Best Albums of 2016

December 27, 2016 in Music

I've been pretty busy this year, so I have a long list I could give but I don't feel like I've listened deeply enough to do 30 albums justice. But I can give you five that I think are the bees' knees. My lists all the way back to 2006 are below. Enjoy! And please let me know your favorites!

5. Pinegrove - Cardinal

4. Frank Ocean - Blonde

3. Slow Dakota - The Ascension of Slow Dakota
Christ-haunted. Literary. Curious. Playful. Mindful.
Try: "I Am Held Together"

2. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial
Punky. Can rock hard, but driven by lyrics. Wonderfully honest and provoking lyrics.
Try: "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales"

1. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
Hands down, the bestest of the bestest. Yeah, I know, it's quirky and weird and whatever. It's almost perfect as work of art depicting the messy clamor through darkness and struggle in the search for something more. It's longing and wanting and waiting and a whole bunch of things that should make the thoughtful listener think and seek alongside Vernon. It's the kind of spiritual pursuit that I want from art. It's not easy. But it's really good.
Try: 33 "God" | Full Concert

Previous Years -- Best Albums

2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

Best Albums of 2015

December 25, 2015 in Music

Another year of great music, some from artists I already love and some are new discoveries. I've been sharing my love for music on the blog through an end of the year "best of" list since 2006...

Previous Years -- My Best Albums

2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

As usual I'll give some minimal comments just to get you started. I hope you'll do what I do all year round, which is hit the links, stream some samples, and find something new. I encourage you to buy the music you love and not just stream it online free. Support good art and great artists! If you click on my links you'll be able to buy through Amazon. It's no extra expense for you by using my links and I get referrals which provides me a little Amazon money for books and music. Thanks for your support!

Here we go. Anything that made this list is well worth checking out.

18. Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color | This is a good band making good music. It's a little more deliberate than I want it to be, but it's worthy of the effort.

17. Chvrches - Every Open Eye | Solid follow-up to their outstanding The Bones of What You Believe. Always fun and crank-worthy pop.

16. The Gray Havens - Fire and Stone | The best musical storytellers of redemption currently working. Even when they have a stylistic choice that isn't my cup of tea, I finish the cup.

15. Chris Stapleton - Traveller | Nashtastic, beardy, soulful country. Where the rubber meets the stage. Where the boots hit the gravel. You know.

14. Wilco - Star Wars | This dropped for FREE. Wow. And it's purdy good. Dude, it's Wilco. You should own everything they make. C'mon.

13. Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free | Hard to live up to the sweet perfections of last years' Southeastern, but still another great album. Must listen: "24 Frames."

12. Purity Ring - Another Eternity | Goodness, this got a lot of play this year in my house, during work, for fun, with the kids, by myself. It's remarkably catchy. Dreamy beats. Louder the better.

11. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats - Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats | Rollicking fun. Lot's of roll in the rock. Honest. Authentic. The cool buddy we all wish we had. Down to earth.

TOP 10

10. Kamasi Washington - The Epic | Oh, jazz. When you come at me with something classy and creative, something that reminds me of what I love but also gives me something new to love, I do love you.

9. Jamie xx - In Colour | Cool of the cool. Chill. Urban. Sips (no chugging) in the club. Vibe. Flavor. Undercurrent. Emotive. EMOTIVE. Atmospheric.

8. Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool | Man, this album was begging me to be put higher. It's groovy fun. Hooky goodness. And it rocks plenty hard. It's sweet adrenaline.

7. Tame Impala - Currents | Life-soundtracky. Hip. Looping. Trippy. Great for focused work, chilling out. It's groovy, man. It's an album that I can turn on most any time of any day.

6. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit | Every early sample of this album ended quickly. But I finally read enough about it to give it a real and thorough listen. Two times through I was sold. It's punkish. The later tracks are the ones that convinced me of Barnett's genius, but she first caught my ear at "Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you." Almost made the top 5.

TOP 5

5. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear | Sermonic. Counter-cultural. Every song a stage. Laugh-tracks. Really smart. He takes you on his dramatic trip into the challenging of an idea through supremely glorious musical styles. The gorgeousity of the music should be incongruous with the content, but is actually a wonderful way for FJM to make his move on your heart. He gives you a rose and the stabs you in the eye with its thorn.

4. Titus Andronicus - The Most Lamentable Tragedy | A punkish-rock opera. Cohesive and uplifting. Satisfyingly loud and melodic and fist-pumping and fun and epic. The first two tracks should have you hooked, hooked, hooked. The most audacious and ambitious album of this style since American Idiot.

3. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell | Soft and soothing, but not gentle. Beautifully jarring. Broadly finite. Haunted. Entrancing. A warm hug and consoling whisper through the reverberating ache. Isolated & intimate. This guy is a-something.

2. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Style | The music of Will Toledo that originated from his DIY bedroom recordings as a teenager is quite excellent. This shoegazy rock album is a joy listen after listen. "Anyone new to Car Seat Headrest is, quite frankly, in for a jaw-dropping discovery. The quality of Toledo’s songs is gobsmacking; the lyrics are enthralling, the melodies are to die for, the musicianship is raw yet brilliant." This album is the introverts dreamscape, and cry, and inspiration.

1. Grimes - Art Angels | This album is "utterly uncompromising, imaginative and, somehow, universally accessible." Yes, yes, and yes to the music of Claire Boucher. This is the album that I listen to most, enjoy the most, and makes me want to dance the most. But it's also full of quirk. It's packed with super-duper hooks that aren't easy and cheap. It's fresh and throw-back at the same time. Boucher is a creative genius, "a human zeitgeist, redrawing all the binaries and boundaries by which we define pop music and forcing us to come along."

Best Albums of 2014

December 22, 2014 in Music

Nothing like end of the year music lists. Love reading them and making new discoveries and hearing good arguments about what's great. I love the process of relistening to many albums and making a list of my own. I've done this since 2006...

Previous Years -- My Best Albums

2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

I'm leaving minimal comments, but trying to give some hint at what I like. Bottom line for me is that it's really easy to click a link and listen to the samples to see if anything catches your ear. That's often how I discover great albums.

Please let me know in the comments your favorite albums of the year, your top 5, whatever you like!

Album 20-11

20. Swans - To Be Kind | I just LOVE what they do. Deserves recognition.

19. Ty Segall - Manipulator | Rocking retro music. Catchy catchy.

18. Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers | One my favorite songwriters right now.

17. The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers | A band that rarely makes a mistake. Masters of the catchy. The best pop music in the world that doesn't make the radio.

16. Phantogram - Voices | Listened to more than most albums on this list because it's just so much stinkin' fun! Dance, dance revolution!

15. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness | Love the creativity behind the angst. An album worth meandering through again and again.

14. Alvvays - Alvvays | A hazy, dreamy daisy. A lot of fun. I put this on a lot. "Marry Me, Archie" is a favorite song this year.

13. Andrew Bird - Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of... | Got so much play late in the year. Might be the most accessible Andrew Bird album out there.

12. Champs - Down Like Gold | Not easy to get, but worth it. Gorgeous harmonies. Thoughtful lyrics.

11. FKA twigs - LP1 | A little over-produced, but a remarkable, powerfully delicate sound. Broke so many of my expectations.

Album 10-6

10. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There | Somber. Rarely fun. But so, so good. Beautifully written & emotionally performed. Sharon's body of work is outstanding, album after album.

9. Spoon - They Want My Soul | I've liked Spoon for some time, but I don't remember an album that called me back over and over. Some of the best indie rock being made.

8. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else | A fantastic album that I had listed lower and it kept saying to me, "I'm better than that." Yes. Yes you are. Punky, rock, and throttled. Turn it up and go.

7. Jack White - Lazaretto | Crank UP the title track. I listened when I first picked it up, stopped for a while, and now I listen to it more than ever. Evidence of a great album is that it won't let you stay away. One of White's best albums.

6. Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear | The remarkable song, "Chandelier," deserved some attention so I gave it some at CaPC. This is way bigger than one song. A remarkable selection of some of the best pop songs of the year by what I think is one of our better minds in the pop music world. She gets the mix of thoughtful lyrics, big hooks, and soaring sounds. The levels of honest are remarkable.

TOP 5 ALBUMS OF 2014

5. Caribou - Our Love | The best amalgamation of music I can close my eyes and dive in to on my headphones as well as can serve as background for work or play. Everything Caribou does is gold and this is 24K.

4. Saintseneca - Dark Arc | I gave this one a review at CaPC because it demanded it. Read that review to find out why this is not only an enjoyable album, but redemptive. An album almost no one is talking about and that's a shame.

3. The War on Drugs - Lost In The Dream | This is one of the best reviewed albums of the year. I've seen 10 #1 listings so far. Could easily be higher. I struggle to even describe what this album is. It crosses some of my favorite kinds of music. Can I just ask you to check it out? Ok, thanks.

2. John Fullbright - Songs | This was a late year discovery for me and has had me entranced from the first listen. So. Many. Good. SONGS. Some of the best songwriting I've found. And the dude's like 25. This one can appeal to people who like troubadours, singer-songwriters, baritone, indie, even country, or americana.

1. Delta Spirit - Into the Wide | I expect to put up a more proper review of this album sometime. It's overdue, and this album and this band deserves more attention from the world. To me, this is simply one of the best bands playing. They are outstanding live. They know how to do quiet and thoughtful as well as really loud and thoughtful.

This is one heckuvan album, and it's beloved by members of my family who have very different tastes.

Great Prices on Best Albums of 2010

December 21, 2010 in Music

I offered my "Best Albums of 2010" list this week. Several of them are on sale for pretty doggone cheap right now, so I thought I'd let you know of the best deals. Prices can change quickly, so check before you buy. These are currently listed $6.99 or less...