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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Green Day- American Idiot

Hey, y'all! It's time for me to talk about another CD on my shelf! As always, I put my iTunes on shuffle, and the CD containing the first song that played is the one I'll be talking about!

Release Date: September 20, 2004

Genre: Pop Punk, Punk Rock, Alternative

Track Listing

1. American Idiot
2. Jesus of Suburbia
3. Holiday
4. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
5. Are We The Waiting
6. St. Jimmy
7. Give Me Novocaine
8. She's a Rebel
9. Extraordinary Girl
10. Letterbomb
11. Wake Me Up When September Ends
12. Homecoming
13. Whatsername

Green Day lineup:
Billie Joe Armstrong- vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
Mike Dirnt- bass guitar
Tre Cool- drums, percussion

L-R: Mike, Billie Joe, Tre

About Green Day: 
I'm sure I don't have to tell you too much about Green Day, since they're pretty famous. They have released 11 studio albums to date. And that's not even including compilations and live CDs. They've sold millions and millions of CDs. Fun fact that you may not know: Dookie, their first big success, has actually sold 10 million copies in the US, while American Idiot, which is often considered to be their most well known and commercially successful album, has only sold 6 million in the US!

My Opinion about Green Day:
I really like Green Day, but they don't quite make my top 10 bands. They'd definitely make my top 20, and probably my top 15, but they don't quite get up there. I've found that of all the bands I like, the ones that are super commercially successful (like Green Day, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! At The Disco), while I do really like those bands, they're almost never the ones that end up as my absolute favorites. IDK if I subconsciously like really popular bands less, or if the ones that are popular only among alternative fans just make better music. Although I would say that among the alternative bands, Green Day is definitely one of the most talented ones. 

About the CD:  

What could I say about this CD that you may not already know? I'm thinking NOTHING. One fun fact about the CD is that the band originally recorded an entire album, before the master tracks were stolen and they decided to start from scratch, writing new songs, which would go on to become American Idiot, which is possibly their most commercially successful album

IMHO: 
I hate to be "that" Green Day fan, but I would be lying if I said that this wasn't my favorite CD by them. Even the songs that I don't like as much are really great. Green Day created a masterpiece with this CD, and I honestly don't think they'll ever be able to outdo themselves.

As always, I'm going to give each song a rating out of 10 and then give a brief explanation of why it got that rating. 

---------------------------------------------------

American Idiot- 10/10. There's a reason that this song is one of Green Day's most well-known songs. It's so true to Green Day's whole vibe and so in your face that it's hard to dislike it. Plus, it's just so fun to jam to.

Jesus of Suburbia- 10/10. Generally, I have trouble making it all the way through songs that are nearly 10 minutes long, but I could listen to this one on repeat. Granted, it is a 5 act song, a la Bohemian Rhapsody, but it's just so great, and each section is just as strong as the last.

Holiday- 9.5/10. The guitar part is just really great and recognizable. And I really love the bridge. I don't know what else to say, I just really enjoy this song! Also, the way it seamlessly transitions to Boulevard is great. 

Boulevard of Broken Dreams- 9/10. This is a really great song. It would have a higher rating, but I'm just incredibly burnt out from hearing it as many times as I've heard it. 

Are We The Waiting- 8.5/10. It's a good song, but it's not one of my favorites on the CD. I can never seem to enjoy the slower Green Day songs as much as the fast ones.

St. Jimmy- 9.5/10. This is what Green Day does best, heavy guitar, fast tempo, gritty vocals. It just works so well, and it shows off all of their strongest skills.

Give Me Novocaine- 9/10. I really like the contrast between the relaxed verses and the heavy chorus. This is one of Green Day's strongest slower songs, in my opinion. And once again, the transition into the next song is really great.

She's a Rebel- 10/10. Possibly my favorite song on the whole CD. Although it's really short, it embodies Green Day's vibe almost perfectly. It's so loud and jam-worthy. Any time it comes on, I crank up the volume. 

Extraordinary Girl- 8.5/10. Good, but not one of my favorites on the CD. I actually tend to forget that it's on the CD, so that shows how much I really pay attention to it! But when I actually listen to it, I enjoy it. 

Letterbomb- 9/10.  Surprisingly, I don't like this one quite as much as some of their other fast songs. Although, I do really like the line "It's not over 'til you're underground" as well as the tie-ins to all the other songs.

Wake Me Up When September Ends- 9.5/10. If you'd asked me a year or two ago, this probably would've gotten a 10. But like Boulevard, this one has just been played far too many times. It's a great song, I just need some distance from it, after how much I used to listen to it. 

Homecoming- 8/10. This is one of the long songs I have more trouble making it through. This is probably my least favorite song on the CD, just because it keeps going and going. Obviously, I still like it since I gave it 8, but it takes some patience for me to get through the entire song.

Whatsername- 9/10. I love the simplicity of all of the instruments' parts, and how although they're playing basically the same thing over and over, it creates a really good song.

---------------------------------------------------

Favorite Songs: She's A Rebel, American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, and Holiday.

Least Favorite Songs: Homecoming, Are We The Waiting, and Extraordinary Girl.

Video! 

American Idiot music video

Jesus of Suburbia music video

Rating: 9.5/10. I'd say that this CD is probably one of my favorites of all-time. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. If I were giving 1/4 points, this would get a 9.75, but since I'm not, and since 10 is getting reserved for the best best of the best, this one loses out a bit. But it's such a great CD and it is an extremely cohesive CD, which gives it major brownie points

Hope you liked my newest "The CDs on my Shelf" post! Have any questions? What are your opinions on Green Day? Let me know in the comments. If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow, because it lets me know y'all are liking them! Hope you enjoyed! Comment, comment, comment! I love feedback! Thanks for reading!

My Favorite Youtubers!

Hey, y'all! I figured that since I've been doing this blogging thing for a while, and quite a few people have read my blog, it might be cool to let you know a bit more about me and stuff that I like. This is the second post in what I believe will probably be a Saturday series.

Edit (Feb. 2014): I now have an updated list! If you're interested, you'll want to go ahead and read this (I don't go into detail about returning favorites in the update) and then I'll link the update post at the bottom!

I, like many other people my age, spend quite a bit of time on Youtube. Ok, I probably spend more time than most people, but I just don't want to focus on a full movie or TV show. Plus, there are quite a few people on Youtube who I just LOVE to watch!

There are 23 people on this list. Yes, I know that's a weird number, but it's actually like that mostly because I didn't shoot for any specific number! I just scrolled down my subscriptions, and every one that popped up that I watch all the time, I wrote down. Once I got into my top 10, I couldn't really figure out which I liked best, because they're often in videos together!

First off, let's get this one out of the way:

Tom Fletcher

I count him as a Youtuber, but most people wouldn't, so I excluded him from the countdown. He's one of the lead singers of my favorite band (as well as my favorite member of the band) and he's my biggest celeb crush.... of pretty much all-time. And he makes lots of great and funny videos, including covering songs, singing McFly songs, and OF COURSE, the wedding speech, which had me sobbing solely because I'm not Giovanna. So... I say he counts, but he's not on the list because he's a legit musician.

My Top 23 Youtubers!

#23: MattG124

I just recently discovered Matt, and that's mostly why he's all the way down here. I haven't watched a ton of his videos, but the more I see, the more I love him. Plus I find him super attractive. Although I'm not sure the green was a good choice. Maybe red... or blue... green just looks like snot. Also, he knows Jack Barakat from All Time Low and makes videos with him. Which is kinda amazing. 

#22: ThatcherJoe

In case you didn't know, he's a British youtuber, and is sister is Zoey/ Zoella on Youtube. While I find Joe really funny, I actually don't always watch his videos. I always watch if he's doing a collab with another youtuber, but it's hit or miss with him.

#21: Caspar Lee

I like Caspar. He's from South Africa, but currently lives in England. He's just too much sometimes. I know a lot of the stupid, annoying, and rude stuff he does and says is usually just him playing a character, and he isn't really a moody little jerk, but sometimes the funny annoying turns into actual annoying and I'm like, OK Caspar. Chill pill time.

#20: Jenna Marbles

OK, we all know Jenna Marbles. You're probably surprised that I like her, but don't like her that much. I think she's funny, but once again, her videos are hit or miss for me. Just sometimes, they don't interest me! I actually usually like her older stuff better than newer. Although I did like What are this? 

#19: Pleated-Jeans

He isn't extremely well known, but I never miss a video! He's so funny! Even though he only uploads once a week and it's a 2 minute video, I really think that once more people discover him, he'll become big. But if you want to go check him out, make sure you go to Pleated-Jeans, NOT PleatedJeans. He had to move to a new channel for a lot of different reasons, and PleatedJeans is the old/original one.

#18: Quirkology

Richard Wiseman (in the picture above) is a psychologist who specializes in the more quirky, odd aspects of human thinking. He's the author of several books, including Quirkology, which is what his youtube channel is named after (or vice-versa. I'm not sure which came first). The channel is devoted to different videos about illusions and tricking the mind. It's like those videos where you'll be told to watch and see how many times a team passes a ball, but you'll miss the gorilla walking around in the background. He also lets you see the behind the scenes of how his "tricks" work. They're all really clever! The only thing I don't like is that he doesn't really upload much. I've watched all of his videos and haven't seen a new one fro a while. I actually have the book Quirkology and I've read a bit of it, and it's also pretty interesting!

#17: JacksGap

Although Jack and Finn are probably the most popular of the British youtubers on my list, they just aren't my favorite! There are many videos by them that I really love, but sometimes they just aren't as interesting. I have a feeling that girls only watch them because they're attractive. And while, yes, they're very attractive (Finn more so than Jack!) they aren't as funny as some other youtubers that I like. I really like Ask Jack 2, their challenges, and their collabs!

#16: Michael Buckley

I've watched Michael Buckley since before my freshman year of high school (5 years ago, just BTW). Back then, I watched What The Buck all the time. Now, however, I usually just watch him on the MyIsh channel doing the weekly IshList, where he has a 7 item long list like "7 most popular Draw my life videos" or "Top 7 summer songs of 2013" and he's just so funny and over the top. I love him.

#15: Connor Franta

Connor is a fairly well known youtuber, but not quite as well known as some of his more popular friends (Like Joey Graceffa). I really like his videos, though. He's really funny and I love how goofy and silly he is in all of his videos. He's also extremely random, and I especially love when he collabs with other youtubers. 

#14: Tyler Oakley

He's just too funny and such a fangirl. I love watching all his collabs with British youtubers. Plus just his normal videos. I also love seeing him fill in for Michael Buckley on the IshList!

#13: AmazingPhil

If you didn't know, Phil is another British youtuber. He's just so precious, and just seems so innocent and adorable. I really love him and his videos, especially when he's with Danisnotonfire. But even when it's just Phil, I love watching him and seeing how awkward he is and hearing all of his embarrassing and awkward childhood stories.

#12: Sawyer Hartman

Sawyer is one of my more recent discoveries, but I have fallen in love with him... and his adorable puppy Hitch!!! I mostly love watching his challenges/collabs, but he's a really talented film-maker! I also think it's really funny that even though he's such a prettyboy and has a girly dog, he thinks he's totally gangster. It's adorable.

#11: Sam Pepper

Sam is such a unique and shameless guy! He's insanely funny and his pranks are just so clever and hilarious! I also really love that he seems like this totally edgy dude and in reality, he's a total straight-edge who doesn't even drink at all. He makes really cool videos (Like the things we do... videos) and he's just absolutely precious!

#10: Smosh/ IanH/ Their other channels

I'm pretty sure that Smosh was the first channel I was subscribed to back in 2007 when I made my youtube account. And although I still really like their videos, the only main channel videos I really watch anymore are the old-school ones and Food Battle. I actually REEEEALLY like lunchtime with Smosh... I just haven't watched in a while. Last summer, I went CRAZY with Lunchtime with Smosh. I watched like 200 episodes and stayed up all night. It was bad. But I love them. They crack me up!

Before I go any further:

2-9 were literally the hardest thing to rank on this list. I almost just said "OK, I don't know how these youtubers rank because I love all 8 of them so much that I just couldn't decide, so here they are in alphabetical order." But I decided that was a cop-out. So I did rank them (SOMEHOW) but just keep in mind that these are the youtubers whose videos I never miss. I love them all almost equally.

#9: Nick Foti (SoundlyAwake, StillSoundlyAwake)

(Nick is in the striped shirt, btw) He and Ken (the one waving) do daily vlogs on StillSoundlyAwake, while Nick does comedy videos on SoundlyAwake. I like the SoundlyAwake videos, and watch almost all of them, but I watch the daily vlogs (or as they call them, the "DITLO"- Day In The Life Of) almost every day. Nick has a unique sense of humor, and I love it. I can't really even figure out how to explain it...Sometimes he says things in an odd way like one I just found: "The link is in the description, so you can click it with you finger... skins." and sometimes he'll be like "what words was I trying to say with my voice box?" and "You can check out the link below in the description box... in the below region of this video..." It's funnier when he actually says it, but seriously, he's just so hilarious.

#8: Shane Dawson

Fun fact, when I first subscribed to Shane Dawson's main channel back in 2008, he was just 20 and had about 15,000 subscribers. I think he had maybe... oh goodness... I wanna say 15 videos, but that doesn't sound like enough. I don't know. But, I've been there since practically the beginning, and I just love him. I don't watch main channel videos much anymore, because I love his daily videos way too much. But I have to have at least a little ShaneyShane in my day every day!

#7: The Fine Bros

Their react videos are just so great. I don't always love Kids React, but I absolutely love the other 3. Their spoilers are just awesome and they seem like genuinely great guys and they love what they do. Also, this gif is just precious. I don't know why, but it is. Also, I love the little pattycake game they play at the end of all their spoiler videos! I love that two brothers are so close... Also am I the only one that thinks they look nothing alike? It's not just me, right?

#6: JacksFilms

Jack has a series called Your Grammar Sucks, where he reads youtube/facebook/etc. comments with terrible grammar. When I discovered it, it was like a little hole in my heart was filled. I watched all (at the time) 30something in a single night.  My biggest pet peeve is bad grammar, so finding this was like discovering the meaning of life. And on top of all that, he also minored in music theory in college, which is one of my favorite subjects. So basically, Jack Douglass is my spirit animal. 

#5: Marcus Butler

Marcus is just hilarious. First of all, look at this, and then look up at the Tom Fletcher gif. They basically look like brothers. It's kinda weird. Anyway, I especially love the video that this gif is from, because all of his "bad habits" in the video are things that are my terrible habits as well! His girl voice is also really funny, and I of course love his collabs... and just literally every video he makes. I don't think I've found one where I'm like "hmmm, I'm not sure that one looks as interesting." Any time I see him pop up under subscriptions, I just click. Plus, even though it's a single word, he has, hands down, one of the best youtube intros... ever. Heeee-eeeelooooooo!

#4: Alfie Deyes (PointlessBlog)

Speaking of great intros, I also love Alfie's! And he just happens to be Marcus Butler's best friend! Marcus and Alfie (or Malfie, as fans love to call them) have the best collab videos! I love watching them together, but I also love Alfie just a touch more than Marcus. I think it's really cool to see someone who's my age doing this and having such success, and he just cracks me up! And the topics for his videos are always really cool and interesting as well. 

#3: Joey Graceffa

Joey got 2 gifs because it's not possible to contain his adorableness in just one. From his silliness to his old man voice to his "Oh my goodness gracionious!" he's just precious. Plus, the Joey and Shane videos are just the best. Seriously, I don't even know how to put into words why I love him... If you've seen his videos, you get it. He's just one of those people who's a total sweetheart and probably gives great hugs. Just... LOVE.

#2: Rhett And Link

First off, I love how perfectly this captures their personalities. Link is just all excited and Rhett is like "what is he doing?" but you can tell he's giggling inside. If you don't know who these two are, they're so, so awesome. They did a show called Good Mythical Morning, and I've seen SO many of those 12-13 minute long episodes, plus their new show, The Mythical Show. I can literally just turn them on and be entertained. And in case you were wondering, yes, Rhett is my favorite.

And now, for #1...

#1: Dan Howell (Danisnotonfire)

Dan is just the coolest. Plus, best intro. Hello, internet! He's absolutely hilarious. Literally, the best sense of humor. Irony, sarcasm, annoyance at the same things that annoy me... for example:

But at the same time, he's literally one of the most lovably awkward and clumsy people ever...

And seriously, how could you deny this?

And I won't even get into Dan and Phil's friendship, because that'll take even more gifs... 

Ok, Ok, no more. The fangirling is about to get hardcore, and no one wants to see that. Basically, besides being totally precious, Dan is just hilarious and awkward and his videos always make my day much better. Plus, when I watched his Draw My Life video, I realized that we had a lot of similarities as teenagers... pretending to like Hollister to get people to like us, had dogs who died at like the same time, had an existential crisis, etc. All the important things of life. I seriously can't explain my feels. Plus, his birthday is the day after mine. It's fate.

So, there you go, all of my favorite youtubers! I think I did a great job of maintaining my sanity up until that last one! Hope you enjoyed this! If you did, let me know in the comments, and subscribe to get updates when I post!

Click HERE to see my updated Favorite Youtubers list!