SPIN's 20 Best Pop Albums of 2014

Betty Who brings a sharp intelligence and warm heart to her debut album, *Take Me When You Go*. The Australian songstress combines tracks from her two EPs with new material under the guidance of producer Peter Thomas, resulting in a high-gloss but very human set that suggests the balladeer passion of Dusty Springfield filtered through the hyperactive pop of Katy Perry. Big-beat workouts like “Somebody Loves You” and “Heartbreak Dream” are exuberant, body-grabbing, and lyrically substantial. The smoldering “Alone Again” and the ethereal “California Rain” reveal Who as a singer of depth and nuance with artistic ambitions that go beyond the next hit single.

Sia Furler’s sixth album immediately unveils its kinetic potential with the unreined anthem “Chandelier”. *1000 Forms of Fear* offers the artist’s most thunderous and frenetic sound to date, employing her powerful voice to punch through layers of tinny electric drums and glitchy synths. Sia teams with The Weeknd and Diplo on “Elastic Heart”, an uptempo electric ballad that uses a dizzying composition and polished harmonies to showcase both Sia’s talent as a songwriter and the album’s skilful production.

Taylor Swift\'s \'80s-inspired fifth studio effort is her first \"official pop album,\" with heavyweights like Max Martin, Shellback, Ryan Tedder, and Jack Antonoff helping construct a sleeker, glitzier sound. \"Shake It Off\" mimics \"Hey Ya,\" OutKast\'s own pledge of allegiance to populism, and echoes of Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and Belinda Carlisle can be heard throughout. *1989* is a juggernaut, as brash and brilliant as the lights of Times Square.

Although her first two studio albums had moments of girl-group sass, Swedish-born singer/songwriter Lykke Li has always been most powerful when the tempos come down. 2010’s *Wounded Rhymes* featured a mascara-stained ‘60s-influenced charmer called “Sadness is a Blessing”; Li’s third album, *I Never Learn*, hones this gift for wallowing with a collection of miserablist dream pop. Stacked with Wall of Sound strings, lean songwriting, and confessional drama, Li’s doleful highlights (“No Rest for the Wicked,” “Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone,” “Never Gonna Love Again”) are carefully constructed ballads that float along in a melancholy, reverb-washed haze. When she fades out with the mournful “Sleeping Alone,” *I Never Learn* emerges as a powerful artistic achievement, every bit as lonely as it is lovely.

Robyn may be an international pop star, but she hasn\'t forsaken the more underground (or unlikely) artists she’s befriended and admired over the years. She’s collaborated with The Knife, Teddybears STHLM, and Snoop Dogg, to name a few, and her old pals Röyksopp make especially fine musical partners. Her pop-flavored EDM energy combines effortlessly with Röyksopp\'s more downbeat, mood-inducing style. That\'s apparent from the get-go on “Monument,” a tune that starts with a comfortable heartbeat wrapped in a samba, only to slowly morph into an ultra-mellow, warmly hissing synth note that keeps time for a slithering saxophone. It’s 10 minutes of bliss, kept alive at times by the sparest layering of percussion and synth whispers, and it’s sublime. “Do It Again” and “Say It” are dancefloor polishers, with the latter hinting at Röyksopp’s Kraftwerk influences and the former a frothy celebration of doing what we want (and doing it again). (A remix collection with versions of “Do It Again” was released shortly after the EP.) 

Five years have passed since La Roux owned the charts with \"Bulletproof,\" during which time vocalist Elly Jackson endured vocal problems and the departure of collaborator Ben Langmaid. Now she\'s released *Trouble in Paradise*, which, despite its ominous title, is full of vibrant, sun-splashed rhythms. Indeed, the rebooted La Roux was worth the wait. Whereas the group\'s debut succeeded on the strength of its icy throb and aggressive sentiments (\"I\'m going in for the kill!\"), *Trouble* proves that Jackson is human after all, infusing her sound with ska, reggae, and the exuberant \'80s pop of groups like General Public and Missing Persons. \"Kiss and Not Tell\" is effervescent electro, while \"Tropical Chancer\" features slinking guitars à la Nile Rodgers. Past and present collide on \"Silent Partner,\" a pulsing reminder that Jackson remains bulletproof when it comes to riling up a dancefloor.

The clever cover art for *Strangers*, the debut album by RAC (a.k.a. Remix Artist Collective), is no accident: depicting a person with a pixilated face, it symbolizes principal member André Allen Anjos\' ambition to blur the line between artist and producer, pop star and pop architect. Known primarily for his work as a remixer of songs by everyone from Kings of Leon to Death Cab for Cutie, Anjos conscripted a diverse array of guests for his debut of original material, including Tokyo Police Club, Yacht, and synth-pop crooner St. Lucia. \"Hard to Hold\" finds Tegan and Sara strutting their stuff over a saccharine midtempo beat, while \"Hollywood\" features Penguin Prison and the kind of chorus that fans of Foster the People or Phoenix will swoon for. Infused with the sounds of \'80s pop, Anjos\' compositions are designed for sunny summer rooftop parties, their Technicolor synths and expressive drum loops complementing the guest list of electro-pop all-stars.

On his third solo album (he released his first as a preteen before The Jonas Brothers), Nick Jonas hits the final nail on his boy-band image. Here he jettisons bubbly pop-rock for sleek electro and contemplative R&B. The single \"Jealous\" features a sizzling midtempo pulse and Jonas unleashing his comely falsetto, while \"Teacher\" is roller-rink disco down to its bumpy bass and playful synths. On \"Numb,\" he teams with rapper Angel Haze for a slinking slice of trap&B. Even \"Avalanche,\" with its soaring chorus and cameo from fellow Disney grad Demi Lovato, is a reflective, grown-up ballad.

Having written songs for Icona Pop as part of super-producer Max Martin\'s homegrown songwriting crew, Swedish chanteuse Tove Lo steps into the spotlight on her pulsing debut. *Queen* is thematically organized around the phases of a relationship: i.e., \"The Sex,\" \"The Love,\" and \"The Pain.\" \"Talking Body\" is surging electro that celebrates physical intimacy, while on \"Not on Drugs\" Tove asserts over high-voltage EDM, \"I\'m not on drugs/I\'m just in love.\" The millions who danced to the soaring \"Habits (Stay High)\" in 2014 know how things end: \"Binge on all the Twinkies/Throw up in the tub.\" That\'s amore!

Featuring production from Timbaland, ratchet music all-star DJ Mustard, and two breakout tracks from cult hip-hopper Wallpaper, *Talk Dirty* is full of intriguing beats and bold melodies. \"Trumpets\" has a New Orleans bounce vibe, while \"Wiggle\" (featuring a characteristically slinking verse from Snoop Dogg) boasts a minimalist Neptunes sheen. Meanwhile, \"The Other Side\" is a wallop of EDM fervor.

While he came to prominence as the guitarist for fun., Jack Antonoff formerly fronted the pop-punk upstarts Steel Train and has written songs for the likes of Taylor Swift and Sara Bareilles. He\'s a pro, in other words, and his craftsmanship shines through on the debut of his new project, Bleachers. Packing more \'80s punch than a pair of legwarmers and a can of Tab, *Strange Desire* looks to acts like Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, and Duran Duran for inspiration. \"Wake Me\" has some \"Voices Carry\" ethereal slow-jam magic to it, and \"Rollercoaster\" sounds like Blink-182 covering \"Dancing in the Dark.\" Even Yoko Ono shows up to add some angular \'80s experimentalism. Yet the smash single \"I Want to Get Better\" is distinctly of-the-moment, a mash of looped pianos and choral chanting that makes for one of the summer\'s most unlikely jams.

Name-checking a host of other female pop stars, Lily Allen opens her third album with a plainspoken demand: “Gimme that crown… I wanna be Sheezus.” The charts would have a lot more moxie under Allen’s reign—*Sheezus* is brimming with sarcastic one-liners and quick-witted feminist jabs. Produced largely by GRAMMY®-winning songwriter Greg Kurstin (Foster the People, Ellie Goulding), Allen’s songs can be playfully sweet (the sweeping “Air Balloon” and the bubbling “L8 CMMR”), sardonic (the midtempo highlight “Our Time”), or downright salty (the anti-misogyny tirade of “Hard out Here”). But it’s the songwriter’s whip-smart intelligence that gives the big hooks of *Sheezus* lasting substance.