2014 was definitely the year of the woman. When femininity rose to the top of the headlines, the girls rules the charts simultaneously. With hit singles like "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift and "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea, the girls definitely ruled. But when it came to the boys, they didn't do so bad either. Here are the top ten albums from 2014.
1989 - Taylor Swift
When Taylor Swift decided to go Pop, the whole world was shocked. A lot of people were against her move, but the loyal fans supporting her and her vision kept her going and she came out with 1989. It was an album that popped towards the top of the charts and sold more than a million copies in its first week, when her peers couldn't even hit that 1m mark. It proved to be critics' and the common man's love. Taylor made the right move to shift genres, because we got 1989 and she got immense success!
Sucker - Charli XCX
Charli XCX has had a long tough career in the making. After the Icona Pop hit "I love it" featuring Charli XCX, she then came to prominence as a pop artist worth knowing with the Summer hit Fancy, on which she was featured. Then came her hit Boom Clap from The Fault in Our Stars OST which everyone fell in love with. Of course, catapulting into the fame game, her album Sucker brings back the old school pop in this EDM obsessed world. With slick lyrics and even slicker music, Charli's album is a must hear from the year, and worth it.
In the Lonely Hour - Sam Smith
After the success of Disclosure's Latch that featured Sam, his debut album "In the Lonely Hour" was a promising work of art with his smooth and beautiful vocals that leave one enchanted. Apart from his powerful vocals, the strong song writing on the album helps add credibility to Sam as an artist. The album is a delightful, melodious and pleasing experience on its own. It's the kind of love songs today's music misses out on, and brings us back to the time when ballads thrived.
The New Classic - Iggy Azalea
Iggy Azalea might be in the news for all the wrong reasons, with a lot of hate surrounding her, but her album The New Classic does everything to prove her haters wrong. Being a woman in hip hop is hard, and that too being a white woman. But her album proves her mettle and shows her rap prowess, and her ability to write deep while wearing her designer garb around town. She has had to struggle to get to where she is now, and because of the hard work she put into it, the album comes out strong and powerful.
Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey is one of those artists nobody was ever admitting to liking when she first started off. But after two albums into the music scene, it became obvious with her third album that Lana Del Rey is here to make waves with her dark and haunting lyrics, and similarly sounding vocals. Ultraviolence is her strongest offering yet, and it shows how Lana has improved not just vocally, but her lyrical take to life is getting more solid and better. It's an album for the blues, which everyone has, so it's an album for everyone.
Ghost Stories - Coldplay
It's no surprise that Coldplay is on the list. They are an established name and their hit singles "Magic" and "A Sky Full of Stars" off Ghost Stories, set a tone for the album. Ghost Stories is a little dark, a little sad (maybe cuz of Chris Martin's Divorce from Gwyneth Paltrow?) and speaks a little more to the heart. As experimental as it gets with Coldplay, it had a bit cool vibes to it. The album did pretty well with the sales too, clearly implying that Coldplay is well and alive and much loved as it has always been.
X - Ed Sheeran
To be besties with Taylor Swift and having a tween army at your disposal is enough for anyone to help them get good sales for their Album, but for Ed Sheeran, his music did most of the talking when it came to his album "X." This album is signature Ed Sheeran. While Ed may have been struggling to find a sound back in his "unfamous" days, with X, Ed proves to the world why he is worth all the attention. With his vocal abilities, and his charming smile, it is easy to fall for him, but he is so obviously a better song writer who writes these amazing tracks that he makes everyone fall in love with. With X, Ed Sheeran has established himself as a pop star and come a long way to being where he is, and rightly so.
V - Maroon 5
With Maps having been the first single, "Animals" was clearly the winning track from Maroon 5's 5th album. If a lot of people claimed the success of the album being due to Adam Levine's The Voice gig, the album proved the haters wrong by being one of the most strong musical offerings from the whole year. Adam's vocals add to the brilliant lyrics of the tracks, and the pop-rock feel of the album doesn't get too much to handle. It's a clearly weighed album that knows its niche, which itself is a big one. It's a crowd pleaser all the way.
Mockingjay Part 1 OST - Various Artists
Having Lorde on board to curate one of the biggest film series' OST was a wise decision to have made. Lorde chose the perfect mix of contemporary to indie artists for the album which spoke not just of the whole film, but also of how soundtracks are an essential part of understanding a film. From Ariana Grande to CHVRCHES to new comer XOV, the soundtrack is the perfect mix to have in one's music collection. The soundtrack is cohesive itself, yet so scattered, it works for everyone's taste in music.
G I R L - Pharell Williams
After the success of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories and Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, it was obvious that Pharell had learned how to make music that would not only sell, but also be considered good music by the critics and the music lovers alike. Pharell has had a tough journey to the top, a position one he solely deserves because of all the parts of him he puts into his work. Having "Happy" catapult to the top, it was obvious G.I.R.L would be a piece of art that's catchy, fun, and an excellently produced album, with all the right guest spots to help it sell.