Camiele’s Top 25 Albums of 2014

1. D’Angelo – Black Messiah

Okay, here’s the thing. Initially Epik High’s Shoebox was at the top of this list. The raw elegance of it blew every other album from Korea out the water without even trying. However, late last year the ever elusive D’Angelo decided to come back to us all after FOURTEEN YEARS of virtual silence. And when he did… the entire world kind of shut down. Black Messiah…. A tough title for someone who hasn’t made a peep on record for almost a decade and a half. However, when you think about it, yeah, it totally makes sense. The album is so dark, so delicious, so powerful, so perfect that nothing before it even really makes a blip. If there was something higher than #1, Black Messiah would be there. I truly wore this album out, nonstop repeat for three days straight. There’s nothing one can say about this album that would do it any justice. It speaks for itself.

The emotional weight of each song is so strong it’s a wonder anyone can live through it without a pulmonary collapse. Tracks like the one above, 1000 Deaths, The Charade, and Back to the Future (Part II) give just a tickle of the visceral sting of D’Angelo’s return. It’s political, spiritual, obviously packed to the brim with emotion. Without a doubt Black Messiah is the best album I had the pleasure to listen to in 2014. It’s hard to believe this is only his third.  It was truly my pleasure and blessing to be able to experience something as powerful as this return to music from one of the industry’s most important artists.

Well, that’s it. There are so many albums that didn’t make this list. Either I didn’t hear them, or I just couldn’t fit them on here. That being said, I know that my list is nowhere near the end all, be all of what 2014 had to offer. For instance, I didn’t get a chance to listen to artists like J. Cole, Sia, or even the hundreds of albums released in Korea this year. And I’m sure that I’ll be tempted to update this list as I go on to discover more music. But as it is, these albums were the ones that impacted me the most. I hope you enjoyed the list, and at the very least maybe learned something new…? Thanks for reading!