If anyone ever tells you there’s no good music anymore — or worse, if the music nerd in your life declares a year bereft of great albums — they’re either not trying hard enough or trying too hard. If you dig a little, every year offers great music, and this one was no different. Here are my favorites of 2014.

—Ben Salmon

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THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS, ‘BRILL BRUISERS’ (Matador)

The best band of the past 15 years bounces back from a couple of relative downers with its finest album since 2003. On “Brill Bruisers,” New Pornos helmsman Carl Newman leads his gifted gang of pop-geniuses through a variegated landscape of effervescent synthesizers, crunchy riff confections, endless “oohs” and “aahs” and irresistible melodies. A monument to the restoring power of sumptuous, skyscraping pop-rock music, “Brill Bruisers” is the most exhilarating album of the year.

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IAN WILLIAM CRAIG, ‘A TURN OF BREATH’ (Recital Program)

Ian William Craig is a trained opera singer originally from Edmonton, Canada, now based in Vancouver. And on “A Turn Of Breath,” he runs his considerable vocal ability through a gauntlet of unconventional home-recording techniques and experimental tape-looping. The result is stunning: Craig’s vocals, chopped and skewed, fight to peek through a hazy maze of murmur and hiss, all the while rising and falling like the tides. “A Turn Of Breath” is beautiful and odd, a breathtaking triumph of ambient music.

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YG, ‘MY KRAZY LIFE’ (Def Jam)

Compton rapper YG’s longtime friend DJ Mustard took over pop music this year, making beats for big names like T.I. and Fergie. But his best work was on “My Krazy Life,” a day-in-the-life masterpiece that brought back SoCal gangsta rap’s classic synth-funk sound. Mustard casts such a shadow, YG has become undervalued for his “Krazy” verses, where he deftly paints a 3-D picture of the streets. The thrill and the fellowship, the fear and regret: YG leaves no detail behind on the best rap album of 2014.

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LYDIA LOVELESS, ‘SOMEWHERE ELSE’ (Bloodshot)

After the release of her fine 2011 album “Indestructible Machine,” Lydia Loveless — a spirited twentysomething Ohioan — was hailed as the ascendant queen of alt-country. Rather than slip on that crown, though, she flexed some serious muscle on her followup, a killer collection of heartache anthems that set Loveless’ robust voice and raw-nerved lyrics against her band’s ragged and only mildly rootsy rock ‘n’ roll. Love. Loss. Life. If you’re a human with a heartbeat, Lydia Loveless will speak to you.

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STEPHEN STEINBRINK, ‘ARRANGED WAVES’ (Melodic)

Say hello to the hidden gem of 2014, an album spilling over with odd little pop songs that won’t leave your head. Stephen Steinbrink isn’t unknown; the idiosyncratic songwriter has recorded seven albums and played hundreds of shows, after all. But his style — chiming guitars, winsome melodies, intricate arrangements and a woozy ‘70s singer-songwriter vibe — isn’t the kind of thing that gets much attention these days. Which is too bad. This guy would be a star in a world that will never exist.

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SUGAR STEMS, ‘ONLY COME OUT AT NIGHT’ (Dirtnap)

There are records packed with hooks and then there’s Sugar Stems’ “Only Come Out At Night,” a powerhouse of power-pop and the catchiest album of the year. The motor inside this well-oiled machine from Milwaukee is Betsy Heibler, a woman with an apparently preternatural gift for placing chords and notes in the optimal order for earworminess. “Only Come Out At Night” is a tireless charmer; you’ll find yourself singing along long after you’ve put it back on the shelf, and that’s a beautiful thing to behold.

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WOODS OF DESOLATION, ‘AS THE STARS’ (Northern Silence)

Black metal broke out in 2013, thanks to the gentle shrieks and post-rock sheen of Deafheaven’s “Sunbather” album. A year later, Woods of Desolation — a one-man project of an Australian man known only as D. — deserves the same kind of accolades for “As The Stars,” an expansive soundworld where shredded howls and cymbal crashes exist, they’re just evermore distant as D.’s shimmering, shoegaze-y guitar work carries you up and up and away. Eventually, the ceaseless crescendos blur into bliss.

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MOGWAI, ‘RAVE TAPES’ (Sub Pop)

The Scottish band Mogwai made its name by making ear-pulverizing post-rock, in which hulking glaciers of guitars rose to the sky, only to calve into a million glittering shards. “Rave Tapes,” their eighth studio album, is not that. Here, the band burrows its way into dusky grooves built from electronic gadgets and analog aesthetic, then rides that vibe as guitars embellish the fringes. The result sounds like a downcast robot sighing into the void. Mogwai still builds, it just builds in a different direction.

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ALVVAYS, ‘ALVVAYS’ (Polyvinyl)

“Alvvays” is home to one of 2014’s best songs, “Archie, Marry Me,” a timeless, loping pop wonder that shines so bright, it’d obscure the rest of a lesser album. But these Canadians’ debut is packed end to end with pop gems that won’t be overshadowed. Across nine tracks, Alvvays effortlessly delivers pitch-perfectly fuzzy indie-pop, highlighted by Molly Rankin’s elongated melodies and icy cool. Alvvays makes sunny music for overcast days, or overcast music for sunny days. Whichever you need.

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ALLO DARLIN’, ‘WE COME FROM THE SAME PLACE’ (Slumberland)

Allo Darlin’s third album fades into view with the dull thud of a drum kit emulating a heartbeat, a bit of foreshadowing for this European quartet’s relentlessly pretty third album. As her mates lay out a blanket of understated, ukulele-fueled indie-pop, frontwoman Elizabeth Morris glides through 11 songs that are mostly about love. But not pop-song love. This is let’s-empty-the-wine-bottle-and-dance-’round-the-kitchen-together love. Real love, set to the loveliest melodies bound straight for your heart.

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THE HOTELIER, ‘HOME, LIKE NOPLACE IS THERE’ (Tiny Engines)

The best music is the kind that you don’t hear, but feel. Here, then, is The Hotelier, a young band from Massachusetts that makes no effort to hide its heart and guts behind any sort of manufactured cool. “Home” is a masterwork of rock ‘n’ roll dynamics, veins-bulging vocals and Christian Holden’s lyrical explorations of conflict, confusion, regret and relationships that are wise beyond his years. The beauty of The Hotelier — besides those guitars! — is that it feels like Holden is singing to/for you.

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WEEZER, ‘EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT IN THE END’ (Republic)

I’d given up on Weezer. You’d given up on Weezer. All but hardcore Weezer apologists had given up on Weezer. Which makes “Everything,” the band’s ninth album, the surprise of 2014. Inspired by a cruise with their fans, Weezer returned to land and pumped out 13 songs that not only openly aim for the glorious crunch of their classic albums, but somehow hit it. Rivers Cuomo’s lyrics aren’t great (as always), but the riffs, the solos and the melodies all sound shipped in straight from 1994.

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The best of the rest

Folk/Country/Twang

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Old 97’s, ‘Most Messed Up’ (ATO)

Veteran Texans the Old 97’s released a handful of alt-country classics in the ‘90s, then lost their way for years. This, their ninth album, finds them back in top form, with Rhett Miller’s wry midlife-crisis anthems backed by the shuffling drumbeats and serrated guitars that made the band great. Along with Weezer, “Most Messed Up” signifies the most welcome comeback of 2014.

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More good stuff:

• Zoe Muth, ‘World Of Strangers’

• Sturgill Simpson, ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music’

• Hiss Golden Messenger, ‘Lateness of Dancers’

• Ryley Walker, ‘All Kinds Of You’

• Doug Paisley, ‘Strong Feelings’

• Frazey Ford, ‘Indian Ocean’

• Steve Palmer, ‘Unblinking Sun’

Hip-hop/Soul

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VINCE STAPLES, ‘SHYNE COLDCHAIN II’ (self-released)

This year, Vince Staples decided he was done stealing the spotlight from better-known rappers with eye-popping guest verses on their songs. “Shyne Coldchain II” is evidence he’s ready for his own shine. Tight and compact, it pits Staples’ sturdy flow against soulful samples and hard-knock beats, and proves the rising L.A. rapper is one of hip-hop’s finest storytellers. Want one track? Check “Nate.”

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More good stuff:

• Sweetz P,‘#Liferrrs Guide to Watching Porn Without Headphones’

• Run the Jewels,‘Run the Jewels 2’

• Toni Braxton & Babyface, ‘Love, Marriage & Divorce’

• Step Brothers, ‘Lord Steppington’

• Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, ‘PiÑata’

Indie/Pop/Rock

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Doug Tuttle, ‘Doug Tuttle’ (Trouble In Mind)

Doug Tuttle, formerly of the band MMOSS, strikes a tricky balance on his self-titled debut. This is psychedelic music, for sure, swirling with flowery fuzz and spiked with melodies unearthed from some dusty “Greatest Hits of the ‘60s” compilation. But he also never lets these songs float too far away. They work as pop songs, too: perfect little nuggets that take you on a trip in four minutes or less.

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More good stuff:

• Joyce Manor, ‘Never Hungover Again’

• Real Estate, ‘Atlas’

• Makthaverskan, ‘II’

• Gold-Bears, ‘Dalliance’

• Alcest, ‘Shelter’

• Ex Hex, ‘Rips’

• Wand, ‘Ganglion Reef’

• Haley Bonar, ‘Last War’

• The Both, ‘The Both’

Outer Sounds

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Torn Hawk, ‘LET’S CRY AND DO PUSHUPS AT THE SAME TIME’ (Mexican Summer)

Torn Hawk is Luke Wyatt, a handsome guy with a closet full of electronic toys and the skills to make blippy, bloopy synth-pop that’s elegant, dark and not at all cheesy. He works on a slippery slope, but navigates it ably, finding real feeling in the machines with which he weaves a glitchy, soft-glow soundtrack for a nostalgic future.

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More good stuff:

• Have A Nice Life, ‘The Unnatural World’

• Drunk Dad, ‘Ripper Killer’

• Ulaan Markhor, ‘Spiral Horns, Black Onions, et al’

• Chris Schlarb, ‘Making the Saint’

• A Winged Victory for the Sullen, ‘Atomos’

• Inventions, ‘Inventions’

Psych/Punk/Metal

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OBLITERATIONS, ‘POISON EVERYTHING’ (Southern Lord)

Brutality is typically the purview of metal bands, but in 2014, no one attacked listeners more completely than Obliterations, a quartet of L.A. lifers who decided to get together and just jam, man. The result, “Poison Everything,” is a charred slab of hardcore punk that grabs you by the throat and blazes through a blitzkrieg of thunderous drums, thrash riffs and strangled howls. And YOU LOVE IT.

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More good stuff:

• Against Me!, ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’

• Skull Fist, ‘Chasing the Dream’

• Nux Vomica, ‘Nux Vomica’

• Thou, ‘Heathen’

• Pallbearer, ‘Foundations of Burden’

• Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket, ‘In A Dutch Haze’

• Planning for Burial, ‘Desideratum’