Top 10 Favorite Albums

Hey, y'all! This is the fourth post in a 10-post series listing some of my favorite things. The first seven posts are lists of my current all-time favorites, while the last 3 posts include only favorites of 2015.

If you want to check out the other lists/posts in this series, you can check them out here:

A Few of My Favorite Things [2015]

If this list looks familiar, it's probably because it is. Somehow, my list of my favorite albums didn't change over the past year, so I essentially copied and pasted my list from last year. I wish I had something to change here, but I really don't.

#10: The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

I'm a big fan of concept albums, and this one is really great. Although there are a couple songs I'm not a huge fan of, the majority of them are really great, and overall it's just a really great and unique album.

#9: Hold on Tight by Hey Monday

Hey Monday's one and only full-length CD is most of the reason that I count it as one of my favorite bands-- they just barely missed out on my top 10. There are so many really great songs on this CD, and I just love Cassadee Pope's voice. I really wish the band had stayed together, because this is a really solid debut.

#8: Controversy Loves Company by The Audition

Another outstanding debut album! The Audition is another band with consistently good music, but this is the first and best of their CDs. Even my least favorite song on this CD is one of their better songs. This is just a really solid album, and I absolutely love it. 

#7: Almost Here by The Academy Is...

Oh, look! Another awesome debut! There are a couple songs I don't love on here, but I still really enjoy them and love the CD overall. Some of The Academy Is..'s strongest songs are on this CD, and it's especially impressive because this CD was released when most of the band were under 20. 

#6: American Idiot by Green Day

This one is kinda a given, right? It's a concept album, which is obviously a plus for me. It has some amazing songs on it, especially the full 10 minute long songs like Jesus of Suburbia. It has some of the strongest Green Day songs, and I could listen to it over and over and over and over. There's a reason why it's their most well-known album. 

#5: Ever After by Marianas Trench

Hey, look! Another concept album! This CD is based around a fantasy story that Josh Ramsay wrote. It's one long seamless song, divided into several tracks. And it's fantastic. Just like with their first concept album, Masterpiece Theatre, the last song is a mashup that samples all of the previous songs on the album, and it's amazing. This CD is just too great. 

#4: Losing Sleep by Parachute

Guess what? Another amazing debut! I love every single song on this CD. I used to fall asleep to this CD most nights (ironic, since it's called losing sleep) because it's just so chill. Parachute's whole vibe is just really awesome, and this CD is just the epitome of their vibe. It's so great.

#3: PTX, Vol. III by Pentatonix

This is the newest release on this list, as it was released only back in October. There are only 7 songs on this CD (technically EP, but whatever), but it's perfection. It's flawless. All of the songs are amazing, and there have been several times where I just listened to this EP over and over and over in one sitting and didn't get sick of it at all. Some of the songs on the EP are already among my top 25 most played. It's that good.

#2: Don't Panic by All Time Low

When this CD came out back in 2012, I don't think I stopped listening to it on repeat until halfway through 2013. This is one of the only albums I've ever listened to where I had to struggle to find a weak point. I'm usually really good at ranking songs from favorite to least favorite, but I found that impossible with this CD. It'll be a long-time fave for sure.

#1: Radio:ACTIVE by McFly

And, of course, my all-time favorite CD is by my all-time favorite band. This CD... it's just perfection. I've listened to it on repeat SO. MANY. TIMES. since its release in 2008, and I'm nowhere near tired of it. My list of favorite McFly songs is absolutely dominated by this CD. Up until I reset my iTunes, every single song on this CD was in my top 25 most played. That's 13/25. I love this CD. 

So, those are my top 15 favorite TV shows of all time. Let me know down in the comments what you think of the shows on this list, and what some of your all-time favorite TV shows are!

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Best Songs and Albums of 2014!

Hey, y'all! So, last year, I did a post talking about my top 10 songs and CDs of 2013, and I decided that I should really continue the tradition this year  (link HERE if you want to check out my 2013 faves). This year, however, there are a couple slight changes. The first of those is that I don't have a top 10 this year, at least for CDS. There were only a handful of CDs and that I really, really enjoyed in 2014, so I'm not even going to bother with trying to come up with more just to fill in places.

Last year, I also gave the songs the stipulation that they had to be singles. I didn't do that this year. My favorite songs of the year tended to be the songs that artists didn't release as singles, and I didn't want to neglect them. Last year, I also gave the stipulation that there could only be one song/CD from each artist. That's not the case this year, because I'd be neglecting several amazing songs and CDs.

Best CDs of 2014

#6: Punk Goes Pop, Vol. 6

by Various Artists

These are always just so much fun. Sometimes my biggest problem that I have with a pop song is that I hate the singer or their voice. Punk Goes Pop never fails to take the fun of pop songs and make it just a bit grittier and more enjoyable. 

Best songs: Problem by Set It Off, Royals by Youth in Revolt, and Chocolate by KnucklePuck

#5: Oh, What A Life

by American Authors

For the first half of the year, this was the only CD on my favorites of 2014. I was actually starting to worry that there wouldn't be any others on the list. I really like the folk/pop blend that American Authors create throughout pretty much all of their music. It's really interesting and pretty unique and their songs are nice to just chill out to. Plus, I really love their band name and the album's cover art/ typogrphy. Everything about this CD is just a win.

Best Songs: Heart of Stone, Hit It, Best Day of My Life, Luck

#4: That's Christmas To Me

by Pentatonix

Pentatonix can do no wrong. They're flawless, as is this Christmas CD. I generally don't listen to a ton of Christmas music, but I've listened to this SO. MUCH. I love that they switch up the parts more on this than they usually do, so that everyone gets lead more often. This just got me completely in the holiday spirit. So much fun.

Best Songs: Let It Go, White Winter Hymnal, Sleigh Ride, and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

#3: Don't Kill The Magic

by MAGIC!

I blasted this CD all summer long, and even into the fall. I listened to it over, and over, and over. It's just so good. I love almost all of the songs, and the ones I don't quite love are still pretty good. It's just so chill but so fun. I love the reggae-pop mix that they have going on.

Best Songs: Stupid Me, Paradise, Little Girl Big World, and Mama Didn't Raise No Fool

#2: McBusted

by McBusted

I was actually slightly disappointed that this CD didn't make #1 on my list, but the one at #1 has quickly become one of my all-time favorite albums ever. Anyway, McBusted is absolutely amazing. I still love my beloved McFly more and hope that they'll decide to continue on as just McFly and Busted at some point in the future, but I did really enjoy this CD, and love them as a superband.

Best Songs: Get Over It, Air Guitar, Sensitive Guy, and Hate Your Guts

#1: PTX, Vol. III

by Pentatonix

Yes, I'm fully aware that this is only a 7 song EP and not a full-length album, but I DON'T CARE. This is flawless. I absolutely love this EP. Every song is amazing. I can't accurately express how incredible this is. It was released in September, and I've had it on an almost constant repeat ever since and I'm nowhere near sick of it. I can't imagine how Pentatonix could ever top this. It's just so amazing.

Best Songs: All of them. But since I have to choose, I'll just least them from absolute favorite to less-absolute favorite.
On My Way Home. Problem. La La Latch. Rather Be. See Through. Standing By. Papaoutai.



Best Songs of 2014
I tried really hard to order them from least favorite to favorite, but this order is pretty interchangeable, especially when it comes to #2-7.

#10: Lemonade 
by SOPHIE

This song is so random for me, because I typically don't listen to anything like this at all. But one week on Superfruit (the YouTube channel that Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying from PTX have together), this was Mitch's song of the week, and I was curious so I went and listened to it, and I've been listening to it ever since. It's so unique and weird but super cool and I love it. 

#9: Kick Me
by Sleeping With Sirens

This is the Sleeping With Sirens that I love. It's so aggressive and angry and I'll be 100% happy if their next album sounds a lot like this song. Love the message, love the music. LOVE.

#8: Here's To The Zeros
by Marianas Trench

Marianas Trench squeaked onto the list at pretty much the last second with this song. I've been listening to it on repeat since its release in the last week of the year, and I really love it. It's got me really excited for their new CD that's coming out in the spring. And the lyrics are great. 

#7: Rather Be
by Pentatonix

I've been obsessed with this song ever since I heard Mitch's first opening theme. I'm not a huge fan of the original song, but I love this one a lot. I also think that the music video is really great. It's fun to see them just wandering around Japan, and I especially love the little Scomiche (Scott+Mitch= Scomiche) moments that we get.

#6: Air Guitar
by McBusted

This was the first single that McFly and Busted released as a single entity, and I really enjoyed it. A lot of people thought that there was too much Busted and not enough McFly, but I didn't really feel that way. I thought that Air Guitar (more than most of the songs on the CD) was a really great mix of the two bands.

#5: La La Latch
by Pentatonix

I love how this song highlights all 3 of the main singers of Pentatonix and gives them all their little moments. The video pays homage to the way that they circle up to do their arrangements. And speaking of arrangements, this one is great. They never fail to combine songs in amazing ways.

#4: Pop 101
by Marianas Trench

This song has been on repeat ever since I found out that it existed. This song is basically just Marianas Trench using the medium of a pop song and sampling pop songs to make fun of pop songs and point out all of their flaws. It's hilarious and amazing and extremely accurate. I really love this song.

#3: Problem
by Pentatonix

When this came out, I didn't listen to anything but this song for about a week. Not kidding. Even though I do still wish that Mitch had gotten to sing the really high parts, that's literally the only complaint I could make about this. Mitch's rap is perfection and so sassy. All of the sass. Kevin's beatboxing and whispers are on point. I don't even know what to call Avi's throat thing, but it's incredible too. Everything about this song is just so awesome.

#2: Get Over It
by McBusted

This is McBusted's latest single, and it's definitely my favorite from their CD. It's just so much fun and I've been listening to it on repeat for quite a while now. I love these boys, and if they continue as a supergroup into the new year, I hope that their music continues to be this awesome.


#1: On My Way Home
by Pentatonix

I don't even have the words to say how much I love this song. The first time I listened to it, my jaw hit the ground. This is by far my new favorite original Pentatonix song, and is honestly probably my favorite Pentatonix song of all-time. It has such a cool world music vibe, and the harmonies are so amazing, and I love everything about this song. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

So, those were my favorite songs and CDs of 2014! This was definitely the year of Pentatonix. It was also definitely not the best year of releases. As much as I loved the ones that were on this list, I had to abandon my usual rules in order to have lists of music that I actually really, really enjoyed. I hope that this time next year, my lists are full of 10 CDs by 10 artists and 10 songs by 10 artists, and that I'm struggling to figure out what amazing music I'm going to have to cut from the list. Wishful thinking? Probably. But with releases from at least 3 of my 5 favorite bands coming out in 2015, I'm thinking that it's going to be a great year. 

I've started doing Booktube a little as well, so if you want to check that out, you can click HERE. I plan to post most of my videos to my blog, but just in case I miss one or decide not to post it on here, that will keep you up-to date. 

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

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30 Day McFly Challenge

I really couldn't help myself with this one. McFly is my favorite band, and I can't just waste an opportunity to obsess over them! So here it goes!

My boys, from L to R in both pics: Dougie Poynter, Tom Fletcher, Harry Judd, Danny Jones.  The older one is from about 2004/05, the newer one is... sometime in the last couple years.

Day 01 – Your favourite song: 

Lies!

Day 02 – Your least favourite song:
Hypnotized.

Day 03 – A song that makes you happy:
I would have to say that Love Is Easy makes me happy really easily!

Day 04 – A song that makes you sad:
She Falls Asleep. It's absolutely beautiful, and I can't believe Tom composed it when he was 19/20. It's such a beautifully sad song.

Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone:
Honestly, I can't think of any songs that make me think of someone specifically. One For The Radio makes me think about all the people who bash McFly. But that's about it.

Day 06 – A song that reminds you of somewhere:
Every time I listen to The Last Song, it takes me back to my sophomore year of high school, sitting in a car late at night on a long car ride. That was the first time I listened to the whole song. Before that, I'd only ever listened to the first bit and got bored and skipped it. When I heard the fast part, I fell in love with it, and that's what caused me to fall in love with that whole CD. 

Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event:
I listened to End of The World quite a bit on 12-21-2012 haha ;)

Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to:
Uh... That would be every single McFly song. Not even kidding. 

Day 09 – A song that you can dance to:
I guess Shine A Light. But that shouldn't be an accomplishment, boys!

Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep:
I actually often fall asleep to their music because the more familiar something is, the more I can listen to it and fall asleep to it. And I usually just turn on Radio:ACTIVE on shuffle.

Day 11 – A song where you love the vocals:
I'll Be Your Man... the stripped down version. Not the album version. The album version totally ruined it. Seriously.

Day 12 – A song where you pay more attention to just one instrument:
Definitely Five Colours. That guitar intro is just awesome. Also, their new song Red... I'm currently obsessed with Tom's guitar part on that. It's brilliant. 

Day 13 – A song with embarrassing lyrics:
I'd have to go with Please, Please, because it's about Lindsay Lohan. 

Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love:
Well, my first instinct is to say none, because everyone knows my obsession with McFly... but I guess if I had to choose one, I'd say Nowhere Left To Run. Above The Noise is clearly their weakest album, with as poppy as it is, but Nowhere Left To Run is my favorite on that one (If we're not counting I'll Be Your Man's overproduced album version).

Day 15 – A song that describes you:
Hmm... I guess Smile? Or Only The Strong Survive? Or We Are the Young

Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now ‘hate’: 
I don't 'hate' any McFly songs, but I definitely lost quite a bit of love for Above The Noise. When it first came out, I was willing to accept the change reluctantly, but at this point, I don't like the change. Uhhh... I guess the biggest one apart from that would be Do Ya. It was one of my favorites on Radio:ACTIVE when I first started listening to it, but now that I'm really familiar with the album, it's one of my least favorites on the album. 

Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio:
I'm American, and they don't get played in America :(

Day 18 – A song that makes you feel proud of them:
Hmm... as far as their growth, definitely Red. Out of their recent songs, that one stands out above them all, because I feel like the quality is way better than Above The Noise, and even Love Is Easy, and certainly better than the two newer ones from Memory Lane. But as far as overall... probably Bubble Wrap, because it's one of their best slow songs, and it's so emotional. 

Day 19 – A song from your favourite album:
Everybody Knows, off of Radio:ACTIVE, which just happens to be my all-time favorite CD ever.

Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry:
Only The Strong Survive or Going Through the Motions.

Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy:
Hmmm... Little Joanna... Star Girl... yeah :)

Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad:
Definitely She Falls Asleep.

Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding:
So, obviously everyone's gonna say All About You, but I'm gonna take a different path. I'd want I'll Be Your Man acoustic (or maybe my husband singing it to me?) and The Heart Never Lies. 

Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral:
The Last Song. Maybe A Walk In The Sun... I think it's fitting, but it's not one of my favorite McFly ones. 

Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh:
That Girl, because during the guitar solo, I always picture Danny in the music video breaking the ceiling... and also Please, Please because of its music video... and Star Girl because of its music video... and Transylvania because of its music video. 

Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument:
I can do the intro to Five Colours on guitar. 

Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play:
All of them! But I am learning the ukulele and I want to be able to play Love Is Easy by sometime soon.

Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty:
Guilty? I never feel guilty listening to my boys!

Day 29 – The first song you ever heard of them:
This is a tricky one, because I'm not sure of the timeline on this. I have like... 3 separate incidents.
#1- Five Colours, because I saw Just My Luck before I started listening to them.
#2- I was watching a Jonas Brothers interview (I loved them so much) and Nick (my favorite) said his favorite song was Transylvania by McFly and so I looked it up. I thought it was weird. Idk if this or me seeing JML came first, but I know that I didn't mentally connect the incidents until I actually started listening to them.
#3- Through the Jonas Bros, I discovered Busted and fell in love, and just like all of my music obsessions, I found them on youtube and then watched suggested youtube videos, including McFly! I think the first one I heard by them through this was Five Colours. So I'd say that overall, my first McFly song was Five Colours.

Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year:
Still Lies. Lies has been my favorite for a long time. I also love Sorry's Not Good Enough, Five Colours, Transylvania, and That Girl. Those are my top 5. But I love all of their songs. Seriously.