Today is January 31. My goal each year is to post my year end list by the end of January the following year. I do this because I spend the month relistening to all of my top albums from the previous year. I dig deep, I catch up on things I may have missed, I get everything into order. And finally, I get to this point.
In 2015 I used Spotify to stream nearly 25k minutes of music. I listened to over 1,600 different artists, and over 5k different tracks. Those are my Spotify stats. I can't even begin to imagine where I'd be once I factor in iPod, iTunes, podcasts, live shows, and radio.
Because I've waited so long to post this, I won't be too crazy about it. instead of talking about every album, I'm just going to say something about my top 10. I know some friends have been waiting to read this for a while (Hi Katelyn!), and I don't want to make them wait any longer lol
25. Majical Cloudz—Are You Alone?
24. Justin Bieber—Purpose
23. Adele—25
22. El Vy—Return To The Moon
21. Ryan Adams—1989
20. Future—DS2
19. Youth Lagoon—Savage Hills Ballroom
18. Beach House—Depression Cherry
17. Dr. Dre—Compton
16. Jason Isbell—Something More Than Free
15. Dawes—All Your Favorite Bands
14. Noah Gundersen—Carry The Ghost
13. Big Grams—Big Grams
12. Alabama Shakes—Sound & Color
11. The Decemberists—What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World
And now, my top ten albums of 2015...
10. Sleater-Kinney—No Cities To Love
These girls are legends in the rock world. They've been on hiatus since 2005, but not out of the spotlight (Carrie Brownstein, Portlandia). When this album dropped in January, I knew it would be an amazing year for music. Back with all the grit and attitude we've been without for a decade - these girls came back for their throne.
Favorite Tracks: Price Tag, No Cities To Love, Surface Enemy
9. Jamie xx—In Colour
While this is no album from The xx, it's a new album from The xx. Jamie brought that cryptic feel, and mixed it with the electronic and dance vibes we all wanted - even if we didn't know we wanted it. nominated for a Grammy this year, it is full of tracks you've been feeling all year, without actually knowing who was behind it.
Favorite Tracks: Loud Places, I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times), Girl
8. CHVRCHES—Every Eye Open
CHVRCHES finally released their highly anticipated follow-up to their 2013 phenomenal debut album, The Bones of What You Believe (my number four album of 2013), and absolutely crushed it. This album was everything I could have wanted. The amazing Lauren Mayberry come strong with amazing vocals and powerful lyrics, over some of the most exciting electronic beats of the year. The only thing to improve this album was seeing them play most of it live at the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco.
Favorite Tracks: Clearest Blue, Never Ending Circles, Bury It
7. Leon Bridges—Coming Home
This album... This was the album nobody knew they wanted to have. It was the biggest surprise of the year for me, and most satisfying. We very rarely get albums that appeal to everyone from young kids, hipsters, adults, and grandparents. Bridges created just that. Bringing the sounds of Motown, adding his soulful vocals with the perfect R&B vibes, this album is going to continue gaining popularity over the next year - no question about it.
Favorite Tracks: River, Better Man, Coming Home
6. Tame Impala—Currents
If you aren't onboard with Tame Impala yet, you're missing out. I wasn't sold on this album right away. Then I realized how often I was listening to it. the things these guys do with their sound is just incredible. I still swear they're channeling The Beatles in everything they do, but that's a positive in my book. Really looking forward to seeing these guys later this year at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley.
Favorite Tracks: the Less I Know The Better, Eventually, Let It Happen
5. James Bay—Chaos And The Calm
Very quickly this year I became obsessed with this man. His voice is beautiful. His lyrics are personal, and perfect. While I don't have this as what I think is the best album this year, it might my favorite. I've probably listened to it more than any other album. Bay sings with his heart, and backs it with his beautiful guitar playing. He's a folk singer, that knows just how to tell his stories. Listen to this album. Trust me.
Favorite Tracks: Let It Go, Scars, Hold Back the River, If You Ever Want To Be In Love
4. Courtney Barnett—Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
I'm not typically a big fan of solo female artists. I have nothing against them, just usually don't grab me off the bat. Barnett grabbed me. She grabbed me, and shook me all year long. Simply put, this was one of the most impressive debut albums I've listened to in quite some time. Australia is delivering some of my absolute favorite artists right now (still obsessed with Ben Howard btw), and I couldn't be happier (really, keep them coming!). Barnett shreds on her guitar, and really tells her stories with a punch.
Favorite Tracks: Pedestrian at Best, Depreston, Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party
3. Sufjan Stevens—Carrie & Lowell
Sufjan, oh, Sufjan... Over the last decade, this man has made some of my favorite music. After his giant shift in sound on his 2010 Age of Adz, I was worried what he would be back with. Never did I think it would be an autobiographical album about the relationship he had with his stepfather, Lowell, and his alcoholic mother that left him as a child, Carrie—all told beautifully through these eleven songs. A collection of tales; a psalter. Painful, but full of beauty. This is such an incredible album that it will take you several listens before you even realize (if you even do) that the entire thing is without percussions **glass shattering realization sound effect**. That's right... Zero drums on this album. And, you know what? You won't miss them one bit.
Favorite Tracks: Blue Bucket of Gold, Should Have Known Better, Fourth of July
2. Father John Misty—I Love You, Honeybear
This was a tough one. If it wasn't for how iconic I believe my number one album will become, this would take the top spot with ease. FJM (Josh Tillman) recorded a truly intimate, open, and honest album that all should know. The best thing I've read about this album was from Pitchfork , stating it is "so cynical it's repulsive and so openhearted it hurts." This is a love letter to Emma, his wife. It tells the tales of love in all of the ways we've dreamed of expressing ourselves. Describing this album is difficult. Tillman is an ass. But, you love him. He defines hipster, but goes completely against it at the same time. If you ever have a chance to spin this on vinyl, do so. Grab a glass of scotch, and lose yourself.
Favorite Tracks: I Love You, Honeybear, Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins), The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apartment
1. Kendrick Lamar—To Pimp A Butterfly
When I look back at the notes I wrote for this album, the first line written down is "groundbreaking, game changing, personal/introspective, historic, important"
Yeah, that's just a list of words. But, they get right to the core of this album. No matter how you look at it, Kendrick created a masterpiece. This is a story. A story about himself, about Compton, about black lives, and the struggle African Americans have faced throughout history, and continue to do-so still today. Kendrick sees where he has come from, and where he is now. He tells about how he hasn't done nearly enough to help change the way things are. He tells about feeling guilty, about rising to superstardom. And he does so in such intelligent ways.
TPAB is a smart album. It is deep. The samples he uses, and the influences throughout (a rap album with oh so much jazz), and clever use of non-traditional instrumentation (the horns are gorgeous). Listening to him sit and interview Tupac... What??! Make no mistake, this is an epic. A tale. One that needed to be told. This is not an album full of singles. It was made to be heard as an album. Sit, put it on, listen to it start to finish. That's how you're going to get the tale. The history lesson we should all know and understand.
Kendrick keeps growing as an artist. seeing him open for Kanye a couple years ago, I saw just what he could become. Even now, I don't think he's there yet. Kendrick is nowhere near done. He released this album, and it didn't even include the songs he played on both the final Colbert Report or Fallon . It doesn't touch on the guest spots he's had (Big Sean's "Control" or the new Kanye track "No More Parties in LA").
Kendrick Lamar just created, what I think will be, one of the most important hip-hop records of all-time. And, he's just getting started.
Favorite Tracks: King Kunta, The Blacker The Berry, Hood Politics, How Much A Dollar Cost, i
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And that's it! Those are my top 25 best albums of 2015. Narrowing it to 25 was difficult, to say the least. My top three were basically locked from the moment those albums came out. they didn't shift even a little bit. But, everything else did. Even writing this list, I made last minute adjustments I hadn't planned on.
Just like I do every year, I want to include a couple of honorable mentions. These didn't make the cut. They could have, maybe should have. But, for whatever reason I don't have them on my list, I still want you to be aware of them.
Honorable Mentions
Death Cab for Cutie—Kintsugi
Chris Stapleton—Traveller
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die—Harmlessness
*D'Angelo and the Vanguard—Black Messiah
Now... This D'Angelo album was a tough one. It was a surprise release in December of 2014. But, the physical album was released in January of 2015. It deserves to be on a list, but I'm not sure how I should have placed it. I'm adding it here. If, for some reason, you haven't heard it yet—fix that. D'Angelo was gone for 14 years. He came back with one hell of an amazing album.
Most Anticipated
Let's face it folks, 2016 is upon us. Tomorrow is February. It's almost time for the Super Bowl! Jeeze...
Here's my list of most anticipated albums of 2016 (two of which we've already been told we are for sure getting. Don't keep letting me down guys!). None of these have an album title just yet, aside from the new Kanye West album—which, has already changed names once this year, and is due out in just over two weeks. I cannot wait to get my hands on these. My ears are too eager.
Brand New
Radiohead
Frank Ocean
Kanye West—Waves
LCD Soundsystem
Gorillaz
M83
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That's it! That's 2015! I'll attach a playlist here of my top 25 songs of the year. But, it's basically a track from most of these albums (shocker, right?). Already saving albums from this past month, and excited to see what 2016 brings us. With those to come, I know it's going to be an incredible year of music. Maybe this time around I'll post my list in December, before the year even ends... But probably not?
Per usual, follow along with my music listening journey on any network you'd like. I'm on Spotify, last.fm, or follow up Discogs, where you can watch my physical record collection grow.