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The Shure Blog Team's Favorite Albums of 2014
The team shares their favorite albums and songs of the year.
January 01, 2015 |
It's been an interesting year for music. We've truly seen the rise of what I would call "party pop." We went through this period where it seemed like folk bands such as Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers were all anybody could get, but this year we saw Iggy Azalea rise to the top of charts as well as the soulful sound of Sam Smith. Overall, though, it was the EDM style of sounds from big leaguers Calvin Harris and Avicii that really led the wave of music in 2014. Not everyone loves Top 40 music, though, so I decided to ask the other members of the blog team what their favorite albums of 2014 were.
This was a tough question for me to answer myself. There were some really incredible albums released this year. Some of my favorites included Jessie Ware's Tough Love, Sylvan Esso's Sylvan Esso, the one that's making all the lists this year, Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour; and Banks' Goddess. Of the four of these stand-out albums (and I'm sure I'm forgetting some key ones that I'll beat myself up later for not including), in my opinion, there is one that really beat the rest. I listened to it non-stop. I stole posters off the street advertising the album release. I woke up ready to listen to the album and would listen to it from start to finish for several weeks. I can still listen to the album and not be tired of the songs, and that album is...
[caption id="attachment_23955" align="alignnone" width="500"]
Goddess by Banks[/caption]
Banks put out one of the best albums of 2014 without a doubt, and I know I'm not alone in saying that. Her style is unlike that of many artists these days. It's raw and honest, haunting and emotional. She's not afraid to be bold, and that's exactly what this album is. It's hard to choose a favorite track off this album, which I think speaks for itself. If you can't choose a standout favorite track from an album, that's when you know it's a good one. For the sake of this blog post, I'll go with "Brain."
This was a tough question for me to answer myself. There were some really incredible albums released this year. Some of my favorites included Jessie Ware's Tough Love, Sylvan Esso's Sylvan Esso, the one that's making all the lists this year, Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour; and Banks' Goddess. Of the four of these stand-out albums (and I'm sure I'm forgetting some key ones that I'll beat myself up later for not including), in my opinion, there is one that really beat the rest. I listened to it non-stop. I stole posters off the street advertising the album release. I woke up ready to listen to the album and would listen to it from start to finish for several weeks. I can still listen to the album and not be tired of the songs, and that album is...
[caption id="attachment_23955" align="alignnone" width="500"]
Goddess by Banks[/caption]Banks put out one of the best albums of 2014 without a doubt, and I know I'm not alone in saying that. Her style is unlike that of many artists these days. It's raw and honest, haunting and emotional. She's not afraid to be bold, and that's exactly what this album is. It's hard to choose a favorite track off this album, which I think speaks for itself. If you can't choose a standout favorite track from an album, that's when you know it's a good one. For the sake of this blog post, I'll go with "Brain."
Allison Wolcott
Lost in the Dream by The War On Drugs
Favorite Track: "Under the Pressure"
Matt Dobschuetz
The Art of Joy by Jackie Hill Perry
Favorite Track: "I Just Wanna Get There"
Cory Lorentz
HEAL by Strand Of Oaks
Favorite Track: "Goshen '97"
Mike Lohman
Once More Round the Sun by Mastodon
Favorite Track: "The Motherload" or "High Road"
Ryan Smith
St. Vincent by St. Vincent
Favorite Track: "Rattlesnake"
Brent Burdick
Yes! by Jason Mraz
Favorite Track: "Shine"
Brooke Giddens
Brooke Giddens is an Artist Marketing Specialist at Shure with a background in breakfast, the frisbee, and becoming emotionally involved with TV shows.