As is customary, the Just Played Albums of the Year list will be counted down between now and the festivities. All thirty albums will have accompanying write-ups justifying their inclusion and, wherever possible, clicking on the album artwork will load a means of listening to that record. There’ll be some other bits and bobs as we progress, including a few of the things I penned for Clash in 2014, and the annual prize draw will kick in once the festivities are upon us. Please do let me know what you think of the list over the coming weeks, either here or on Twitter.
It’s hard to escape the sense that 2014 hasn’t been an entirely vintage year, but I’m still pretty confident that you’ll find more than a couple of things to warm your ears and tickle your soul over the course of this countdown. Oh, and just to avoid anyone getting too excited when it still hasn’t appeared and we’re up to the top five, I should tell you that the Kasabian album hasn’t made it.
30. Bombay Bicycle Club – So Long, See You Tomorrow
29. A Winged Victory For The Sullen – Atomos
28. Linda Perhacs – The Soul Of All Natural Things
27. Tom Williams & The Boat – Easy Fantastic
25. Gruff Rhys – American Interior
23. We Were Evergreen – Towards
21. Elbow – The Take Off And Landing Of Everything
16. Neneh Cherry – Blank Project
15. The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream
14. Wild Beasts – Present Tense
13. La Roux – Trouble In Paradise
12. Golden Fable – Ancient Blue
9. East India Youth – Total Strife Forever
8. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Wanderlust
3. Manic Street Preachers – Futurology
Just Played 
You usually encourage others to post their favourite albums of the year here, so I thought I’d share mine. Damon Albarn’s came in at number 11. It’s probably a more interesting album than what ended up at number 10 but context is everything. First Aid Kit was the kids’ go to album in the car as we trundled around Europe in the summer; the Manics album is great anyway but revisiting ‘The Holy Bible’ and seeing them play reminded me of their power as a band. There really is no one else like them. Thanks for the posts Gareth – enjoyed them thoroughly!
1. Manic Street Preachers – Futurology
2. Caribou – Our Love
3. Beck – Morning Phase
4. Kiasmos – Kiasmos
5. Taylor McFerrin – Early Riser
6. Gruff Rhys – American Interior
7. Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
8. Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
9. The War on Drugs – Lost in a Dream
10. First Aid Kit – Stay Gold