Billboard.com's 25 Best Albums of 2015: Critics' Picks

Natalia LaFoucarde 'Hasta La Raiz'

Carly Rae Jepsen 'Emotion'

Jack U

Fans may have been demanding a follow up to his 2013 mixtape Acid Rap, but Chance The Rapper has been winning in his career by doing anything but what's expected. That's the basis for Surf, the collaborative project from his band the Social Experiment, spearheaded by horn player Donnie Trumpet that is equal parts sprawling, fun, loose, emotional, jazzy and deep without losing its vigor throughout. There are plenty of heavyweight guest appearances -- Busta Rhymes, Big Sean, Quavo and Erykah Badu deserve special mention -- but it's the pure joy of songs like "Slip Slide," the ironic goofiness of "Wanna Be Cool" and the earnest charm of "Sunday Candy" that makes this project truly stand out. It's an avant-garde experiment masquerading as a hip-hop album, and in its experimentation it manages to exist in all genres and none at once.

Bob Moses 'Days Gone By'

Bomba Estero 'Amanecer'

After a string of critically acclaimed mixtapes that helped pioneer the PBR&B sound, the Weeknd finally ascended to the top of the pop world with his second album Beauty Behind the Madness. While the Michael Jackson-esque "Can't Feel My Face" made sense as a No. 1 hit, "The Hills" is easily one of the most unlikely, innovative singles to top the Hot 100 in years. Music this edgy doesn't usually own the charts, but the Weeknd's dark, seductive art has proved impossible to resist.

Florence and the Machine 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'

Courtney Barnett 'Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit'

Big Sean's career before this year could have been summed up with near-misses and unfulfilled potential; in short, a lot of people believed that Sean could become a true hip-hop superstar, but he just kept coming up short. That narrative came to an end with Dark Sky Paradise, the first truly great full-length project he's produced thus far. Propelled by the smash hit single "I Don't Fuck With You" featuring E-40, Sean explored -- fittingly -- the darker side of his psyche, addressing the trials and tribulations of his love life, career and family struggles. The Drake-assisted "Blessings" provided the memes, while his ode to his late grandmother, "One Man Can Change The World" with John Legend and Kanye West, could provide him with a few Grammys. But it's the non-singles -- like "All Your Fault" with Kanye or "Deep" with Lil Wayne -- that make the full project better than its parts.

Sleater 'Kinney, No Cities To Love'

There is no doubting that this talented singer-songwriter is the critical darling of 2015. With his traditional arrangement, and whiskey-drenched vocal approach on Traveller, Stapleton scored one of the biggest triumphs for a Nashville-based male vocalist in years.

Drake 'If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late'

Few people have so totally and completely dominated their genres over a calendar year than Future's stranglehold over hip-hop in 2015: two brilliant mixtapes and two chart-topping albums spread out over a nine-month period will do that for an artist. But it was his July album DS2, his third studio LP, that was his high water mark, weaving dark and tortured tales of groupies, Xans, codeine and depression over an equally twisted sonic palette from the likes of Southside, Metro Boomin and Zaytoven. From the delicately stated ironic wink of opener "Thought It Was A Drought" to the repetitive anguish of closer "Blood On The Money," Future laid out his demons and excesses for all to see, resulting in the best work of his career.

Jason Isbell 'Something More Than Free'

Father John Misty 'I Love You Honeybear'

Somehow, after waiting a decade and a half to put out an album, D'Angelo still managed to surprise fans when Black Messiah dropped into their laps in December 2014. Was it worth the nearly 15-year wait? Without a doubt. Does it match his classic Voodoo album? It comes damn close. And now the smooth masterpiece -- which had a top five Billboard 200 debut -- has the Grammy accolades to show for it, picking up three nominations: best R&B album, best R&B song for "Really Love" and even storming into the Big Four categories with a record of the year nod for that track too. Welcome back.

Alabama Shakes 'Sound and Color'

Jamie XX 'In Colour'

Adele '25'

Vince Staples 'Summertime ‘06'

Grimes 'Art Angels'

Broadway's 'Hamilton'

Kendrick Lamar 'To Pimp a Butterfly'