The Weeknd

Let's get started. Coming in at number 20 is....


Favorite Lyric: “Cut me open and tell me what's inside. Diagnose me cause I can’t keep wondering why.”

Album Highlights: Run, Avalanche, and Throne

This album was my first introduction to this band (to be fair I still haven’t gotten around to listening to their other albums yet) and I have to say that this is a good one. This album is just so full of energy and I love the combination of electronica and rock that is going on with this album. It makes for a more unique sound than a lot of bands have nowadays. They also have a thing with this album for have really melodic and smooth verses but then get very aggressive with the choruses. It makes for an interesting vibe for the whole album to say the least.

As I just mentioned musically this album is a blend of electronica and rock, though just which genre is more dominant changes depending on the song and even sometimes the part of the songs. Typically the verses tend to lean more in an electronic direction and the choruses are where we get to the more rock part. From a rock perspective it tends to vary from more of an alternative rock style to a more nu metal style. For its genre this album is actually very melodic and catchy. I think it’s those more pop like sensibilities with this album that make me enjoy it so much.

Lyrically I will admit it does lean on the melodramatic side. Though to me that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Melodrama can be quite nice if it’s done well and I think this band does melodrama pretty well. I think the lead singers vocals help with this. He’s very good at selling it all. I also have to say I love just the variety of ways he can sing, sometimes he’s more gentle and then at times he’s very aggressive and in your face. This variance really does keep this album from becoming one note. In all this is a very good rock album.

Favorite Lyric: “The first time that I saw your face time stood still I found my place now I’m watching it tear right out of my arms.”

Album Highlights: I Can Change, Can’t Deny My Love, and Between Me And You

Here we have The Killers lead singer’s second solo album. I have to say it’s a very nice album. I was kind of surprised about it especially after hearing about how bad his first album was (to be fair I haven’t listened to it yet so I can’t say for myself if it is bad or not). This album is a really nice affair about the ups and downs of love.

Musically this album is a blend of synthpop and alternative rock. Though admittedly that formula is more balanced in the direction of syhtnpop than alternative rock. This album is mostly mid-tempo but there are some up-tempo moments like I Can Change. However, the most of the mid-tempos of this album are pretty energetic and catchy. It has a lot of pop sensibilities in the best of ways. It’s a pretty engaging album to listen too.

Lyrically this album is solid, it has nice moments and isn’t too generic or clichéd. Though I do have to admit that is fairly repetitive with certain lines in some of the songs. I don’t find this to be bad in and off itself, but I’m just saying it as a warning to people who don’t like that sort of thing. Also, I do love Brandon’s voice. It has a very interesting tone to it and it just adds and extra nice layer to this already pretty well crafted album.

Favorite Lyric: “I see a ghost out on the water, I swear it has my face, I bend and drink the lonely down, the lonely down.”

Album Highlights: Welcome Home, Until The Levee, and Before I Sleep

I was devastated when The Civil Wars announced last year that they were breaking up for good. They were one of my favorite acts from this decade, their two albums are just so amazing. However, I was pleased to hear that Joy Williams was going to continue to make music. Though I was a bit apprehensive because before The Civil Wars she was a gospel artist and that is not my favorite genre at all, but those fears were put aside when it was announced she was not going back in that direction. Instead what we got from her is a really great singer songwriter album with some interesting electronic and alternative influences.

As I mentioned this album is a very interesting mix of electronica and alternative rock music. As such it’s a different musical direction than her work with The Civil Wars, which works to her favor. This album proves that it wasn’t just John who was behind all the greatness of their music. Joy can stand on her own too and even do different music than what she did with him. The only song off this album that sound like it could be a Civil Wars song (albeit with different production) is Until The Levee. This album is filled with very interesting musical moments and melodies. I guess it could be compared to Florence’s music in a sense (and even then on only like two or three songs) but I think that this album as a vibe all its own.

Lyrically this album is very good. It’s filled with great emotional lyrics that manage to avoid going into the territory of unnecessary melodrama. It’s very much on par with the lyrics of The Civil Wars but has a more feminine twist to them which makes sense. These lyrics are completely sold by Joy’s beautiful and emotive voice. Joy has got to be one of the most emotive singers nowadays and it really shows here. You can just feel the sorrow and pain’s she’s been through. This is such a great album from a much underrated artist.

Favorite Lyric: “There's a million ways to dream and that's just fine, Oh but I ain't losin' any sleep at night
And if I end up goin' down in flames, Well at least I know I did it my own way.

Album Highlights: Die Fun, Family is Family, and Somebody To Love

This year Kacey released the follow up to her much lauded debut album, which is my favorite country album of the decade. I had a lot of expectations of her and I have to say she did not disappoint. While I do believe Same Trailer Different Park remains her better album, this one is also really great. Just like her first album this one is filled with her trademark smart, witty lyricism and great melodies.

Musically I say she went in an even more old school direction than her first album, which is saying something because STDP was already fairly old school. She invokes a very nostalgic feel with this record without sounding dated or trying to be a rip off of older acts.

As I’ve already mentioned this album is full of really great lyrics. Out of today’s main crop of country artists I think Kacey’s lyricism stands above the rest. Her songs on this album are just filled with punchlines that are made even better by Kacey’s masterful delivery. Subject wise a lot of songs on this album revolve around the theme of “nobody’s perfect and that’s ok”. It is a theme that she first explored on her first album with “Follow Your Arrow”, however I think she expands upon that theme and sometimes even takes it in new directions, such as when she applies it to families. However, it’s not all rainbows with Ms. Musgraves. She still keeps some of her brashness with songs such as Good Ol’ Boys Club which seems to be her anthem against the politics of the music industry. In all this album is a very good successor to Same Trailer Different Park and has solidified Kacey has my favorite country artist from this decade.

Favorite Lyric: “When I walk around all of the streets, Where I grew up and found my feet, They can't look me in the eye, It's like they're scared of me.

Album Highlights: Million Years Ago, All I Ask, and Remedy.

So this year Adele finally released her much anticipated follow-up to 21. The big question on most people’s minds when she finally confirmed her comeback was would the waiting be worth it. Obviously since she’s on my list, and is this high up on it, for me that answer was yes. It was well worth it. This album is a very worthy successor of 21. While I wouldn’t say this album is as good as 21, it’s still a very good album all on its own.

Musically, this album is not really a reinvention for Adele, though I doubt most rational people were expecting one. There were exceptions for this of course, the biggest on this forum being Send My Love (To Your New Lover). SML is by far the most pop Adele has ever sounded and it’s not that bad of a thing (though if I’m being honest I’d probably rank it third to last if we went by standard edition alone). Also, on quite a few of the songs she employs a lot more bombast than she usually does, the biggest examples being Water Under The Bridge, and Sweetest Devotion. She even manages to dabble into disco a bit with When We Were Young.

However, there are quite a few “classic” Adele songs on here like Hello, and Remedy. However, while the general sound is not too different than 19, or 21 I do think a lot of the influences she had for this album are different. For example, while she has had guitar based songs before, though those were mainly on 19 as opposed to 21, she’s never had a Mediterranean influenced song like Million Years Ago before. So while the palate of sounds she’s using may not be that much different, the way she’s employing them is.

Thematically this album is more lighthearted than previous ventures. Instead of focusing on pain in the moment like before, most of the time she’s being very retrospective with the pain, focusing more on how she’s grown from it instead of being wrapped up in it, or singing about how's she's getting over it. Also, there are quite a few more positive songs about love than before. For example, Sweetest Devotion, a nice love song that is an ode to her son. Another great example is Remedy where she tells her lover that no matter what happens in life, not matter the hurt, she will be there to heal him. As far as lyricism goes I would actually say this album may be her strongest.

Finally we come around to the vocals. I think this is her strongest album vocally. Her voice sounds better than ever from a technical standpoint. She not only shows off her belting, but she also makes great use of her beautiful head voice. She’s hitting highs on this album that are not before seen from her (see When We Were Young and All I Ask) and it’s great to see that she’s better her craft in this regard. Overall I’d say this is a pretty good album and one that was well worth the wait.

Well that's it for tonight, tomorrow is the top 15, see you all sometime near 7:30 pm EST.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention this but one of the albums in tomorrow's set is going to be a surprise as when I was editing the songs list I had inadvertently deleted my top pick for it and didn't release I had until I was already in the top twenty for the songs list. Oops, my bad. But hey surprises are nice right?

Thanks!

Yeah, Delirium can be a bit on too generic at times. Still even then it's great overall.

Yeah, if some of the fat had been deleted from the track list it would have made top fifteen easily.

Yeah that tread is great for finding out about country acts, it's how I knew Ashley had released another album last year.

Thanks!

Thanks!

I bought the Bring Me To The Horizon album because it was 10 cents on XBOX music about a month ago and still haven't listened. I need to bring me around to that album


BFlow (a name I stole from someone on here) sure killed it with this album. You chose the right top 3 also, I can't deny my love for the best song on the album: Between Me And You, and it's nice to see someone else who likes it too.

I liked 25 a lot also. I think I might prefer it to 21, although 21's highs are much higher.

Ready for the surprise reveal also

25 Another amazing album from Adele.

Brandon

Kacey & Adele

Favorite Lyric: “If you don't mind, I'll walk that line, stuck on the bridge between us, gray areas and expectations”

Album Highlights: EASE, TALK ME DOWN, and HEAVEN

Here we have the acclaimed debut album from YouTuber Troye Sivan. It feels kind of weird to say acclaimed and YouTuber in the same sentence when talking about music. Especially considering how most musical outings by bigger YouTubers are but Troye is a big exception. With this album he delivers to us a great album full of electropop and dream pop.

The best thing about Troye’s music is probably his lyricism. For an act so young his lyrics are very good and he avoids being too cliché most of the time. He tends to be both very personal yet cold and distant at the same time. He tends to be very raw and yet have a bit of a naïve innocence in his writing, which is probably a good reflection of just how young he still is. His lyricism really elevates a lot of his music. Which is a good thing because unlike some others on this list he can’t really rely on his voice to do that. He has a very nice and interesting tone but can’t really do all that much with his voice, which can cause his songs to sound very similar.

Which bring me to Troye’s biggest weakness, despite the fact that his stuff is good, it can be a bit homogeneous. However, enough about his downsides, this album is full on interesting moments such as twisted lullaby breakdown in BITE and the bridge of HEAVEN. There all sorts of quirky moments that give Troye a fairly distinct identity, though at times I will admit he does share some similarities to Lorde and to an extent Lana. However, in all despite some small faults, which admittedly are more nitpicks than anything really major, this is a very strong debut from an act that has some good potential.

Favorite Lyric: “I'm walking past windows, Reflections of someone like me, But I don't recognize what I see.”

Album Highlights: Up For Air, Pure, and The Other Side Of Me.

Well this one was a bit unexpected for me. Mostly just because I was introduced to Conchita while lurking on this site and was unimpressed with her song from Eurovision. I thought it was very cheesy and bland, so once I heard she was releasing and album I was very skeptical. I was expecting it to be a horrendously cheesy, campy, ballad filled mess. I’m glad to say I was wrong about that. I mean this album does have its campy moments don’t get we wrong, and lyrically its very cheese, but it’s enjoyably campy and cheesy.

Musically, there are some sweeping baroque pop songs on the album (ex: Pure), but most of this album is synth-pop with elements from other genres mixed in. Some of them include house and Arabic m/ceusic. These littles tastes of other genres keep the album from sounding monotonous while the synth-pop core of most of the songs keep the album sounding cohesive. Despite the fact that Conchita was made famous for singing a ballad, there are quite a few mid-tempo and up-tempo songs on the album. The only other songs that are really ballads are The Other Side of Me, and, depending on what one classifies as a ballad, Pure. Surprising this album is full of energy, an energy that is missing from a lot of pop artists nowadays.

Thematically most songs on this album fall into two camps: empowerment anthems and songs dealing with heartbreak. While an album full of empowering songs does sound rather droll by now after the wave of empowerment anthems that were smashing from around 2010-2013 (and we still get an odd hit or two out of them even after that wave ended) Conchita’s vocals really work wonders here with this subject matter. Conchita sounds so earnest while singing, like she is singing these songs to herself to try and pump herself up as well as trying to lift other people’s spirits. I can’t help but feel more motivated myself while listening to her. That’s one thing that really makes her empowerment anthems stick out, while others rely on either the words themselves or the music in the background to carry the load, Conchita’s vocals are, the emotion that’s present in them, really help her songs do what they are meant to do, empower. Her songs about love are also pretty interesting, partly to do with her aforementioned vocals, but also because she does employ some not quite so cliched imagery (like comparing dysfunctional love to friendly fire).

Finally, about the vocals of this album. Holy crap can Conchita sing. Rise Like A Phoenix already showed that, but this album just drives that point home. Heavenly high notes galore with this album, one of my favorite examples is during Up For Air. We also get to hear quite a bit of her head voice too, which is pretty nice as she does have a pleasant one. I’ve already mentioned the fact that she emotes very well with this album so I don’t think I really need to go into specifics here.

In all this is a really good pop album. It’s not perfect as lyrically it leaves a bit to be desired, and there are a few songs that are just duds on here, however this album has quite a lot of high moments and is overall a very satisfying experience which was not what I was expecting going in.

Favorite Lyrics: “Pictures changing, but not the frame”

Album Highlights: Take You High, Nostalgic, and Piece by Piece.

Kelly made her return this year with her seventh studio album, Piece by Piece. I was a bit apprehensive going into this one because, while I liked Stronger, I feel that it is basic and ultimately nothing too special and was very much just her going on autopilot, while Wrapped In Red was an amazing album that restored my faith in Kelly coming up with a truly great album. So I was wondering before listening to it would it be another Stronger or would it be another truly great album. In the end, while Piece by Piece is not my favorite Kelly album (in fact if I ranked all of her albums it would fall exactly in the middle), it is still a good album and an improvement over 2011’s Stronger.

With this album, Kelly struck out in a more pop oriented direction than she usually does. I can’t really call it a pop-rock album because there’s really not that many pop-rock songs on it, in fact about a third of the album is pure synth-pop. It was a bit of a refreshing change as I felt that her pop-rock material was starting to become weak, and in fact this album kind of proves it as most of the weaker tracks are the pop-rock songs, with one very notable exception.

Not only did she go in a more pop oriented direction she brought in sounds that she hadn’t really done before, like the orchestral-pop sound of Invincible, and the big EDM inspired sound of Take You High. She also heavily expanded upon the 80’s power pop sound she lightly touched on with some songs from Stronger, with Nostalgic and Good Goes The Bye being the biggest (and best) examples of this.

One thing that immediately springs to me about this album is just how much of an improvement this album is lyrically over her last proper pop album. Most of this album’s songs have good to great lyrics with only two real duds thrown in the mix. The big lyrical standout of this album is the title track, which is a sequel to Because of You where Kelly denounces the way her father treated her by asserting how she and her husband will treat her child the way Kelly should have been treated as a kid.

Another thing to take note about this album is that out of all of her non-holiday albums, it probably captures all of the various aspects of Kelly’s voice and what she can do with it the best. This album makes the most use out of her head voice out of any of them and many of the songs just allow Kelly to show off just how beautiful her tone is. It shows more than just Kelly the Belter of High Notes.

In all this is a very good pop album full of well-crafted HAC leaning pop songs that just unfortunately happens to be weighed down by some mediocre material resulting in its position on this list.

Favorite Lyric: “I want to grow up to wear a leather jacket and that leather jacket is going to hold my soul in.”

Album Highlights: Leather Jacket, I Just Wanna Rock and Roll, and Very Best Friend.

If this album proves anything it’s that Brittany Howard can sing any genre. Like seriously this is such a great balls to the walls no holds barred rock and roll album that’s made all the better by Howard’s voice. Musically this album is a throwback to old school rock filled with very nice melodies and great instrumentals. Thematically most of this album is just pure fun, no serious songs about heartbreak or such, this album is just all about the fun. Some songs are her being a braggart and some songs are just about partying and having fun.

That’s the thing I love the most about this album. You can just feel this is just this band coming together and just having a blast with it. That feeling just oozes from everything, from the music, to the rhythms, to Howard’s vocals. However, just because this is a fun album doesn’t mean that it’s not a lyrically solid one. In fact this is actually a very well written fun album. Some of the songs set up stories like Very Best Friend, and I Just Wanna Rock and Roll. Some of these stories are quite humorous (ex: Very Best Friend) and is made even better by how funny and exaggerated Howard sounds at times.

No matter what the song is about on this album Howard just sells it, from the humor, to the campiness, to the sexuality in some songs, she does it all. It’s really nice to see her in a lighter, more fun setting. The music itself as I’ve mentioned is great too. I’m very grateful for the fact that Howard had the time and energy to help bring us two great albums this year.

Favorite Lyrics: “Everyone comes, but only I stay. Nowhere to look, nowhere to turn to fall way. What if I should call it off? Hold up my demands with my heart uncrossed”

Album Highlights: Clearest Blue, Keep You On My Side, and Playing Dead

Now this album grew on me a lot. I liked it fairly well on first listen but wasn’t all that blown away by it. I mean when I originally started making this list it was probably going to go out at like 29 or something but after I listened to it before writing this review I kept finding myself loving these songs more than I had previously. Like this album leaped up from just making the list to almost making the top 10. It seems strange but it isn’t the first time that I only liked an album at first but then on a random listening session a few months later have it just click with me. Of course before finalizing it's place on this list I waited a week or so to see if I still loved it as much as I did that play session, the answer was yes.

This album is the epitome of catchy. Like almost all of the melodies on this album are earworms. However, it takes more than catchy to make my list. The melodies are generally interesting too and are just so euphoric at a lot of points and driving at others. This album is just an explosion of incredible beats and interesting musical moments.

This is a synth-pop album with an edge to it. This is mostly because of the lyrics. They tend to be a bit darker than the music tends let on. It’s this mixture of ear candy and not so happy lyricism that makes this album interesting to me. However, not every song is bittersweet some songs are just pure happiness like Make It Gold, which is such a nice little positive anthem. It’s an album I’m a bit ashamed to say I kind of slept on until recently.

That’s it for tonight, the bottom half of the top 10 is coming tomorrow. It’s getting very close to the end!

I would never have expected Conchita Good choice though the album was great! Conchita sure rose to the occasion

Piece By Piece is also alright. I love Take You High She also sounds amazing throughout.

I need to listen to Thunderbitch already

Favorite Lyric: “So you're gonna be institutionalized, You'll come out brainwashed with bloodshot eyes
You won't have any say, They'll brainwash you until you see their way”

Album Highlights: King Kunta, i, and Institutionalized

Kendrick came back this year with the follow up to his acclaimed debut Good Kid M.A.D. City. With this he became even more acclaimed than before. I have to say I agree. I really liked Good Kid but I like this album even more. Musically I just love this album, I love the funk elements present in some of the songs (see King Kunta and Wesley’s Theory). I also just love the wide variety of sounds and music he’s incorporating with this album. I’ve already mentioned funk, but he’s also incorporated some other genres of music, like big band with For Free (especially that intro) and some electronica (For Sale?). This combination of sounds and influences really gives this album a life and color to it that’s all its own, that along with all the things he likes to put on in the background. Like seriously there’s always something interesting going on in the background (King Kunta is one of my favorite examples of this).

Thematically this album tackles a lot of issues, especially those that effect African Americans. He goes after the racial hatred that still exists in people, he also talks about the various stereotypes African Americans have to reconcile, and many other issues. One thing that really makes this album is just how forward he is with the whole album. He never beats around the bush, but at the same time isn’t afraid of looking at himself and others with a critical lens either. His critique about the plight of African American’s in society is not only scathing towards outside forces like institutional racism and police brutality but is also self-critical towards certain aspects of modern day culture. Lyrically this is the strongest album on this list, not just in terms of the subject matter they tackle, and just how effective they are. Kendrick is really spilling a lot of truth with this album, so much so that I think this is really an essential album to listen too in general. I truly get why this album has gotten so much acclaim. It really deserves it all.

Favorite Lyric: “Now it feels like I'm living some sick déjà vu like the answers were there when I stared into you.”

Album Highlights: Traveling Song, New Constellations, and The Fool

This year we had a lot of young female alternative artists rise up; Hasley, Zella Day, Alessia Clara, and of course Ryn. All were met with varying degrees of either extreme love or hate, well maybe not Alessia as most seem to at least like her. Out of all of them Ryn was the one who connected to me the most. There’s just something about her that seems more “authentic” for lack of a better term, than the others. I feel like Ryn is being more honest about herself and putting on less of an act to appear as “cool” as some of the others.

And that shows on this album. While it’s indie pop and does have the quirks that make Ryn, well Ryn, it doesn’t ever feel like she’s putting on a show or trying to be something more than she is. You feel that she is being very genuine about everything she’s singing about, like she isn’t shouting out “cool” artists or making drug references in an attempt to seem edgy, everything she writes, while it may be a bit over poetic at time, and she can be a bit contrived, she’s writing straight from her heart and you can hear it in her vocals.

The album is a journey through the various pitfalls Ryn has experienced with love, with a brief pit-stop in Traveling Song which serves as a memorial song for her late grandfather. The music itself is mostly synthpop with a few other influences at times such folk and 60’s/70’s era pop-rock. The Fool starts us off with Runaway, a track that does a good job at setting the defiant tone that will be present throughout most of the rest of the album. It also gets listeners used to the way Ryn sings as, well, she has a very unique vibrato and she will use it a lot so if you’re not a fan of it then you may want to stop there. The next song is the punchy OctaHate and it does a great job at kicking us off into an adventure full of sweeping moments, well crated catchy hooks, and quirky lyrics that culminates with the very dramatic New Constellations. New Constellations, a song about dusting oneself off from bad romantic experiences and embracing the possibilities that are out there, is an appropriately dramatic note to end on from an album that is full of dramatics.

Favorite Lyrics: “Turn around and we’re breaking up, soul searching and making up, drift away then realign, start over and lose our minds"

Album Highlights: Yoga, Let’s Get Caught, and Classic Man (the remix w/ Kendrick and Janelle).

This Ep is a very unique one. It’s a collaborative effort between all the artists signed under Janelle Monae’s new label, Wondaland. Here we have new up and coming rapper Jidena, funk duo Deep Cotton, another duo named St. Beauty, R&B singer Roman GianArthur, and of course the big boss herself Janelle Monae. All of these artists have come together and put out one of the best bodies of work to be released this year.

Musically this EP is a mixture of Hip-Hop and R&B, very good Hip-Hop and R&B. With the hip hop side we’ve got Jidena and his song Classic Man, which even has its own remix on here featuring another great rapper, Kendric Lamar. We also have the collaboration between Jidena and Deep Cotton, Let’s Get Caught. The rest of the songs, Yoga, iKnow, and Going Nowhere, provide the R&B side, with Janelle giving us some trap in her song too. It’s a fairly diverse album, which is to be expected with all the artists featured on here, but it’s also pretty cohesive. That’s the one thing that really impressive about this EP, it could have easily sounded like a diaspora of different songs and styles that are arbitrarily coming together for the sake of promoting the new label, but it doesn’t. It really sounds like a united effort where everyone gets their moment to sine. I will admit that this EP does give Jidena the most attention as he is on three out of the seven songs on this album so it can feel a bit like the Jidena show at times, but everyone does at least get their own song so it’s not like anyone is getting the shaft.

As far as theme and lyrics go, there isn’t really a set theme here. You have one song about dressing classy and bragging about it, two songs about letting go and having fun, and two songs about tumultuous relationships. Lyrically I’d say it’s pretty solid, some people might find certain lines “you cannot police me so get off my areola”, to be a bit cringe, but I honestly find them to be quite charming and in some cases clever. In all this is a great collaborative effort between a bunch of talented artists that serves as a great introduction to most of them.