Andy Todd's Top 20 Albums of 2019

Here are my grades for the new albums I listened to in 2019, followed by my official Top 20 Albums of 2019. After the A- category, all albums are in alphabetical order.

KEY: Artist/Band - Album Title...Grade (Date Released)

(In Case you missed it, here are my Top 40 Songs of 2019)

A-

2 Chainz - Rap Or Go To The League A- (3/1)
Nilufer Yanya - Miss Universe A- (3/22)
Danny Brown - Uknowhatimsayin? A- (10/4)
Caroline Polachek - PANG A- (10/18)
The Japanese House - Good At Falling A- (3/1)
City and Colour - A Pill For Loneliness A- (10/4)
Lizzo - Cuz I Love You A- (4/19)
Half-Alive - Now, Not Yet A- (8/9)
Jade Bird - Jade Bird A- (4/19)
Foals - Part 2 Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost A- (10/18)
Charly Bliss - Young Enough A- (5/10)
SebastiAn - Thirst A- (11/8)
BROCKHAMPTON - Ginger A- (8/23)
Dorian Electra - Flamboyant A- (7/17)
Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles A- (9/13)
100 gecs - 1000 gecs A- (5/31)
Ed Sheeran - No.6 Collaborations Project A- (7/12)
Mark Ronson - Late Night Feelings A- (6/21)
Earthgang - Mirrorland A- (9/6)
Wallows - Nothing Happens A- (3/22)
Cate Le Bon - Reward A- (5/24)
Wale - Wow… That’s Crazy A- (10/11)
Hobo Johnson - The Fall Of Hobo Johnson A- (9/13)

B+

Ari Lennox - Shea Butter Baby B+ (5/10)

Bazzi - Soul Searching B+ (8/9)

Beirut - Gallipoli B+ (2/1)

Big Thief - Two Hands B+ (10/11)

The Black Keys - “Let’s Rock:” B+ (6/28)

Black Pumas - Black Pumas B+ (6/21)

Boogie - Everything’s For Sale B+ (1/25)

Camila Cabello - Romamce B+ (12/6)

Ciara - Beauty Marks B+ (5/10)

Coldplay - Everyday Life B+ (11/22)

Common - Let Love B+ (8/30)

Dave - Psychodrama B+ (3/8)

Deerhunter - Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? B+ (1/18)

Denzel Curry - ZUU B+ (5/31)

DJ Khaled - Father Of Asahd B+ (5/17)

Elbow - Giants Of All Sizes B+ (10/11)

FIDLAR - Almost Free B+ (1/25)

FKA Twigs - Magdalene B+ (11/8)

Foxygen - Seeing Other People B+ (4/26)

Gallant - Sweet Insomnia B+ (10/25)

The Highwomen - The Highwomen B+ (9/6)

Hozier - Wasteland, Baby! B+ (3/1)

Ingrid Michaelson - Stranger Songs B+ (6/28)

Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 2 B+ (7/19)

Joy Williams - Front Porch B+ (5/3)

Kevin Abstract - Arizona Baby B+ (4/26)

Labrinth, Sia & Diplo - LSD B+ (4/12)

Laura Stevenson - The Big Freeze B+ (3/29)

Local Natives - Violet Street B+ (4/26)

The Lumineers - III B+ (9/13)

Rapsody - Eve B+ (8/23)

Rex Orange County - Pony B+ (10/25)

B

Alex Cameron - Miami Memory B (9/13)

Allen Stone - Building Balance B (11/8)

Anna Of The North - Dream Girl B (10/25)

Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. Iz Here B (7/12)

Blood Orange - Angel’s Pulse B (7/12)

Chaka Khan - Hello Happiness B (2/15)

Cold War Kids - New Age Norms I B (11/1) 

Clairo - Immunity B (8/2)

Dido - Still On My Mind B (3/8)

Flume - Hi This Is Flume B (3/22)

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana B (6/28)

Free Nationals - Free Nationals B (12/13)

Gary Clark Jr. - This Land B (2/22)

Girlpool - What Chaos Is Imaginary B (2/1)

Greyson Chance - Portraits B (3/15)

Harry Styles - Fine Line B (12/13)

Hot Chip - A Bath Full Of Ecstasy B (6/21)

Jay Som - Anak Ko B (8/23)

Jessy Wilson - Phase B (5/3)

Khalid - Free Spirit B (4/5)

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Fishing For Fishies B (4/26)

Kirin J Callinan - Return To Center B (6/21)

Little Simz - GREY Area B (3/1)

Lucky Daye - Painted B (5/24)

Mabel - Ivy To Roses B (1/18) 

Milky Chance - Mind The Moon B (11/15)

Norah Jones - Begin Again B (4/12)

Sara Bareilles - Amidst The Chaos B (4/5)

Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow B (1/18)

Sheryl Crow - Threads B (8/30)

Stella Donnelly - Beware Of The Dogs B (3/8)

Steve Lacy - Apollo XXI B (5/24)

Sturgill Simpson - Sound & Fury B (9/27)

Taylor Swift - Lover B (8/23)

Thom Yorke - Anima B (6/28)

Tove Lo - Sunshine Kitty B (9/20)

Young Thug - So Much Fun B (8/16)

Yuna - Rouge B (7/12)

B-

Aldous Harding - Designer B- (4/26)

(Sandy) Alex G - House Of Sugar B- (9/13)

Alice Merton - Mint B- (1/18)

Aurora - A Different Kind Of Human (Step II) B- (6/7)

Banks - III B- (7/12)

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Gratitude B- (3/15)

Brittany Howard - Jaime B- (9/20)

Broods - Don’t Feed The Pop Monster B- (2/1)

Doja Cat - Hot Pink B- (11/8)

Ex:Re - Ex:Re B- (2/1)

Frank Turner - No Man’s Land B- (8/16)

Hana - Hanadriel B- (11/7)

Jamila Woods - Legacy! Legacy! B- (5/10)

Jax Jones - Snacks (Supersize) B- (9/6)

Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima B- (3/15)

Kaytranada - Bubba B- (12/13)

King Princess - Cheap Queen B- (10/25)

Maggie Rogers - Heard It In A Past Life B- (1/18)

Matt Maeson - Bank On The Funeral B- (4/5)

Nas - The Lost Tapes 2 B- (7/19)

Noah Gundersen - Lover B- (8/23)

P!nk - Hurts 2B Human B- (4/26)

Patty Griffin - Patty Griffin B- (3/8) 

Raphael Saadiq - Jimmy Lee B- (8/23)

Raury - Fervent B- (10/13)

Richard Dawson - 2020 B- (10/11)

Sabrina Claudio - Truth Is B- (10/4)

Sampa The Great - The Return B- (9/13)

ScHoolboy Q - CrasH Talk B- (4/26)

SiR - Chasing Summer B- (8/30)

Solange - When I Get Home B- (3/1)

Tacocat - This Mess Is A Place B- (5/3)

Tei Shi - La Linda B- (11/15)

Third Eye Blind - Screamer B- (10/18)

Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising B- (4/5)

YBN Cordae - The Lost Boy B- (8/2)

Yola - Walk Through Fire B- (2/22)

C+

03 Greedo - Still Summer In The Projects C+ (4/12)

Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet C+ (3/22)

Bat For Lashes - Lost Girls C+ (9/6)

Beck - Hyperspace C+ (11/22)

Big Thief - U.F.O.F. C+ (5/3)

Blink-182 - NINE C+ (9/20)

Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Balance C+ (4/26)

DaBaby - Kirk C+ (9/27)

DJ Snake - Carte Blanche C+ (7/26)

Flying Lotus - Flamagra C+ (5/24)

The Head and The Heart - Living Mirage C+ (5/3)

Iggy Azalea - In My Defense C+ (7/19)

Jack Larsen - Mildew C+ (10/25)

Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs C+ (2/8)

Jimmy Eat World - Surviving C+ (10/18)

Jpegmafia - All My Heroes Are Cornballs C+ (9/13)

Julia Jacklin - Crushing C+ (2/22)

Hatchie - Keepsake C+ (6/21)

Lady Lamb - Even In The Tremor C+ (4/5)

Madonna - Madame X C+ (6/14)

Marina - Love + Fear C+ (4/26)

Metronomy - Metronomy Forever C+ (9/13)

Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA C+ (11/1)

Pell - Gravity C+ (6/21)

The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger C+ (6/21)

Rick Ross - Port Of Miami 2 C+ (8/9)

Skepta - Ignorance Is Bliss C+ (5/31)

The Strumbellas - Rattlesnake C+ (3/29)

Summer Walker - Over It C+ (10/4)

Sundara Karma - Ulfila’s Alphabet C+ (3/1)

Tegan and Sara - Hey, I’m Just Like You C+ (9/27)

Tinashe - Songs For You C+ (11/22)

Toro Y Moi - Outer Peace C+ (1/18)

Various Artists - Charlie’s Angels Soundtrack C+ (11/1)

Weezer - Black Album C+ (3/1)

Whitney - Forever Turned Around C+ (6/30)

Wilco - Ode To Joy C+ (10/4)

Yeasayer - Erotic Reruns C+ (6/7)

C

AJ Tracey - AJ Tracey C (2/8)

Avicii - TIM C (6/7)

Backstreet Boys - DNA C (1/25)

Bastille - Doom Days C (6/14)

Betty Who - Betty C (2/15)

Celine Dion - Courage C (11/15)

The Chainsmokers - World War Joy C (12/6)

Cigarettes After Sex - Cry C (10/25)

Doja Cat - Amala C (3/1)

Goldlink - Diaspora C (6/14)

Gus Dapperton - Where Polly People Go To Read C (4/19)

Hannah Diamond - Reflections C (11/22)

H.E.R. - I Used To Know Her C (8/30)

Jai Wolf - The Cure To Loneliness C (4/5)

Jidenna - 85 To Africa C (8/23)

Juice Wrld - Death Race For Love C (3/8)

Keane - Cause And Effect C (9/20)

Leon - Leon C (3/1)

Lucy Rose - No Words Left C (3/22)

Muna - Saves The World C (9/6)

Natasha Bedingfield - Roll With Me C (8/30)

The New Pornographers - In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights C (9/27)

Of Monsters And Men - Fever Dream C (7/26)

Pete Yorn - Caretakers C (8/9)

Post Malone - Hollywood’s Bleeding C (9/6)

Rich Brian - The Sailor C (7/26)

Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won’t Hold C (8/16)

Soak - Grim Town C (4/26)

Tori Kelly - Inspired By True Events C (8/9)

Two Door Cinema Club - False Alarm C (6/21)

Young M.A - Herstory In The Making C (9/27)

C-

Cage The Elephant - Social Cues C-  (4/19)

Cherry Glazerr - Stuffed & Ready C- (2/1)

Dame D.O.L.L.A. - Big D.O.L.L.A. C- (10/18)

Fantasia - Sketchbook C- (10/11)

Gesaffelstein - Hyperion C- (3/8)

Jenny Lewis - On The Line C- (3/22)

Kehlani - While We Wait C- (2/22)

Liam Gallagher - Why Me? Why Not. C- (9/20)

Logic - Confessions Of A Dangerous C- (5/10)

The Regrettes - How Do You Love? C- (8/9)

Tayla Parx - We Need To Talk C- (4/5)

Willow - Willow C- (7/19)

YG - 4Real 4Real C- (5/24)

D+

88Rising - Head In The Clouds II D+ (10/11)

Gnash - we D+ (1/11)

Gryffin - Gravity D+ (10/25)

James Blunt - Once Upon A Mind D+ (10/25)

Kevin Morby - Oh My God D+ (4/26)

Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent D+ (5/17)

Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire - Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire D+ (7/12)

Offset - Father Of 4 D+ (2/22)

Panda Bear - Buoys D+ (2/8)

D

Avril Lavigne - Head Above Water D (2/15)

Beast Coast - Escape From New York D (5/24)

Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars D (6/14)

Homeshake - Helium D (2/15)

Mac DeMarco - Here Comes The Cowboy D (5/10)

D-

Chance The Rapper - The Big Day D- (7/26)

Dermot Kennedy - Without Fear D- (10/4)

Kanye West - Jesus Is King D- (10/25)

Liam Payne - LP1 D- (12/6)

Megan Thee Stallion - Fever D- (5/17)

New Politics - An Invitation To An Alternate Reality D- (11/1)

Worst Album of 2019

Lil Pump - Harverd Dropout F (2/22)

The Top 20 Albums of 2019
#20. The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons

Standout Track: "An Antidote For Strychnine"

Other Must-Hears: "Done Bleeding" & "Waylon Jennings Live!"

Between Stranger Things and the third season of True Detective, the late-eighties paranoia around the Dungeons & Dragons board game is having a weird renaissance in media. The Mountain Goats somewhat continued this resurgence in the public eye for the game, focusing on the more positive, creative story-telling aspects of the game with their seventeenth album. The band is as creative with their lyrics as they were in the nineties and sound just as good as they did two albums ago in 2015 with another favorite of mine, Beat The Champ.

#19. Silversun Pickups - Widow's Weeds

Standout Track: "Neon Wound"

Other Must-Hears: "Freakazoid" & "We Are Chameleons"

It's easy to dismiss a band like Silversun Pickups, who have been doing this for over a decade, were a huge part of the late-00's indie scene and hadn't made anything relevant since the beginning portion of the decade. With Widow's Weeds, they kept things pact and concise with only ten songs, keeping the vibe of the album fresh (an all too uncommon trait in veteran indie rock bands). There are true "Panic Switch" and "Lazy Eye" caliber hits on here like the single "Freakazoid" and "Neon Wound". Their sound has matured and they might be one of the rare late-00s bands to stick things out and keep up the quality with no hiatuses.

#18. Sigrid - Sucker Punch

Standout Track: "Basic"

Other Must-Hears: "Don't Feel Like Crying" & "In Vain"

It is very weird that this album got zero pop radio play. It's a perfectly family friendly pop album from an up-and-coming 23-year old singer. There's no lull in this record either, just fun bop after bop. Best debut album from a female pop singer since Lorde until Billie Eilish took over the world.

#17. clipping. - There Existed An Addiction To Blood

Standout Track: "Run For Your Life (ft. La Chat)"

Other Must-Hears: "Blood Of The Fang" & "Story 7"

clipping. have tried really hard at nailing down the industrial hip-hop sound but, they never had the grittiest lyricism to match until now. On the Daveed Diggs-led trio's third LP, they dedicated the entirety of their content and dark instrumentation to horrorcore rhymes about body parts and loose flesh and other serial killer shit. It's not an easy listen but goddamn, they nail the genre they were aiming for.

#16. Foals - Part 1 Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost

Standout Track: "Sunday"

Other Must-Hears: "Exits" & "In Degrees"

In the past, I've been hot and cold on Foals' output as certain records showed them to be a cross between Fleet Foxes and Mumford and Sons, while others were so dull that I considered my quest to "get into Foals" a hopeless exercise. Part 1 of their two-part Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost album series this year was the first time the slower Foals songs really struck me the first time I heard them. The singles "Exits" and "In Degrees" were some of the band's finest as well. Part 2 was almost as good but, lacked the firepower necessary to surpass the original.

#15. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors

Standout Track: "Chance"

Other Must-Hears: "All Mirrors" & "Lark"

Bouncing back from the too lo-fi 2017 album Phases, Angel Olsen released her two most hard-hitting, theatrically passionate singles yet in my #4 and 5 songs of 2019, "All Mirrors" and "Lark". After the two singles lead off this record, things quiet down a bit but, the lows are higher than the highs of her last album and "Chance" is one of Olsen's most beautiful tracks to date. This woman has the vocals to do just about any genre she wants right now and the heavier rock songs seem to always be amazing coming from Angel Olsen.

#14. Anderson .Paak - Ventura

Standout Track: "King James"

Other Must-Hears: "Winners' Circle" & "Reachin' 2 Much (ft. Lalah Hathaway)"

Anderson .Paak is the only name to repeat on both my Top 20 Albums of 2018 and 2019 lists for a reason. The 33-year old born Brandon Anderson now has three good albums in his resume and a hypothetical Greatest Hits' record featuring some of the funkiest hits of the decade. Ventura is a far more mature and relaxed version of the Paak we got on Oxnard or even Malibu and he lets the featured artists like Andre 3000 and Smokey Robinson.

#13. Charli XCX - Charli

Standout Track: "Thoughts"

Other Must-Hears: "Shake It (ft. Big Freedia, Cupcakke, Brooke Candy & Pablo Vittar)" & "Cross You Out (ft. Sky Ferreira)"

On 2017's Pop 2, Charli XCX gave us some foreshadowing into what the future of her idea of pop music is going to sound like. As always, it borrowed from past and present ideas like heavy voice modulation and random everyday sounds chopped and screwed into electronic beats. Charli refined her sound a bit and called up a bunch of her musician friends for guest appearances (Yaeji, HAIM, Troye Sivan and many more) that somehow all work on their select tracks. Don't get it twisted though, as this is still Charlie's museum of music we are all touring and she shines through on heartstring-pulling songs like "Thoughts" and "White Mercedes". If this is truly the future of music, we are in for a treat and I may have underrated this more than critics underrated M.I.A.'s MAYA.

#12. Ariana Grande - Thank U, Next

Standout Track: "Fake Smile"

Other Must-Hears: "Ghostin" & "NASA"

Hearing Ariana Grande in love along with searching for a new sound in the aftermath of the Manchester Bombing on Sweetener made the 2018 album sort of jarring from track to track despite it still being a pop record. Thank U, Next catches the now 26-year old Coachella Headliner not even nine months removed from her last album, newly single and finding her most personal lyrics to date. Sure, there's still attention-grabbing bangers like "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" and the bizarre Sound Of Music inspired "7 Rings" but, it's refreshing to hear such a public persona discussing her emotions from her time in a highly-publicized relationship on tracks like "Fake Smile" and "NASA". "Ghostin" was another moment that really surprised me as she flipped a Mac Miller beat and made her saddest song to date, that she still refuses to perform publicly after his untimely death.

#11. The National - I Am Easy To Find

Standout Track: "Light Years"

Other Must-Hears: "Rylan" & "Hairpin Turns"

After 20 years in the business, being stereotyped into the "dad rock" genre and trying something as potentially gimmicky as adding female vocals to each song on their album, The National are still winning over critics and rightfully so. I always found 2013's Trouble Will Find Me a bit too repetitive and bleak but, that isn't still somehow their most highly-regarded album to date despite the past two albums further elevating their discography in my opinion. Sleep Well Beast saw them experimenting a bit more sonically (think Beach House's 7) while I Am Easy To Find adds another pleasant layer to a bunch of songs that would have been good National songs that were turned into great National songs with frontman Matt Berninger delegating some of his duties while also harmonizing wonderfully on tracks like "Hairpin Turns".

#10. Daniel Caesar - Case Study 01

Standout Track: "Are You Ok?"

Other Must-Hears: "Cyanide" & "Superposition (ft. John Mayer)"

Another album to listen to if one is looking to mellow out, Case Study 01 is far from a masterpiece but, it is another accomplishment for a budding R&B superstar in Daniel Caesar. His fans are passionate and his music is either perfect for a mental breakdown or passionate moments. His voice carries quite a bit of this album as a sort of discount Frank Ocean. We're still waiting for Caesar's version of Channel Orange but I'll settle for a bunch of Nostalgia, Ultras.

#9. Devon Welsh - True Love

Standout Track: "Dreamers"

Other Must-Hears: "True Love" & "Somebody Loves You"

To say that Devon Welsh is an acquired taste would be an understatement. Essentially each one of the former Majical Cloudz' lead singer's music videos is just him making direct, bug-eyed, bushy eyebrow-ed eye contact with the viewer while singing songs about love. These aren't just typical love songs either as Welsh goes into such specificity that the songs clearly take inspiration from his or someone else's life. Songs like "Alongside" that includes the lines "You told me all the dreams you had on your mind, The one's you used to swing around to pass the time". The monotone vocals and (compared to some of the stuff Charli XCX was doing) simplistic instrumentals create a very dreamy and nostalgic atmosphere across this 10-track, 41-minute ride. It's hard to find truly underrated gems in the indie/alternative field but, Devon Welsh is absolutely underappreciated.

#8. Orville Peck - Pony

Standout Track: "Old River"

Other Must-Hears: "Turn To Hate" & "Hope To Die"

The rumor mill seems to have some clue of Orville Peck's origin story but for the sake of respecting the legend and image of the rogue, lampshade-masked cowboy, I'll just say he came out of nowhere this year (like literally, he was only a myth coming into 2019!). Peck's brand is so old-school country that it's almost comical (which may be the point to begin with, I've never been good at irony). The only details we really have on him are that he's a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he has a bunch of tattoos and he's got the slightly tamer voice of Roy Orbison. Little did I realize that there was an Orbison-sized hole to fill in the music industry but, this dude's songwriting and vocals are otherworldly as they sell him as both a character and a musician in the truest sense.

#7. Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated

Standout Track: "Real Love"

Other Must-Hears: "Julien" & "No Drug Like Me"

Certain people will love to look back at my 2015 Album Grades and say "BUT EMOTION WAS ONLY A C+!!!" and to that I say... look past the singles and tell me how much of Carly Rae Jepsen's third album is memorable after "Boy Problems"? The second half of that album is admittedly, not enough to turn that album into a C+ today (it probably should have gotten a B) but, it lags in comparison to Dedicated. This is the album all of the popheads of the world think her last album was, pop perfection from start to finish. Maybe just one or two tracks too long and if you include "Party For One" as it is a part of the deluxe edition, there are 15 catchy, fun-as-all-hell tracks here. She reportedly has hundreds of songs just lying around, already recorded in some studio lair somewhere so, let's hope they're as quality as Jepsen's fourth album.

#6. James Blake - Assume Form

Standout Track: "Where's The Catch (ft. Andre 3000)"

Other Must-Hears: "Can't Believe The Way We Flow" & "Tell Them (ft. Moses Sumney & Metro Boomin)

Prior to Assume Form, James Blake was a lonely English crooner in his twenties searching for his sound and on the cusp of mainstream intrigue. After releasing his third studio album, The Colour In Anything, I thought this dude had mastered his craft as a sad-boy singer/producer. Instead, his fourth album here was THE big break for James Blake after years of co-signs from Chance The Rapper, Bon Iver and even Beyonce'. All it took was a Grammys' cameo and a new friendship with Travis Scott (Blake was instrumental in building Scott's 2018 album, Astroworld) for Blake to get some love nationally. The biggest reason for his come-up though? Going from tinkering as a producer to settling on beats behind some of the most charismatic performers around. Performers like Rosalía, Andre 3000 and Scott help boost this album's mood and make it more complex than anything the now 31-year old Blake has dropped so far.

#5. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Standout Track: "The Greatest"

Other Must-Hears: "Venice Bitch" & "Norman Fucking Rockwell"

Lana Del Rey is known for making subtle yet significant shifts in her sound from album to album but, there was nothing subtle about the abrasively titled Norman Fucking Rockwell. She went straight for the jugular on the opening, Grammy Nominated title-track with the words "Goddamn manchild, you fucked me so good that I almost said I Love You" and besides the Ultraviolence-on-LSD "Venice Bitch", the entire album is Lana Del Rey: Lounge Singer For The End Of The World... Now featuring piano ballads! After six very good albums in an eight year span, Lana has reached a place in her career where she's finally getting the recognition she deserved with her debut, Born To Die and she can do whatever the fuck she wants, just look at the album title.

#4. Bon Iver - i,i

Standout Track: "Hey, Ma"

Other Must-Hears: "Faith" & "U (Man Like)"

In a year of my personal favorites refining their sounds, Bon Iver did something pretty cool (and they weren't the only ones) by combining his nonsensical/mysterious 22:A Million lyrics with songs that could have easily come off of 2011's Bon Iver, Bon Iver. This album has every emotion packed into it, every type of Bon Iver song tucked inside at under forty minutes and it sounds like the more matured version of 2016's erratic yet innovative 22AM.."Hey, Ma" is perhaps the best song of 2019 not to get a spot on my Top 40 Songs list because of it's lack of a music video and the stretch from track #4 to track #9 on this album is unmatched by any other seemingly randomly generated track list.

#3. Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Standout Track: "Bad Guy"

Other Must-Hears: "Bury A Friend" & "Wish You Were Gay"

Lorde's Pure Heroine was the best debut album from a pop artist in the 2010s until Billie Eilish and her producer brother, Finneas stepped into the ring with this year's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? The album isn't as lyrically deep from Eilish but, the catchiness, the boldness and the unique production on each song up until the last four "cool down" tracks is particularly spectacular to witness from someone who was just 17-years old when her debut dropped. Finneas's part in this album cannot be overemphasized enough, there's sounds of broken glass shards, swords, The Office and it is a well-mixed project that still manages to showcase Eilish's quieter vocals. Some have determined her to be THE future of music when in all likelihood, just like Lorde, she'll be her own special thing that begins to show off some of her inspirations in sound and becomes a slightly more niche act going forward. The first post-WWAFAWDWG single "Everything I Wanted" is a sign that she's not done being different.

#2. Tyler, The Creator - IGOR

Standout Track: "What's Good"

Other Must-Hears: "Gone, Gone/Thank You" & "New Magic Wand"

No musician better crafted a culmination of their prior work into a completely new project this year than Tyler, The Creator. The lyrics were at times lonely and longing for a past love like 2017's Scum Fuck Flower Boy and at other moments, aggressive and toxic as all hell like all of Tyler's previous work, most common in instrumentation being 2015's Cherry Bomb. IGOR sees Tyler "Create" (oh shit, I did it) another alter-ego in the titular character, a man dumped by... I can only assume Timothee' Chalamet, who expresses his shock and awe and depression over the first half of the album on songs like "EARFQUAKE". After that, he goes between denial, trying not to fall back into love with the ex and ultimately, moves on. There is no more perfect final track this year than "Are We Still Friends?" and there was no better concept album than IGOR. The man literally switched it up on us and SANG for 10 out of 12 tracks after rapping and producing for both rappers and singers all decade.

The #1 Album of 2019               

Vampire Weekend - Father Of The Bride

Standout Track: "Harmony Hall"

Other Must-Hears: "Unbearably White" & "Sympathy"

At the end of the day, IGOR is the best album and this is simply my "TOP" albums of the year. Father Of The Bride has my favorite song of 2019 in "Harmony Hall" and sounds so uniquely different on a track-to-track basis. There are high-quality, classic Vampire Weekend-sounding songs on here but, there's a ton of experimentation from an otherwise predictable band to this point in their career. "Sunflower" is the scatting, bass-heavy music that singer Ezra Koenig clearly embraced on his 2014 SBTRKT featured "New Dorp. New York.". "Sympathy" is the pulsating, children's choir sampling music that sounds like Paul Simon's best song to date (until you've heard "Harmony Hall"). "2021" is a Bon Iver song with more focused lyrics. Ultimately, this is the most divisive Vampire Weekend record and the thing that sold it for me was that there are no dull moments, no matter how many times one listens over an 18-track span. In a surprise to absolutely no one, Danielle Haim collaborated with Koenig and crew on their fourth studio album and perfectly harmonizes on songs like "This Life" and "Married In A Gold Rush". Their vocals evoke memories of James Taylor and Carole King and help guide the general dad-rock vibe of the entire chill, mostly upbeat record. It's Taylor/King meets Jimmy Buffett and I really hope I'm nailing home the Boomer comparisons here because they made an album for all generations. Father Of The Bride ends on the perfect note with the first truly classic Vampire Weekend-sounding song on the entire album with "Jerusalem, New York, Berlin", a song that brings them back to their homeland of New York City.

Here is a playlist featuring 3 songs per album from this year's Top 20 Albums.

And again, Here are the Top 40 Songs of 2019 in playlist form on Spotify.

Hopefully 2020 brings us more of fantastic, career-defining albums from highly-touted musicians because this year was a really fun one for music. Otherwise, hopefully 2020 is just quality in general!