x, In The Lonely Hour, V, 1989, Nick Jonas, and two Beyoncé/Nicki collaborations came out last year, as well as 7/11. So, it was the better year (to, and for, me). 2015 was cute though.
Both years have EASILY been the worst years in mainstream music this decade. They're pretty much on par with each other in terms of quality and success.
I give 2014 the slight edge solely because it wasn't overtaken by terrible overly-bass ridden trap music that lacks legitimate melody. Not to mention the award shows, the performances, and everything else that has encompassed the music industry this year has been absolutely dreadful aside from Adele, but she never really even came back until the end anyway so...
Albums: 2014 had more standout releases while 2015 had a little more quality. I'll still side with 2014 as it gave me some of my favorite albums of all time.
Singles: I enjoyed a lot of songs from both years but when I look back at a list of 2014 songs compared to this year, I typically enjoy the former. So 2014.
Even comparing the songs in the OP, all the 2014 tracks are really solid while there's one bad one in 2015 and two are a little weak-ish.
