Sunday, January 3, 2016

Favorite Albums of 2015

 
Combing through the hundred-plus albums I listen to and buy in any year and then narrowing them down to the few dozen I have fallen in love with most and still can't stop playing always proves to be both a challenge and a zealous endeavor full of rekindled enthusiasm - although marked by some sacrifices (those albums that I have liked enough to listen to several times but never loved to the point of near delirium) - and gusto for music that holds power over me and makes me more excited for any part of life.
 
Every year when I spend the better part of a week shaping and finalizing such a list, and almost every time I sit down to write about an artist or album in any manner, I often second-guess myself. I second-guess not because I have any reservations about the things I love or how my tastes may differ from those of anyone else, but I question why my opinions matter more or less than those of anyone else and whether anybody cares.
 
Eventually, I remember I chose to be a writer and the music I am most fond of fulfills me in myriad ways every day. I convince myself somebody may give a damn and be curious to discover something I've been enamored with this year that she has yet to hear. Maybe others enjoy seeing which artists have struck chords with me, may disagree, and will want to remind me what I'm missing and debate the merits of what is here and not here. I'm always eager for any lively discourse about music, especially the music that has meant the most to me.
 
I started my own blog (this one and, previously, Division St. Harmony) as an outlet to write however I want, about what I want, and share what I love, because I can be honest to myself and unrepentant about never having to cave to trends or satisfy anyone else's opinion. Not being beholden to advertisers and being the sole writer, editor and publisher of this blog grants me that freedom no matter how modest the audience.
With all of that said, the albums listed below were my 30 favorite records of 2015.
 
 
Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
 
Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free 
 
Dawes - All Your Favorite Bands 
 
The Yawpers - American Man
 
Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.
Desaparecidos - Payola
 
Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
 
JD McPherson - Let the Good Times Roll
 
Hop Along - Painted Shut
 
EL VY - Return to the Moon
 
 
Tobias Jesso Jr. - Goon
 
Joanna Newsom - Divers
 
Sleater - Kinney - No Cities to Love
 
The Tallest Man on Earth - Dark Bird Is Home
 
Jesse Malin - New York Before the War

Protomartyr - The Agent Intellect


S.M. Wolf - Neon Debris
 
Lucero - All a Man Should Do
 
Titus Andronicus - The Most Lamentable Tragedy
 
 
Leon Bridges - Coming Home
 
Dave Rawlings Machine - Nashville Obsolete
 
Bully - Feels Like
 
Craig Finn - Faith in the Future
 
Torres - Sprinter
 
She Does Is Magic - Strangers
 
Murder By Death - Big Dark Love
 
Beach House - Depression Cherry
 
 Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass
 
 Wilco - Star Wars
 
Kurt Vile - b'lieve i'm goin down