Albums of the Year 2015 - the top 40

It's been a pretty good year for albums I reckon. There's been some that smacked you right in the face the moment you first heard them, and others that have been slow-burners and slowly wormed their way into your brain throughout the year. Here's my thoughts on the Top Ten.

1. 'Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett 
Sassy, intelligent lyrics, brilliant tunes, and overall such a great attitude and joie de vivre that you can't help falling in love with Courtney. For me this was the album that proved that there's still a future for guitar-based music. Full review here.

2. 'To Pimp A Butterfly' by Kendrick Lamar
Probably the most talked about, analysed (over-analysed maybe) and generally dissected album of the year. Big hitting, powerful lyrics, jazz and funk-themed music and top-notch collaborators (Flying Lotus, George Clinton, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg) combined to make this an immense record that has definitely earned a place in the history of black music. See blog post here.

3. 'Foam Island' by Darkstar
An electronic reflection on life in northern England in 2015, the tracks feature interviews with the people of Huddersfield talking about their town, their hopes and their dreams. This is matched with a great selection of music as the band show their skills in writing great melodies. Full review here.

4. 'In Colour' by Jamie xx
A fantastic ride through the rainbow colours of British dance music in 2015. Mixing great samples with deft touches and cool guest vocals, it's the soundtrack to a night out you never want to end. Oh, and the vinyl set was beautiful to look at too. Full review here.

5. 'All We Need' by Raury
A warm, touching and uplifting album that mixes 60s flower-child mentality and 70s vibes with bang up to the minute raps. I've been going on about Raury for a couple of years now, and he's continued to prove my faith in him is justified. Still only 19, and global superstardom beckons. Full review here.

6. 'Projections' by Romare
Mostly instrumental, with snippets of samples deftly woven into a collage of emotions, this is a brilliant début album full of heart and history. Ninja Tune certainly know how to pick a winner, and I hope Romare goes on to make many more albums. Full review here.

7. 'The Epic' by Kamasi Washington
Epic by name and epic by nature, if you want to listen to this triple album all the way through you'll need to put three hours aside. It's worth it though - the best jazz album for years in my opinion, and with his role in Kendrick's album as well it's been a mega year for Kamasi Washington.

8. 'The Good Fight' by Oddisee
Consistently my favourite rapper both on record and live, the fact that Oddisee isn't more well known continues to astound me. Intelligent and intellectual lyrics matched with smooth, quality beats (that he produces himself) results in a record that's maybe just too good for the masses to appreciate. Full review here.

9. 'The Delta' by Brolin
Another great début album, as the reclusive producer from Leeds crafts a sleek and soulful album. Influenced by the synaesthesia he experiences when making music, the record feels like a journey of discovery. I reckon there's a lot more to come from him. Full review here. 

10. '1989' by Ryan Adams
In which Adams completely reinvents Taylor Swift's pop masterclass, swapping the pop smarts for emotions, and in doing so makes the record he's secretly wanted to make for years. Cover version heaven. Full review here. 

And numbers 11-40...to be honest the ordering is fairly arbitrary, but you ought to be able to find something you like in here.

11. 'Music Complete' by New Order
12. 'The Race For Space' by Public Service Broadcasting
13. 'Perpetual Motion People by Ezra Furman
14. 'Golden Ticket' by Golden Rules
15. 'Born In The Echoes' by The Chemical Brothers
16. 'Algiers' by Algiers
17. 'Multi-Love' by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
18. 'Shedding Skin' by Ghostpoet
19. 'Lost Themes' by John Carpenter
20. 'Culture of Volume' by East India Youth
21. 'Inji' by LA Priest
22. 'Beauty Behind The Madness' by The Weeknd
23. 'La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful' by Petite Noir
24. 'Panda Bear vs, The Grim Reaper' by Panda Bear
25. 'Evangelist' by Gavin Clark & Toy Drum
26. 'Hinterland' by LoneLady
27. 'Bones' by Son Lux
28. 'EarthEE' by THEESatisfaction
29. 'Solo' by Nils Frahm
30. 'Get to Heaven' by Everything Everything
31. 'Music In Exile' by Songhoy Blues
32. 'Fold' by Fold
33. 'Return To The Moon' by El Vy
34. 'I Declare Nothing' by Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe
35. 'I Need New Eyes' by Larry Gus
36. 'White Men Are Black Men Too'by Young Fathers
37. 'Portraits' by Maribou State
38. 'Personal Computer' by Silicon
39. 'Magnifique' by Ratatat
40. 'The Most Important Place In The World' by Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat

Albums of the Year 2014 - top 3 mixtapes

That's mixtapes in the hip-hop, new artist trying to break out sense of the word, rather than a tape you've made for yourself or to give to someone you fancy. Each of these three releases is available to download for free (links are in the full reviews) but each is actually worth paying for. The quality of some of the tracks here is so good I'm convinced that every one of these guys is gonna become a star in 2015 (and if they don't then they bloody well should've done).

1. 'Indigo Child' by Raury

He's only 18, but I reckon Raury is very quickly shaping up to be the new Frank Ocean. He sings, he raps, he covers a whole variety of styles, but one thing's for certain - everything he does is excellent. You've only got to hear his starring role on the new SBTRKT album to get a sense of where he could go with a few major collaborations. A guy with shy-high ambitions but, importantly, talent to match, he'll take on the world in 2015. Click here for full review and download details.

2. 'Grey Skies 3' by Genesis the Greykid

Atmospheric, poetic hip-hop with a soul and a conscience. This is the third mixtape from Genesis the Greykid a.k.a. Russell McGee, over the course of which he's really developed as an artist, to the point where he should now be on the brink of stardom. Owing as much to DJ Shadow as it does Kanye West, this album rewards repeated listening, with great samples, dialogue clips from Christopher Nolan's movie 'The Prestige' and brilliant little hooks and melodies. To my mind the downbeat, more introspective tracks are the most successful, but it's all great. Click here for the full review & download link.

3. 'A Little Late' by Loyle Carner

Quality UK hip-hop can be a hard thing to find, but Loyle is beating his own path, steering clear of imitating gangsta clichés that would just sound daft coming out his mouth, and instead creating intelligent lyrics and upbeat vibes that remind me a bit of Oddisee. He's garnered some good press lately, making a track for the Turner Prize and doing something with Mercury-nominated Kate Tempest, so I'm sure you'll hear more of him in 2015. Click here for the full review & download link.

Albums of the Year 2014 - top 3 compilations

As a prelude to my full list of albums I've decided to call out some records in a few different categories that might have slipped under your radar. So here's my favourite three compilation / various artist records of the year. Each one of these is really special, and if you bought all three your music collection would have improved immeasurably.

1. What?! - William Onyeabor / various (Luaka Bop)

One of my favourite purchases on Record Store Day this year, which was subsequently given a full release by Luaka Bop. The album features a rang of cover versions, re-interpretations and remixes of tracks from the 'Who is William Onyeabor?' album, With the artists involved as diverse as Hot Chip (who made my favourite track here), Scientist, The Vaccines and Daphni (a,k,a, Caribou) the record manages to expand the sonic frequency of Onyeabor's music while still retaining the essence of who he is and what he does.

2. The Time and Space Machine presents The Way Out Sound From In - Richard Norris / various (Ample Play records)

A collection of some of the best remixes Richard Norris has produced over the past few years in his Time & Space Machine guise. If you don't recognise his name then you might be more familiar with him as being half of both The Grid and Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, The standout tracks for me here are his mixes of Jagwar Ma and A Mountain of One, but he also does great stuff to Temples, Warpaint and lots more. (full review here)

3. Bleep: 10 - various (Bleep / Warp)

Bleep is the online store originally set up to sell Warp releases, which soon expanded to sell all manner of great music. They celebrated their 10th birthday this year, and as well as having the obligatory birthday bash (which I reviewed here) they also put out this excellent album of tracks from artists who are have been favourites in the store. Featuring exclusives from Autechre, Fuck Buttons, Lone, Modeselektor, Machinedrum and loads more, if you've ever bought anything on the Warp label then you're pretty much guaranteed to like this (full review here).