The Top 10 Albums of 2019
I love "best of" lists. It's a fact. I don't care if they are best of the year, decade, best of a certain genre, they are awesome. I love seeing if my opinions measure up with the professionals. I love music and I listen to a ton, so I thought, why not compile a list of my top ten albums of the year. 2019 may have been terrible for me personally but it was great for music. So, here we go.
10. Miranda Lambert - "Wildcard"
In 2016, Miranda Lambert released her best album to date, the double album, "The Weight of These Wings." It was a killer exploration of life post her divorce from Blake Shelton and navigating love and life in the aftermath. I was a little worried that the follow up wouldn't live up to the high expectations that she had set for herself. I'm happy to say that with her seventh album, she did.
Lambert continues to spin tales of women who live hard, drink hard and have no regrets. "White Trash" shows that no matter how famous she gets, she'll never forget her humble roots. "It All Comes Out in the Wash" reminds listeners that no matter happens things will work out so why worry? She continues a tradition of hard driving duets with other female country superstars with "Way Too Pretty Prison" a duet with Maren Morris where they
decide that they need to get someone else to off a cheating husband because they won't make it in the big house. The quieter moments are the best with "Bluebird" and "Dark Bars" being some of her best songs.
9. Lizzo - "Cuz I Love You"
Lizzo's DNA test may have shown that she was 100% That Bitch, but 2019 was the year that she made everyone her bitch. The Minneapolis based rapstress finally released her assured, thumping debut album and accompanied it with a string of banging television performances where she proved that size doesn't matter and that the flute fits any genre of music.
Lizzo generates joy whether she's blaming it on the "Juice," fucking it up to the "Tempo" with Missy Elliott or lamenting her love for "Jerome." No matter what or whom she is singing about, Lizzo never lets anyone forget that the person she loves most of all is herself and that you should love yourself just as much. This message of self acceptance was definitely needed this year and Lizzo capitalized on her success by promoting singles from a few years ago. In 2019, you couldn't listen to the radio without hearing Lizzo and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
8. Ariana Grande - "thank u, next"
In 2018, Ariana Grande released her best album to date, "sweetener." It was filled with love songs inspired by her fiancé at the time, Pete Davidson. They ended their relationship and Ariana one upped herself with "thank u, next."
Where "sweetener" was a bit more experimental, "thank u, next" is filled with straight up bops. Ariana isn't afraid to contradict herself. On "needy," she's letting her lover know that she wants his attention, but then on the next song "NASA" she's extolling the virtues of space and how that makes your relationship stronger. The emotional centerpiece of the album, "ghostin'" perhaps explains why her relationship didn't last. She tells her current lover that she appreciates him being understanding that she continues to cry over her ex, presumably Mac Miller who killed himself earlier the previous year. The album concludes with the trifecta of "7 rings," the title track and the *NSYNC sampling "break up with you're girlfriend, i'm bored." Grande proves she's the reigning princess of pop but she's well on her way to becoming queen.
7. The Highwomen - "The Highwomen"
The Highwomen are a country super group consisting of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires. The group is an homage and also an updated version of the male country super group, The Highwaymen. The ladies started off with a powerhouse cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" that turned out to be the best thing about the movie "The Kitchen.
Their debut self-titled album is filled with songs and perspectives that are sorely missing from today's country music. There are songs about motherhood, how it's not always what it's cracked up to be and how sometimes having only one child is the best. Morris' "Old Soul" is a song about the difficulties of being wise beyond your years. "Redesigning Women" is a raucous female empowerment anthem. Shires contributes a somber ode to her dying father with "Cocktail and a Song." For me, the centerpiece of the album is "If She Ever Leaves Me," a love song Carlile sings to her wife. A lesbian country love song is one of my 2019 highlights.
6. Solange - "When I Get Home
In 2016, Solange proved that Beyoncé wasn't the only Knowles woman who had musical chops. She released one of the best albums of the decade, "A Seat at the Table." It was an album that tackled the African American experience filled with bold tracks and spoken word interludes from her family and famous people about their experiences being black in America. Needless to say, that expectations were high for her follow-up.
That follow-up hit this year and "When I Get Home" is another shining jewel in Solange's crown. It is a love letter to her hometown of Houston and the people there. It's an album that is full of deeper meanings and rewards multiple listens. It's an album that wasn't made for me, but it is one that I've returned to many times since it was released. It's compelled me to research the references that Solange makes and that makes the album that much more rewarding and isn't that what great albums do?
In 2016, Miranda Lambert released her best album to date, the double album, "The Weight of These Wings." It was a killer exploration of life post her divorce from Blake Shelton and navigating love and life in the aftermath. I was a little worried that the follow up wouldn't live up to the high expectations that she had set for herself. I'm happy to say that with her seventh album, she did.
Lambert continues to spin tales of women who live hard, drink hard and have no regrets. "White Trash" shows that no matter how famous she gets, she'll never forget her humble roots. "It All Comes Out in the Wash" reminds listeners that no matter happens things will work out so why worry? She continues a tradition of hard driving duets with other female country superstars with "Way Too Pretty Prison" a duet with Maren Morris where they
decide that they need to get someone else to off a cheating husband because they won't make it in the big house. The quieter moments are the best with "Bluebird" and "Dark Bars" being some of her best songs.
Lizzo's DNA test may have shown that she was 100% That Bitch, but 2019 was the year that she made everyone her bitch. The Minneapolis based rapstress finally released her assured, thumping debut album and accompanied it with a string of banging television performances where she proved that size doesn't matter and that the flute fits any genre of music.
Lizzo generates joy whether she's blaming it on the "Juice," fucking it up to the "Tempo" with Missy Elliott or lamenting her love for "Jerome." No matter what or whom she is singing about, Lizzo never lets anyone forget that the person she loves most of all is herself and that you should love yourself just as much. This message of self acceptance was definitely needed this year and Lizzo capitalized on her success by promoting singles from a few years ago. In 2019, you couldn't listen to the radio without hearing Lizzo and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
In 2018, Ariana Grande released her best album to date, "sweetener." It was filled with love songs inspired by her fiancé at the time, Pete Davidson. They ended their relationship and Ariana one upped herself with "thank u, next."
Where "sweetener" was a bit more experimental, "thank u, next" is filled with straight up bops. Ariana isn't afraid to contradict herself. On "needy," she's letting her lover know that she wants his attention, but then on the next song "NASA" she's extolling the virtues of space and how that makes your relationship stronger. The emotional centerpiece of the album, "ghostin'" perhaps explains why her relationship didn't last. She tells her current lover that she appreciates him being understanding that she continues to cry over her ex, presumably Mac Miller who killed himself earlier the previous year. The album concludes with the trifecta of "7 rings," the title track and the *NSYNC sampling "break up with you're girlfriend, i'm bored." Grande proves she's the reigning princess of pop but she's well on her way to becoming queen.
The Highwomen are a country super group consisting of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires. The group is an homage and also an updated version of the male country super group, The Highwaymen. The ladies started off with a powerhouse cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" that turned out to be the best thing about the movie "The Kitchen.
Their debut self-titled album is filled with songs and perspectives that are sorely missing from today's country music. There are songs about motherhood, how it's not always what it's cracked up to be and how sometimes having only one child is the best. Morris' "Old Soul" is a song about the difficulties of being wise beyond your years. "Redesigning Women" is a raucous female empowerment anthem. Shires contributes a somber ode to her dying father with "Cocktail and a Song." For me, the centerpiece of the album is "If She Ever Leaves Me," a love song Carlile sings to her wife. A lesbian country love song is one of my 2019 highlights.
In 2016, Solange proved that Beyoncé wasn't the only Knowles woman who had musical chops. She released one of the best albums of the decade, "A Seat at the Table." It was an album that tackled the African American experience filled with bold tracks and spoken word interludes from her family and famous people about their experiences being black in America. Needless to say, that expectations were high for her follow-up.
That follow-up hit this year and "When I Get Home" is another shining jewel in Solange's crown. It is a love letter to her hometown of Houston and the people there. It's an album that is full of deeper meanings and rewards multiple listens. It's an album that wasn't made for me, but it is one that I've returned to many times since it was released. It's compelled me to research the references that Solange makes and that makes the album that much more rewarding and isn't that what great albums do?
5. (tie) Vampire Weekend - "Father of the Bride"
You may have forgotten that Vampire Weekend even existed. They are one of my favorite bands and I definitely did. 2019 was the year they came roaring back with their first album in 6 years, "Father of the Bride." The band experienced a bit of upheaval in the intervening years. Founding member Rostam Batmanglij left the group to go solo, though he did remain with them as a songwriter and producer.
The majority of the heavy lifting is done by lead singer, Ezra Koenig. Koenig wrote or co-wrote every song on what is essentially a double album. Lyrically, the songs are a bit more straightforward than the others in the Vampire Weekend oeuvre but that doesn't make them any less impactful. The highlight of the album is a three song suite of duets with Danielle Haim spread throughout the album which tells the story of a marriage, both hopeful and bittersweet.
5. (tie) Jenny Lewis - On the Line
You may know Jenny Lewis from television. She was the awful Sunshine Scout who held Rose's teddy for ransom on "The Golden Girls." You may know her from movies whether she was one of Shelly Long's scouts in "Troop Beverly Hills" or rocking some video games with Fred Savage in "The Wizard." She was great in those things, but her music career has been solid. From being the lead singer of Rilo Kiley to her solo albums, an album from Jenny Lewis is always an event and her fourth solo studio album is that.
Every artist needs a good break up album and this is Lewis'. Lewis puts her her heartache anthems through her California lens and they are just as impactful if they were a bit more somber. "Heads Gonna Roll" puts Lewis on a road trip rebound session while "Wasted Youth" laments that perhaps she should have done more with her younger years than love this guy. Lewis contorts her already interesting voice in new and different ways and makes the wait for her next album interminable.
4. Billie Eilish - "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?"
Billie Eilish was just 17 when she dropped her debut album earlier this year. I only mention this because the maturity displayed on these 14 tracks are far beyond those 17 years. Crafted with her brother Finneas O'Connell in his bedroom in their home, just adds to how impressive this debut is.
The album is full of thumping dance beats and soft, melancholic ballads. Eilish's voice is interesting and quirky but not in a cloying, annoying way. It never feels put on. It's all very natural which is refreshing. The ubiquitous "bad guy" is a bass heavy warning to any guy who might fall in love with her while the quieter "when the party's over" is in the similar vein but comes at the subject from a different angle with Eilish pulling away from someone she seems to truly care about. 2019 was a year for new artists to flourish and it feels like Billie Eilish's already bright star will only burn brighter as the years pass.
3. Taylor Swift - "Lover"
If all you've heard from Taylor Swift's seventh studio album is the two lead singles, "ME!" and "You Need to Calm Down" then you'd be forgiven for believing that the whole album was just generic pop songs. Luckily, those two songs are probably the weakest of her otherwise stellar outing. And in the context of the full album, they play much better than they did as singles.
This is Taylor at peace with her possibly tarnished reputation and fully in love. The album begins with the breezy "I Forgot That You Existed" which sheds the angst of her previous effort and it's mainly sunshine and rainbows for there. She goes full synth pop on "Cruel Summer" co-written by Jack Antonoff and guitar goddess St. Vincent, which sounds like it could be on one of the latter's albums. The title track is probably the prettiest straight up love song that Taylor has ever written while still being full of Taylorisms. Is "swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover?" the most Taylor thing you've heard. Taylor also gets the most personal on "Soon You'll Get Better" a return to her country roots. The beautiful song about her mother's battle with cancer is simple and harmony vocals by the Dixie Chicks accent the song perfectly. While we all love a Taylor scorned, "Lover" proves a Taylor in love could be even better.
2. FKA twigs - "MAGDALENE
Tahliah Debrett Barnett better known as FKA twigs has had a rough few years since dropping her debut album, "LP1." She ended her long term relationship with the new Batman, Robert Pattinson and battled painful fibroids. The old saying goes, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," well it also makes for great albums and "MAGDALENE" is a great album.
The album is full of ruminations on the dissolution of a long term relationship. From the a cappella opener "thousand eyes" to the heartbreaking "sad day." The centerpiece of the album is "mary magdalene" which gives the album its name. FKA twigs investigates the different slurs and opinions of Magdalene while also playing with them and the idea of intimacy within the Magdalene archetype. Most break up albums end on a hopeful tone, but album closer "cellophane" with twigs repeatedly asking her lover if they did it for her and why they are giving up so easy and giving naysayers what they want. By circumventing these expectations FKA twigs delivers one of the best albums of 2019.
1. Lana Del Rey - "Norman Fucking Rockwell"
Ever since she came on the scene with her debut album, 2012's "Born to Die," Lana Del Rey has been finding herself. Or more to the point, she's been fine tuning her musical persona that of a drowsy, drugged out Nancy Sinatra. With each album, she's tweaked and refined her sound and style and with "Norman Fucking Rockwell", her fifth studio album, she has it down to a science and the results are spectacular.
With "NFR," Lana sets her sights on the "resident Laurel Canyon know-it-alls." Pedantic, tortured fuckboys that she detest but also can't stay away from. It's Americana for 2019. Whether she's crafting "The Next Best American Record" or covering Sublime's "Doin' Time", which I think is better than the original, yeah, I said it, Lana is never not speaking her truth. Lana has been accused of being all flash but she goes deep on "NFR." On "Cinnamon Girl," she yearns for a man to hold her without hurting her an idea that is revisited on "Happiness is a butterfly." The album ends with "hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it," where Lana compares herself to Sylvia Plath but still sounds hopeful. If that's not a sentiment to carry over to 2020, I don't know what is.
So, there you have it. My top records of the year. Do you agree? Disagree? Is there a great album you loved that I missed? Let me know in the comments!
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