The Best Albums of 2019
After listening to more than 2000 new albums in 2019, I’ve narrowed my picks down to The 20 Best Records of 2019.
I’ve included 3 essential songs from each pick, as well as a choice lyrical clip and a brief description of the album.
Noting beats actually LISTENING TO MUSIC! So don’t just read my thoughts: follow and listen to the Spotify playlist containing 60 songs from the top 20 albums:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5TWlfWoo54MQ5cYTMmB0RI?si=M_23L6DDRieVuA845A90Pg
01: Yung Gravy - Sensational
Aptly titled Sensational, this debut full-length is a thirty minute party that dances between the hottest trap beats, well-placed samples, and the young Minnesota rapper’s braggadocious persona and ridiculous raps
Hey Alexa, how many bitches can we fit in the Tesla?...Pull up in that Model X with your model ex!
“Whip a Tesla” • “1 Thot 2 Thot Red Thot Blue Thot” • “The Boys Are Back in Town”
02: TWICE - &TWICE • Feel Special EP • FANCY YOU EP
Nine young South Korean women radiate endless energy, bountiful bliss, and some of the catchiest songs to come out not only in 2019 but recent memory
Even when things go wrong, feelings out of control: lessons, to be sure. Be okay, all right! Even a crying face is glittering, filter and laugh! You can return to invincibility, right? Blow off, and we havin’ fun! [Translated from original Japanese]
“Fake and True” • “Breakthrough” • “Stronger”
03: Sublime with Rome - Blessings
Frontman, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Rome Ramirez delivers his finest record to date: eleven heartfelt reggae-driven songs that are as well-written as they are masterfully recorded and produced
Watching you feel good tonight: it's your song up on the station, and we don't even know no words. I wanna hear you roll your R’s, singing Spanish in the car, “Dime algo hermosa tonight”.
“Wicked Heart” • “Light On” • “For the Night”
04: Bring Me the Horizon - amo
Cohesive yet genre-spanning (metalcore, hip-hop, electronic, and pop, to name just a few), the sixth album from the English quintet is an emotional yet insightful rollercoaster masterpiece
Before the truth will set you free, it'll piss you off. Before you find a place to be, you're gonna lose the plot. Too late to tell you now, one ear and right out the other one ‘cause all you ever do is chant the same old mantra.
“MANTRA” • “wonderful life” • “i apologise if you feel something”
05: Weezer - Weezer (Black Album)
Expertly produced and instantly memorable, the long-running Rivers Cuomo-driven California quartet is once again in top form, adding yet another fresh and unique — but distinctly Weezer — record to their extensive discography
Don't get mad at me, I'm just being honest. I should have lied, now you're mad at me? I'm just being honest. How 'bout from now on you'll write the script, I'll read the lines?
“Can’t Knock the Hustle” • “Zombie Bastards” • “Living in L.A.”
06: Big Data - 3.0
Like this sophomore album’s lyrical content — exploration of the impact artificial intelligence will have on humans and on the Earth — the latest project from producer, multi-instrumentalist, and mastermind Alan Wilkis is paradoxically dark yet bright; like AI, this album’s execution is equally flawless and Dangerous
I created a monster, it's out of control, it's going to take me...I didn't know what I was making...But now it's coming, coming for all of us!
“Monster” • “See Through” • “Evolution Once Again”
07: blackbear - ANONYMOUS
Vibrant yet dark, personal yet accessible, the fifth album from Mat Musto is a collection of 18 vulnerable, confessional songs told over slick electronic and hip-hop sounds
You drop the bag and ask me how my weekend was. I love that, though. You laugh when I make stupid jokes, and when I went to rehab, you didn't judge me that bad. I struggle with addiction probs, you always got my back. What am I gonna do the day that my drug dealer moves away? Whatever am I gonna say to my new plug? It just ain't the same.
“DOWN” • “HATE MY GUTS” • “DRUG DEALER”
08: Denzel Curry - ZUU
Hit-after-hit of hip-hop bangers pack this album’s half-hour runtime, with a plethora of guests joining the fray but never quite knocking it out like the young Miami native, Denzel Curry
First they mockin', now they hoppin', all on the wave, 'cause they see me poppin'. Big-big-big large pockets, they start flockin'. Here's what I say when they ass keep knockin'...
“RICKY” • “BIRDZ” • “ZUU”
09: DaBaby - KIRK / Baby on Baby
On his two 2019 albums, his first proper efforts after countless mixtapes and singles, DaBaby unleashes his signature, incessant vocals over relentless trap and modern hip-hop beats
Prolly heard I was broke from a broke nigga, prolly heard I'm a ho from a ho! I don't know what you know, I ain't runnin' from no nigga, let’s go!
“BOP” • “OFF THE RIP” • “Suge”
10: Bayside - Interrobang
On their eighth album, the Anthony Raneri-fronted New York natives sound refreshed, focused, and tighter than ever telling their trademark tales of heartbreak and healing
I love that music saved you, and Lord knows it’s saved me too, but songs never love you back, and you never know the person preaching to you...
“Interrobang” • “Prayers” • “Bury Me”
11: The Hold Steady - Thrashing Thru The Passion
Few frontmen can weave an album’s worth of compelling narratives, yet the Brooklyn band’s Craig Finn finds himself on the seventh The Hold Steady album once again delivering ten more engaging, interlocked tales over his band’s fierce guitar riffs and all-too-catchy choruses
Thanks for listening, thanks for understanding: tequila takeoff, Tecate landing.
“Entitlement Crew” • “Denver Haircut” • “You Did Good Kid”
12: Electric Guest - KIN
Sugary sweet, the third record from the California duo promptly polishes any rough few rough edges they once had to deliver a perfectly slick yet quirkily heartwarming collection of eleven easy-listening songs
I'm like, “this mothafucka might sue me, and that mothafucka might boo me”. I'ma keep on goin' to a better day, all this other bitterness can fade away.
“Dollar” • “I Got the Money” • “More”
13: Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
Part punk energy without sounding even slightly punk, part emo diary without being a dashboard confessional, the debut record from American teenager Billie Eilish craftily bounces between genres, haunting sounds, and strange stories
If you think I’m pretty, you should see me in a crown. I'm gonna run this nothing town. Watch me make 'em bow one by one by one.
“bad guy” • “my strange addiction” • “you should see me in a crown”
14: The Cat Empire - Stolen Diamonds
The eighth album from Australia’s The Cat Empire is a full-blown dance party packed with catchy, clever songwriting and a room full of drums, horns, strings, keyboards, turntables, and bass
Operator, please, I can’t get out my head. Tell me where I’m going or where I’m being led. Tell me like an order, and order I’ll obey. Maybe I just thought you said, or did I did I hear you say, “We’re going to ([kill a man]) Kilaman-jaro, jaro…”
“KIla” • “Stolen Diamonds” • “Ready Now”
15: Dirty Heads - Super Moon
Co-frontmen Dirty J and Duddy B return to the beach for the seventh Dirty Heads album, borrowing sounds from across their entire discography of acoustic guitars and witty hip-hop to craft a surprisingly delicate record
I'm a flame, I'm a beacon that won't go out. In the dark, in the rain, I'm your lighthouse. When you can't stand the pain, hope you know now, I'll keep you safe, I'm your lighthouse.
“Super Moon” • “Lift Me Up” • “Tender Boy”
16: TENDER - Fear of Falling Asleep
Dark and uninviting, the second album from this London duo is an intimidating but rewarding listen delicately spiced with just enough hooks to keep you trapped in its atmospheric dreams
I’ll be looking for the scent when it goes cold. I’ve been trying to beat the maze with a blindfold on. I’ve been foraging through mud and sticks searching for that power that don’t exist.
“Closer Still” • “Bottled Up” • “Handmade Ego”
17: Logic - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind / Supermarket Soundtrack
Logic returns once again with countless rhymes delivered over his trademark breathless bars, frequently painting an all-too-vivid picture of a famous rapper struggling to comprehend the world around him
All these comments got me lost in my mind; all these thoughts that I'm having are not mine. I always post that I'm having a good time so my life looks perfect online...
“Homicide” • “Don’t Be Afraid to Be Different” • “Lemon Drop”
18: Tyga - Legendary
More than just a collection of hits, the seventh album from the Compton rapper is well-sequenced and effortlessly laced with hook-after-hook for Tyga to deliver his signature obscene lines about things he self-admittedly has too many [sic] of: money, cash, hoes, cars, clothes, flows
Hey, shut the fuck up, bitch, you know who I are. Point blank range, and I'm shootin' for the stars. You niggas subpar and I just raised the bar. You got Rollies on your wrist, this is Chopard. Slide on your block like a fuckin' go-kart, my nigga A&R, still got an AR.
“Haute” • “Lightskin Little Wayne” • “On Me”
19: The Chainsmokers - World War Joy
The third album in three years from Alex Pall and Drew Taggart (and no shortage of guests) is an easy, light collection of ten slick relationship-focused pop songs that find the duo largely eschewing their dance-centric history
You said, "Hey, whatcha doing for the rest of your life?" and I said, "I don't even know what I'm doing tonight". Went from one conversation to your lips on mine.
“The Reaper” • “Family” • “P.S. I Hope You’re Happy”
20: Bear Hands - Fake Tunes
Brooklyn’s Bear Hands returns with another collection of bright, bouncy songs that ever-so-slightly conceal the trio’s underlying sadness and struggles
I don't see how you think you can come to me, and bitch to me, lay out your problems, like ancient history, like I ain't got no other shit to do. I love you, baby, but my lips are turnin' blue.
“Blue Lips” • “Back Seat Driver (Spirit Guide)” • “Mr. Radioactive”
THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2019
Yung Gravy - Sensational
TWICE - &TWICE • Feel Special EP • FANCY YOU EP
Sublime with Rome - Blessings
Bring Me the Horizon - amo
Weezer - Weezer (Black Album)
Big Data - 3.0
blackbear - ANONYMOUS
Denzel Curry - ZUU
DaBaby - KIRK / Baby on Baby
Bayside - Interrobang
The Hold Steady - Thrashing Thru The Passion
Electric Guest - KIN
Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
The Cat Empire - Stolen Diamonds
Dirty Heads - Super Moon
TENDER - Fear of Falling Asleep
Logic - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind / Supermarket Soundtrack
Tyga - Legendary
The Chainsmokers - World War Joy
Bear Hands - Fake Tunes













