20. Erykah Badu (Artist-Soul/R&B)
This year, she gave us singles–including an update of Whodini’s “Friends,” one of my favorite old school jams. More, please.
19. Creep by Ember Island (Radiohead cover) (Single-Pop)
18. Jason Isbell (Artist-Americana)
A year without a new Jason Isbell album is a sad year, but thankfully we could catch him on tour and hear some new singles, with his wife Amanda Shires, including a great Bob Dylan cover.
17. Fishing Blues by Atmosphere (Album-Hip hop)
16. Walked Away by Francie Moon (Single-Rock)
15. 2 by Mudcrutch (Album-Rock)
Tom Petty goes undercover to release his best album of new material in a decade.
14. Mittens by Frank Turner (EP-Folk)
“Mittens” is from Frank Turner’s 2015 album, Positive Songs for Negative People, which was one of the top 5 albums of last year.
This year, he got a video, which is fabulous, and released Mittens as an “a side,” under which he buried The Armadillo and Cleopatra in Brooklyn. And these are songs that DON’T make it on to Frank Turner albums. Wow.
13. Bad Pop by Hot Panda (Album-Indie)
12. Falling Season by Masta Ace (Album-Hip hop)
“A perfect rap album.”
– Me, in my review of this album, earlier this year.
11. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars (Album-R&B)
Bruno Mars is smart. Instead of releasing an album (or two) a year to stay in the public eye, he seems intent on perfection-much like Michael Jackson and Prince, Mars’ titular inspiration for the song “Versace on the Floor” and the performer whose influence is clearest throughout the entire production. Last year, Mars and Mark Ronson produced one of the greatest R&B dance songs of all time, Uptown Funk, a song that bridged James Brown and 1990s dance music in a way that nobody has since, well, Prince. This year, Mars’ album took that a step further, but also a step slightly back. 24K Magic is certainly a great record on the surface: You can dance ’til you drop, and there are plenty of new jack swing cuts that will keep a wide smile plastered on your face. But the content doesn’t go much deeper than Uptown Funk: It’s about bling. It’s about expensive cars and clothes. It’s about meaningless sex. And sadly, that ultimately means it’s a meaningless album. While the grooves and vocal performance are as good as many Prince albums, there’s nothing here with the depth of “When Doves Cry”-or even “Pop Life.”
I love this album for it’s pure self-indulgence. But it’s nowhere near as brilliant as Uptown Funk or Mars’ last album Unorthodox Jukebox. Still, even a Prince album like Around the World in a Day was better than the vast majority of derivative crap that also came out that year. The same is true here. A not-quite-as-good Bruno Mars album is still great, and still more fun than just about anything else you’ll hear this year.TOMORROW: THE TOP 10!
