We all love the Grammys, but if you want a true celebration of the best in music, Pazz & Jop is where it's at. This annual poll in The Village Voice, started in 1971 by the legendary music critic Robert Christgau, brings together hundreds of writers to compile their year-end top tens into a definitive ranking of the greatest albums and singles. Topping the list is a major accomplishment for an artist, which is why so many fans await the results each January with baited breath.
The poll, however, like so much of the music industry, is dominated by men; only six albums by female acts have ever won. So it was shocking and remarkable this year when women reached a new high-water mark, scoring four of the top five slots on the 2015 edition: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, a rocking confessional from Australia's Courtney Barnett; the retro-glam Emotion and avant-garde Art Angels from Canuck pop princesses Carly Rae Jepsen and Grimes; and No Cities to Love, the first new record in a decade by pioneering Pacific Northwest riot grrrls Sleater-Kinney. Yet one man still stood above them all—Los Angeles rapper Kendrick Lamar, whose undeniable personal and political statement To Pimp a Butterfly was the musical and cultural soundtrack for the year.
Now things turn over to you, the good voters of ATRL. [Which of these albums was your favorite? You can help decide the winner by listening to these 69 songs, rating each one on a scale from 1-10, and then sending me your scores by Sunday, March 6. (No trolling or your vote will be tossed.) Happy listening!
“Wesley’s Theory” ft. George
Clinton and Thundercat
“For Free? (Interlude)”
“King Kunta”
“Institutionalized” ft. Bilal, Anna
Wise and Snoop Dogg
“These Walls” ft. Bilal, Anna
Wise and Thundercat
“u”
“Alright”
“For Sale? (Interlude)”
“Momma”
“Hood Politics”
“How Much a Dollar Cost” ft. James
Fauntleroy and Ronald Isley
“Complexion (A Zulu Love)” ft. Rhapsody
“The Blacker the Berry”
“You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said)”
“i”
“Mortal Man”
“Elevator Operator”
“Pedestrian at Best”
“An Illustration of Loneliness
(Sleepless in New York)”
“Small Poppies”
“Depreston”
“Aqua Profunda!”
“Dead Fox”
“Nobody Really Cares If
You Don’t Go to the Party”
“Debbie Downer”
“Kim’s Caravan”
“Boxing Day Blues”
“Stair Androids & Valley Um…”
“Run Away With Me”
“E•MO•TION”
“I Really Like You”
“Gimmie Love”
“All That”
“Boy Problems”
“Making the Most of the Night”
“Your Type”
“Let’s Get Lost”
“LA Hallucinations”
“Warm Blood”
“When I Needed You”
“Black Heart”
“I Didn’t Just Come Here to Dance”
“Favourite Colour”
“Never Get to Hold You”
“Love Again”
“Laughing and Not Being Normal”
“California”
“Scream” ft. Aristophanes
“Flesh Without Blood”
“Belly of the Beat”
“Kill V. Maim”
“Artangels”
“Easily”
“Pin”
“Realiti”
“World Princess Part II”
“Venus Fly” ft. Janelle Monáe
“Life In the Vivid Dream”
“Butterfly”
Re: Courtney, I only really find myself coming back to An Illustration Of Loneliness as of late. Maybe a few re-listens of the whole thing will change my mind.
I absolutely love Grimes and Carly, but I can't do this rate. Rap is just NOT my thing, I tried to listen to Kendrick's music, it's just not my cup of tea
Countdown
Can't wait to tug ARTANGELS a bit.
