Don’t let anyone tell you that good music is dead. There was plenty of good music this year, so much that I easily could’ve expanded this list into a top 20. For example, Flying Lotus released his first new album in 5 years with Flamagra and Thom Yorke dropped his best solo work to date in Anima.
Blood Orange continued his hot streak with the excellent Angel’s Pulse and Ariel Pink put out Oddities Sodomies Vol. 2, a deliriously weird and fun collection of outtakes. Most surprising of all, The Flaming Lips made a strong comeback with King’s Mouth.
As good as all these albums were, none of them made my top 10. Read on to find out which albums resonated with me the most in 2019.
10. Tim Hecker — Anoyo
A shorter companion album to last year’s hypnotic Konoyo, this record mostly delivers more of the same. While it’s not as exciting as a brand new vision from Hecker, I see Anoyo as more of an epilogue to the previous album than anything else — and if you view it that way, it works beautifully.
As always, Hecker creates an immersive wall of sound that slowly lulls you into a deep trance. This album finds him at his most ambient and introspective, resulting in a perfect soundtrack for late-night relaxation.
9. Aesop Rock & TOBACCO — Malibu Ken
If you’re familiar with the track “Dirt” from TOBACCO’s 2008 masterpiece Fucked Up Friends, then you know what these two are capable of when they join forces. The perfectly-named Malibu Ken delivers on that promise with 35 minutes of face-melting beats and dizzying rhymes.
Aesop raps like a man in the grips of possession, rarely taking a breath or even slowing down his pace through the entire album. His lyrics are packed with clever turns-of-phrase, pitch-black humor, and delightfully disturbing imagery if you’re able to keep up.
Meanwhile, TOBACCO takes every track to the next level with his signature tape-distorted production and otherworldly vocoder harmonies. It’s a collaboration not to be missed, and one that I hope to hear more from in the future.
8. Blarf — Cease & Desist
I imagine some people will raise their eyebrows at this one. How could an album that was essentially released as a performance art stunt by comedian Eric Andre crack my top 10? The answer is that, while far from perfect, this album is just too much damn fun to ignore.
If you’re a fan of The Eric Andre Show, then you’ll recognize his manic energy all over this record. But while part of the album’s appeal lies in its personality and sense of humor (such as a Reading Rainbow sample that comes out of nowhere), there’s also real musical talent on display here.
Andre’s sample selection is consistently outstanding and exciting, mixing influences ranging from Radiohead to Busta Rhymes to Animal Collective. Also, major bonus points for my favorite album cover of the year, hands-down.
7. IGLOOGHOST, Kai Whiston & BABii — XYZ
Going into this collaborative project, I was worried it would suffer from having too many cooks in the kitchen. Instead, this is the rare producer team-up that actually works, showcasing what makes each artist great individually while unifying their sounds together into a cohesive vision.
It’s often hard to tell who’s responsible for which parts of each song (other than the vocals, which are all BABii) and I mean that as a compliment. There are no egos on this album, giving every member of the trio a chance to shine equally.
Most importantly, this is some of the fastest, loudest, and most disorienting music that you’re likely to discover. Listening to this album is the equivalent of throwing your brain into a blender for 30 minutes, and it feels absolutely exhilarating.
6. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib — Bandana
If I’m being honest, a little Freddie Gibbs can go a long way for me. While I certainly appreciate his skills as an MC, his personality tends to grate on me after a while. On the other hand, Madlib is one of my favorite producers of all time and anything he puts his name on is worth checking out. On paper, these don’t seem like artists whose styles would mesh at all, but they actually complement each other perfectly.
While I enjoyed their previous album together (2014’s Pinata), Bandana represents a clear improvement on every level. This is the best collection of beats Madlib has put together in quite some time, showcasing everything I love about his inimitable style.
Meanwhile, Gibbs turns his gaze inward to deliver unexpectedly thoughtful lyrics — and his flow is absolutely impeccable. Completely tuned into Madlib’s wavelength, Gibbs handles sudden beat changes with ease and never makes a false move. Bandana is easily the best hip-hop album of 2019 and it feels like an instant classic for the genre.
5. Toro y Moi — Outer Peace & Soul Trash
Toro y Moi has been one of my favorite artists for a long time and he delivered two of his best works yet in 2019. Outer Peace is possibly the most diverse collection of music he’s released, shifting from sad, melodic trap to blissful disco-funk in a matter of minutes.
It somehow all holds together, mostly thanks to his tremendous production skills. And as if this album wasn’t enough to satisfy his fans for the year, he also released the outstanding mixtape Soul Trash. With its lo-fi production, bass-heavy beats, and an assortment of guest appearances, the project stands out in his large discography as a unique experience.
Between the two releases, Toro y Moi dropped roughly an hour of material in 2019 that easily ranks among the most enjoyable of the year, as well as his career.
4. Kai Whiston — No World As Good As Mine
This album is the surprise of the year for me — while I really enjoyed Kai Whiston’s debut record last year, I definitely did not expect him to release an album of this caliber so soon, if ever. No World As Good As Mine is a sprawling, ambitious experience that mixes unexpected influences into the abrasive and glitchy production style that Whiston has become known for.
From the serene beauty of tracks like “Don’t Need It” and “I Hear Chop Snares In These Willow Trees” to the thrashing energy of “Run It” and “Things That You Bury,” this album never fails to be riveting in its hour-long runtime.
While I was already a fan of Kai Whiston, No World as Good As Mine has considerably elevated my expectations for his future projects. It may be difficult to replicate the epic scope of this album, but hopefully he can continue to produce music at a similarly exciting level.
3. Avey Tare — Cows On Hourglass Pond
Ranking new records by Avey Tare and Panda Bear, my two favorite singer/songwriters of all time, is no easy task. I almost settled for a 2nd-place tie, but I ultimately decided to give the spot to Avey. While it’s not necessarily more enjoyable than Buoys, Cows On Hourglass Pond is longer and has more depth on repeat listens.
The opening and closing tracks (“What’s The Goodside” and “HORS_”) are some of the best bookends to an album you’ll ever hear, starting and ending the experience on emotional high notes. There’s more than enough to enjoy in the middle as well, with tracks such as “Eyes on Eyes,” “Nostalgia in Lemonade,” “KC Yours,” and “Our Little Chapter” all ranking among the best of his solo career.
That’s not even counting the two bonus tracks and excellent EP that he released later in the year — in fact, some of the b-sides are even more exciting than the album. Overall, Avey Tare gifted his fans with nearly 90 minutes of new music this year and I couldn’t feel more grateful.
2. Panda Bear — Buoys
Any new album from Panda Bear is a special occasion, but Buoys is my favorite solo material that he’s released since 2011’s Tomboy. Though it’s very short and minimalist, the record casts an immersive spell that draws you deep into its watery depths.
Every track is built from the same basic elements: trance-inducing acoustic guitar strums, rumbling bass frequencies, and heavily processed vocals from Panda Bear. While some might find this style repetitive and boring, I feel the album has a meditative quality that works its way deep into my mind and conjures strong emotions.
Most importantly, the vocal melodies are serious earworms that I find myself humming for days any time I listen to the album. I also love how he uses auto-tune in an unexpected way, transforming an understandably-maligned gimmick into a new sound that feels fresh and exciting.
1. Battles — Juice B Crypts
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the new Battles album after learning of Dave Konopka’s departure. I feared that reducing the power trio to two members would remove a dimension of their sound. My fears turned out to be totally unjustified, as remaining members Ian Williams and John Stanier delivered possibly my favorite Battles record yet.
This album is an unrelenting experience that absolutely pummels your eardrums for 40 minutes — your brain never gets a chance to take a breath. From the opening synth loops of “Ambulance” to the fading piano chords of “Last Supper on Shasta,” Juice B Crypts doesn’t waste a single moment.
Williams does an amazing job of covering Konopka’s absence to the point that I honestly wouldn’t have known he was missing. Meanwhile, Stanier attacks the drums even more ferociously than usual and reminds listeners that he’s one of the best there is. Vocal duties are handled by a diverse group of guests, most notably Jon Anderson of Yes and Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces.
Though Battles have never released anything close to bad music, this is the most alive and inspired the band has sounded in quite some time. Juice B Crypts is the rare album worthy of being called a masterpiece, and no record excited me more in 2019.