Top 20 Albums, 2015 edition

I know I usually love writing long, drawn out introductory paragraphs, but this time I thought I'd kind of jump straight to the point. It's the month-ish late top 20 albums of 2015 list that none of you two or three readers asked for. I just couldn't resist another opportunity to tell you how much better the music I listen to is, you know? (cue the boos) In all seriousness though, 2015 was quite the year for the industry as a whole, with a lot of quality albums dropping consistently throughout. I've never had a harder time putting these in an order I'm happy with, and find myself flip flopping and changing things up every damn time I think it over again. Albums #17-#7 could have been rearranged in any other order and I wouldn't have much of an argument against it. You'd think that this fact would more or less cement how pointless of an exercise this all is, but really, the whole point of this post isn't so much the order of the list. Nay, the whole point is actually the list itself. In other words, I think these 20 particular albums and artists deserve recognition and props for their greatness. It's just that nobody tends to give a damn unless there's a determined hierarchy to it all. People, am I right?





20. Scarface - Deeply Rooted

I debated between this and Dre's Compton for the longest time before ultimately giving the edge to the former Geto Boy. Compton was extremely well put together and so much better than I thought a Dre album in the 2000s had any right to be (remember, 2001 was actually released in 1999). The three Kendrick guest spots and a kickass Snoop verse only added to the pleasant surprise. However, he lost HUGE points for being too much of a coward to go through with Detox. Also, other than Kendrick Lamar and Snoop, the other rappers on it sounded a bit uninspired to say the least. Scarface on the other hand, rips through his album with the ease expected of one of the top 40-50 MC's to ever touch the mic. And as pumped as I was with Compton's TDE star guest spots, nothing could beat Deeply Rooted having time traveled back to the mid 2000s to drag freaking Avant onto one of its tracks. Just seeing the name took me back. Finally, the fact that Scarface once collaborated with Mike Judge, creator of Silicon Valley and the GOAT cartoon series, King of the Hill, automatically gains him extra points when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Best Track: You have no idea how much self control it took to not just upload the Avant track here.

19. Action Bronson - Mr. Wonderful

By Bronson's standards, Mr. Wonderful is a bit of a letdown. It just seems to be missing the energy of most of his other releases, eg. Rare Chandeliers, Blue Chips, etc. That's just me nitpicking as a critical fan though, because in the end, this is still quality. It helps that Actin Crazy and A Light In The Addict are easily two of the best songs I have ever heard from the star of Youtube's Fuck That's Delicious. The latter especially, is just a pure joy to listen to.

Best Track: After that paragraph, what did you expect??

18. Freddie Gibbs - Shadow Of A Doubt

By now, we know what to expect from a Freddie Gibbs album: 10-20 tracks of Gibbs rapping over hard hitting instrumentals. A few tracks will be wack. Most will be pretty good. Two will be elevated to classic Gangsta Gibbs status. All tracks will make you want to go out and fight a man or two. The album will make a top 20-30 list at the end of the year, easily but won't make it past the top 10-15. The only exception to the rule is 2014's Pinata, which is a goddamn masterpiece. This album is no Pinata. But it's still a Freddie Gibbs album and by default demands to be listened to at least once. If anything, you get to hear Black Thought and our host absolutely black out over a track together, which in itself should be worth it.

Best Track: The aforementioned Black Thought collab (Extradite), Narcos, and the opening track are the best tracks on this but I thought I'd use this space instead to plug another EP Freddie Gibbs released earlier in 2015. It was only 3 tracks long, but each track was FIRE. The best track on that EP, which is what I'll post here in lieu of the one from Shadow Of A Doubt, shits on the majority of rap tracks released last year easily.

17. Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One - Tuxedo

Every year, one R&B album comes out of nowhere to capture my attention. This year, Stones Throw Records' resident white crooner, Mayer Hawthorne and former G-unit beatmaker, Jake One's collaboration effort has been bestowed that honor. This record is smooth as all hell. It's a great throwback to the sound of the 80s and 90s, while simultaneously managing to be fresher than most of the new music being played today. Would rank higher if I weren't so heavily leaned towards hip hop.

16. Joey Badass - B4.DA.$$

Annoying as hell to spell album title aside, this is an album that has no real weak tracks from beginning to end. The Pro Era star continues to develop his craft and his obvious love for the boom bap of the 90s. I honestly do think that if one were to listen to this the first time with no knowledge of who made it, he or she could easily mistake it as being from the mid 90s. The beats are so damn dusty and with Statik Selektah and DJ Premier behind some of the tracks, it's easy to see why. As 90s nostalgia albums go, this falls short of the perfection that Celph Titled's Nineteen Ninety Now achieved, but it avoids most of the corniness and blandness that other such records exemplify. I look forward to hearing what Joey Badass can be capable of outside of this lane one day.

Best Track: It's hard choosing a best track on an album full of perfectly fine tracks. Probably a toss up between this and Big Dusty. I know, I'm surprised as much as you that the Premier track didn't just run away with this honor.

15. Alchemist and Oh No - Welcome To Los Santos

More of a compilation album showcasing the duo's production skills than a proper follow up to the Gangrene album. With the guest list as insane as it is, nobody is complaining. Freddie Gibbs, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, Curren$y, Little Dragon, etc. all get their chance to show off over gorgeous beats from two of the best behind the boards. The only thing holding this back from a higher spot is a lack of cohesion and a few really weak tracks here and there.

Best Track: Wanderer is an excellent Little Dragon track, and Fetti is mindblowing if only because it has both Gangsta Gibbs and Spitta on the same song. In the end though, there can only be one.

14. Goldlink And After That, We Didn't Talk

I had never heard of this guy until a forum recommended his album to bump when people needed to just chill and drive to in the background. It certainly would be a great album for that, as our host both raps and sings his way through 11 tracks of some of the most unique hip hop 2015 had to offer. But then you would miss the whole concept of the album, since under all of the catchy tunes and bouncy beats is the story of a man living his life post breakup. All in all, it's a rewarding listen for both those who listen to lyrics and for those who don't and is recommended to people looking for a hip hop album that sounds different. I find myself liking it more and more with each subsequent listen.

Best Track: Kind of captures the whole feel of the album.

13. Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment - Surf

Most people who came upon this album did so because of Chance the Rapper's heavy, heavy involvement with the project and given the man's clear talents in our favorite genre, that's not much of a surprise. The album they found though, was pretty far removed from what Acid Rap was like and some of those people ended up writing this album off as a silly side project. Big mistake. In a year full of some depressing ass, dark ass, Christopher Nolan reboot level gritty ass rap albums, Surf was most definitely a welcome splash of color. I mean, some of the lyrics, admittedly are still a bit sad but in more of a lost love nostalgia sort of way and overall the whole album just has that warm, lazy summer afternoon feel to it. It's like the sonic equivalent of the sun.

Best Track: A bit lame to choose the single as the best track, but it was the first track to jump out at me and when this album came out, I legit had this song stuck in my head for a month straight.

12. Blur - The Magic Whip

Holy crap. First we had Avant on a record. Now we have Damon Albarn releasing a brand new Blur record??? What is going on?????? For those unfamiliar with Blur, you may recognize Albarn as the voice and mastermind behind the Gorillaz. You may also recognize this song. Blur may not have the recognition that their eternal rivals, Oasis, has but let's get one thing right: Blur is the better band. This new album is power pop rock at its finest and goddamn does it feel good to listen to. Welcome back.

Best Track: Ghost Ship is probably the actual best track on this but nothing can reproduce the goofy smile I had listening to track #1.

11. Earl - I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside

I'll just say it. This is the best album Earl Sweatshirt has ever released. It's also the only Earl album I've been able to enjoy from front to back with no really wack songs in between. Doris was good, but it tended to meander and lose focus through its few too many tracks and second half kind of dragged after a stellar first. IDLSIDGO is Earl honing in and trimming the fat off to create 10 track opus showcasing both more mature subject matter and a new, more awake/non narcoleptic flow that doesn't make him sound like he's trying to take the title of monotone king from the late Guru (RIP). It's a damn shame that this doesn't make the top ten when in any other year, this probably could have sneaked into the top 6 or 7. Maybe I'll swap out the Czarface album for this. Oops, spoilers.

Best Track: Vince Staples "renegades" Earl on his own track here but Earl's verse is actually really quite incredible as well.

10. Czarface - Every Hero Needs A Villain

Inspectah Deck and Esoteric are back as Czarface for their second album together and delivered an album that is somehow even better than the first. Both rappers use 7L's boom bap beats to stick very closely to their lane, which is braggaciado rapping with a ton of multis and flow switch ups. Maybe it's because everyone involved is so good at what they do but the album avoids the whole tired "real rap" sound and ends up being the biggest pleasant surprise of the year. As a big Deck fan, I'm glad he's finally a part of a couple of good albums outside of the first two Wu albums.

Best Track: Esoteric, Inspectah Deck and fellow Wu Tang member, Method Man absolutely rip this track to shreds.

9. Jay Rock - 90059

It's not quite the sound system destroying, bump it in the whip type album we were all expecting from the eldest TDE member we were expecting after his recent string of murdered guest spots. And Jay Rock seems to have changed his voice/flow a bit, even seemingly channeling the spirit of Juvenile in a few songs. And Isaiah Rashad got relegated to a fucking hook. Still, what we have on our hands is still a really, really enjoyable listen that truly clicks once you approach this album with a clear mind. It's a different Jay Rock than that of old, but I'm convinced that's not a bad thing.

Best Track: Black Hippy posse cuts are always the best. This song in particular is interesting in that it has all four rappers following the same basic flow but adding their own signature twist to each verse.

8. Med, Blu and Madlib - Bad Neighbor

This album kinda came out of the blue (no pun intended), with no promotion or anything. I'm still a bit curious as to when it was actually recorded and would love any background on it. I mean, with both Blu and Madlib on it, this was always going to be an instant listen. For the most part, this doesn't disappoint, and if it does, it's only because expectations for any project involving Blu or Madlib are sky high. Sounds like a natural extension of Blu's NoYork album, so for those who enjoyed hearing him over more esoteric, electric type beats, this will be right up your alley. Guest spots from old friends, DOOM, Phonte, Oh No and Aloe Blacc do nothing but add to the whole affair. O and Med is on this too, I guess.

Best Track: Madvillain is one of my favorite albums of all time Anytime MF Doom and Madlib are together on the same song is pure crack for me.

7. A$AP Rocky - At Long Last A$AP

AKA the RIP A$AP Yams album. This album's ranking suffered from two things. 1. It was released too damn early in the year and I forgot about it as time went on. 2. Too many tracks on it while simultaneously leaving out Multiply, the best single he's ever released. And it's still #7 on this list. That should tell you how much I enjoyed it and all in all, it really is a huge improvement on Long Live A$AP. Now if only he would show up on time to his live shows....

6. Jamie XX - In Colour

Something interesting happens when you take Jamie XX away from his group, The xx. His songs all start to sound a lot less same-y and you actually remember the individual tracks. The xx makes some good music, but if this album is any indication, Jamie XX makes his most engaging material when away from the main group. Or at the very least, his most diverse material. I love this album.

Best Track: I couldn't decide between these two tracks, so for the first and only time on this list, we get a tie!!! Both tracks are just so hauntingly beautiful.

5. Archy Marshall - A New Place To Drown

If you enjoyed his work as King Krule but wished he would lean a bit more towards hip hop with his instrumentals, man do I have the album for you. The beats on this album are some of the best I've heard all this decade and fits perfectly with Archy Marshall's strange singing, although I'd be interested in a purely instrumental version of this record as well. It helps this album that he seems to have worked on his singing a bit and that it complements everything instead of distracting at times, as it did on his King Krule project. Expect big things from the long lost emo Weasley brother.

Best Track: I wouldn't be mad at anybody who'd argue for Buffed Sky or Empty Vessels (especially, the latter), but something about Arise Dear Brother just does it for me.

4. Mac Miller - GO:OD am

Back in the day, I wrote Mac Miller off as an Asher Roth clone that would have his one or two months in the spotlight off the strength of a mixtape track or two and disappear into the land of forgotten rappers to hang out with the likes of Bonecrusher, Young Joc and Tru Life. But then Watching Movies With the Sound Off came out and was one of my favorite albums of 2013. I had thought it a fluke until a little later, he released the dementedly good Delusional Thomas album. Then, the year after, he dropped Faces, which, as you probably don't remember, was on my top 25 list for 2014. I was forced to admit that I have never been more wrong about an artist before in my life. Needless to say, I was hyped for GO:OD am. My friends, that hype was met and then some. Mac spits some of the best verses of his life over some of the best production he's received in this semi ode to the great Kanye West. If you'd previously written Mac Miller off before, do yourself a favor and give him another chance. You can thank me later.

Best Track: A lot of good tracks on this one, including a Little Dragon feature for the final track. This song will do though.

3. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell

Ten perfect tracks and one meh track (screw you Drawn to the Blood) of beautifully depressing lyrics set to acoustic guitar instrumentals. It's a very subdued piece of work when compared to some of his past material, especially Indianapolis, but that works for this particular album. Granted, it's not an album that you can toss on to listen to at any time. This would make terrible bump out the window music. But on those nights when the weather hits that magical spot between 55 and 75 degrees, and the humidity and clouds and moonlight are just right? That's when it'll all hit you.

Best Track: All of them except Drawn to the Blood. Seriously. Argh but if I must pick one.

2. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

I didn't like this album very much at first. Wait, let me clarify that. I didn't like this album very much at first after comparing it to GKMC and Section 80. I expected, nay, demanded more of the same from him and when this album veered off into a whole new territory, I instinctively reacted negatively to it. Then I gave it another listen through. Then one more. And then another one after that. Sometime between my 3rd and my 4th time listening straight through, I realized I would be a fool to knock this album for not being another GKMC. It was never meant to be that and despite the danger of heading into some pretentiously preaching areas, it never quite lets that take over the actual music. As a whole piece of work, this is easily Kendrick Lamar's most cohesive album ever. Years from now, we'll look back and wonder how this man released 3 classics back to back to back so easily. The scary thing is, I don't think this is his peak. His magnum opus is probably still to come. Long live TDE.

Best Track: When I first listened to the album, I gravitated towards King Kunta, as it was the most addictive and the most like what I felt his past work was like. The Blacker the Berry might be the most powerful song he's ever written. Alright is probably his most polished single ever. The answer to this question will change depending on when you ask me. Right now, my favorite would have to be this.

1. Vince Staples - Summertime 06

To Pimp A Butterfly was probably the best album to come out in 2015. Summertime 06, objectively probably is only about a top 5, top 6 album. However, this record was my favorite, and on a list based on opinions, the favorite always trumps all in the end. This was advertised as a double album but that was a bit misleading, since the two discs combine to give less than 1 hour of music, which isn't any more than many single disc albums out there. Whatever. That's irrelevant information once the album starts playing and you hear one of the best rappers in the game right now doing his thing with guidance from No ID's executive production. I would kill for a Vince Staples collaboration track with anybody from Black Hippy. C'mon, Kendrick. Ditch Cole's boring ass and get on this.

Best Track: All songs on this range from good to very good but there's still one clear cut winner. This Clams Casino laced BANGER.

And with that, we come to the end. As you can see, 2016 has a lot to live up to if it wants to match the quality 2015 has give us. With Kanye, Schoolboy Q, Isaiah Rashad and Pusha T all set to drop this year, I'm cautiously optimistic about its chances. But regardless of whether this year turns out to be great or wack, one thing will be for sure: I will make a list. Stay tuned to find out if I decide to make that list public once again and keep this annual. Keep calm, fellow snobs.