NPR's Top 50 Albums of 2014

Out of the thousands of albums we listened to in 2014, many of the ones that made this list seemed to satisfy a particular need. Some of them are aggressive; some of them are soothing. Sometimes we wanted them to ask hard questions — about rising oceans, global inequality, alienation and systemic injustice — that reflected the events around us. Sometimes we just needed them to show us something new. Exceptions abound, of course: There is lightness and melodrama, confidence and expertise, music composed decades ago and music that could have been beamed in from the future. Old needs surface in the midst of heavier times, too. We like to dance. NPR

A few highlights:

ALT-J

This Is All Yours

ANGEL OLSEN

Burn Your Fire For No Witness

GROUPER

Ruins

LULUC

Passerby

PERFUME GENIUS

Too Bright

ST. VINCENT

St. Vincent

SYLVAN ESSO

Sylvan Esso

THE WAR ON DRUGS

Lost In The Dream