Ranking the best albums of the year shouldn’t have to be about consensus. Heck, I’ve been making this yearly list for over 12 years and while I’ve sometimes fallen victim to the pitfalls of slotting and naming certain albums on the list because of the prevailing critical belief about their greatness, that approach is now effectively out the window.

What you’ll find in Everything Ecstatic’s Top 60 Albums of 2019 list, is a direct reflection of the best music I listened to and enjoyed the most this year; whether it’s by a mainstream artist, or someone you may have never heard of before. The latter, is what I think has made EE’s Albums list great for so long. ‘Cause at the end of the day, this site is about discovery and enthusiasm for said discoveries (of course). Stylistically, it’s always gonna be all over the map, from jazz to hip-hop to indie, electronic and beyond…from all over the globe.

Lastly, I’ll say this: I’m glad that I waited until 12/23 to release these picks, because the more days we have to listen to the insane amount of tunes that are getting released throughout the year, then the less likely it is to miss something you absolutely needed in your life (Jamila Woods’ incredible Legacy! Legacy! for example, would not have made its way onto the list, let alone into the Top 10 if this list was finalized in early December. )

So with that, here’s Everything Ecstatic’s Top 60 Albums of the Year, along with a Spotify playlist of them all at the bottom of the post. Follow @EcstaticBlog us on Twitter and like the EE Facebook page to get music shouts on the regular and to stay up on the EE live events series.

AS

Click the Albums of the Year tab at the top of the web page to re-visit more than a decade of EE year-end lists.

Stellar Spins (60-51)

60. Arthur Russell – Iowa Dream

59. Kedr Livanskiy – Your Need

58. Rosie Tucker – Never Not Never Not Never Not

57. Hand Habits – placeholder

56. Hot Chip – A Bathful of Ecstasy

55. Skepta – Ignorance Is Bliss

54. San Fermin – The Cormorant 1

53. Bedouine – Bird Songs of a Killjoy

52. Nate Mercereau – Joy Techniques

51. Jordan Rakei – Origin

The Top 50

50. Black Belt Eagle Scout – At The Party With My Brown Friends

49. Mndsgn – Snaxx

48. Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

47. Kindness – Something Like A War

46. Salami Rose Joe Louis – Zdenka 2080

Continue reading The Top 60 Albums of 2019 →