Best of 2015
When I refer to the albums I liked the most this year, I do called them the “best” of 2015, although the term is entirely subjective. I suppose it should be called ‘Faves’ of 2015, but that doesn’t seem to do them justice. I blame social media.. ‘Fave’-ing something feels like it was good enough to click a little ‘fave’ button, but it doesn’t mean you think it was the BEST EVAR. Oh, I fave’d that. Pish posh.
No, these are the BEST albums I heard this year, according to me. You will have entirely different choices, and that’s fine.
My goal with making these lists is to introduce music to people that would probably not come across it otherwise. Not to say there isn’t enough music pubs these days that will also tell you what they think are the best albums — I just notice that a lot of the same albums keep appearing on these lists, and it happens every year. Are *these* the best albums? They must be, because I’m seeing them everywhere.
Even after I’ve listened to some of these *best* albums, I don’t see the mass appeal and wouldn’t certainly call them one of my best. It’s almost like the internet music pubs all hang out in the same Google hangouts, or share the same Google docs (yes, we do everything with Google today) and have collectively decided these albums ARE the best, and anyone who says different is WRONG. They don’t blatantly say it, of course. But I do get that feeling. Look, even Google says these are THE BEST albums of 2015:
Isn’t it slightly suspicious that all the music writers and Google agree *those* albums are universally acknowledged as being the best? It can’t be they want to expose people to music that is ‘undiscovered’ because then all the lists would be totally different.
Let’s put it another way, courtesy of user FiveThirtyEight on twitter:
As a result, I’m proud to say that the majority of my “best” albums do NOT appear on any mainstream-internet-music-pub list. Even my Canadian selections have been ignored by Canadian pubs. Go fig. I thought my Number One choice would be on at least *one* list, because it was getting a fair amount of press earlier in the year, but no.
Full list below — you can listen to a 90+ minute mix on mixcloud, or if Spotify is your thing, although it is missing Steven Wilson (he’s not on Spotify) and a few others.
Click artist names to visit their websites:
- Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
- Anneli Drecker - Rocks and Straws
- Kristine - s/t
- CFCF - Colours of Life *
- The School - Wasting Away and Wondering
- Susan James - Sea Glass
- Innocence Mission - Hello I feel the same
- Krista Detor - Barely
- Zervas and Pepper - Abstract Heart
- Louise Le May - A Tale Untold
- Michelle McAdorey - Into her future *
- Jory Nash - The Many Hats Of *
- Lost and Profound - Goodbye Mine *
- Lightning in A Twilight Hour - Slow Changes
- Sara Lov - Some Kind of Champion
- The Corner Laughers - Matila Effect
- Knife Pleats - Hat Bench Bark *
- Tracy Spuehler - Awake
- Joe Jackson - Fast Forward
- Kosmischer Laufer - Secret Cosmic Music of the East German Olympic Program Volume 3
- John Metcalfe - The Appearance of Colour
- Hannah & Gabi - Years Gone
- Rachel Wagner - In Side Out Side In
- Gonzales - Chambers *
- Canadian, eh?
