O.T. What Were Your Favorite Albums of 2015?

Just in time for the new year, I thought it would be great for TKP community to share notes on our favorite albums of 2015. In case you missed last year's rundown, here are the groundrules:

1. Like last year, I thought it would be great to start a list to see what other artists and albums people on TKP really loved this year. If albums aren't your thing — because let's be honest, we live in an on-demand world where the single is top currency — a list of singles is great too.
2. The album or single had to be released in 2015.
3. Keep in mind most, if not all, of us are not music reviewers by trade. The goal isn't for everyone to put on their "critic hat" and opine on whether or not Adele's "25" was progressive or just more of the same. If you loved it, you loved it. TKP is like Planet Fitness; it's a judgement-free zone.

For me, 2015 was one of the strongest years for music I can remember in quite some time. There were a lot of phenomenal albums and songs from both new and established artists. It helped make the time I spent toiling away in Revit extremely enjoyable, and I can only hope that 2016 builds upon that. The negative side is that it made coming up with a definitive Top 10 quite hard; frankly, I probably could just rattle off 15-20 albums that I would happily listen to on repeat all day.

I was, however, able to narrow down my own list to five favorites. Before I get into my Top 5, I thought I would list my Second 5, in no particular order.

Kurt Vile : "b'lieve i'm goin down" What I love and respect the most about Vile's newest album is that it stands out from the crowd. During a time in which seemingly everything is mixed or enhanced in the studio, "b'lieve i'm goin down" feels so real and natural that you can't help but feel as though you're watching Vile finger pick his guitar live in his living room.
Jack U : "Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack U" Diplo doesn't do anything half-assed, and combining his brilliance with Skrillex's innovative, aggressive sound could only result in an album as awesome as Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack U.
The Weeknd : "Beauty Behind the Madness" He puts his pants on one leg at a time the same as you and me. The only difference is once his pants (and dreadlocks) are on, he makes gold records.
Florence and the Machine : "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" Big Sound + Big Ginger = Easily their most complete album to date.
Courtney Barnett : "Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I just Sit." There is an innovate amount of variety that feels entirely unique, while evoking parallels with different types of present and past music. Where "Boxing Day Blues" has an almost Mazzy Star vibe to it, "Pedestrian at Best" is like a female version of the edgy Brit Rock of early Blur.

5. Logic : "The Incredible True Story"

I wanted this album to build on Logic's first major release, Under Pressure (my favorite album of 2014), which it certainly does. The problem I had was Under Pressure clearly built up my expectations too much. That, and I find the between-song skits distracting and way too long. It reminded me of Country Grammar, but only half as entertaining. Like To Pimp a Butterfly, Logic struggles to move his message past his upbringing, attempting to provide a more mature message than what we heard in Under Pressure. And for the most part, I would say he succeeded. It's just far more subtle than the last go-around, which meant I had to really listen to get to the meat of his newest story. If this album doesn't hook you from the first listen, listen again.

4. Grimes : "Art Angels"

After scrapping her first pass at Art Angels in 2014 after claiming it was "too depressing," Claire Boucher went back to the drawing board and came out with what can only be described as beautiful cacophony. There is a ton of range on the album, ranging from bubblegum pop to anger-infested proclamations to the perfect alt-rock ballad — and that's before the album really begins in earnest. In some ways, it's hard not to listen to the album and feel that it was entirely the product of the polarizing reaction she received from her 2014 single, "Go," which likely would have launched the first iteration. Thank God people reacted so fiercely, because the way in which Grimes layers the venom, the sneering and the joy is a freaking trip.

3. Kendrick Lamar : "To Pimp a Butterfly"

Where good kid m.A.A.d. city took us back to Kendrick's childhood in Compton, To Pimp a Butterfly takes us back to the old school while discussing the current state of racial injustice in America. Where good kid was rooted in the challenges he faced growing up, Butterfly embraces that culture and throws it in your face over and over and over again. While his message is stronger, more polarizing and certainly easier to grasp — though many surely bristle up when listening to the nary-veiled politics of the album — his talents are continually evident. Say what you will about the message; Kendrick is a talented motherf***er.

2. Ryan Adams : "1989"

Don't judge me. You probably won't believe this, but I haven't listened to Taylor Swift's 1989 — only the hits you can't seem to avoid. I think that's what makes Ryan Adams' version so enjoyable for me; for the most part, I have nothing to compare it against. It's like seeing the Hunger Games without ever having read the books. I can spend more time enjoying the soundscape then getting bent out of shape that Adams bastardized "Shake It Off."

Full disclosure: I am a huge Ryan Adams fan. To be honest, it's probably why I love this album so much. My interpretation of it is more like a weird greatest hits album, where different sounds from Adams' diverse career manifest throughout. The album opens with "Welcome to New York," which feels more like an early Springsteen track than anything else. From there, it becomes an enjoyable collection of songs that range from the melancholy of Ashes & Fire, to the love-scorned hatred of Demolition and , to his bluegrass and country roots of Gold and Cardinology. If you can't bring yourself to listen to the whole album, at least give "Bad Blood" a try. It's solid.

1. Tame Impala : "Currents"

Sometimes I think I'm too hard on established artists when I listen to new releases for the first time. I want to hear the artist and the genre grow, pushing the industry as a sort of artistic arms race aimed at constantly one upping one another with eargasm after eargasm. Sometimes a band's efforts to push the boundaries and get outside of their comfort zone fall flat with me (i.e. Mumford & Sons with Wilder Mind and anything from Coldplay since they hooked up with Brian Eno); other times, they hit an absolute home run.

What I love so much about Currents is that it's progressive for Tame Impala, but still very much Tame Impala. Kevin Parker & Co. stayed within themselves and maintained their sound while fiddling around with different arrangements and pacing. There's no better example than "Eventually," where they juxtapose that mellow, synthy Tame Impala sound with big, in-your-face interludes. In short, it's just plain fun to listen to.