The 2019 end of the year music lists thread

I'm certainly appreciating that Ari Lennox more now than I did over the summer.

i hope to see more publications putting out unranked lists

me too ^

also, i think an unranked list + one or two or three "this is the very best of the bunch" / ranked section is perfectly reasonable.

i often feel like my top 2, 3 or 4 are obvious and everything after that is splitting hairs.

it does feel like an unranked list sort of year

https://remezcla.com/lists/music/50-best-songs-by-latinos-in-2019/

A little of everything but mainly reggaeton

https://afropop.org/articles/afropop-runs-down-2019

Stocking Stuffer list in alphabetical order with Burna Boy, Mdou Moctar and more

Textura again doesn't have much overlap with anything else:

01. Christopher Tignor: A Light Below (Western Vinyl)
02. William Brittelle: Spiritual America (New Amsterdam Records / Nonesuch)
03. Stein Urheim: Simple Pieces & Paper Cut-Outs (Hubro)
04. Hevreh Ensemble: A Path of Light (Ansonica Records)
05. Kamancello: Kamancello II: Voyage (Kamancello)
06. Toby Hay: New Music for the 12 String Guitar (The state51 Conspiracy)
07. Leo Svirsky: River Without Banks (Unseen Worlds)
08. Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Smells Funny (Rune Grammofon)
09. Isnaj Dui: Sight Seeing (Fbox Records)
10. Frode Haltli: Border Woods (Hubro)
11. Sontag Shogun: It Billows Up (Youngbloods)
12. Michael Robinson: Tunis Phantom (Azure Miles Records)
13. Zachary Paul: Meditation on Discord (Touch)
14. Akira Kosemura: Diary 2016-19 (Schole Records)
15. Paniyolo & Akio Watanabe: Passage of Sky (Schole Records)
16. J. Pavone String Ensemble: Brick and Mortar (Birdwatcher Records)
17. Lumen Drones: Umbra (Hubro)
18. Deadbeat & Camara: Trinity Thirty (Constellation)
19. David Ian Roberts: Traveling Bright (Cambrian Records)
20. Comit: Remote Viewing (ASIP)

Classical, jazz and ambient lists are separated.

FACT best tracks of 2019
https://www.factmag.com/2019/12/10/the-best-tracks-of-2019/

100 gecs - Money Machine
8ULENTINA - Deep Summer
Aïsha Devi - I'm Not Always Where My Body Is
Anz - No Harm
Call Super + Parris - Chiselers Rush
Claude Fontaine - Cry For Another
De Grandi - Paris Nord-Est
DJ Lag & Okzharp - Steam One
DJ Plead - Ruby
Ellll - Pepsi
False Witness - Red Curtain Daybreak
Felix Lee [Feat. Yayoyanoh] - Focused
FKA Twigs - sad day
Frank Ocean - In My Room
Guapdad 4000- Flossin
India Jordan - Warper
Jai Paul - Do You Love Her Now
Joy Orbison [Feat. Infinite & Mansur Brown] - Burn
Kelsey Lu - Due West
Karen Gwyer - Faces on Ankles
Kehlani - Too Deep
Kim Gordon - Air BnB
Lady Lykez [Feat. Lioness] - Muhammad Ali (remix)
Leonce - Penetration Testing
Lil Nas X [Feat. Billy Ray Cyrus] - Old Town Road (remix)
Medulasa - Forever
Murlo - End Of The Road (Sinjin Hawke & Zora Jones’ Flashback)
Nkisi - Destruction Of Power
Noname- Song 32
Normani - Motivation
ose - is it love?
Peder Mannerfelt - Sissel & Bass (Cera Khin Mind Destruction remix)
Pop Smoke - Welcome To The Party
Powder - New Tribe
Precolumbian & Estoc - CCT1
Precolumbian & Estoc - CCT2
Quest?onmarc - Monolith
Rhyw - Biggest Bully
Riobamba - Muerte
Rui Mo - The Heat
Scarlxrd - GXING THE DISTANCE
Shygirl - BB
Special Request - Vortex 150
Taso & Siete Catorce - 2 for $20
Thoom - Wound as Pocket
tobi lou - I Was Sad Last Night I'm OK Now
Tom Blip & Swordman Kitala - Kitala Beat
Tzusing & Hodge - Electrolytes
Young Thug [Feat. Lil Uzi Vert] - What's the Move
Young Baby Tate - CAMP
Von Bikrav - Casse des Murs

man it's just wild sometimes to think about how much music there is. that Textura list is marked "General" and yet I have never heard of a single one of those artists.

Another good jazz list, from VinylMePlease:

http://magazine.vinylmeplease.com/magazine/best-jazz-albums-2019/

I've heard all but two of these albums, and the Jamael Dean one sounds particularly interesting.

I listened to some of the Dean the other day, definitely worth checking out. Maybe a touch too much exactly what you'd expect from "jazz album on Stones Throw" but well executed

It's a Canadian 'new music' site with ime a distinct aesthetic that is a little tricky to describe; contemporary classical and jazz releases that share qualities with ambient music but are more chopsy than post-rock? Kamancello are from here. I had stopped following. I should check this one out.xps re Textura

I like a lot of the Textura jazz picks, but yeah, those albums all have more in common than not, and "share qualities with ambient music but are more chopsy than post-rock" covers it pretty well. I would also describe it as the kind of jazz where everyone on the bandstand, including the drummer, needs a music stand.

Their ambient is all "everything is going to be ok" ambient, not so much "everything is fucked and we're all going to die" ambient. I have time for both tbh.

man it's just wild sometimes to think about how much music there is. that Textura list is marked "General" and yet I have never heard of a single one of those artists.

― Evans on Hammond (evol j)

i was going to say the same on first glance except i namechecked the stein urheim upthread!

that's kind of my goal in terms of music. to react to 90% of everything a given person will mention with blank stares and then they hit on that one thing that they're going to assume nobody else has heard of and i've heard it.

i listened to their #1 pick, the tignor, and i liked it. i hadn't heard of his tuning fork thing before - if it was ever a schtick, i don't think it is now. probably it makes him more marketable but we all need to get people's attention somehow.

i try to be attuned to terroir when it comes to music - my approach implicitly demands it - and it's a new york thing but i'm ok with that. i could easily spend all my time listening to music only from new york, it's a world unto itself with all sorts of interesting things happening, so i try to limit myself. having heard two records on the textura list and liked both of them, i'm consciously not going to listen to anything more because at some point i have to live my fucking life.

Frode Haltli's Border Woods is norsk avant-folk for the accordion-minded – always a delight.

Glad to see Kelsey Lu on the FACT list, surprised that isn't getting more EOY love.

Evol j otm

Electronic Sound

1. Anna Meredith - Fibs
2. Paranoid London - PL
3. William Doyle - Your Wilderness Revisited
4. Luke Vibert - Valvable
5. Fader - In Shadow
6. Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild
7. Chemical Brothers - No Geography
8. Amon Tobin - Fear in a Handful of Dust
9. Richard Fearless - Dummy
10. Jane Weaver - Loops in the Secret Society

Seperate lists for reissues, comps and soundtracks.

Respectively the number 1 for each was

Michael Rother -Solo
Various - Use Hearing Protection
Haiku Salut - The General

That Anna Meredith album was a bit too much for me tbh, but I was wondering if Imago had heard it cos it seemed v much like his sort of thing

Ubiquitous French magazine Les Inrocks:

100. Roméo Elvis - Chocolat
99. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Colorado
98. Swans - Leaving Meaning.
97. Lysistrata - Breath In/Out
96. Fabio Viscogliosi - Rococo
95. MNNQNS - Body Negative
94. Kokoko! - Fongola
93. Unloved - Heartbreak
92. Alex Beaupain - Pas plus le jour que la nuit
91. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Tracing Back the Radiance
90. Rubin Steiner - Say Hello to the Dawn of Paradox
89. GoldLink - Diaspora
88. Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost (Part 1)
87. Pritchard & Lo - Rendez-vous Streets
86. Sampa The Great - The Return
85. Danny Brown - uknowhatimsayin¿
84. The Psychotic Monks - Private Meaning First
83. Big Thief - Two Hands
82. Chris Cohen - Chris Cohen
81. Velvet Negroni - NEON BROWN
80. DJ Shadow - Our Pathetic Age
79. Le Villejuif Underground - When Will the Flies in Deauville Drop?
78. Thom Yorke - ANIMA
77. Keren Ann - Bleue
76. Cigarettes After Sex - Cry
75. DIIV - Deceiver
74. Whitney - Forever Turned Around
73. Corridor - Junior
72. Mike Patton & Jean-Claude Vannier - Corpse Flower
71. Sean O'Hagan - Radum Calls, Radum Calls
70. Nérija - Blume
69. Hot Chip - A Bath Full of Ecstasy
68. H-BURNS - Midlife
67. Steve Lacy - Apollo XXI
66. The Murder Capital - When I Have Fears
65. Big Thief - U.F.O.F.
64. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride
63. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors
62. Bill Callahan - Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest
61. Muzi - Zeno
60. Tindersticks - No Treasure But Hope
59. Adam Green - Engine of Paradise
58. Kobo - Période d'essai
57. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Brian Jonestown Massacre
56. Malik Djoudi - Tempéraments
55. The Black Keys - "Let's Rock"
54. The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger
53. Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs
52. L'Épée - Diabolique
51. Zed Yun Pavarotti - French Cash
50. Drugdealer - Raw Honey
49. Clairo - Immunity
48. Hamza - Paradise
47. Mac DeMarco - Here Comes the Cowboy
46. Peter Doherty - Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres
45. Kindness - Something Like a War
44. O – Olivier Marguerit - À TERRE !
43. HTRK - Venus in Leo
42. (Sandy) Alex G - House of Sugar
41. Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
40. Aldous Harding - Designer
39. Lambchop - This (is what I wanted to tell you)
38. Blood Orange - Angel's Pulse
37. Cate Le Bon - Reward
36. Mattiel - Satis Factory
35. Biche - La nuit des Perséides
34. Ty Segall - First Taste
33. black midi - schlagenheim
32. Chromatics - Closer To Grey
31. Girl Band - The Talkies
30. SebastiAn - Thirst
29. Metronomy - Metronomy Forever
28. Solange - When I Get Home
27. Allah-Las - LAHS
26. slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain
25. Deerhunter - Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?
24. Kim Gordon - No Home Record
23. PNL - Deux frères
22. Loyle Carner - Not Waving, But Drowning
21. Kompromat - Traum und Existenz
20. Kanye West - JESUS IS KING
19. Holly Herndon - PROTO
18. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
17. Ezra Furman - Twelve Nudes
16. Iggy Pop - Free
15. Cassius - Dreems
14. Battles - Juice B Crypts
13. Bon Iver - i,i
12. FKA twigs - MAGDALENE
11. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains
10. Hubert Lenoir - Darlène
9. Alex Cameron - Miami Memory
8. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!
7. Denzel Curry - ZUU
6. Philippe Katerine - Confessions
5. Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel
4. James Blake - Assume Form
3. Fat White Family - Serfs Up!
2. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
1. Tyler, the Creator - IGOR

61. Muzi - Zeno

Happy to see this. Just one example of the incredible amount of great and varied music coming out of South Africa.

posted to bobbins but reposting here:
Resident Advisor Singles list features ten separate playlists
https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3542

Dazed Digital (Albums): https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/47070/1/the-20-best-albums-of-2019

20. FELIX LEE, INNA DAZE
19. LAFAWNDAH, ANCESTOR BOY
18. JERKCURB, AIR CON EDEN
17. THESE NEW PURITANS, INSIDE THE ROSE
16. BURNA BOY, AFRICAN GIANT
15. OFB, FRONTSTREET
14. DORIAN ELECTRA, FLAMBOYANT
13. KELSEY LU, BLOOD
12. THE RHYTHM METHOD, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW I WAS LONELY
11. NILÜFER YANYA, MISS UNIVERSE
10. JPEGMAFIA, ALL MY HEROES ARE CORNBALLS
09. SOLANGE, WHEN I GET HOME
08. RICO NASTY & KENNY BEATS, ANGER MANAGEMENT
07. BILLIE EILISH, WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
06. FKA TWIGS, MAGDALENE
05. TYLER, THE CREATOR, IGOR
04. WEYES BLOOD, TITANIC RISING
03. SLOWTHAI, NOTHING GREAT ABOUT BRITAIN
02. LANA DEL REY, NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL!
01. CAROLINE POLACHEK, PANG

the Kali Malone album The Sacrifical Code that is on the Wire list is somber but is beautiful I think

Rolling Stone's 10 best metal albums of 2019:

10. Korn, ‘The Nothing’
9. Opeth, ‘In Cauda Venenum’
8. Rammstein, ‘Rammstein’
7. Tomb Mold, ‘Planetary Clairvoyance’
6. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, ‘Infest the Rats’ Nest’
5. Darkthrone, ‘Old Star’
4. Alcest, ‘Spiritual Instinct’
3. Gaahls Wyrd, ‘Gastir — Ghosts Invited’
2. Moon Tooth, ‘Crux’
1. Slipknot, ‘We Are Not Your Kind’

hell yeah

MOON TOOTH!! but also what on earth is #3

It's pretty good! I'll listen to anything that Gaahl's involved in.

thats actually a good list of commercial metal, not sure the King Gizzard should be in there though

The King Gizzard album is pretty good! They aren't a metal band, but it is definitely a metal album.

it's not top 10 material but it's good fun

The King Gizzard is TOTALLY a metal album. And one of the year's best metal albums too.

Surprised jpegmafia not on more lists. Cornballs record is great.

Have heard & liked Anna Meredith!

The Quietus's top 20 metal albums of 2019:

https://thequietus.com/articles/27593-dawn-rayd-blood-incantation-inter-arma-best-metal-2019

NPR

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778225628/the-25-best-albums-of-2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778226410/the-25-best-songs-of-2019

a few more of npr's lists

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228577/10-rap-albums-that-raised-the-bar-s-in-2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778227075/a-survey-of-the-year-in-latin-music-whatever-that-means

There's way better material on The Highwomen album than the title track.

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228299/9-rap-albums-as-dark-and-dystopian-as-2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228299/9-rap-albums-as-dark-and-dystopian-as-2019

― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes)

only way to get an article published on billy woods is to pretend it's a list

and then they fuck around with the headline

Before looking I'm going to guess that Lana's taken NPR as well

Ooh, lower than Weyes Blood! A pleasant surprise, except that they've put abysmal Weyes Blood knock-off and general irritant Aldous Harding even higher

I got bored at work and decided to scrape the full Bandcamp list, so here's that:

1. Sampa the Great - The Return
2. Sault - and
3. Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble - Where Future Unfolds
4. slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain
5. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - Ancestral Recall
6. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains
7. Jamila Woods - LEGACY! LEGACY!
8. Ex Hex - It’s Real
9. Helado Negro - This Is How You Smile
10. False - Portent
11. Ana Roxanne - ~~~
12. Resavoir - Resavoir
13. Jaimie Branch - Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise
14. Various Artists - Jambú e Os Míticos Sons Da Amazônia
15. Gauche - A People’s History of Gauche
16. Backxwash - Deviancy
17. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Hiding Places
18. Brittany Howard - Jaime
19. Empath - Active Listening Night on Earth
20. Sessa - Grandeza
21. Aldous Harding - Designer
22. Mannequin Pussy - Patience
23. MIKE - Tears of Joy
24. Jayda G - Significant Changes
25. Hatchie - Keepsake
26. Debby Friday - Death Drive
27. Spellling - Mazy Fly
28. Angel Bat Dawid - The Oracle
29. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
30. Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance
31. Quelle Chris - Guns
32. Kit Sebastian - Mantra Moderne
33. ODD OKODDO - AUMA
34. YATTA - WAHALA
35. Octo Octa - Resonant Body
36. Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won’t Hold
37. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors
38. Various Artists - Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980​-​1990
39. Wilma Vritra - Burd
40. Shana Cleveland - Night of the Worm Moon
41. Amirtha Kidambi and Elder Ones - From Untruth
42. Business of Dreams - Ripe for Anarchy
43. Special Request - Offworld
44. Kaina - Next to the Sun
45. Scrap Brain - A Journey Into Madness
46. Greys - Age Hasn’t Spoiled You
47. Dominique Fils-Aimé - Stay Tuned!
48. Leggy - Let Me Know Your Moon
49. Bobby Oroza - This Love
50. Loraine James - For You and I
51. Slauson Malone - A Quiet Farwell, 2016-2018
52. Sui Zhen - Losing, Linda
53. avery r. young - tubman
54. Clever Austin - Pareidolia
55. Kokoroko - Kokoroko
56. Psalm One - FLIGHT OF THE WIG
57. Yugen Blakrok - Anima Mysterium
58. Hejira - Thread of Gold
59. SPAZA - SPAZA
60. Yves Jarvis - The Same, But By Different Means
61. Yazz Ahmed - Polyhymnia
62. HELM - Chemical Flowers
63. Toro Y Moi - Outer Peace
64. Dengue Dengue Dengue - Zenit & Nadir
65. Knocked Loose - A Different Shade of Blue
66. Dexter Story - Bahir
67. Ivan Conti - Poison Fruit
68. Automatic - Signal
69. Kate Davis - Trophy
70. Black Belt Eagle Scout - At the Party With My Brown Friends
71. Brijean - Walkie Talkie
72. 9T Antiope - Nocebo
73. Control Top - Covert Contracts
74. Mark de Clive-Lowe - Heritage II
75. Hama - Houmeissa
76. Boy Harsher - Careful
77. Secret Shame - Dark Synthetics
78. Angel-Ho - Death Becomes Her
79. O Terno - <atrás/além>
80. Laurie Spiegel - Unseen Worlds
81. Rakta - Falha Comum
82. French Vanilla - How Am I Not Myself?
83. Nérija - Blume
84. Lafawndah - Ancestor Boy
85. DIÄT - Positive Disintegration
86. Salami Rose Joe Louis - Zdenka 2080
87. Lena Raine - OneKnowing
88. Various Artists - Nigeria 70: No Wahala: Highlife, Afro​-​Funk & Juju 1973​-​1987
89. Reese McHenry - No Dados
90. Ami Dang - Parted Plains
91. Kassa Overall - Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz
92. Shafiq Husayn - The Loop
93. Julia Shapiro - Perfect Version
94. Penelope Trappes - Penelope Redeux
95. Christelle Bofale - Swim Team
96. Wizard Apprentice - Dig A Pit
97. Pleasure Leftists - The Gate
98. Tourist Activities - Off My Mind
99. Various Artists - The Time For Peace Is Now
100. The Gotobeds - Debt Begins At 30

Before looking I'm going to guess that Lana's taken NPR as well

I can think of one good reason this didn't happen lol

#2 on the Bandcamp list should be "SAULT - 5 and 7"

Cool to see them up at the top!

I don't know how Bandcamp pulls together a list given (a) the scope of stuff they cover and (b) the breadth of material that's ostensibly eligible (because it's on Bandcamp)

Good on 'em, I guess is all I'm saying

Marbecks record store, New Zealand

Hama - Houmeissa
James Blake - Assume Form
Sharon van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
Sourakata Koite - En Hollande
Nightmares on Wax - Back To Mine
Toro y Moi - Outer Peace
Jayda G - Significant Changes
Various Artists - Nigeria 70: No Wahala: Highlife, Afro-Funk & Juju 1973 -1987
Various Artists - Pay It All Back Vol. 7
Ekiti Sound - Abeg No Vex
Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising
Bibio - Ribbons
Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan - Epistrophy
Fontaines DC - Dogrel
Aldous Harding - Designer
Jitwam. - Honeycomb
Brad Mehldau - Finding Gabriel
Cate Le Bon - Reward
Faye Webster - Atlanta Millionaires Club
Scott Manion - Loving Echoes
Various Artists - Mr Bongo Record Club Vol. 3
Anatolian Weapons (Feat. Seirios Savvaidis) - To The Mother Of Gods (LP)
Altın Gün - Gece
black midi - schlagenheim
Kit Sebastian - Mantra Moderne
Thom Yorke - ANIMA
The Flaming Lips - King's Mouth: Music & Songs
Carnivorous Plant Society - The People Below
Purple Pilgrims - Perfumed Earth
Solange - When I Get Home
Freddie Gibbs / Madlib - Bandana
Lana del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell
Tom Ludvigson & Trevor Reekie - Roto
Frankie Cosmos - Close It Quietly
L'Épée - Diabolique
Charli XCX - Charli
David Kilgour & The Heavy Eights - Bobbie's A Girl
Angel Olsen - All Mirrors
Joshua Redman & Brooklyn Rider - Sun on Sand
Big Thief - Two Hands
clipping. - There Existed An Addiction To Blood
Floating Points - Crush
Various Artists - Body Beat: Soca-Dub And Electronic Calypso (1979-98)
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
FKA twigs - Magdalene
Kamaal Williams - DJ Kicks
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen
Danny Brown - uknowhatimsayin¿
David Byrne - American Utopia On Broadway (Original Cast Recording)
Burna Boy - African Giant

Cool to see the Bill Frisel/Thomas Morgan live album on here. I've been enjoying that one a lot.