Run The Jewels is its own beast, and the combination of Killer Mike and El-P creating rap music together is one of, if not the most exciting thing happening in hip-hop right now.

It should be viewed as a major step-up from Reach For The Sun.

Issues' debut album is not only a more cohesive effort, but it's the immediate answer to naysayers who say claim the band will immediately fade away into irrelevancy.

Despite displaying their love of hardcore through certain parts of the album, Dinosaur Jr have created the most accessible heavy album of this year, with every track being suitable for any radio station or soundtrack.

For all of the baggage that comes included with Helplessness Blues, it is still a relaxing, folk-y Fleet Foxes record.

Branan is a supremely confident songwriter who is not too proud to poke fun at both his craft and his profession. That sense of levity makes The No-Hit Wonder worth many repeated listens. Easily one of the best country albums of 2014.

In place of Pluto and Honest’s love songs are emissions from the depths of Future’s psyche where light is unable to penetrate and whose denizens are twisted and ferocious.

When all is said and done, New Multitudes is a staggering work and a crowning achievement.

Loom is just the band's first full-length, even though it sounds like a band's third or fourth album--a testament to the band's ambition and skill, which will ultimately place Frameworks in the same room with genre-pillars Touché Amoré, Pianos Become The Teeth, and La Dispute.

It's a very satisfying record, and it's the type of album where every song will probably be your favorite at some point, and you'll almost certainly have each of them stuck in your head at some point in the next week.

The album is something of a rollercoaster of musical styles, songwriting approaches and emotions. But most importantly, transcending it all, is Ritter's astounding power to make us hang on every word.

Omni is accessible yet not watered down; complex and engaging all at once. Its catchy and progressive elements will surely dig its way into your cerebellum.

Put simply, Mount Moriah is a compelling debut full of candidness, thoughtfully well crafted and relatable lyrics, beautiful vocals with the ability to mesmerizing, and dare I say it, already an aura and element of timelessness destined to surround it.

It is that constant desire to create new music that makes Heaven so deeply rewarding and so worth the time.

Typically the band can be found tiptoeing the edge of shameless, binge-drinking punk rock ("Titus Andronicus Forever"). It's better when they're loud, I think, because it makes Stickles' doubt seem more immediate, like there's a time limit to his sanity.

This record is bold, uncompromising, and one of the best and most important in its genre to come out in an already exceptional year.

This is plainly Beyoncé’s most personal album yet, one forged in the fires of public miscarriages, a wrenching journey that does as much to combat this years Yeezus-led political misogyny as it complements with its own version of black empowerment and self-love, one that is staunchly, inclusively, womanist.

John is still going strong and better than ever. A few listens to The Diving Board proves exactly that.

Easily one of his strongest releases to date, if not his best, The Happiness Waltz is the very reason why musical history should have a small chapter for this criminally overlooked songwriter.

Whatever genre you’re into, whatever your favourite publication has said about these guys; Iceage are here to stay and You’re Nothing is one of the best albums of its time.

Truth be told, finding a clunker on the second half is a tall order and that simple fact is what makes History of Modern so rewarding.

Henry Tremain does a fine job replacing the ever-inventive Stuart Smith on vocals. His lyrics aren't that much fun to sing, but they're nice to read.

Sympathy isn't all cartwheels and picnics. But even in the face of death, there is optimism in Eiseland's songwriting that makes you want to listen regardless of mood.

Youth Lagoon will never reproduce anything like The Year of Hibernation. I think in 2011, this is called The Bon Iver Effect. The result of fame is that Powers will never be in this place again. But maybe that's best.

Plastic Beach is a full blown hip-hop/trip-hop album and a prime example of how to stray away from one genre to dominate another. If Albarn has done anything with this project, he has shown his knowledge of flawless production and the ability to create aesthetically pleasing tunes.

Eighties punk enthusiasts with a taste for hip modern bands like Japandroids, Tapes 'n Tapes and (the late) Jay Reatard, or hell, anyone who can appreciate spirited rock music delivered with verve, should find The Soft Pack to be a delightful and exciting listen.

Just like the three-eyed beast that graces the cover, Wolverines is a mean and lean punk rock record that sets the bar once again.

This is The Get Up Kids years later folks. The familiar nuances have been rearranged and built into something stronger, but the attitude and depth is all the same, if not more adhesive and much more endearing than before.