The best recordings of 2014, according to the UK and US media

In the weeks leading up to the New Year, several selections of the 'best albums' for 2014 are starting to appear in the UK and US media. One album clearly stands out from the crowd: The excellent Lost In The Dream by War On Drugs’, which came out at Secretly Canadian music label last March. The album, written by Adam Granduciel (the brains of the group), features in all the lists, occupying first palace in three of them (Q, Uncut and Paste), and finding itself in the top three of NME, Mojo and Stereogum.

The publications that have released their Top 50 of 2014 in England are the monthly publishers Uncut, Mojo and Q and the weekly publishers NME. In the USA the digital cultural magazine Paste, the influential music webzines Gorilla vs. Bear and Stereogum, and the monthly magazines like Rolling Stone have released their choices. As is always the case, some albums appear in every list, such as St. Vincent by St. Vincent, Run the Jewels 2 by Run The Jewels, or Syro by Aphex Twin… In short, the selections are stylistically electro, containing both expected albums and pleasant surprises alike.

NME - NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS (UK) :

1. St. Vincent - St. Vincent. 2. Mac DeMarco - Salad Days. 3. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream. 4. Aphex Twin - Syro. 5. Caribou - Our Love. 6. La Roux - Trouble in Paradise. 7. Merchandise - After the End. 8. Jamie T - Carry On The Grudge. 9. Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit. 10. Ex Hex - Rips. 11. Future Islands - Singles. 12. Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World. 13. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots. 14. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2. 15. Eagulls - Eagulls. 16. Iceage - Plowing Into the Field of Love. 17. Todd Terje - It's Album Time. 18. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down. 19. Royal Blood - Royal Blood. 20. Jack White - Lazaretto. 21. FKA Twigs - LP1. 22. Swans - To Be Kind. 23. Kasabian - 48:13. 24. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness. 25. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence. 26. Perfume Genius - Too Bright. 27. Jungle - Jungle. 28. Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business. 29. Alvvays - Alvvays. 30. Warpaint - Warpaint. 31. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There. 32. Childhood - Lacuna. 33. Wild Beasts - Present Tense. 34. Sun Kil Moon - Benji. 35. Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal. 36. Goat - Commune. 37. Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes. 38. Alt-J - This Is All Yours. 39. Protomartyr - Under Color of Official Right. 40. Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow. 41. Manic Street Preachers - Futurology. 42. Hookworms - The Hum. 43. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata. 44. Perfect Pussy - Say Yes to Love. 45. Honeyblood - Honeyblood. 46. Twin Peaks - Wild Onion. 47. Gruff Rhys - American Interior. 48. Temples - Sun Structures. 49. Interpol - El Pintor. 50. Julian Casablancas + The Voidz - Tyranny.

ROLLING STONE (USA) :

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

Q MAGAZINE (UK) :

1. The War on Drugs - Lost In the Dream. 2. Alt-J - This Is All Yours. 3. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots. 4. Manic Street Preachers - Futurology. 5. Beck - Morning Phase. 6. St. Vincent - St. Vincent. 7. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There. 8. FKA Twigs - LP1. 9. Future Islands - Singles. 10. Aphex Twin - Syro. 11. Elbow - The Take Off and Landing of Everything. 12. Interpol - El Pintor. 13. Sam Smith - In the Lonely Hour. 14. Hamilton Leithauser - Black Hours. 15. The Horrors - Luminous. 16. Royal Blood - Royal Blood. 17. Mac DeMarco - Salad Days. 18. Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love. 19. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence. 20. Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit. 21. East India Youth - Total Strife Forever. 22. Caribou - Our Love. 23. Jack White - Lazaretto. 24. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down. 25. Ed Sheeran - X. 26. Neneh Cherry - Blank Project. 27. Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business. 28. Kasabian - 48:13. 29. Jamie T - Carry On The Grudge. 30. Gruff Rhys - American Interior. 31. Mogwai - Rave Tapes. 32. The Bug - Angels and Devils. 33. Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time. 34. Wild Beasts - Present Tense. 35. Real Estate - Atlas. 36. Temples - Sun Structures. 37. Baxter Dury - It's A Pleasure. 38. Johnny Marr - Playland. 39. Ty Segall - Manipulator. 40. Grumbling Fur - Preternaturals. 41. The Black Keys - Turn Blue. 42. Robert Plant - Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar. 43. Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems. 44. U2 - Songs of Innocence. 45. Warpaint - Warpaint. 46. Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes. 47. Spoon - They Want My Soul. 48. La Roux - Trouble in Paradise. 49. Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty. 50. Jungle - Jungle.

MOJO (UK) :

1. Beck - Morning Phase. 2. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream. 3. Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit. 4. Jack White - Lazaretto. 5. St. Vincent - St. Vincent. 6. Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather. 7. Julie Byrne - Rooms with Walls and Windows. 8. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots. 9. FKA Twigs - LP1. 10. The Bug - Angels and Devils. 11. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There. 12. Caribou - Our Love. 13. Ty Segall - Manipulator. 14. Elbow - The Take Off and Landing of Everything. 15. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. 16. Wild Beasts - Present Tense. 17. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness. 18. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down. 19. Robert Plant - Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar. 20. Manic Street Preachers - Futurology. 21. Aphex Twin - Syro. 22. Future Islands - Singles. 23. Scott Walker & Sunn O))) - Soused. 24. Mirel Wagner - When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day. 25. Pharrell - G I R L. 26. Sun Kil Moon - Benji. 27. East India Youth - Total Strife Forever. 28. Real Estate - Atlas. 29. Kasai Allstars - Beware the Fetish. 30. Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems. 31. Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business. 32. Temples - Sun Structures. 33. U2 - Songs of Innocence. 34. The Black Keys - Turn Blue. 35. Nick Mulvey - First Mind. 36. Flying Lotus - You're Dead!. 37. Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens - Cold World. 38. Ian William Craig - A Turn of Breath. 39. Mac DeMarco - Salad Days. 40. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence. 41. Lee Gamble - KOCH. 42. Swans - To Be Kind 43. David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights - End Times Undone. 44. Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey - Going Back Home. 45. Neil Young - A Letter Home. 46. J Mascis - Tied to a Star. 47. Young Fathers - Dead. 48. Pixies - Indie Cindy 49. King Creosote - From Scotland With Love. 50. Dr. John - Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch.

UNCUT (UK) :

1. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream. 2. Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems. 3. Aphex Twin - Syro. 4. FKA Twigs - LP1. 5. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There. 6. Robert Plant - Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar. 7. Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers. 8. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots. 9. St. Vincent - St. Vincent. 10. Sun Kil Moon - Benji. 11. Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté - Toumani & Sidiki. 12. Caribou - Our Love. 13. Ty Segall - Manipulator. 14. Real Estate - Atlas. 15. Rosanne Cash - The River & the Thread. 16. Gruff Rhys - American Interior. 17. Lucinda Williams - Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. 18. Swans - To Be Kind. 19. Hurray For The Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes. 20. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags. 21. Earth - Primitive and Deadly. 22. Beck - Morning Phase. 23. Ariel Pink - pom pom. 24. Tweedy - Sukierae. 25. Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit. 26. Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather. 27. Ben Watt - Hendra. 28. The Black Keys - Turn Blue. 29. Jack White - Lazaretto. 30. Spoon - They Want My Soul. 31. tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack. 32. Merchandise - After the End. 33. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. 34. Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Intensity Ghost. 35. Drive-By Truckers - English Oceans. 36. La Roux - Trouble in Paradise. 37. Willie Nelson - Band of Brothers. 38. Fennesz - Bécs. 39. Future Islands - Singles. 40. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires - Dereconstructed. 41. Mark Lanegan Band - Phantom Radio. 42. Mogwai - Rave Tapes. 43. East India Youth - Total Strife Forever. 44. Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes. 45. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down. 46. Willie Watson - Folk Singer, Vol. 1. 47. Allah-Las - Worship The Sun. 48. Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business. 49. Robyn Hitchcock - The Man Upstairs. 50. Wild Beasts - Present Tense.

SPIN (USA) :

1. The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream. 2. Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal. 3. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2. 4. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager. 5. Caribou - Our Love. 6. Sun Kil Moon - Benji. 7. Future Islands - Singles. 8. Tinashe - Aquarius. 9. tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack. 10. The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers. 11. Betty Who - Take Me When You Go. 12. Spoon - They Want My Soul. 13. How to Dress Well - What Is This Heart?. 14. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues. 15. Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear. 16. Todd Terje - It's Album Time. 17. Swans - To Be Kind. 18. YG - My Krazy Life. 19. Miranda Lambert - Platinum. 20. ASTR - Varsity. 21. FKA Twigs - LP1. 22. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else. 23. Aphex Twin - Syro. 24. Protomartyr - Under Color of Official Right. 25. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata. 26. St. Vincent - St. Vincent. 27. Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden. 28. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams. 29. Flight Facilities - Down To Earth. 30. Ariel Pink - pom pom. 31. Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso. 32. Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again. 33. Andy Stott - Faith in Strangers. 34. Taylor Swift - 1989. 35. Homeboy Sandman - Hallways. 36. Young Thug & Bloody Jay - Black Portland. 37. Cymbals Eat Guitars - LOSE. 38. Azealia Banks - Broke With Expensive Taste. 39. The Afghan Whigs - Do to the Beast. 40. Real Estate - Atlas. 41. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence. 42. Mac DeMarco - Salad Days. 43. Charli XCX - Sucker. 44. Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty. 45. Eric Church - The Outsiders. 46. Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like A Bell. 47. TV on the Radio - Seeds. 48. Ben Frost - A U R O R A. 49. Tacocat - NVM. 50. Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron.

PASTE (USA) :

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

STEREOGUM (USA) :

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

GORILLA VS. BEAR (USA) :

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

The NME website

The Rolling Stone website

The Q Magazine website

The Mojo website

The Uncut website

The Spin website

The Paste website

The Stereogum website

The Gorilla vs. Bear website