The stats don't lie. I could make a critical Best Music of for 2014, pick and choose what I think is maybe artistically the most supreme from the year, but I think the artists and albums I listened to the most, the songs that I had on repeat, ends up saying it all. I chose subconsciously, with my ears, in my headphones. And so, as has become the tradition, my most listened to artists and songs of the year...
MOST LISTENED ARTISTS
1. Lily Allen
2. Morrissey
3. Lana Del Rey
4. Taylor Swift
5. Christina Aguilera
6. Beyoncé
7. Leonard Cohen
8. Damon Albarn
9. Jessie Ware
10. Iggy Azalea
11. Elbow
12. Jenny Lewis
13. Nicki Minaj
14. Pharrell Williams
15. Kelis
Honorable Mention: Both Oasis and Duran Duran were in my top 10, but since neither released new music this year (unless you count the Oasis reissues, which was certainly the reissue project of 2014, and why the band got heavy rotation), I took them off the list.
Indeed, Lily Allen earned her Sheezus title this year. I listened to her nonstop for the first half of 2014, and she also gave one of the only concerts I intended. The numbers below were manipulated a bit so she only shows up in three slots, or it would be half her on this list.
Overall, women dominated pop music, and offered a variety. Lana Del Rey and Charli XCX and Jenny Lewis and Azealia Banks and Taylor Swift...all different styles, all landing on my playlists for 2014 (even if they don't all make this list).
MOST LISTENED SONGS
1. Lily Allen - “Air Balloon”
2. Taylor Swift - “Shake It Off”
3. Lily Allen - “Our Time”
4. Nicki Minaj - “Pills n Potions”
5. Lily Allen - “L8 CMMR/Hard Out Here/Sheezus”
6. Iggy Azalea/Charli XCX - “Fancy”
7 (tie). Elbow - “Charge/Taylor Swift - “Blank Space”
8 (tie). Beyoncé/Frank Ocean - “Superpower”/Morrissey - “World Peace is None of Your Business”
9. Damon Albarn - “Everyday Robots”
10. Jessie Ware - “Tough Love”
11 (tie). Jenny Lewis - "Just One of the Guys”/Morissey - “Earth is the Loneliest Planet”/Taylor Swift - “Out of the Woods”
Runners-Up: Lana Del Rey “West Coast/Shades of Cool”/VV Brown feat. Kele Okereke, “Faith”/Jenny Lewis - “The Voyager/She’s Not Me”/Kelis - “Jerk Ribs”/The Horrors - “So Now You Know/I See You”/Broken Bells - “After the Disco”/Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea - “Problem”/Pharrell Williams feat. Justin Timberlake - “Brand New”/Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj - “Bang Bang”/Nicky Minaj - “Anaconda”/Phantogram - “Bill Murray”
Party like it's 1989.
Current Soundtrack: Embrace, "Follow You Home;" Rokysopp & Robin, "Do It Again;" Grouplove, "Let Me In" (all from my 2014 master list)