So here we kick off the top albums list, with the first ten that scrape into the top 50 list. It's been a long year dominated by the mess of the politics of the world, but in turn that only brings out the best of the musical world. Let's get started right away then, at nuuuuumber fifty...
50. Gabe Gurnsey - Physical
I discovered Gabe Gurnsey's music through the reccomendation of Rough Trade and boy am I glad that I did. His drumming over experimental synths and samples leads to a soundscape that is unmatched in anything I've ever heard but the songs also work as individual pieces. The 12" of Eyes Over is a representation of this. A great electronic album.
49. Bernhoft & The Fashion Bruises - Humanoid
I went to see Bernhoft live last month and he was absolutely brilliant. It made me enjoy this album all that much more. The title track is a clear hit with it's electronic sampling mixing with Bernhoft's R&B style provides the blueprint for the rest of the album with a much pop-ier undertone.
48. J. Cole - K.O.D.
Born Sinner is one of my favourite albums of all time, and I do feel like J. Cole hasn't quite reached the peak of that album again. However, 4 Your Eyez Only was a low point in his discography in my opinion and this album is a slight rise. The album deals with the ideas of addiction and the harsh realities of a lot of peoples lives. The main problem is that its just meh for the most part.
47. Here Lies Man - You Will Know Nothing
Not a band that I feel I should like but I really enjoy Here Lies Man's guitar driven noise alt-rock which not only provides you with a plethora of sounds but gives you a soundscape you can just get lost in. Whilst it does get repetitive in some places I do feel that this album will stand the test of time very well, alt-rock at its finest.
46. Spring King - A Better Life
Unfortunately, Spring King split up a few months ago and that has left a gaping hole in the indie scene that they once filled. Their drum driven, noisy tracks were much more refined on this second album and it really feels like they were starting to carve out what could be a long-term residency in the indie scene.
45. Chvrches - Love Is Dead
I always think I really like Chvrches but then I listen to their music and realise that it's very average. Whilst Love Is Dead contained some particularly great singles, the rest of the album felt more like fillers than killers and that's always been Chvrches' problem. But then there's the fact that the singles are so damn good that it elevates this album beyond its boundaries.
44. Eminem - Kamikaze
When this album surprise dropped around august time I thought it was brilliant, but then upon further listens and inspection you find that Eminem is still slotting in some of his corny lines and that "Venom" song at the end of the album is just unforgivable. But Eminem is half back... in some sort of way. There are some decent tracks on here and it does work as an album
43. Nas - Nasir
As part of Kanye's Wyoming series he produced Nas' newest album, which at only 7 songs deep must have made it hard to cut the album.It also means there was no place for any sort of filler in the album tracks. And we did get some of that here. Whilst Nas' flow and the production is the best that it has been for years songs like "Cops Shot The Kid" just gets annoying after a little while.
42. Laurel - Dogviolet
Singer songwriter Laurel released her debut album this year and it's a great R&B infused pop album with some slight tinges of trip hop beats. But what really shines is her phenomenal vocals which not only elevate the album entirely but they drive every song forward and make the songs that little bit more sumptuous.
41. Blossoms - Cool Like You
Oh Blossoms. The first album was soooo good, it stayed in my headphones for so long and then what they've decided to do is just remake that album but with different lyrics. Literally some of the songs even have the same beats and keyboards - it's crazy. But I did still enjoy the catchiness of the songs coupled together with Tom Ogden's great voice that helped dig out some salvation for this album - if the first album wasn't so good then this album probably would have missed out on the list.