Year-End Lists

Gorilla vs. Bear: 35 Favorite Albums of 2014

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Lese Majesty
   Shabazz Palaces
2. Ruins
   Grouper
3. Pom Pom
   Ariel Pink
4. Picture You Staring
   TOPS
5. Rival Dealer
   Burial
6. Doss + remixes
   Doss
7. L’amour/Romantic Times
   Lewis
8. Piñata
   Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
9. Loom
   Fear of Men
10. Ultraviolence
    Lana Del Rey
11. Faith In Strangers
    Andy Stott
12. You’re Dead!
    Flying Lotus
13. Sketches from an Island
    Mark Barrott
14. Yumi Zouma
    Yumi Zouma
15. Music for the Uninvited
    Leon Vynehall
16. Are We There
    Sharon Van Etten
17. For Seven Nights This Island Is Ours
    Ana Caprix
18. Burn Your Fire For No Witness
    Angel Olsen
19. Friend of Mine
    DJ Dodger Stadium
20. Mr Noah
    Panda Bear
21. Drown Me Up
    Recycle Culture
22. Tough Love
    Jessie Ware
23. Rarities & Unreleased
    Johnny Jewel
24. Aquarius
    Tinashe
25. Careers
    Beverly
26. Under the Skin
    Mica Levi
27. Alvvays
    Alvvays
28. Sales
    SALES
29. Cassette
    Viet Cong
30. Lost in the Dream
    The War on Drugs
31. Favors
    Vesuvio Solo
32. Oxymoron
    Schoolboy Q
33. Mr Twin Sister
    Mr Twin Sister
34. Second Comin’
    Korallreven
35. Adorn
    You’ll Never Get to Heaven

Stereogum: 50 Best Albums of 2014

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Run the Jewels 2
   Run the Jewels
2. Lost in the Dream
   The War on Drugs
3. Benji
   Sun Kil Moon
4. Shriek
   Wye Oak
5. Burn Your Fire For No Witness
   Angel Olsen
6. Deep Fantasy
   White Lung
7. Are We There
   Sharon Van Etten
8. Nux Vomica
   Nux Vomica
9. LP1
   FKA twigs
10. After the End
    Merchandise
11. Clearing the Path to Ascend
    YOB
12. Ultraviolence
    Lana Del Rey
13. To Be Kind
    Swans
14. Transgender Dysphoria Blues
    Against Me!
15. My Krazy Life
    YG
16. The Future’s Void
    EMA
17. The Voyager
    Jenny Lewis
18. The Outsiders
    Eric Church
19. Atlas
    Real Estate
20. HEAL
    Strand of Oaks
21. Tha Tour Part 1
    Rich Gang
22. 1989
    Taylor Swift
23. Too Bright
    Perfume Genius
24. Teenage Retirement
    Chumped
25. As The Stars
    Woods of Desolation
26. Tough Love
    Jessie Ware
27. Here and Nowhere Else
    Cloud Nothings
28. Glass Boys
    Fucked Up
29. Pom Pom
    Ariel Pink
30. It’s Album Time
    Todd Terje
31. Manipulator
    Ty Segall
32. Singles
    Future Islands
33. Syro
    Aphex Twin
34. “What Is This Heart?”
    How to Dress Well
35. You’re Dead!
    Flying Lotus
36. Tomorrow’s Hits
    The Men
37. Bury Me at Makeout Creek
    Mitski
38. Ecdysis
    Horrendous
39. Our Love
    Caribou
40. Aquarius
    Tinashe
41. Hell Can Wait
    Vince Staples
42. Melana Chasmata
    Triptykon
43. Hoodwink’d
    Lvl Up
44. Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
    Sturgill Simpson
45. Keep Doing What You’re Doing
    You Blew It!
46. They Want My Soul
    Spoon
47. Heathen
    Thou
48. Picture You Staring
    TOPS
49. St. Vincent
    St. Vincent
50. Sunbathing Animal
    Parquet Courts

Cahiers du Cinéma: Top Ten Films of 2014

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Li’l Quinquin
   Bruno Dumont
2. Goodbye to Language
   Jean-Luc Godard
3. Under the Skin
   Jonathan Glazer
4. Maps to the Stars
   David Cronenberg
5. The Wind Rises
   Hayao Miyazaki
6. Nymphomaniac
   Lars von Trier
7. Mommy
   Xavier Dolan
8. Love is Strange
   Ira Sachs
9. Paradise
   Alain Cavalier
10. Our Sunhi
    Hong Sang-soo

Paste Magazine: 50 Best Albums of 2014

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Lost in the Dream
   The War on Drugs
2. St. Vincent
   St. Vincent
3. Run the Jewels 2
   Run the Jewels
4. Black Moon Spell
   King Tuff
5. Alvvays
   Alvvays
6. Sylvan Esso
   Sylvan Esso
7. Morning Phase
   Beck
8. Are We There
   Sharon Van Etten
9. Stay Gold
   First Aid Kit
10. The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas
    Courtney Barnett
11. Burn Your Fire For No Witness
    Angel Olsen
12. They Want My Soul
    Spoon
13. Atlas
    Real Estate
14. Manipulator
    Ty Segall
15. Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
    Sturgill Simpson
16. The Voyager
    Jenny Lewis
17. Brill Bruisers
    The New Pornographers
18. Salad Days
    Mac DeMarco
19. Worship the Sun
    Allah-Lahs
20. Too Bright
    Perfume Genius
21. Half the City
    St. Paul & The Broken Bones
22. You’re Dead!
    Flying Lotus
23. Benji
    Sun Kil Moon
24. I Never Learn
    Lykke Li
25. Singles
    Future Islands
26. Our Love
    Caribou
27. Small Town Heroes
    Hurray for the Riff Raff
28. Divisionary
    Ages and Ages
29. Give the People What They Want
    Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
30. Voices
    Phantogram
31. Sukierae
    Tweedy
32. …And Star Power
    Foxygen
33. Under Color of Official Right
    Protomartyr
34. Ryan Adams
    Ryan Adams
35. LP1
    FKA twigs
36. English Oceans
    Drive-By Truckers
37. Shattered
    Reigning Sound
38. Lese Majesty
    Shabazz Palaces
39. HEAL
    Strand of Oaks
40. Lazaretto
    Jack White
41. The Lights from the Chemical Plant
    Robert Ellis
42. Too True
    Dum Dum Girls
43. Typical System
    Total Control
44. Sun Structures
    Temples
45. My Favourite Faded Fantasy
    Damien Rice
46. The River & the Thread
    Rosanne Cash
47. Here and Nowhere Else
    Cloud Nothings
48. Single Mothers
    Justin Townes Earle
49. Rooms of the House
    La Dispute
50. Trouble
    Hospitality

Rolling Stone: 50 Best Albums of 2014

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Songs of Innocence
   U2
2. High Hopes
   Bruce Springsteen
3. Turn Blue
   The Black Keys
4. St. Vincent
   St. Vincent
5. Platinum
   Miranda Lambert
6. SUCKER
   Charli XCX
7. Ultraviolence
   Lana Del Rey
8. Run the Jewels 2
   Run the Jewels
9. Salad Days
   Mac DeMarco
10. 1989
    Taylor Swift
11. You’re Dead!
    Flying Lotus
12. Sonic Highways
    Foo Fighters
13. More Than Any Other Day
    Ought
14. Everything Will Be Alright In the End
    Weezer
15. Transgender Dysphoria Blues
    Against Me!
16. LP1
    FKA twigs
17. The Voyager
    Jenny Lewis
18. Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
    Sturgill Simpson
19. Standing In the Breach
    Jackson Browne
20. Are We There
    Sharon Van Etten
21. The Outsiders
    Eric Church
22. Recess
    Skrillex
23. Lost in the Dream
    The War on Drugs
24. Popular Problems
    Leonard Cohen
25. My Krazy Life
    YG
26. Hypnotic Eye
    Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
27. This Is All Yours
    alt-J
28. Sunbathing Animal
    Parquet Courts
29. They Want My Soul
    Spoon
30. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes
    Thom Yorke
31. Black Portland
    Young Thug & Bloody Jay
32. Everyday Robots
    Damon Albarn
33. Midnight Sun
    The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
34. Art Official Age
    Prince
35. Strut
    Lenny Kravitz
36. Alvvays
    Alvvays
37. Benjamin Booker
    Benjamin Booker
38. Small Town Heroes
    Hurray for the Riff Raff
39. Our Love
    Caribou
40. Lazaretto
    Jack White
41. Syro
    Aphex Twin
42. Too Bright
    Perfume Genius
43. Honest
    Future
44. El Pintor
    Interpol
45. The Future’s Void
    EMA
46. Sukierae
    Tweedy
47. Gary Clark Jr. Live
    Gary Clark Jr.
48. Ghost Stories
    Coldplay
49. Emmaar
    Tinariwen
50. Clearing the Path to Ascend
    YOB

Sight & Sound Poll: Top 20 Films of 2014 (a poll of 112 critics, published by Sight & Sound Magazine)

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

1. Boyhood
   Richard Linklater
2. Goodbye to Language
   Jean-Luc Godard
3. Leviathan
   Andrey Zvyagintsev
3. Horse Money
   Pedro Costa
5. Under the Skin
   Jonathan Glazer
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel
   Wes Anderson
7. Winter Sleep
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
8. The Tribe
   Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
9. Ida
   Pawel Pawlikowski
9. Jauja
   Lisandro Alonso
11. Mr. Turner
    Mike Leigh
11. National Gallery
    Frederick Wiseman
11. The Wolf of Wall Street
    Martin Scorsese
11. Whiplash
    Damien Chazelle
15. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
16. Birdman
    Alejandro G. Iñárritu
16. Two Days, One Night
    Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
18. Citizenfour
    Laura Poitras
18. The Look of Silence
    Joshua Oppenheimer
18. The Wind Rises
    Hayao Miyazaki

Chicago Public Library: Top Ten Books of 2014

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

• All the Light We Cannot See
  Anthony Doerr
• Bad Feminist
  Roxane Gay
• Big Little Lies
  Liane Moriarty
• A Brief History of Seven Killings
  Marlon James
• Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?
  Roz Chast
• Euphoria
  Lily King
• On Immunity

  An Inoculation
  Eula Biss
• Redeployment
  Phil Klay
• The Sixth Extinction

  An Unnatural History
  Elizabeth Kolbert
• Station Eleven
  Emily St. John Mandel

Publishers Weekly: Best Poetry Books of 2014

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

• They Don't Kill You Because They're Hungry, They Kill You Because They're Full
  Mark Bibbins
• Faithful and Virtuous Night
  Louise Glück
• If the Tabloids Are True What Are You?

  Poems and Artwork
  Matthea Harvey
• Citizen

  An American Lyric
  Claudia Rankine

Publishers Weekly: 10 Best Books of 2014

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

• On Immunity

  An Inoculation
  Eula Biss
• Thirteen Days in September

  The Dramatic Story of the Struggle for Peace
  Lawrence Wright
• The Corpse Exhibition

  And Other Stories of Iraq
  Hassan Blasim
• Limonov
  Emmanuel Carrère
• Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
  Elena Ferrante
• A Brief History of Seven Killings
  Marlon James
• The Empathy Exams
  Leslie Jamison
• Bark
  Lorrie Moore
• The Dog
  Joseph O'Neill
• Deep Down Dark

  The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free
  Héctor Tobar

John Waters: 10 Best Films of 2014, as published by Artforum

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

1. Maps to the Stars
   David Cronenberg
2. Charlie Victor Romeo
   Karlyn Michelson, Patrick Daniels, Robert Berger
3. The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq
   Guillaume Nicloux
4. The Smell of Us
   Larry Clark
5. Gloria
   Sebastián Lelio
6. Who Took Johnny
   David Beilinson, Michael Galinsky & Suki Hawley
7. Li’l Quinquin
   Bruno Dumont
8. Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1 and 2
   Lars von Trier
9. Violette
   Martin Provost
10. Unrelated
    Joanna Hogg
10. Archipelago
    Joanna Hogg
10. Exhibition
    Joanna Hogg