The 100 Most Anticipated Albums Of 2014
We’re almost (almost!) done reflecting on the year that was, so it’s time to start taking a closer look at the year that will be. For the past several years, we’ve ranked our most anticipated albums. Today the feature returns, bigger than ever, with a whopping 100 records we’re looking forward to hearing, enjoying, debating, dissecting, and canonizing these next 12 months.
We limited the list to albums we feel confident will come out in 2014, whether because we’ve heard confirmation (or close to it) from labels, managers, or the artists themselves, or because the timing seems extremely likely. For the educated guesses, we needed something resembling evidence to go on, which is why we didn’t include perennial wish list material like the Avalanches (who have been the subject of fruitless rumors for more than a decade) but did include Joanna Newsom (who has been debuting new material for well over a year) and Taylor Swift (who, like clockwork, has released a new LP every other autumn since 2006 and is “ahead of schedule” for LP5; speaking of which, how cool would it be if she made an album that resembled …Like Clockwork?).
Of course, there are some question marks here — if you concentrate hard enough you can actually hear the Wrens painstakingly deliberating some extraneous overdub right this second — but last year we basically forced My Bloody Valentine to finally get on with it and release MBV, so do not bet against us.
Once we had raked in a heaping pile of information, we set about sequencing it according to our highly arbitrary yet stunningly accurate sense of expectancy. We listened to as many of them as we could get our hands on, and those spins frequently affirmed our suspicions that something splendid was afoot; in those cases, since we’ve already heard the records, our anticipation is as much about looking forward to increased visibility for the artists and the discourse that will rage when you guys get to hear this stuff. Other factors that stoked our curiosity: Maybe we rhapsodized constantly about the artist’s last album, maybe it’s a “companion piece” to a modern classic, maybe it’s a beloved songwriter’s first album since coming out as transgender — anything that might jar somebody out of the daze that sometimes accompanies the ceaseless cycle of album promos and into genuine excitement about new music.
Here’s what we’ve been looking forward to. Click on an artist’s name for all our recent news and audio/video teasers of the album where available…
100 Bruce Springsteen – High Hopes (Columbia, 1/14)
99 The Rentals – TBD (Polyvinyl)
98 Broken Bells – After The Disco (Columbia, 1/14)
97 Empress Of – TBD (Terrible/XL)
96 tUnE-yArDs – TBD
95 Schoolboy Q – Oxymoron (Interscope/TDE, 2/25)
94 Thee Oh Sees – TBD
93 MØ – No Mythologies To Follow (Chess Club/RCA Victor, 2/24)
92 You Blew It! – Keep Doing What You’re Doing (Topshelf, 1/14)
91 Bleeding Rainbow – Interrupt (Kanine, 2/25)
90 The New Pornographers – TBD (Matador, Late Spring)
89 Sisyphus – Sisyphus (Asthmatic Kitty, 3/18)
88 Wu-Tang Clan – TBD
87 Drive-By Truckers – English Oceans (ATO, 3/4)
86 Mastodon – TBD
85 Phantogram – Voices (Republic, 2/18)
84 Wolves In The Throne Room – TBD (Southern Lord, Winter)
83 Meek Mill – TBD (MMG)
82 Mogwai – Rave Tapes (Sub Pop, 1/21)
81 Pusha T – King Push (Def Jam)
80 Actress – Ghettoville (Werkdiscs/Ninja Tune, 1/28)
79 Rick Ross – Mastermind (MMG/Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam, Early 2014)
78 The Horrors – TBD
77 ceo – Wonderland (Modular, 2/4)
76 Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars (Columbia/Legacy, 3/25)
75 Black Lips – Underneath The Rainbow (Vice, 3/18)
74 Da Mafia 6ix – TBD
73 Best Coast – TBD (Spring)
72 The Men – Tomorrow’s Hits (Sacred Bones, 3/4)
71 My Morning Jacket – TBD (ATO)
70 Belle And Sebastian – TBD (Matador, Late Spring)
69 Neneh Cherry – Blank Project (Smalltown Supersound, 2/25)
68 Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Piñata
67 The Notwist – Close To The Glass (Sub Pop, 2/25)
66 FKA Twigs – TBD (Young Turks)
65 G-Side – Gz To Godz
64 Perfume Genius – TBD (Matador, Fall)
63 Death Cab For Cutie – TBD
62 DIIV – TBD
61 Lily Allen – TBD (Warner Bros.)
60 Liars – TBD (Mute, March)
59 Parquet Courts – TBD
58 Sampha – TBD (Young Turks)
57 Godflesh – A World Lit Only By Fire (Early 2014)
56 Pallbearer – TBD (Profound Lore, August)
55 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – TBD (April)
54 The Hold Steady – TBD (Vagrant, Winter)
53 Twin Shadow – TBD
52 Caribou – TBD
51 Wye Oak – TBD (Merge)
50 Tombs – Savage Gold (Relapse, Spring)
49 Dum Dum Girls – Too True (Sub Pop, 1/28)
48 Linda Perhacs – The Soul Of All Natural Things (Asthmatic Kitty, 3/4)
47 Flying Lotus – TBD
46 Pharrell – TBD (Columbia)
45 Amber Coffman – TBD
44 Lana Del Rey – Ultraviolence (Interscope)
43 Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness (Jagjaguwar, 2/18)
42 The Bug – Angels And Devils (Ninja Tune)
41 Warpaint – Warpaint (Rough Trade)
40 Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Wig Out At Jagbags (Matador, 1/7)
39 Katy B – Little Red (Rinse/Columbia)
38 James Blake & Chance The Rapper – TBD
37 Damon Albarn – TBD (Warner Bros.)
36 U2 – TBD (April)
35 Hamilton Leithauser – TBD
34 Real Estate – TBD (Domino)
33 Julian Casablancas – TBD
32 Alcest – Shelter (Prophecy, 1/21)
31 Migos – Y.R.N. 2 (January)
30 White Lung – TBD
29 EMA – The Future’s Void (Matador/City Slang, Spring)
28 Sam Smith – In The Lonely Hour (Columbia, 5/26)
27 Bat For Lashes – TBD (Warner Bros.)
26 Jessica Pratt – TBD
25 The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream (Secretly Canadian, 3/18)
24 Modest Mouse – TBD
23 Wilco – TBD (dBpm)
22 Future – Honest (Epic)
21 Sun Kil Moon – Benji (Caldo Verde, 2/4)
20 St. Vincent – St. Vincent (Republic, 2/25)
19 Charli XCX – SuperLove (Atlantic, Spring)
18 Titus Andronicus – TBD (XL)
17 Grimes – TBD
16 Swans – TBD (Young God)
15 TV On The Radio – TBD
14 Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels 2 (Fool’s Gold)
13 Fleet Foxes – TBD
12 Fucked Up – TBD (Matador, Spring)
11 Robyn – TBD
10 Spoon – TBD
9 Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Total Treble, 1/21)
8 Taylor Swift – TBD
7 Agalloch – TBD (Profound Lore, April)
6 The Wrens – TBD
5 Joanna Newsom – TBD
4 Cloud Nothings – TBD
3 Frank Ocean – TBD
2 Beck – Morning Phase (Capitol, 2/14)
1 Kanye West – TBD (Summer)
So which albums are you anxiously awaiting? Are we mad to exclude Blur, or just realistic? Scrutinize the rankings and share your own picks in the comments. As usual, let’s all just assume Detox isn’t happening.
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