2014 Albums of the Year: #26-30

As the year draws to a close you can count on being bombarded by a few things: snow, Christmas music, and year-end lists. Continuing the tradition of the last, the Rock Genius editors are back at it with our top albums of the year. Though our name does suggest where our hearts lie, this list is a representation of what we believe to be the best offerings from all genres of music, not just rock

Today we’re here with the best of what didn’t make it into the top 25, but remember to come back tomorrow and each following day when we start rolling out the rest of the list one standout album at a time. If you get tired of waiting for more good music, make sure to check out last year’s top albums as well.

Finally, we encourage you to listen to each album while reading our annotated lyrics, and let us know what you agree or disagree with. After all, isn’t that the fun of lists?

#30 Sleeping At Last - Atlas: Year One

An album as expansive and sonically diverse as Ryan O'Neal's Atlas comes around rarely, so all the better that it could be savoured over time; each of the album's six thematically-coherent discs ("Darkness," "Light," "Space 1," "Space 2," "Land," and "Oceans") was shipped separately to subscribers, starting in late 2013, and wrapping up in the fall of 2014. That's right, I said subscribers! Musicians looking for a way to connect with fans via unique album releases, may want to study what this Midwestern emo boy is doing, and closely

The music is by turns epic, or intimate; minimalist, or baroque; pop, or experimental; morose and taciturn, or warm and sentimental. Backed by the incredible strings of Jeremy Larson (who, as I previously noted, is one of modern rock's great, unsung session heroes), O'Neal takes us on a tour of his palate as a songwriter and vocalist, and it does not, at any point, disappoint. The only constant is his wavering tenor, a voice as earnest and sweet as you are going to find on this earth. For me, 2014 was the year of Sleeping At Last, and with a Year Two already slated for release, I can't foresee 2015 being any different

— Wild Rose Chance

#29 Ghostface Killah - 36 Seasons

With his newest album, Ghost proves yet again that he’s the most consistent rapper of the last 20 years. The man’s arguably only released one bad album, among numerous classics, spanning 11 studio albums. 36 Seasons does nothing but further his case in the conversation for one of the best Hip-Hop discographies we’ve seen. There's nothing groundbreaking when it comes to the lyrical content, with Ghost yet again going for a Mafioso story, but it’s not always what you’re saying it’s how you say it - and the production is phenomenal

The instrumentation in conjunction with Ghosts forever sharp pensmanship and five very strong AZ features makes this an album worth spending your time and money on. With Sour Soul, his collab album with Badbadnotgood, due for release February 16th, 2015 and the highly awaited DOOMStarks album due out 2015, we can be sure GFK is far from done with music - and that's a good thing

— SavvyRJA

#28 Caribou - Our LoveFewer and fewer albums align with the visuals assigned them, whether they be album covers, music videos, or even merchandise. One look at the seemingly floral patterns viewed through a rainbow lens, and the feel of Caribou’s excellent album Our Love manifests itself: disarming in all the right ways, but calming enough to keep your eyes (here replacing your feet and ears) moving to discover more

The album functions similarly to the cover, as well. Sure, you can start with the lead single “Can’t Do Without You” and work your way chronologically, much like your eyes can grab onto the focal point of the cover and consume the rest from there. But what makes this album work so well is that no matter where you start, a completed project becomes the only natural course of action for your next forty minutes. You have to finish the picture to see the genius behind each individual section that much clearer. For an album that’s liminal — where does the line between commanding dance beats and relaxational reveries actually exist? — little more can be asked of an artist

— Brian Duricy (you can Google that / not a part of Beatnuts / wish I had a NetJet / driving on the street sucks)

#27: Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You TomorrowBombay have long been a slightly gimmicky favourite of the British indie scene. On So Long, See You Tomorrow, they’ve finally outgrown their roots with a well-balanced blend of world music and their trademark indie-pop

Opener “Overdone” is gloriously vibrant and it sets the tone which the rest of the album riffs off. Frequent BBC collaborators Lucy Rose and Rae Morris appear on most of the tracks, and never to better effect than on the triumphant lead single, “Luna”, which mixes Contra and Merriweather Post Pavilion with meticulous measure

There is nothing to praise lyrically anywhere on the record, but as ever, the infectious melodies are the focus. Whilst So Long, See You Tomorrow might not have had the immediate impact of their first three albums, the three year wait was certainly the right artistic decision

— Vesuvius

#26: Aphex Twin - SyroThe announcement of the first Aphex Twin album in 12 years understandably brought about a huge level of excitement in the independent music community. When the album finally came out, we didn’t get a radical shift in styles but rather a refinement of what he’s been doing throughout his career. The highly textured sounds and arrangements put forth on Syro are unmistakably the work of Richard James

Watching Interstellar for the first time really put me in the right frame of mind to understand this album. This album sounds like it was made for a more advanced human species; one that has evolved to the point of being able to transcend dimensions (i.e people who no longer need words to communicate) similar to the human colony at the end of the movie. That probably sounds insane if you haven't seen it yet (maybe even if you have) but the point remains that James is in his own league. Syro probably has the most pop appeal of any Aphex Twin release to date but it definitely isn’t a run of the mill electronic album

— Benjamin R. Swanson

Come back tomorrow for album #25 and follow along with the list here!