There was so much good music this year which I was able to find and enjoy, largely thanks to Spotify, that this year I am including an honorable mention list.
Honorable Mentions
In no particular order:
- Ghostface Killah & Badbadnotgood: SOUR SOUL - Genre defying beats from neo-jazz(?) combo Badbadnotgood with verses from Ghostface Killah
- Phony Ppl: Yesterday’s Tomorrow - Hip hop/R&B/soul fusion from relative unknowns Phony Ppl. Highly recommended for fans of N*E*R*D, check out "End of the niGht"
- Julia Holter: Have You In My Wilderness - Really beautiful songs with lush orchestration. Holter created a beautifully dense album that is not an easy listen but a powerful one.
- GoldLink: And After That, We Didn’t Talk - GoldLink is not a household name in rap but he could be with more genre-blending beats and smart lyrics like this.
- Tuxedo: Tuxedo - Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One team up for this album of throwback, impossibly danceable, 80s grooves.
- Kamasi Washington: The Epic - Big, brash, intense jazz from saxophonist and arranger Kamasi Washington, who was also responsible for much of the orchestration on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly (more on that one later)
- The Chemical Brothers: Born in the Echoes - Heavy arena dance music with a lot of big cameos. Check out "Wide Open" featuring Beck.
- Jamie Woon: Making Time - Crooning soul with a modern flavor from former dubstep producer Jamie Woon. This one just missed the top 10, check out "Sharpness" and "Celebration"
- Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest: Sylva - a massive collaboration with the 9-piece Snarky Puppy and full orchestra of Metropole Orkest. One of my favorite groups, Snarky Puppy releases are never to be missed.
- Umphrey's Mcgee: The London Session - recorded at Abbey Road, and including a Beatles cover (bold), new releases from UM are always a must listen (and if they're in town, go see them!!)
The Top 10
10. Snoop Dogg - BUSH
It would be easy to dismiss the 12th studio album from rap/stoner mogul Snoop Dogg who may seem more focused on selling his new brands of kush and vape pens than making music. But his music is really good! Pharrell and Snoop are reunited with spectacular results. It's a fun album with cool, California beats best enjoyed with a pair of good headphones.
Top tracks: "This City", "Peaches N Cream"
9. The Internet - Ego Death
The Internet blend R&B with jazz and hip hop for a smooth sound fronted by female lead singer and songwriter Sydney Barrett (aka Syd the Kid). It's honest and personal songs performed by top rate musicians. I love their fender-rhodes heavy sound. Check out their Tiny Desk concert from earlier this year.
Top tracks: "Under Control", "For the World", "Girl"
8. Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon
Hiatus Kaiyote's website describes their sound as "Multi-Dimensional, Polyrhythmic Gangster Shit." Can't say I disagree. Much like The Internet, I love their sound, particularly the heavy use of keyboards and the alto vocals. Mired by a lot of forgettable tracks, Choose Your Weapon features several gems from the Australian quartet. Only their second album, I look forward to the future of Hiatus Kaiyote because their ceiling is very high.
Top tracks: "Breathing Underwater", "Shaolin Monk Motherfunk", "Molasses"
7. D'Angelo - Black Messiah
14 years out of the spotlight, rumors of his demise circulating and out of the blue D'Angelo releases an album this good?? This was one of the top surprise albums of 2015 (late 2014 really, it was released December 2014). Anticipation for D'Angelo's return has always been high and Black Messiah did not disappoint, with its socially conscious and deep lyrics. It was innovative without getting too far away from what has always made D'Angelo great.
Top tracks: "Really Love", "Sugah Daddy"
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6. Big Data - 2.0
No, that's not a broken image, that is the album cover for Big Data's 2.0. Not as fluid an album as some others on this list, 2.0 features great individual tracks throughout. Big Data layers themes of mankind v technology on top of catchy grooves interspersed with top collaborators, many of whom I am a fan. This was a very underrated album in 2015.
Top tracks: "Dangerous" featuring Joywave, "Clean" feat. Jamie Lidell, "Big Dater"
5. Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
Successful both commercially and critically, Sound & Color was always going to make this list. The Alabama Shakes were popular as soon as America heard their blues/southern-rock sound but this album solidified them as festival headliners. The band has an accessible retro blues rock sound (currently very popular) but Brittany Howard's lead vocals are what make the band.
Top tracks: "Don't Wanna Fight No More", "Sound & Color"
4. Hot Chip - Why Make Sense?
Hot Chip's alt-dance album opens with one of my favorite tracks of 2015 "Haurache Lights." Why Make Sense? features layered electro-grooves in a way that makes a synthesizer player jealous. This album is as high as #4 partly because I had the pleasure of seeing Hot Chip live this past year. They were an awesome show unlike any other group I had seen. The show was a dance party anchored by 5 middle-aged white synthesizer players, who passed around 1 guitar, and a damn good drummer. A wall of keyboards, Hot Chip has a very unique sound and some excellent songs that make for a great live show.
Top tracks: "Haurache Lights", "Cry for You", "Dark Night"
The Top 3
These top three are all outstanding albums worthy of significant acclaim but I particularly enjoyed them. These were the albums that made up a lot of my Spotify plays in 2015 and I'll continue listening to them in the future. In another year, any of these could have been my #1.
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3. Tame Impala - Currents
Currents is an already great band taking a big risk with their next album and achieving incredible results. Tame Impala builds upon their distorted guitar rock sound from Innerspeaker and Lonerism, favoring a new, more electric and danceable mix. This is clear right from the first track "Let it Happen", which features an almost 8 minute synth-dance loop. Currents blends genres in a way that is greater than the sum of its parts, blending psychedelic rock with dancefloor pop with funk with progressive rock with Motown at times, just to name a few. Not to be lost in the band's mesmerizing sound is how well written the songs are. Is there a better lamentation of the male experience of pleading with an unhappy female than "'Cause I'm a Man"? Kevin Parker and Tame Impala continue to impress and I can't wait for whatever their next record includes.
Top tracks: "'Cause I'm a Man", "Let it Happen", "Yes I'm Changing", "The Less I Know the Better"
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2. Mark Ronson - Uptown Special
To reduce Uptown Special to "Uptown Funk" and 10 other songs would be a tremendous disservice to Mark Ronson's best album. Featuring an all-star cast of collaborators, Uptown Special is a brilliantly produced album of pop/funk/R&B singles which all stand on their own. Ronson and co-producer Jeff Bhasker expertly crafted a fun dance album for 2015. Kevin Parker, of Tame Impala, features prominently with the Steely Dan-esque "Summer Breaking", the psychedelic "Daffodils", and the goodbye to hipsterhood that is "Leaving Los Feliz". Mystikal makes the comeback we never knew we needed channeling James Brown on "Feel Right". Stevie Wonder(!) even bookends the album lending his harmonica to the opening and closing tracks. And of course there is Bruno Mars on the now classic "Uptown Funk".
Top tracks: "Uptown Funk", "Feel Right", "Daffodils", "In Case of Fire", "Summer Breaking"
Bonus track!: "Hit Me" by Mystikal - this dancefloor track inspired Ronson to contact Mystikal. The world needs a whole Mystikal album in his newfound style.
1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
This choice was an easy one. Right from the first listen, it was apparent that To Pimp a Butterfly is a special album, described by some as Kendrick Lamar's "magnum opus." As soon as you hit the second track "For Free?", a free-jazz interlude, it's apparent that Kendrick Lamar is simply on the next level. What can I say that hasn't been said about this album? Nominated for 11 Grammys (should absolutely win Album of the Year), To Pimp a Butterfly makes use of jazz, hip hop and rap instrumental tracks with expertly crafted lyrics from K Dot to paint a vivid picture of the black American experience in 2015. This album couldn't have been released at a better (or worse) time than March of 2015, given the past year's racial friction in America. The instrumentals and vocals are both phenomenal. Incredibly dense and thought provoking, there are many reasons why To Pimp a Butterfly was #1 on a ton of 2015 in review lists. With a 96 rating on Metacritic, read the reviews there if you are interested in reading more. I'll be rooting for Kendrick at the Grammys in February.
Top tracks (seriously, listen to the whole thing): "King Kunta", "How Much a Dollar Cost", "Alright", "The Blacker the Berry", "Wesley's Theory"
