Albums 50-41
Albums 40-31
Albums 30-21
20. A$AP Rocky - Te$ting
A$AP Rocky is probably one of my favourites out right now, some of the most intriguing and incomparable use of producers and production value. Not only that but his sometimes laidback flow can be switched at any moment and whilst sometimes the subject matter is just plain or repetitive I do think he's one of the most creative out there. However, there are some duffers on here which just drop it down to 20th.
19. Rae Morris - Someone Out There
Rae Morris is insanely talented and under appreciated. One of the best songwriters of our generation she has the ability to craft songs about love that are so personal and yet so relateable at the same time that it really is a wonder. From this point on in the list these really are faultless albums and Rae's mixture of pop with elements of R&B and a variety of other genres is a wonder to the ears.
18. Kids See Ghosts - S/T
The amount of 10's I've seen this album given is crazy, and whilst I do think it's as innovative and explosive as I wanted it to be... I'm just not a fan of Kid CuDi. His singing does grind me a little bit which is unfortunate but Kanye is as great as ever, and whilst it's a tough time to be a Kanye fan you just can't deny this mans genius from the production to his flow. Kid CuDi and Kanye is a dream duo, but not quite the Eric B and Rakim we'd hoped for.
17. Estrons - You Say I'm Too Much, I Say You're Not Enough
I've been following Estrons' career ever since I saw them support Slaves at The Cookie. Lead singer's Tali one of the best frontwomen I've ever seen with her phenomenal voice coupled together with songs that not only blow your ears off but will make you stop and think. Songs such as "Cameras" are genuinely really emotional.
16. Cabbage - Nihilistic Glamour Shots
Cabbage are one of my favourite bands, and their collection of EP's "Young, Dumb & Full of" has helped them to avoid the dodgy second album syndrome which not only gives me incredible hope for their future but hails them as the future of post-punk. NGS has some of the most raucous and loud punk tracks of the year with "Postmodernist Caligula" and "Arms of Pleonexia", this is a must listen album of the year.
15. The Wombats - Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life
Bit of a controversial one here with The Wombats' latest album, however this is one of the most fun and well-produced pop albums of the year. And I know it's not necessarily cool to like their music all that much but if you look at tunes like "Lemon To A Knife Fight" and "Turn" then you've got some of the bangers of the year and it's their off the wall unorthodox lyrics that keep me coming back for more. It's a fun, enjoyable album and sometimes music is supposed to be fun, right?
14. Pusha T - Daytona
One of the best rap albums of the past few years and yet not even the best rap album of the year. Pusha T's Daytona was part of Kanye's Wyoming album series and it contained some of the greatest production I've ever heard, and that came to the forefront on this phenomenal piece of work, with a harsher and deadlier flow than ever it has helped King Push make 7 tracks that are each better than any he has ever made before.
13. Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man
Former Supergrass frontman, Gaz Coombes, is as insanely talented as any other person in the music industry. Just before the release of this album I saw him do a one man show in Leicester and it was truly magical. And this is his greatest album yet with the surprisingly dark and airy soundscape and yet a very accessible sound. This is a phenomenal piece of work, and shows some real growth as an artist.
12. The Orielles - Silver Dollar Moment
I think it shows some real talent if your debut album scores this highly on the list, and especially if that band consists of young people making some of the most progressive, technically perfect and overall fantastic music. This album is filled with all sorts of melding from techno to pop to R&B and what came from it was an album that I've grown to truly love. Lead singer, Esme, is the shining star though with her lowkey and yet soothing and somewhat powerful voice it lifts the music to the next level. Magical is the best word to describe this album.
11. Kanye West - YE
Oh Kanye. I love you so much but you make it so damn hard for me. On one hand he's going crazy and saying things like "Slavery's A Choice", quite frankly the stupidest thing I've ever heard but then he goes an intimate, open and mindblowing piece of work like this. A piece of work that explores his mental health issues, his worries about his family and his trials & tribulations with love, this narrowly misses out on the top 10 purely because of replay value and find myself waiting to get to "Ghost Town" which is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard, a truly fantastic piece of work.
Albums 40-31
Albums 30-21
20. A$AP Rocky - Te$ting
A$AP Rocky is probably one of my favourites out right now, some of the most intriguing and incomparable use of producers and production value. Not only that but his sometimes laidback flow can be switched at any moment and whilst sometimes the subject matter is just plain or repetitive I do think he's one of the most creative out there. However, there are some duffers on here which just drop it down to 20th.
19. Rae Morris - Someone Out There
Rae Morris is insanely talented and under appreciated. One of the best songwriters of our generation she has the ability to craft songs about love that are so personal and yet so relateable at the same time that it really is a wonder. From this point on in the list these really are faultless albums and Rae's mixture of pop with elements of R&B and a variety of other genres is a wonder to the ears.
18. Kids See Ghosts - S/T
The amount of 10's I've seen this album given is crazy, and whilst I do think it's as innovative and explosive as I wanted it to be... I'm just not a fan of Kid CuDi. His singing does grind me a little bit which is unfortunate but Kanye is as great as ever, and whilst it's a tough time to be a Kanye fan you just can't deny this mans genius from the production to his flow. Kid CuDi and Kanye is a dream duo, but not quite the Eric B and Rakim we'd hoped for.
17. Estrons - You Say I'm Too Much, I Say You're Not Enough
I've been following Estrons' career ever since I saw them support Slaves at The Cookie. Lead singer's Tali one of the best frontwomen I've ever seen with her phenomenal voice coupled together with songs that not only blow your ears off but will make you stop and think. Songs such as "Cameras" are genuinely really emotional.
16. Cabbage - Nihilistic Glamour Shots
Cabbage are one of my favourite bands, and their collection of EP's "Young, Dumb & Full of" has helped them to avoid the dodgy second album syndrome which not only gives me incredible hope for their future but hails them as the future of post-punk. NGS has some of the most raucous and loud punk tracks of the year with "Postmodernist Caligula" and "Arms of Pleonexia", this is a must listen album of the year.
15. The Wombats - Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life
Bit of a controversial one here with The Wombats' latest album, however this is one of the most fun and well-produced pop albums of the year. And I know it's not necessarily cool to like their music all that much but if you look at tunes like "Lemon To A Knife Fight" and "Turn" then you've got some of the bangers of the year and it's their off the wall unorthodox lyrics that keep me coming back for more. It's a fun, enjoyable album and sometimes music is supposed to be fun, right?
14. Pusha T - Daytona
One of the best rap albums of the past few years and yet not even the best rap album of the year. Pusha T's Daytona was part of Kanye's Wyoming album series and it contained some of the greatest production I've ever heard, and that came to the forefront on this phenomenal piece of work, with a harsher and deadlier flow than ever it has helped King Push make 7 tracks that are each better than any he has ever made before.
13. Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man
Former Supergrass frontman, Gaz Coombes, is as insanely talented as any other person in the music industry. Just before the release of this album I saw him do a one man show in Leicester and it was truly magical. And this is his greatest album yet with the surprisingly dark and airy soundscape and yet a very accessible sound. This is a phenomenal piece of work, and shows some real growth as an artist.
12. The Orielles - Silver Dollar Moment
I think it shows some real talent if your debut album scores this highly on the list, and especially if that band consists of young people making some of the most progressive, technically perfect and overall fantastic music. This album is filled with all sorts of melding from techno to pop to R&B and what came from it was an album that I've grown to truly love. Lead singer, Esme, is the shining star though with her lowkey and yet soothing and somewhat powerful voice it lifts the music to the next level. Magical is the best word to describe this album.
11. Kanye West - YE
Oh Kanye. I love you so much but you make it so damn hard for me. On one hand he's going crazy and saying things like "Slavery's A Choice", quite frankly the stupidest thing I've ever heard but then he goes an intimate, open and mindblowing piece of work like this. A piece of work that explores his mental health issues, his worries about his family and his trials & tribulations with love, this narrowly misses out on the top 10 purely because of replay value and find myself waiting to get to "Ghost Town" which is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard, a truly fantastic piece of work.