You will be hard-pressed to find a fresher-sounding dance LP this year.

The Gamble takes some extraordinary risks, but the rewards are glorious.

Luneworks is not a lulling listen; rather, the album seems to turn restlessly with sonic insomnia, the songs tracing the arc of some sleepless passage like a night plagued by intense longing.

Kelsey Lu's Blood, pumping with movement and what moves us, we tiny wholes, maybe isn't a continent so much as it is a bordered body, graceful in its clunky fullness, jostling with every pothole, the cello its longing pores come to life.

With a more dynamic and drastically enhanced sound, this is how Dopesmoker was meant to be heard.

They've burst out of the confines of "rock" to make something that's legitimately transcendent. angel in realtime is a profoundly beautiful, meaningful album from a band that has decided that every record might as well be a new magnum opus.

On their debut, Jungle show that you don't have to reinvent the wheel as long as it's travelling down brand new, unexplored avenues.

For more than 20 years, Snaith has displayed a rare versatility and ability to keep things fresh. Suddenly is no different.

A fascinating album where creative impulses and naiveté are filtered through a strong sense of aesthetics with newfound confidence. It's the sound of a unique artist finding her footing and stepping in the zone.

Their fourth and decidedly most accessible release to date.

Excitingly new yet classically evocative, You're Dead! is contemplative but never boring, an example of genre cross-pollination that transcends novelty and, occasionally, time and space as well.

Challenging the perception of shared space and visibility, Tamko has released the perfect record for women of colour who, unbeknownst to some, have been secretly shredding harder then white men for years, and are finally ready to be heard.

The Bride is not only a journey for Natasha and the characters she has created--as with all great albums, listeners, too, will be met with a sea of contemplation.

Live from the Underground is the best Southern rap record since Big Boi's Sir Lucious Left Foot dropped two summers ago.

Swimmin' Time is every bit as good as its predecessor. Indeed, it offers several songs that leave much of what they've previously recorded in the dust.

Here's one of the best records you'll hear in 2014.

Though it might seem strange that Oldham recorded the first major tribute to Haggard, the careful and well-thought-out working through of the master's themes makes deliberate sense.

A gorgeous double album. ... Full of love and appreciation for life, which makes more sense to him now than it maybe ever did, Callahan inimitably presents us with philosophical jokes and thoughtful observations on a record that is an adventurous stocktaking of his own life, set to tastefully arranged folk and an open spirit that welcomes us in.

They balance killer musicianship and verbal panache with a bar-band mindset. Album of the year? Possibly, but that's just business as usual for Maryland's finest.

Emotionally tactile and blossoming with feeling, The Kid is a stunning record that demands attention, absorption and meditation, two LPs rich with wisdom.

SZA is the full package in terms of artistry: killer singing and songwriting abilities with a distinct perspective on life, love and destiny. CTRL is craft in action, a uniquely excellent album from a uniquely excellent artist.

This is just vintage Crowell, which is to say that Tarpaper Sky is an essential record by one of the best.

Fucked Up's latest pushes the boundaries of their sound far beyond what you would expect. Dose Your Dreams is by far the most over-the-top album the band have ever created and shows they aren't satisfied with pumping out subpar material or rehashing what they've done.

Both a departure from the expected modern/postmodern/future-possible sound he is usually credited with, but also an arrival at its very beginnings.

It's a love letter, and yet, it's astonishing just how hard-hitting it is.

Ivy Tripp is not a record about being in love or and it's not a record about getting your heart broken; it's about the foggy, messy tangle of the feelings in between. And they've never sounded so good.

Green to Gold is, at times, quite literal in its depictions of Silberman's personal experiences and other times intensely figurative, staring into the void of existentialism ("Am I incidental?" he asks on "Volunteer") with the kind of quiet assurance only the Antlers can evoke.

At no point does any of the growth feel forced. Daughter could have been forgiven for producing another album like their debut, but they took a brave step in embracing innovation. The beautiful Not to Disappear is their reward, and ours.