Year in Music 2015
Billboard.com's 25 Best Albums of 2015: Critics' Picks
12/15/2015
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The 25 Best Albums of the Year
Billboard released the year end charts, and Taylor Swift's '1989' topped the Billboard 200. But now it's time to name our favorite albums based on critical and personal tastes. ('1989' came out in 2014 -- topping our critics' picks for that frame.) Here is the list of Billboard.com's 25 best albums of 2015.
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25. 'Hasta La Raiz,' Natalia LaFoucarde
Natalia LaFoucarde 'Hasta La Raiz'
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24. 'Emotion,' Carly Rae Jepsen
Carly Rae Jepsen 'Emotion'
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23. 'Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü,' Jack Ü
Jack U
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22. 'Surf,' Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment
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.
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21. 'Honeymoon,' Lana Del Rey
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20. 'Days Gone By,' Bob Moses
Bob Moses 'Days Gone By'
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19. 'Amanecer,' Bomba Estero
Bomba Estero 'Amanecer'
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18. 'Beauty Behind the Madness,' The Weeknd
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.
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17. 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful,' Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'
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16. 'Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit,' Courtney Barnett
Courtney Barnett 'Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit'
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15. 'Dark Sky Paradise,' Big Sean
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.
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14. 'No Cities To Love,' Sleater Kinney
Sleater 'Kinney, No Cities To Love'
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13. 'Traveller,' Chris Stapleton
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.
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12. 'If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,' Drake
Drake 'If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late'
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11. 'DS2,' Future
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.
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10. 'Something More Than Free,' Jason Isbell
Jason Isbell 'Something More Than Free'
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9. 'I Love You Honeybear,' Father John Misty
Father John Misty 'I Love You Honeybear'
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8. 'Black Messiah,' D'Angelo
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.
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7. 'Sound and Color,' Alabama Shakes
Alabama Shakes 'Sound and Color'
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6. 'In Colour,' Jamie XX
Jamie XX 'In Colour'
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Adele, '25' (2015)
Adele '25'
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4. 'Summertime ‘06,' Vince Staples
Vince Staples 'Summertime ‘06'
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3. 'Art Angels,' Grimes
Grimes 'Art Angels'
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2. 'Hamilton,' Original Broadway Cast
Broadway's 'Hamilton'
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1. 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar 'To Pimp a Butterfly'
12/15/2015