Doing an end of the year list increasingly seems to be less about what I’ve loved over the past year and more about, “Oh my stars and garters, look at all the records I haven’t heard yet!” So there is likely more than a few unintentional glaring omissions, but what can ya do? But hey, if folks are still fine with revisiting records from 40 to 50 years ago catching up with some record a few months later is perfectly fine. So here’s to the albums that I loved in 2014 and the 2014 records I’ll discover in 2015.

Best Albums of 2014

10. Erasure, The Violet Flame (Mute)
Over the course of their nearly 30-year career, Erasure has had almost automation-like consistency. The formula is simple: Vince Clarke on synths and music and Andy Bell handling the vocals. If you pick up an Erasure album, you know what you going to get. (The maligned Loveboat excluded.) The Violet Flame is a slight return to form as their previous release was a Christmas record, 2013’s Snow Globe. This time they partnered with producer Richard X, who’s worked with artists as varied as MIA and Kylie Minogue. While for some bands that would signal an attempt to reach out to “the kids,” in this instance, it’s simply a case of slight tweaks to the recipe. The Violet Flame is an undeniable Erasure record. While there are some slight new sounds, at the core are Clarke’s bubbling, gurgling synth lines and Bell’s soaring, dramatic tenor. With so many records under their belt and just the overall consistency of the group it feels strange to be shocked at just how vital and flat out great The Violet Flame is. The whole album sits alongside their best moments.

9. Michael Jackson, Xscape: Deluxe Edition (Sony)
One would never imagine the words, “subtle” and “tasteful” could be applied to a posthumous album constructed from unreleased Michael Jackson songs, especially after the debacle of the immediately released post-death Michael album. Add to that the fact that Xscape was to be overseen by Timbaland and it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. Instead, Timbaland actually suppressed the majority of his signature quirks and generally keeps the proceedings from following trends. One of Jackson’s failings post-Dangerous was that he was always attempting to sound current, with generally not so great results. So the fact that the crew of producers—Timbaland, Stargate, Giorgio Tuinfort—resisted that urge is commendable. But more importantly, the songs and performance are just as strong. It plays less like a stitched together compilation and more like a lost album. It’s also one of the rare deluxe editions that is worth paying for the extras. The second disc has all of the original demos and the Justin Timberlake–assisted version of the single, “Love Never Felt So Good.” Ironically, Xscape is the type of album that Jackson wouldn’t have made if he were still alive.

8. Blueprint, Respect the Architect (Weightless)
After a sonic shift with Adventures in Counter Culture and the companion Deleted Scenes, emcee/producer Blueprint plays it relatively more straightforward with his latest album, Respect the Architect. A blend of introspective narratives, motivational speaking, and flexing of lyrical dexterity, it’s a punchy album that gets right down to business. It’s not a regression or an attempt to “win back” fans that may have strayed. Instead it’s a subtle progression, merging his past with an eye to the future.

7. Sinkane, Mean Love (DFA)
The man known occasionally as Sinkane but to the government and his friends as Ahmed Gallab has always been a hard one to pin down. After three records of largely instrumental ambient post-rock spacey jams, he re-emerged on 2012’s Mars as an all-singing, space-funk, Afrobeat-grooving frontman. Out were the songs for the headphones and in were the songs for the dancefloor. It’s not so much the difference between night and days as it is night and early morning trying to beat the sunrise. In any case, it was difficult to predict what he would do next. For fans of Mars, rest assured that Mean Love doesn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. It has plenty of dance grooves, if not as heavily Afrobeat influenced. This time around there seems to be slightly more Afropop and even the occasional snatch of highlife and Tropicalia. But the biggest surprise is the unabashed embracing of the high lonesome sound. With so many styles flying around furiously it’s tempting to just dissect the parts, but Mean Love is greater than its shopping list of influences. It’s a record of assured performances that shows that Gallab is a thoughtful craftsman and one that’s easy to love.

6. Aphex Twin, Syro (Warp)
If Aphex Twin didn’t exist, there wouldn’t be anyone skewed enough to create him. The artist also known by the taxman as Richard D. James has long been an enigmatic figure in electronic music, partially due to his long standing habit of half truths in interviews and his contrary approach to his music. So it seemed not that surprising that he used a series of unconventional approaches in announcing Syro, his first proper album in 13 years, including a blimp, worldwide graffiti, and the Deep Web. But what was surprising, especially considering that James loves being abrasive, is how poppy Syro is. He hasn’t gone all festival neon hula hoop crowd, but there are some straight-up dancefloor jams. And where on other albums James would also showcase the serious composer, here he plays to his fun side. He (as always) pulls from a variety of styles, but there’s not the frantic, disorientation in which James frequently traffics. It’s strange by not being so strange, which is somehow completely fitting.

5. Pharrell Williams, GIRL (Columbia)
As a producer and member of The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams has never been a stranger to success. But until this year, success as an artist has always been slightly elusive. With N.E.R.D. he garnered a respectable cult following, but in comparison to his other success, it felt minor. After a stalled attempt at launching a proper solo career fell short with 2006’s In My Mind, it seemed like Williams would never quite breakthrough to that next level. Then “Get Lucky” happened followed by “Blurred Lines” and then the knockout punch, “Happy.” It was a case of the perfect storm and Williams was unsinkable. There wasn’t some great sea change, but he seemed to be doing the right stuff at the right time. GIRL may not necessarily be a masterwork, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more totally effervescent record. The album is just a straight up delightful victory lap of uncut Pharrell-ness.

4. Kelis, Food (Ninja Tune)
Kelis has always been the rare bird who’s as comfortable collaborating with Ol’ Dirty Bastard as she is Bjork. Yet, if anyone in America knows her for anything, it’s for “Milkshake,” the first single from her third album, Tasty. But after suppressing her weirder impulses to chase commercial success didn’t quite work, she decided to unfurl her freak flag again on Food. Produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek and released by the leftfield Ninja Tune label, the album is bathed in a mix of Afrobeat, Memphis soul, and electronic beats blended with live instrumentation. Kelis is always at her best with a little something to push against, so the more eclectic the track, the brighter she shines. Food is an extremely well constructed re-introduction to an artist who may have gotten a little lost in the wilderness. Here’s hoping people are finally ready to come to the table.

3. Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels 2 (Mass Appeal)
There’s a reason why dang near everyone has this album on his or her best of lists. Simple put, it showcases Killer Mike and EL-P (a.k.a. Run the Jewels) at the top of their games. After EL-P manned the boards for Killer Mike’s 2012 album, R.A.P. Music, which also featured an EL-P vocal turn. After Killer Mike reciprocated with a feature on EL-P’s Cancer 4 Cure, the two decided to go all in and formed Run the Jewels. The results are undeniable. While the first self-titled record was similarly lauded, the duo worked harder and went deeper on Run the Jewels 2. Call it The Empire Strikes Back of hip-hop because this record is even better than the original. They even managed to coax Zack de la Rocha from under the rock that I suspect he lives under. In a year with a lot of great hip-hop records, this one is worth all the hype.

2. Neneh Cherry, Blank Project (Smalltown Supersound)
After an 18-year break between solo records, Neneh Cherry returned this year with her fourth album, Blank Project. For a “one-hit wonder,” Cherry is arguably and quietly, one of the most influential artists of the ‘90s and the ’00s. Her patchwork blend of rapping and singing and the sonic collision of hip-hop, dance, R&B and rock can be seen everywhere from trip-hop, to Beck albums, to Bjork… it goes on and on. There were some collaborations and side projects so the return wasn’t entirely out of nowhere, but Blank Project is still a surprising continuation of where she left off. Four Tet joins Cherry on production duties and brothers Ben (synths) and Tom (drums) Page, also known as RocketNumberNine, serve as her backing band. Anyone who expected the dancefloor-ready antics of Raw Like Sushi, was likely stopped cold with the opening track, “Across the Water.” A minimalist meditation and tribute to Cherry’s deceased mother, it’s the type of bracing and sober track that most artists would close an album. That’s not to say that it’s a mournful or dark album, but it is way more moody than the casual fan would expect. While there may not be many ass-shaking joints, Cherry hasn’t missed a step in the past 18 years.

1. The Girls, Let’s Not Be Friends (self-released)
Power-pop has always seemed to be the underground of the underground of American music. Full of things that lots of people love—that is poppy rock tunes and guitars—it nevertheless always seems to have trouble gaining a foothold among music fans. But there are always fans that keep it alive including The Girls, a Columbus, Ohio sextet. Led by singer/guitarist Jessica Wabbit, the band cranks out song after song of seemingly effortless power pop. The Girls lean into power-pop conventions with more hooks than a hanger factory. Anchored by the guitar interplay between Wabbit’s rhythmical style and the hard rock leanings of the late Joey Blackheart, the songs on Let’s Not Be Friends revolve around journal-esque snapshots of unrequited love, late night bad decisions with boys, and as the title track details, lost love. There’s a plainspoken, clear-eyed approach that neutralizes what could be an exercise in navel gazing. In a just world, these songs are being mined for mixtape fodder.

Honorable Mentions
Nick Tolford & Company, Extraordinary Love (self-released)
The Muffs, Whoop Dee Doo (Burger)
Shabazz Palaces, Lese Majesty (Sub Pop)
The Roots, …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin (Def Jam)
The Foreign Exchange, Love in Flying Colors (self-released)
Lily Allen, Shezus (Parlophone)
Karmin, Pulses (Epic)
Slaughterhouse, House Rules (Shady Records)
The Both, The Both (SuperEgo)
Information Society, Hello World (HAKATAK)

Reissues
Smashing Pumpkins, Adore: Super Deluxe Edition (Virgin/UMe)
David Bowie, Nothing Has Changed (Columbia/Legacy)
Grace Jones, Nightclubbing (Universal/Island)
Slint, Spiderland (Touch and Go)
Oasis, Definitely Maybe (Big Brother)
Unwound, The Rat Conspiracy and No Energy (Numero Group)
Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet (Def Jam)