Top 40 Albums of 2015 (40-21)

This year didn’t quite live up to the high expectations I had back in January. Artists like Chance the Rapper, Frank Ocean, Jai Paul, Kanye West, PJ Harvey, Radiohead, and The Wrens didn’t make good on their promise for a new full-length album in 2015. Fortunately, others were there to pick up the slack and provide us with some great albums. Below you will find this year’s edition of what I consider the top 40 albums of the year. You’ll find albums from varying genres and possibly a few albums that are new to you. In a time where you can look up any song on a streaming service and hear it instantaneously, I hold on tightly to a love for the album as a whole, a collection of songs that work off each other, building toward one major theme or mood. As you will see in the list below, I’m a bit obsessed with new music and the art form that is the album. I take great pride in this list and hope that you find something worth checking out by the end.

Top 20 Albums of 2015 (So Far…) 20-11

We are almost halfway through the year, and there have already been some great releases in 2015. With a stockpile of potentially great albums coming down the pipeline soon (Chance the Rapper, High On Fire, Beach House, Deafheaven, Frank Ocean, Jai Paul, Kanye West, Joanna Newsome, Majical Cloudz, Ghostface Killah, PJ Harvey, Radiohead, and allegedly, The Wrens) I’d like to take a breather and appreciate some of my favorite albums from the year so far. To try to keep some semblance of control, I’ve limited my list to 20 albums released prior to June 1st. Below are albums 20-11.

Honorable Mention

An Autumn For Crippled Children, The Long Goodbye

Joey Bada$$, B.4.DA.$$

Built to Spill, Untethered Moon

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress

Lightning Bolt, Fantasy Empire

The Mountain Goats, Beat the Champ

Sannhet, Revisionist

Collin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, Never Were The Way She Was

Thee Oh Sees, Mutilator Defeated At Last

Fred Thomas, All Are Saved

 

BDWPS Podcast #36

This month’s episode is chock-full of new music from Oddisee, Fred Thomas, Speedy Ortiz, Theesatisfaction, The Amazing, and Built to Spill. I also discuss the Kurt Cobain documentary “Montage of Heck” and end the episode with a look at Bob Dylan’s “John Wesley Harding.” To check out the latest episode, listen HERE or you can subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher (search keyword: BDWPS).

Playlist:

Oddisee “Counter Clockwise”
Fred Thomas “Cops Don’t Care pt. II”
Speedy Ortiz “Raising the Skate”
Theesatisfaction “Earthee”
Mountain Goats “Heel Turn 2”
The Amazing “Circles”
Built to Spill “Living Zoo”
Nirvana “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter”
Bob Dylan “Drifter’s Escape”

Top 20 Songs of 2013

This list was once a big deal around here at BDWPS. Back in 2010, it was comprised of a top 100 list with an audio clip for each.  Not only was this a lot of work, it also never got nearly the attention that our Top Albums list always receives. I’ve also found that since starting the BDWPS Podcast that majority of the songs listed have been played and discussed at some point during the year.  By the time this list arrives, my discussion of the track seems a bit stale.  Below you’ll find 20 of my favorite songs of 2013.  Although it’s not much in comparison to what it once was, it’s still a solid playlist of memorable hooks that may have went under radar this past year.

Top 40 Albums of 2013 (21-40)

Over the years, the “Top 40 Albums” list (once a measly list of 10) has become the apex of BDWPS, a culmination of a year’s worth of obsessive listening and re-listening (and re-listening) to every piece of music I can get my hands on. Even as I compile this final definitive list (which I traditionally question months and years later), I find myself revisiting albums I was quick to write off, or I end up digging for gems that may have slipped through the cracks of my consciousness. I didn’t have as tough of a time leaving albums off the list this year; I don’t know if that means 2013 was a weak year in music or if I just didn’t have as tight of a connection with as much music as usual. Regardless, I can promise you that the following 40 albums are well-crafted collections of music/art worth investing your time in…lord knows I have.

This month’s episode of BDWPS Podcast features a more upbeat mix of tunes (i.e. no metal or rap) and it also contains some of my favorite albums of the year so far. Here’s the track list:

The Love Language “Calm Down” 
Speedy Ortiz “No Below” 
The Ex & the Brass Unbound “Our Leaky Homes” 
True Widow “HW-R” 
Austra “Forgive Me” 
Jagwar Ma “Come Save Me” 
Nick Drake “Voice From the Mountains” 
Bob Dylan “Masters of War”

Listen here or subscribe on iTunes (key word: BDWPS)