2014 was a fantastic year for music. We got releases from old favorites (Little Dragon, Thom Yorke, LV & Joshua Idehen. Hammock), and wonderful debuts (Sylvan Esso, Lydia Ainsworth, Woman's Hour). This year, my favorite albums leaned heavily towards indie synth rock/pop, with a focus on female vocalists (so many great indie female artists now!) I will probably post a revised list in Spring 2015, as I tend to discover many great albums from the previous year in the beginning of the new year. There was so many great albums this year that I am picking 14 instead of the…

It's a new year, and so here is a new list of my favorite music from the past year. As usual, it's just a list. I'll leave the gushing and idle talk to the music review sites/blogs. All of these albums speak for themselves. Give them a listen.

Favorite Albums / EPs:

1) Chelsea Wolfe - Pain Is Beauty
2) Doldrums - Lesser Evil
3) Natash Kmeto - Crisis
4) Leif - Dinas Oleu
5) Blue Sky Black Death - Glaciers
6) Lars Leonhard - Seasons - Les Quatre Saisons
7) Burial - Rival Dealer
8) Mountains - Centralia
9)…

Better late than never! Overall, I thought that 2012 wasn't as good of a year for new music than say. 2010 or 2011. There were many stellar albums, but nothing really revolutionary. This year's list reflects a change in my listening habits, as I moved back to listening to (indie) rock almost exclusively sometime in autumn. In general, my listening was split between techno/bass and various strains of indie rock, as the following lists reflect:

Favorite albums:

Beach House - Bloom
Landing - Landing
Tame Impala - Lonerism
Recondite - On Acid
Burial - Kindred EP
The Host - The…

Just lists this year:

Best Albums (All, in order):

Tycho - Dive
Desolate - The Invisible Insurrection
Sepalcure - Sepalcure
Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
Shlohmo - Bad vibes
Low - C'Mon
LV & Joshua Idehen - Routes
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Grouper A I A: Alien Observer
Machinedrum - Room(s)

Best Electronic/Dance Songs (no order):

Graphics - OK Rainbow/Adjectival E
Spectr - Dance 4 me
Zomby - Natalia's Song
vince watson - flux
Azari & II - Hungry for the power
george fitzgerald - Hearts
Lando Kal - Further
Mosca - Done me wrong / Bax…

We're half-way through 2011, and it's already shaping up to be a great year for music (especially for House music). Having come across a plethora of excellent 2010 albums this year, I feel compelled to re-evaluate my list of favorite albums from 2010. Though I'm sure to come across more gems from 2010 in the future, I feel the following list is a much more accurate representation of the best music from 2010.

Loscil - Endless Falls
Pariah - Safehouses
Jack Dixon - Substitute EP
Tamikrest - Adagh
The Fun Years - God Was Like, No
Bjorn Torske - Kokning…

If 2009 was the year of Afrobeat, then 2010 was the year of Dubstep. In 2010, I (rather belatedly) discovered Dubstep and other genres (i.e. House/Deep House, IDM, etc.,) of electronic music. It was the perfect year for an in-depth introduction to electronic dance music, as many impressive albums were released. I also continued my obsession with ambient/drone. So, be forewarned that the lists that follow lean heavily towards electronica and ambient albums.

Andy's favorite albums & EPs of 2010 (in no particular order):

Loscil - Endless Falls (An instant ambient electronic classic. The last track is tremendous)

Pariah -…

Another year of musical discovery. These are my favorite albums of 2009:

Group Bombino - Guitars From Agadez, Vol. 2
Various Artists - Legends of Benin
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou - Echos Hypnotiques
Area C - Charmed Birds Against Sorcery
Tim Hecker - Imaginary Country

Honorable Mentions:

Black Math Horseman - Wyllt
Pan American - White Bird Release
Nomo - Invisible Cities
Cave - Psychic Psummer
Various Artists - Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968-1981
Various Artists - Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues

I listened to a ton of music this year, though most of it was not newly released. I discovered Fela Kuti, Venetian Snares, and Air this year, reaffirmed my love of The Flashbulb, Talking Heads, and Yo La Tengo, and overall loved every minute of my music listening experience.

Of the 2008 albums that I have heard, Venetian Snares' Detrimentalist is by far the best. Four other excellent albums worth mentioning include:

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - Many Things
Hammock - Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow
Retribution Gospel Choir - Retribution Gospel Choir
Sigur Ros - Með…

Yet again it is time for my annual list of what I consider to be the best albums of the year. I know everyone and their grandmother publishes "best album" lists every year so mine certainly isn't special. However, years from now it will be interesting to see if I still feel as strongly about these albums as I do now. And so, without further ado, I present:

My favorite albums of 2007:

(1) Radiohead - In Rainbows

A lot of people seem disappointed by this album and I can't see why. Musically it is their most cohesive and consistent…

Just thought I'd throw this out there, in no particular order:

Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Slayer - Christ Illusion
Hammock - Raising Your Voice… Trying To Stop An Echo
Burnt Friedman - Secret Rhythms 2

While these are my favorites they aren't necessarily the best, which is a designation I simply can't make because there are a number of albums that I suspect are excellent but haven't had time to listen to them such as the new albums from OOIOO and Yo La Tengo as well as the Tortoise box set,…