CD Shop Awards’ Best of 2014 Japanese Music

Avoid the official Japanese music rankings, and let’s take the time to discover an album or two. CD shop clerks in Japan unionized and -with their expertise and access to music- have been deciding their music highlights for the past six years. These are their 20 albums highlights, which will be reduced to 10 in a round of voting. Later on, they will vote for the best of 2014, that will join Sotaisei Riron (相対性理論), The Bawdies, Andymori, Momoiro Clover Z, Man with a Mission and Maximum the Hormone [1].

Since it’s Japanese music, YouTube playlists are hard to come by. But some links are provided.

Note: This list is ordered by date of release.

Babymetal – Babymetal

• Xiami
• iTunes
• Spotify

Man with a Mission – Tales of Purefly

• Xiami
• iTunes JP

Niiyama Shiori (新山詩織) – Shiori (しおり)

• Xiami
• iTunes JP