Not that anybody asked me, and not that I am in major major contradiction, but Rolling Stone spend another year being relentless average, whiich is better I guess than being relentlessly average and avant garde a la Pitchfork but neither publication is what you would call cutting edge mostly because nothing either edges or cuts.
Here is their list and my opinion of their list:
1. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City – Sure, it is a fabulous, solid and razor sharp album about God and Jews in new York City… but it could be a little catchier – A-
2. Kanye West – Yeezus – The artistic statement as hissy fit – A
3. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories – Wildly over rated because of three great songs – B+
4. Paul McCartney – New – His best album since 2005, though that might not be good enough any longer – B+
5. Arcade Fire – Reflektor – It’s like the released the remixes instead of the albums – B+
6. Queens of the Stone Age – …Like Clockwork – Overweaned wimp metal – C
7. Lorde – Pure Heroine – I was 16 once myself, and nobody made a big fuss when I had mood swings – B-
8. The National – Trouble Will Find Me – Great live but on record too many songs are too wishy washy – B
9. Arctic Monkeys – AM – Oh great, now I have to take the scruffs seriously as sex objects – C-
10. John Fogerty – Wrote a Song for Everyone – Atrocious duets album for CCr fans – D
11. Parquet Courts – Tally All the Things That You Broke – Pretty cool Americana from Brooklyn via Texas – B
12. Jake Bugg – S/T – Sucked live and barely alright otherwise – B-
13. Disclosure – Settle – when it comes to modern EDM these guys go a little too sampley for me – C
14. Drake – Nothing Was The Same – Awful drear for such a lucky fellow – B
15. Atoms for Peace – AMOK – They took it off Spotify and nobody noticed except me, and I went and bought it on ITunes – B
16. David Bowie – The Next Day – Not bad but the Extra one rocks – B
17. Danny Brown – Old – In an iffy year for hip hop, brown came up with a high light with “Kush Coma” – B+
18. Ashley Monroe – Like a Rose – Considered major and I guess she is alright but a little bland – B
19. Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks – His pop move didn’t pop – B
20. Laura Marling – Once I Was an Eagle – English folk meet cali singer songwriter – A
21. Sky Ferreira – Night Time My Time – Terrible live, better on record – C+
22. Phoenix – Entertainment – Not bad, but missing that big hit – B
23. My Bloody Valentine – MBV – Exceptional follow up 20 years later – A
24. Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP 2 – He creeps me out too much – B+
25. Elton John – The Diving Board – It isn’t great, might not be even good, but it isn’t terrible – B
26. Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap – Love the accent, it works for me – B
27. Miley Cyrus – Bangerz – Bland for a controversial gal – C
28. Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park – Country story teller – B
29. Bombino – Nomad – Melodic guitar rock – B
30. Tegan & Sara – Heartthrob – One song does not an album make, even if it is a really really good song – B
31. Haim – Days Are Gone – All hype and trousers – C+
32. CHVRCHES – The Bones of What You Believe – Modern rockers – B
33. Pusha T – My Name is My Name – Pusha T is always good, seldom great – B
34. Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You – A bore – C
35. Best Coast – Fade Away EP – Melodic high point –
36. Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt – Lo fi folkie, sweet as hell – B
37. The So-So Glos – Blowout – Titus buddies, melodie punk rockers – B
38. Kurt Vile – Walkin on a Pretty Daze – Modern day Neil Young – B+
39. Keith Urban – Fuse – Modern schmodern – C
40. Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt – Very Pearl Jam-y – B+
41. J Cole – Born Sinner – Pop rapper – B
42. Earl Sweatshirt – Doris – Modern rapper, he’s desperate – A-
43. Savages – Silence Yourself – the modern sound of something or the other – B
44. Valerie June – Pushin’ Against a Stone – Blues gal graduates from a reality show – B-
45. Avicii – True – Tedious modern EDM (though with a coupla killer exceptions) – B-
46. Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action – Years later, more of the same – B
47. MIA – Matangi – Masterful beats – A
48. Fuck Buttons – Slow Focus – Doesnt t live up to its name – C
49. The Flaming Lips – The Terror – weird psychedelic and a little annoying – C
50. Beck – Song Reader – Haven’t read it