Best Albums of 2015: me

Spotify says I listened to 63,000 minutes of music in 2015.  Pretty insane if you really think about that - which doesn't even include the time I spent on Pandora or listening to my own CDs or ripped albums.  That is a lot of time spent inserting new sounds into my head.  Which makes it a little bit difficult to tackle the project of naming my top 10 albums of the year.  I've been so voracious at devouring new music that I haven't gotten to spend really good quality time with some of the albums that I loved.  But I just ran down through all of the new albums (listed on Wikipedia) that were released in 2015, made a list, and have waded through that list of my favorites to choose the cream of the crop.

A few observations.  First, my list is heavy on people who came to ACL this year.  I don't know the direction of the chicken and the egg for that - if my ACL project influenced my list, or if ACL just got people this year who put out fantastic albums - but either way it is funny how intertwined the two are this year.  Second, I never heard the new Dr. Dre or the new Coldplay because neither are available on Spotify [edit, new Coldplay is up now, but I still haven't heard enough to judge].  Finally, I think this is the right order, and I think the "Beard-o Three" at the bottom could have lost out to other albums, but for now I think they win out.

1. Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color.
2. The Decemberists - What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.
3. Chris Stapleton - Traveller
4. Tame Impala - Currents
5. Kacey Musgraves - Pageant Material
6. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
7. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
8. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
9. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats - Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
10. My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall

I know the rest of the world is going to go with Kendrick Lamar in that top slot, and while I liked the album too, its just not one that I am going to want to play over and over.  "King Kunta" is a fun jam, but the overall tenor of the album is so serious (and jazzy) that it won't stick in the albums I want to just keep in the constant rotation.  I think the top three are all albums that I am going to keep listening to for a long time.  I struggled with the order up there, and think I got it right, but any of those three could have been in the top slot.  If you want more detail about what I think of each one, click those links above.

Albums that just missed the cut: Adele's 25, A$AP Rocky's At.Long.Last.ASAP, Kurt Vile - b'lieve I'm goin' down, Lord Huron's Strange Trails, Gary Clark Jr.'s The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, Wolf Alice's My Love is Cool, Houndmouth's Little Neon Limelight, Jose Gonzalez's Vestiges and Claws, Blur's Magic Whip, and Drenge's Undertow.  I may end up liking Adele's album more, but after a few listens, I love the first two tracks and then feel underwhelmed by the rest.  

Best Random Single of the Year:  Beck's Dreams.  Makes me want to boogie down the street, kick in your front door, pop some popcorn, and then jump on your bed in my shoes while cramming joyful fistfuls of the popped corn into my craw.  You must obey this song and have fun.

Best Album Not From 2015 That I Just Discovered:  Royal Blood's Royal Blood.  From 2014. This is now officially my jam.

Best Concert of the Year:  Definitely Metallica.  While I saw some great stuff at ACL Fest, loved the Nathaniel Rateliff taping the other day, and have seen some other fun music this year, that Metallica show was the deepest and truest happiness I've received from live music this year.

Most Confusing Band that is somehow still putting out Music.  In running through the list of 2015 albums, I have to say that a-ha wins this award for me.  How are they still putting out new music?  Their one hit was released 30 years ago.  Runners up: Bryan Adams, Collective Soul, Ugly Kid Joe, RuPaul, Toto, Whitesnake, Lifehouse, and Def Leppard.  FYI, there is also a band named "Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!"