The Decibel Geek Top Albums of 2014 - Staff Picks

Well fellow Decibel Geeks it's that time of year again and as 2014 draws to a close the staff here at Decibel Geek Podcast have compiled their list of the top ten best albums that this year has produced.  With our staff having grown by quite a bit throughout 2014, we were able to welcome new writers from around the globe to the team.  The weekly podcast reached new highs in the iTunes podcast charts, expanding the audience through exciting and informative weekly episodes and entertaining special guests such as John Corabi, Dick Wagner, Paul Taylor, Gary Corbett, Todzilla, Luc Carl, Mike Tramp, Chuck Garric, Killer Dwarfs, Wallygator & The Meister, Brighton Rock.......and more.

2014 saw a whopping amount of strong releases issued in every sub genre and with the varied tastes and interests of our staff you can imagine our top ten is quite widespread.  Each of the staff submitted their personal top ten (each of which appears below) and the bands were assigned points depending on where they ranked in that particular list (1 point for #10 and 10 points for #1).  The points were then tallied up to provide the collective top ten from all of us here at Decibel Geek Podcast.  While we might not always agree on these things one thing's for sure: we all love music and  due to some of my colleagues picks, I personally, have been inspired to revisit some albums that did not make the cut for me as well as explore some new ones and we hope that we can turn you onto some of the great efforts of 2014, if you haven't been already.

Please support these bands and all of your favorite bands to keep the music alive and flowing, by clicking on the included links to purchase.  With some already exciting releases on the horizon for 2015, don't forget to check out our "New Release" section updated regularly and follow Decibel Geek on Social Media: iTunes / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Instagram

DECIBEL GEEK PODCAST'S COLLECTIVE TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2014:

(Click on the blue album name for Amazon.com purchase link)

10) Tesla - Simplicity 18pts
9) KXM - KXM 19pts / Winger - Better Days Comin' 19pts
8) Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter 22pts
7) Rated X - Rated X 23pts
6) Ace Frehley - Space Invader 24pts
5) Vega - Stereo Messiah 25pts
4) Primal Fear - Delivering the Black 27pts
3) Slash - World on Fire 31pts
2) Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls 50pts
1) Accept - Blind Rage 52pts
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INDIVIDUAL STAFF'S TOP TEN PICKS:

Warren Money (Staff Writer...who was the first to submit his list)

10) Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways (1 point)
9) Winger - Better Days Comin' (2 points)
8) Diamond Lane - Terrorizer (3 points)
7) Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (4 points)
6) Billy Idol - Kings & Queens of the Underground (5 points)
5) Mr. Big - ...The Stories We Could Tell (6 points)
4) Sammy Hagar - Lite Roast (7 points)
3) Judas Priest -Redeemer of Souls (8 points)
2) Ace Frehley - Space Invader (9 points)
1) Sixx A.M. - Modern Vintage (10 points)
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Bakko (Staff Writer)

10) Ace Frehley - Space Invader (1) - 10pts

9) Godsmack - 1000hp (2)
8) Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways (3) - 4pts
7) Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (4) - 8pts
6) King Buzzo - This Machine Kills Artists (5)
5) Birds Of Satan - Birds of Satan (6)
4) American Dog - Neanderthal (7)
3) Orange Goblin - Back From the Abyss (8)
2) The Oddfathers - Double Live 45 (9)
1) Red Dragon Cartel - Red Dragon Cartel (10)
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Billy Hardaway (Staff Writer)

10) Winger - Better Days Comin' (1) - 3pts
9) Angels or Kings - Kings of Nowhere (2)
8) Lynch Mob - Sun Red Sun (3)
7) AC/DC - Rock or Bust (4)
6) Moonland - Moonland (5)
5) Tesla - Simplicity (6)
4) Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (7) 15pts
3) Work of Art - Framework (8)
2) Slash - World on Fire (9)
1) Vega - Stereo Messiah (10)
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The Meister (Staff Writer....who changed a few of his about a 100 times)

10) Mortician - Shout For Heavy Metal (1)
9) Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (2) 17pts
8) Ammotrack - Raise Your Hands (3)
7) House of Lords - Precious Metal (4)
6) Helix - Bastard of the Blues (5)
5) In Faith - There's A Storm Coming (6)
4) Battleaxe - Heavy Metal Sanctuary (7)
3) Accept - Blind Rage (8)
2) Sister Sin - Black Lotus (9)
1) Primal Fear - Delivering the Black (10)
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Derik Novak (Staff Writer & Twitter Guy....follow us: Twitter)

10) Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie (1)
9) Alice Cooper - Raise the Dead: Live From Wacken (2)
8) Crazy Lixx - Crazy Lixx (3)
7) Kix - Rock Your Face Off (4)
6) Red Zone Rider - Red Zone Rider (5)
5) Rated X - Rated X (6)
4) Krokus - Long Stick Goes Boom: Live From Da House of Rust (7)
3) Accept - Blind Rage (8) 16pts
2) Judas Priest -Redeemer of Souls  (9) 26pts
1) KXM - KXM (10)
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Andy Lafon (Staff Writer.....who can't follow simple directions and just had to go to 11!)

11) Sister Sin - Black Lotus (0pts...only need top ten albums)
10) Sinbreed - Shadows (1)
9) Sebastian Bach - Give 'Em Hell (2)
8) AC/DC - Rock or Bust  (3) 7pts
7) Overkill - White Devil Armory (4)
6) Tesla - Simplicity (5) 11pts
5) Night Ranger - High Road (6)
4) Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (7) 33pts
3) House of Lords - Precious Metal (8) 12pts
2) Accept - Blind Rage (9) 25pts
1) Riot V - Unleash the Fury (10)
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                                                                       David Alpizar (Staff Writer)
10) Red Zone Rider - Red Zone Rider (1) 6pts
9) X-Drive - Get Your Rock On (2)
8) Night Ranger - High Road (3) 9pts
7) Whitesnake - Live in '84: Back to the Bone (4)
6) Kobra & The Lotus - High Priestess (5)
5) Ace Frehley - Space Invader (6) 16pts
4) Tesla - Simplicity (7) 18pts
3) Rated X - Rated X (8) 14pts
2) Mike Tramp - Museum (9)
1) Winger - Better Days Comin' (10) 13pts

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The Lionsheart (Staff Writer....who has a crystal ball and included a 2015 release!)

10) Nightmare - The Aftermath (1)
9) 220 Volt - Walking in Starlight (2)
8) Helix - Bastard of the Blues (3) 8pts
7) Axxis - Kingdom of the Night II: White Edition (4)
6) Brother Firetribe - Diamond in the Firepit (5)
5) China - We Are the Stars (6)
4) Primal Fear - Delivering the Black (7) 17pts
3) The Storyteller - Sacred Fire (0pts....2015 release!)
2) Magnum - Escape From the Shadow Garden (9)
1) Accept - Blind Rage (10) 35pts
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Metal Mike (The Instagram Guy....follow us: Instagram)

10) Sixx A.M. - Modern Vintage (1) 11pts
9) Down - Down IV: Part II (2)
8) Sebastian Bach - Give 'Em Hell (3) 5pts
7) Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (4) 37pts
6) Lynch Mob - Sun Red Sun (5) 8pts
5) Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (6) 14pts
4) Kyng - Burn the Serum (7)
3) Slash - World on Fire (8) 17pts
2) KXM - KXM (9) 19pts
1) Crobot - Something Supernatural (10)
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B.J. Kahuna (Staff Writer)

10) Cloud Nothings - Here & Nowhere Else (1)
9) Bob Mould - Beauty & Ruin (2)
8) The New Mendicants - Into the Lime (3)
7) Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World (4)
6) Accept - Blind Rage (5) 40pts
5) New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers (6)
4) Slash - World on Fire (7) 24pts
3) Steve Conte - NYC (8)
2) King Tuff - Black Moon Spell (9)
1) Heavy Tiger - Saigon Kiss (10)
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Kate Campbell (Staff Writer...who has gone back in time to include two 2013 releases!)

10) Devil Driver - Winter Kills (0pts....2013 release date)
9) Starset - Transmissions (2)
8) Lacuna Coil - Broken Crown Halo (3)
7) Islander - Violence & Destruction (4)
6) Ethan Brosh - Live the Dream (5)
5) Killer Dwarfs - Start @ One (0pts....2013 release date)
4) Linkin Park - The Hunting Party (7)
3) Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (8) 22pts
2) New Medicine - Breaking the Model (9)
1) In This Moment - Black Widow (10)
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Brian Ronald (Staff Photographer....another wiseguy with a crystal ball and a 2015 release!)

10) Riot V - Unleash the Fury (1) 11pts
9) Kix - Rock Your Face Off (2) 6pts
8) Houston - Relaunch II (3)
7) DragonForce - Maximum Overload (4)
6) Silver - Idolized (0pts....2015 release) (I stand corrected-CD in      2015 / MP3 released in 2014)
5) Miss Behaviour - Double Agent (6)
4) Vega - Stereo Messiah (7) 17pts
3) Night By Night - NXN (8)
2) Seether - Isolate & Medicate (9)
1) Primal Fear - Delivering the Black (10) 27pts
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Wallygator (Staff Writer)

10) Kix - Rock Your Face Off (1) 7pts
9) Sebastian Bach - Give 'Em Hell (2) 7pts
8) Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (3) 40pts
7) Sixx A.M. - Modern Vintage (4) 15pts
6) Helix - Bastard of the Blues (5) 13pts
5) Winger - Better Days Comin' (6) 19pts
4) Accept - Blind Rage (7) 47pts
3) Ace Frehley - Space Invader (8) 24pts
2) Steve Conte - NYC (9) 17pts
1) AC/DC - Rock or Bust (10) 17pts
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Brian Boyle (Staff Writer)

10) AC/DC - Rock or Bust (1) 18pts
9) Devilstrip - Rise (2)
8) Mr. Big - ...The Stories We Could Tell (3) 9pts
7) Black State Highway - Black State Highway (6)
6) Accept - Blind Rage (5) 52pts
5) Kix - Rock Your Face Off (6) 13pts
4) Slash - World on Fire (7) 31pts
3) Vega - Stereo Messiah (8) 25pts
2) Rated X - Rated X (9) 23pts
1) Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (10) 50pts
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SOME OTHER TOP PICKS FROM OUR READER & LISTENERS:

Edguy - Space Police / Steel Panther - All You Can Eat / Sonata Arctica - Pariah's Child / California Breed - California Breed / Sabaton - Heroes / Hammerfall - (R)Evolution / Headstones - One In the Chamber Music / Gotthard - Bang / Iced Earth - Plagues of Babylon / Bloodbound - Stormborn / Bigelf - Into the Maelstrom / At the Gates - At War With Reality / Machinehead - Bloodstone & Diamonds / Shaman's Harvest - Smokin' Hearts & Broken Guns / Cripper - Hyena \ Grave Digger - Return of the Reaper / High Spirits - You Are Here / Slough Feg - Digital Resistance / Drone - Drone / Schandmaul - Unendlich / Devin Townsend - Z2 / Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright in the End / NEEDTOBREATHE - Rivers in the Wasteland / Opeth - Pale Communion / Gamma Ray - Empire of the Undead / Freedom Call - Beyond / Black Stone Cherry - Magic Mountain
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With the releases already announced for 2015, we say bring it on!  Check out some of the list: "New Release"
Cheers from all of us here at The Decibel Geek Podcast!