This year's best-reviewed debuts, ranked by Metascore

Our full list of 2014's best albums is still a week away, but our year-end coverage continues now with a look at the year's top newcomers. Below is a list of the best-reviewed debut albums of 2014, ranked by Metascore. Note that albums must have at least 7 reviews—and be a full LP, rather than an EP—to be eligible for inclusion. Albums are ranked by Metascore prior to rounding.

#1

#1 FKA twigs

87 LP1 (Young Turks) Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes She may need some help in the album title department (LP1, her full-length debut, follows the shorter EP1 and EP2), but 26-year-old English trip-hop artist Tahliah Debrett Barnett, currently known as FKA twigs, has been earning raves on both sides of the Atlantic for her singular sound and vision. In addition to being our highest-scoring debut of 2014, LP1 was nominated for the Mercury Prize and is showing up on year-end top 10 lists with regularity. "Few debuts possess such control and ambition all in one; LP1 is the rare album that manages to sound both lived in and completely futuristic." —A.V. Club More reviews...

#2 #2

The Delines

87 Colfax (El Cortez) Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes Willy Vlautin, a novelist and frontman of the Portland, Oregon alt-country outfit Richmond Fontaine, launched his newest project this year. The Delines also share a drummer (Sean Oldham) with Richmond Fontaine—and continue to showcase Vlautin's impressive lyrics—but place Austin singer Amy Boone (also of The Damnations) in the spotlight. "It's a new band, a new sound, but the same old, marvellous songwriting. It's a killer combination." —Exclaim More reviews...

#3 #3

Marmozets

86 The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets (Roadrunner) Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes The hard-rocking English five-piece Marmozets—whose members include two sets of siblings—have been performing together since they were teenagers. Signed to Warner's Roadrunner Records on the strength of those live shows and a few EPs, the band released their first full-length this fall. "Sure, a lot of this has been done before, but not often with this level of assurance and class on a debut album." —Drowned in Sound More reviews...

#5 #5

Ought

84 More Than Any Other Day (Constellation)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes The Montreal-based art-punk/post-punk band (recently signed to Godspeed You! Black Emperor label Constellation Records) earned universally strong reviews for this debut album (not to be confused with a self-released EP with the same title). The Talking Heads (or, at least, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) comparisons you'll see make more sense once you hear frontman Tim Beeler's distinctive vocals on key tracks like "Habit." "By turns impassioned, thoughtful and thrilling, it makes for a standout debut." —Q More reviews...

#6 #6

Young Fathers

83 Dead (Anticon/Big Dada)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes An upset winner of this year's Mercury Prize (given to the UK's top album), Dead is the full-length debut for the five-year-old, Scotland-based hip-hop trio, who originally hail from Scotland, Liberia and Nigeria and are signed to respected California label Anticon in the U.S. It follows a pair of EPs, Tape One and Tape Two, the latter of which was another award-winner. "Young Fathers have quietly constructed a strange and intoxicating musical universe that feels entirely their own, while no one else was paying attention." —The Guardian More reviews...

#7 #7

Douglas Dare

83 Whelm (Erased Tapes)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes Critics were more than whelmed by this first LP from 23-year-old London-based singer-songwriter Douglas Dare. The 10 piano-driven ballads on Whelm were praised by critics for their rawness and emotion, and earned Dare comparisons to artists such as Owen Pallett and James Blake. "Whelm is a Herculean debut." —The Line of Best Fit More reviews...

#8 #8

Arca

83 Xen (Mute)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes One of the producers on FKA twigs' stellar debut (above), Venezuelan artist Arca (real name: Alejandro Ghersi) has also worked with Kanye West (producing four tracks on Yeezus) and is serving as producer on Bjork's upcoming 2015 album. Xen is his own full-length debut as an artist (following last year's mixtape EP &&&&&), and it finds him exploring a more experimental electronic (and wholly instrumental) sound. "This is uncompromising stuff, with little holding back, and the end effect is one that wears not just its heart, but its soul, on its sleeve." —PopMatters More reviews...

#9 #9

PUP

83 PUP (Side One Dummy)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes Formerly known as Topanga (in a reference to Boy Meets World), the Toronto punk outfit changed its name to PUP (reportedly an acronym of Pathetic Use of Potential) for the release of this self-titled debut album, which did nothing to tarnish the band's reputation as one of Canada's most promising young acts. "Pup have come out spitting, sounding like Dookie-era Green Day dipped in tar and broken glass." —Kerrang! More reviews...

#10 #10

Fear of Men

83 Loom (Kanine)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes Loom is the first proper album from the Brighton, England indie-pop four-piece, following singles compilation Early Fragments. Though Fear of Men frontwoman Jessica Weiss sounds far more like the late Trish Keenan (of Broadcast) than Morrissey, The Smiths were the obvious point of comparison for many reviewers. "This is the rare offering of post-Smiths jangle that doesn't rely on pomp or posturing." —Under the Radar More reviews...

#11 #11

Happyness

82 Weird Little Birthday (self-released)

Buy From Amazon Whatever happened to American college-radio-ready slacker rock? Apparently, it just moved across the pond. Self-produced and self-released, the lo-fi gem Weird Little Birthday is the first LP from South London indie-rock trio Happyness. "Weird Little Birthday is a superb debut, beautifully recorded, with everything in its right place." —No Ripcord More reviews... Listen to the album at NME.

#12 #12

East India Youth

81 Total Strife Forever (Stolen Recordings)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes Another Mercury Prize nominee, Total Strife Forever is the debut for English electronic musician William Doyle, who records under the name East India Youth (named after his London neighborhood). "A Major new British talent is born in William Doyle's solo debut, which sounds like the great lost album that Brian Wilson, Eno and Bjork should have made together." —Uncut More reviews...

#13 #13

Benjamin Booker

81 Benjamin Booker (ATO)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes The Virginia-born, New Orleans-based blues artist has been piling up the accolades over the past year—in no small part due to star-making live performances at Lollapalooza and opening for Jack White—culminating in the release of this debut album in August. "An absolute joy of a debut." —Record Collector More reviews...

#14 #14

YG

80 My Krazy Life (Def Jam)

Buy From Amazon Buy From iTunes The Compton, California rapper and Young Jeezy signee finally released his debut album in the spring after several years of recording. It proved to be worth the wait, scoring higher than any other American hip hop debut this year. Guests on the record include Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Schoolboy Q. "For such an expansive, detailed album, it can be hard to forget this is just his debut record." —Absolute Punk More reviews...

#15 #15

Champs

80 Down Like Gold (PIAS)

Buy From Amazon Folk duo Champs are two brothers (Michael and David Champion) based on England's Isle of Wight. Harmony-filled debut Down Like Gold is more varied than that "folk" label suggests, at times drawing comparisons to contemporary acts like Fleet Foxes and Arcade Fire and earning praise as an enjoyable listen despite the often bleak lyrics. "An album of satisfying melodic warmth, Down Like Gold is a winter morning headphone treat." —Q More reviews...

What do you think?

What were your favorite album debuts of 2014? Let us know in the comments section below.