmos
36. Rave tapes
    Mogwai
37. Strange Friend
    The Phantom Band
38. Lese Majesty
    Shabazz Palaces
39. Ultraviolence
    Lana Del Rey
40. Present Tense
    Wild Beasts

Powell's Books: Best Nonfiction of 2014

[see also Best Nonfiction of 2023 • Best Fiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • The 14 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 • The 18 Best Novels of 2021 • Best Fiction of 2020 • Best Nonfiction of 2020 • Best Fiction of 2019 • Best Nonfiction of 2019 • Best Fiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction of 2014]

• The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

  A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
  Jeff Hobbs
• The Empathy Exams
  Leslie Jamison
• The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness
  Rebecca Solnit
• Bad Feminist
  Roxane Gay
• My Life as a Foreign Country
  Brian Turner
• Unruly Places

  Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and Other Inscrutable Geographies
  Alastair Bonnett
• Blood Will Out

  The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade
  Walter Kirn
• On Immunity

  An Inoculation
  Eula Biss
• Words Will Break Cement

  The Passion of Pussy Riot
  Masha Gessen
• American Cocktail

  A “Colored Girl” in the World
  Anita Reynolds

David Edelstein: 19 Best Movies of 2014, as published by New York Magazine’s Vulture

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Boyhood
   Richard Linklater
2. Selma
   Ava DuVernay
3. The Babadook
   Jennifer Kent
4. Whiplash
   Damien Chazelle
5. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
   Nick Broomfield
6. Only Lovers Left Alive
   Jim Jarmusch
7. Citizenfour
   Laura Poitras
8. Mr. Turner
   Mike Leigh
9. Two Days, One Night
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
10. The Immigrant
    James Gray
11. The Overnighters
    Jesse Moss

Plus

• The Homesman
  Tommy Lee Jones
• Rosewater
  Jon Stewart
• The Hunger Games: Monckinjay – Part 1
  Francis Lawrence
• The Theory of Everything
  James Marsh
• The Imitation Game
  Morten Tyldum
• Love is Strange
  Ira Sachs
• Low Down
  Jeff Preiss
• Beyond the Hills
  Cristian Mungiu

Fact Magazine: 50 Best Albums of 2014

[see also 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Benji
   Sun Kil Moon
2. Parallel Memories
   Mr. Mitch
3. PC Music x DISown Radio
   PC Music
4. Faith In Strangers
   Andy Stott
5. Superimpositions
   Lorenzo Senni
6. My Krazy Life
   YG
7. Where We Come From
   Popcaan
8. Under the Skin
   Mica Levi
9. Super Saiyan Vol. 2
   Sicko Mobb
10. Butterfly Effect
    Shinichi Atobe
11. Ruins
    Grouper
12. Pom Pom
    Ariel Pink
13. Miseri Lares
    Valerio Tricoli
14. Tomorrow Was the Golden Age
    Bing & Ruth
15. Damsel in Distress
    Lotic
16. LP1
    FKA twigs
17. Black Portland
    Young Thug & Bloody Jay
18. Endgame
    Ital
19. Grime Album!! R&G Katie Pearl (2002 ish)
    DaVinChe
20. Angels & Devils
    The Bug
21. Wilderness of Mirrors
    Lawrence English
22. Black Light Spiral
    Untold
23. Burn Your Fire For No Witness
    Angel Olsen
24. Black Metal
    Dean Blunt
25. Dangerous Game
    Via App
26. Young Hot Ebony
    Father
27. Workshop 19
    Kassem Mosse
28. Piñata
    Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
29. Meshes of Voice
    Jenny Hval & Susanna
30. Gangsta Stripper Music 2
    Beat King
31. Music for the Uninvited
    Leon Vynehall
32. Lese Majesty
    Shabazz Palaces
33. Western Beats
    Kane West
34. Shelter
    Moiré
35. Beautiful Pimp II
    Rome Fortune
36. That’s Harakiri
    Sd Laika
37. Unfidelity
    Ekoplekz
38. Divine Ecstasy
    Supreme Cuts
39. Flourish
    The Cyclist
40. Allegra Bin 1
    Angel 1
41. Lownt God Rising
    Kit
42. HR Giger’s Studiolo
    HR Giger’s Studiolo
43. Truly Blessed
    SD
44. I Am The DMR
    Mix-O-Rap
45. w h o r e c o r e
    l s d x o x o
46. You Go Girl
    Frank & Tony
47. Friend of Mine
    DJ Dodger Stadium
48. Celestial Trax production mix for Mixmag
    Celestial Trax
49. Aquarius
    Tinashe
50. Insultes (hommage à John Cage)
    Charles Barabé

The Wire: Top 50 Albums of 2014

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Syro
   Aphex Twin
2. Nothing Important
   Richard Dawson
3. To Be Kind
   Swans
4. Soused
   Scott Walker & Sunn O)))
5. Ghettoville
   Actress
6. Divide and Exit
   Sleaford Mods
7. Lese Majesty
   Shabazz Palaces
8. Run the Jewels 2
   Run the Jewels
9. Beware The Fetish
   Kasai All Stars
10. Asiatisch
    Fatima Al Qadiri
11. Primitive and Deadly
    Earth
12. Way Out Weather
    Steve Gunn
13. Ruins
    Grouper
14. Miseri Lares
    Valerio Tricoli
15. Naldjorlak I, II & III
    Eliane Radigue
16. Hidden Tapes
    Marc Baron
17. The Abyss
    Kevin Drumm and Jason Lescalleet
18. An Air Swept Clean Of All Distance
    Rhodri Davies
19. Continuum Unbound
    Michael Pisaro
20. Place sub. v.
    AMM
21. Thumbscrew
    Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek & Tomas Fujiwara
22. Persona
    Puce Mary
23. Wait ’til Night
    Cooly G
24. Despairs Had Governed Me Too Long
    Skogen
25. Boy
    Carla Bozulich
26. Black Metal
    Dean Blunt
27. Piñata
    Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
28. Ground of Being
    Annea Lockwood
29. The Great Lakes Suite
    Wadada Leo Smith
30. Suzi Ecto
    Call Super
31. Melodies for a Savage Fix
    Steve Gunn & Mike Gangloff
32. Meshes of Voice
    Jenny Hval & Susanna
33. I’ve Been To Many Places
    Matthew Shipp
34. Chorus
    Holly Herndon
35. Chamber Works 1992-2009
    Laurence Crane
36. Freezing Opening Thawing
    Shackleton
37. Sais.
    Klaus Lang
38. Bitchin Bajas
    Bitchin Bajas
39. Something Shines
    Laetitia Sadier
40. Gold
    Drcarlsonalbion
41. The Hollow Organ
    Helm
42. Roadless Travel
    Joseph Hammer
43. Quixotism
    Oren Ambarchi
44. Quick Sparrows Over the Black Earth
    Laura Cannell
45. To Be Continued
    Howard Riley
46. In Conflict
    Owen Pallett
47. Pom Pom
    Ariel Pink
48. ma ta ta bui
    Akio Suzuki & Aki Onda
49. Bestial Burden
    Pharmakon
50. You’re Dead!
    Flying Lotus

Eric Kohn: 10 Best Films of 2014, as published by IndieWire

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012]

1. Boyhood
   Richard Linklater
2. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
   Ana Lily Amirpour
3. MANAKAMANA
   Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
   Wes Anderson
5. Leviathan
   Andrey Zvyagintsev
6. Ida
   Pawel Pawlikowski
7. Starred Up
   David Mackenzie
8. Only Lovers Left Alive
   Jim Jarmusch
9. The Double
   Richard Ayoade
10. Inherent Vice
    Paul Thomas Anderson

The A.V. Club: 20 Best Albums of 2014

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Burn Your Fire For No Witness
   Angel Olsen
2. Run the Jewels 2
   Run the Jewels
3. St. Vincent
   St. Vincent
4. Lost in the Dream
   The War on Drugs
5. Are We There
   Sharon Van Etten
6. LP1
   FKA twigs
7. Under Color of Official Right
   Protomartyr
8. Here and Nowhere Else
   Cloud Nothings
9. You’re Dead!
   Flying Lotus
10. Cilvia Demo
    Isaiah Rashad
11. HEAL
    Strand of Oaks
12. Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2
    Vince Staples
13. They Want My Soul
    Spoon
14. Morning Phase
    Beck
15. 1989
    Taylor Swift
16. Salad Days
    Mac DeMarco
17. Too Bright
    Perfume Genius
18. To Be Kind
    Swans
19. Deep Fantasy
    White Lung
20. Faith In Strangers
    Andy Stott

NPR Music: 50 Favorite Albums of 2014 (alphabetical)

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

• This Is All Yours
  alt-J
• Vengo
  Ana Tijoux
• American Middle Class
  Angaleena Presley
• Burn Your Fire For No Witness
  Angel Olsen
• Syro
  Aphex Twin
• Sibelius & Adès: Violin Concertos
  Hanna Lintu, Autustin Hadelich & Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
• Landmarks
  Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band
• Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath
  Brownout
• La Edad de la Violencia
  Ceci Bastida
• LP1
  FKA twigs
• Floating
  Fred Hersch Trio
• Piñata
  Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
• The Gloaming
  The Gloaming
• Ruins
  Grouper
• Small Town Heroes
  Hurray for the Riff Raff
• Cilvia Demo
  Isaiah Rashad
• Time’s Tales
  Jeff Ballard
• The Voyager
  Jenny Lewis
• Bailar en La Cueva
  Jorge Drexler
• Stella di Napoli
  Joyce DiDonato, Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon & Riccardo Minasi
• Workshop 19
  Kassem Mosse
• All the Things You Are
  Leon Fleisher
• Si Se Puede!: Los Lobos And Friends
  Los Lobos
• Passerby
  Luluc
• Live at the Village Vanguard
  Marc Ribot Trio
• Courting Strong
  Martha
• The London Sessions
  Mary J. Blige
• Platinum
  Miranda Lambert
• Moodymann
  Moodymann
• Tzenni
  Noura Mint Seymali
• Foundations of Burden
  Pallbearer
• Too Bright
  Perfume Genius
• Where We Come From
  Popcaan
• Janacek: Glagolitic Mass, The Eternal Gospel
  Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Choir, Lukas Vasilek & Tomáš Netopil
• The Lights from the Chemical Plant
  Robert Ellis
• lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar
  Robert Plant
• Run the Jewels 2
  Run the Jewels
• John Luther Adams: Become Ocean
  Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony Orchestra
• A Long Way To the Beginning
  Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
• They Want My Soul
  Spoon
• St. Vincent
  St. Vincent
• Racine carrée
  Stromae
• Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
  Sturgill Simpson
• Sylvan Esso
  Sylvan Esso
• Paperwork
  T.I.
• 1989
  Taylor Swift
• VII
  Teyana Taylor
• Sign Language
  Ty Dolla $ign
• Lost in the Dream
  The War on Drugs
• My Krazy Life
  YG