It's finally time. We made it to November and there have been many a good songs. But first, let's look at what happened in 2014, shall we? A lot of my favorite bands (and previous charting bands) dropped discs this year, including Slipknot, Amaranthe, Colossus, and Demon Hunter. But (spoiler alert) none of those bands will be charting this year! Emmure and Evergrey have fallen off their games IMO, and the new Fuel and In Flames albums were almost intolerable. There were also some really good albums from bands like van Canto and Anberlin that failed to have any tracking songs. Some times it just happens like that. I suppose that most of those are metal bands, and metal is such a jumpy genre that you never know what you're going to get from album to next. In that respect, there will also be no songs from the 2011 #1, Young The Giant, although I really enjoyed their newest disc. Also, as a final spoiler, "The City" did not make a return for 2014.
But let's move on to the songs that just barely missed the cut.
Tedashii - Dark Days, Darker Nights (ft Britt Nicole)
It's been a minute since a good hip-hop track made the cut. In fact, it was 2011 when The Knux dropped "Razorblade" onto the countdown. There have been a few hits in the years since then, but none good enough to make the cut. Tedashii is a solid rapper and the female chorus really launches the song, but outside the first verse it really falls apart. Still, it's a solid song to get you through your darker times.
Theory of a Deadman - Drown
Theory of a Deadman is one of those bands that will occasionally release a really good song, but will fill the airwaves with garbage otherwise. This is the first really good song from them in a while, but it just wasn't good enough to make it into the 20.
Arcade Fire - Afterlife
I have never been much of a fan of Arcade Fire, and I was not at all impressed with their first single "Reflektor". But then came "Afterlife", and I thought for sure that this song would be a shoo-in for a top 10 spot. As the year waned, my depression cooled and I felt less and less of a connection to the song. I still think it's great and am pleased to have it along for the ride.
Jack White - Lazaretto
Maybe the most surprising inclusion on this list, Jack White released an insanely good disc in 2014 with "Lazaretto". As an artist that I generally despite, I was incredibly surprised by how good this disc was. While I respect his musical ability, I cannot stand his voice; but he did a really great job carving out a beautiful sound on this disc. The title track is the most fun of them, so here you go!
Panama Wedding - All Of The People
A late entry from a mostly unknown artist, Panama Wedding dropped their "Parallel Play" EP and showed some groovy synthpop styles that give me hope for their debut disc next year.
Honorable Mention List:
van Canto - Steel Breaker; Close Your Eyes - Frame and Glass; Whitechapel - The Saw Is The Law; Boston - If You Were In Love; Alestorm - Drink; Calvin Harris - Summer; Of Burning Empires - Iridian; Chevelle - Take Out The Gunman; Switchfoot - When We Come Alive; Bear Hands - Agora.
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