14 Best Rock Songs of 2014 — Tree’s Picks

This isn't a rock track, but it's from one of the most acclaimed albums of the year and features a rare appearance from former Rage Against the Machine vocalist Zack de la Rocha. Even if Zack dropped a verse on the new Kenny G album, it probably would've made this list. It's weird that someone so talented doesn't really do music anymore -- so I relish any opportunity to hear Zack get back on the mic.

Spoon is one of those bands I assumed was from across the pond, but no -- they are from Austin, Texas. Their newest album, 'They Want My Soul,' is excellent if you're a fan of alternative. On paper, 'Inside Out' is a song I generally wouldn't be into. It's light on guitar and heavy on keys, harps (I think) and other weird instruments, but something about it sticks with me.

Hellyeah is a band I never really got into until their recent release 'Blood for Blood.' I was just starting to warm up to Mudvayne when they called it quits and I wasn't a fan of all the hillbilly twang of Hellyeah's first two albums. However, their new release puts their efforts into a much heavier collection of songs like 'Sangre por Sangre (Blood for Blood),' the excellent 'Moth' and the song that barely beat that one out for this list -- 'Hush.'

Seether did something they had yet to do in their career by putting out 'Isolate and Medicate,' and by that I mean they put out an album I wasn't crazy about. It's okay, but for me personally it just doesn't stack up against their work that came before. The album's closing track did make this list though. I'm a sucker for a grungy Seether ballad.

Billy Corgan isn't as brilliant as he thinks and he's always talking s--- about other bands I like better than his. Despite how much I dislike those things about him, I still really enjoy his catalog of work. While 'Monuments to an Elegy' may not be the 5-star masterwork he claims we all know it to be, there are some really good songs on the record. 'One and All' features some vintage 90s riffage, calling back to an era when Billy's music was almost brilliant enough to justify his massive ego.

This song has an undeniable groove and a catchy hook that was stuck in my head for about two weeks after seeing them perform it live at Dirt Fest. It had been a while since I had seen them perform live and their energy was higher than ever before.

This song is so subtle and delicate... it's the last thing I expected to hear on a PM5K album. Its Johnny Cash meets Marilyn Manson slow-burn gives it a feel that would be perfect in a Tarantino flick or during the opening credits for 'True Detective.'

Weezer managed to release an album that is as much 1970s as it is 1990s, which somehow makes it the perfect record for right now. There are a lot of good tunes on this album -- and it's been several years since I've been able to say that about Weezer -- but the upbeat pop rhythm mixed with Rivers Cuomo's falsetto on 'I've Had It Up to Here' make it the obvious standout.

Just when I thought I had these guys pegged, they released the curveball that is 'Turn Blue.' A very different and decidedly less commercial album than anything they've released in the past several years. It's weird -- for a band with no bassist, they sure had some of the  best bass lines of the year. I had a hard time not listing '10 Lovers' as my favorite, but the nearly 7-minute album opener sounds like David Gilmour jamming with Neil Young at times. Dan Auerbach absolutely rips it on the outro solo and reminds us that you don't have to be a lightning fast shred machine to deliver powerful lead guitar work.

I'll be honest, I was a little concerned when I heard the singer of one of my favorite bands was planning to become a chick. Not because I care about what people do with their personal lives in that respect, I was more concerned it would alter one of the most rebellious voices in rock. It did not. In fact, the vocals are often more aggressive than they were on their previous album 'White Crosses.' Laura Jane Grace's (formerly Tom Gabel) lyrics are a little too personal and specific for any kind of mass appeal on this album ('Transgender Dysphoria Blues'), but I did enjoy the title track and the incredibly raucous closer 'Black Me Out.' It's easily one of the year's best.

I'll be honest. I loved this whole damn album. You really can't go wrong here. Upon the arrival of their self-titled major label debut, this band gave us a breath of fresh air in a year filled with stale acts. They are going to go very far in this industry if they keep doing their own thing.

Armed with only two men -- a singer/bass player and a drummer -- this band managed to make larger sounding music than most bands with 5 dudes do. Almost the exact opposite of what I said about The Black Keys is true of this band -- they have no guitarist, but some of the best guitar riffs of the year. Their debut album totally caught me off guard and is easily one of the year's top 3. 'Little Monster' and 'Ten Tonne Skeleton' are both badass tunes as well, but I can't get enough of the lead bass (still weird to refer to it as "lead") riffs on 'Better Stranger.'

Mastodon is exactly what their name would lead you to believe -- a beast! Some of the tracks on their new album -- particularly 'The Motherload' and  'Tread Lightly' -- offer up guitar work that's just really fun to listen to for fans of heavy guitar like myself. The fact that 3 of the guys in the band sing, including 'The Motherload' vocalist and phenomenal drummer Brann Dailor, gives them a versatility and range most other heavy bands wish they could touch. These guys definitely march to the beat of their own drum and to me, that's the thing I value the most in a band -- a definitive sound that is all their own. Also, the solo on this track is a high speed shredfest/guitargasm, the hook is the catchiest you'll hear from a band this heavy and the music video is hilariously twerk-tastic.

Modest Mouse is one of my 3 favorite bands (along with Pearl Jam and Queens of the Stone Age), but they turned into the Tool of alt-rock. They put out an EP of leftover tracks -- that were still incredibly good -- in 2009, but their last full album hit stores in 2007. So 6 new songs in over 7 years isn't really enough for me. They finally dropped the studio version of this gem from the forthcoming album 'Strangers to Ourselves' in mid-December and it's good to hear that the brilliant sarcasm of singer Isaac Brock is still intact. He always manages to make really fun-sounding songs out of some of the darkest subjects. This time he tackles the insatiable thirst humans have for consuming resources and how swiftly we move on to devour the next thing without a second thought. It's almost like Agent Smith from 'The Matrix' co-wrote this joint. Either way, I can't wait for the release of the new album!

'Sonic Highways' was a really cool musical experiment and the documentary series was really great! On the other hand, its recorded counterpart yielded middling results. It was a solid Foo Fighters album, but by no means is it the caliber of some of their other works. More often than not, the lyrics are  a little thin and repetitive and the music feels very familiar if you're well versed in the band's back-catalog. However, it is an experiment and is better than most of what came out this year, so I don't want to blast this album too much. It still provides an enjoyable listening experience and ends with a song that delivers everything the band does so well in a 6-minute package. 'I Am A River' would be a fitting send off on any Foo album and the well-constructed ballad caps this one off perfectly with melodic layered guitars, orchestral swells and lots of Dave Grohl chorus screaming. You can't lose with that formula.