As we wind down 2019, I’ve been thinking about my favorite albums. I think this year has been quite a year for music releases; at least for me, just about every one of my (still active) favorite artists released an album. Here’s my ordered list:
- Western Stars — Bruce Springsteen
- New Ways — Leif Vollebekk
- Gold Past Life — Fruit Bats
- Servants of the Sun — Chris Robinson Brotherhood
- Let it Burn — GospelbeacH
- i,i — Bon Iver
- Cotillions — Wiliam Patrick Corgan
- Fever Breaks — Josh Ritter
- Circles Around the Sun Meets Joe Russo — Circles Around the Sun & Joe Russo
- Weather — Tycho
Special mention:
- Fear Innoculum from TOOL is also really good; as is Ghosteen from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Hard to leave these off of my top-ten list.
- This might be the first year in a long time where I actually had more than 10 albums I really love.
Other notes:
- Springsteen’s album is so great; I love just about every song on there. The closer, Moonlight Motel, is killer for me.
- Vollebekk’s album is really impressive; the evolution of his music is really cool to hear. Yet another album of his where I love every song.
- On any given day, the order of albums from the Fruit Bats, CRB, and GospelbeacH flip-flop in the order. These albums have had such a big impact on my painting.
- Tycho’s album was nominated for a grammy, which is pretty cool for an intelligent dance music (IDM) band.
- As usual, Billy Corgan’s solo albums are really solid, and tend to grow on me a lot over time.
- I was very underwhelmed by Wilco’s Ode to Joy, seeing as I’ve listened to it a grand total of 2 times (?)
I would be curious to hear your thoughts on your favorite albums this year!