What I love most about Amazon’s yearly best of is that it feels voted on by friends and colleagues and not pros. How else to explain Miley Cyrus and Neko Case’s appearance? They don’t go far off the beaten trail, usually they a coupla zingers in there that make you wonder what you missed but not this year.
The only real revelation for me was Dearheaven who I must have missed along the way, otherwise this is more or less what I expect though I though Isbell was more of a secret
The grades are mine:
1. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories – A-
2. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City – A-
3. Chvrches – Bones of What You Believe – B
4. Jason Isbell – Southeastern – A
5. Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob – B
6. Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork – D+
7. Lorde – Pure Heroine – C+
8. Bastille – Bad Blood – C
9. The National – Trouble Will Find Me – A-
10. Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park – B+
11. Drake – Nothing Was The Same – B+
12. Arcade Fire – Reflektor – A-
13. Haim – Days Are Gone – C
14. The Civil Wars – The Civil Wars – A
15. Neko Case – The Worse Things Get… C-
16. Deafheaven – Sunbather – B+
17. Foals – Holy Fire – C-
18. Miley Cyrus – Bangerz – C
19. Fitz & The Tantrums – More THan Just A Dream – B-
20. Icona Pop – This Is… Icona Pop – A-