The decade is over, thus ending an eventful 10 years of music. Though our writers may not be the high school or college students who helped Mind Equals Blown get off the ground, we’re still just as fanatical about our favorite tunes, and 2019 was a surefire testament to this. From the mainstream pop that makes us giddy to trance-inducing lo-fi tunes to punk anthems perfect for summer sing-alongs, there was a little bit of everything to cast off the 2010s (even a new Carly Rae Jepsen album!).
As the year came to an end, our staff thought long and hard about what records we enjoyed the most throughout the past year. Alas, here’s our top 30 albums of 2019.
30. White Reaper – You Deserve Love
White Reaper has never been shy to write a chorus, but the band’s fourth studio record shows what happens when they swing for the fences. The group remains curt and crunchy, but their embrace of hi-fi sunshine sends them to new heights. –Adit Ahmed
29. Taylor Swift – Lover
The Stevie Nicks of our generation defends her title as queen of the pop world with Lover. Taylor Swift’s sound feels essential to a pop sphere as diverse as ever. She’s not shy to show off just how strong of a melodic and compositional force she is compared to most of contemporaries, including almost every single dude writing pop music right now (looking at you, Ed and Justin). –Adit Ahmed
28. The Dangerous Summer – Mother Nature
The Dangerous Summer is one of the forefathers of pop-punk’s heavy and pensive phase. While that phase has come and gone, this record comes crashing like a wave, reminding us what Reach for the Sun and War Paint were all about. Cathartic and emphatic, Mother Nature is a testament to a band that takes itself seriously in no short terms. –Adit Ahmed
27. Barrie – Happy to Be Here
Brooklyn-based Barrie Lindsay is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer — who was thus plenty equipped to launch her own music project, which caught on with Happy to Be Here. Groovy guitar riffs and synth chords create a cheery, yet laidback indie pop feel that ensures you’re happy to be there. -Jessica Heim-Brouwer
26. The Maine – You Are OK
A decade into the biggest brand transformation from the MySpace era, The Maine continue their streak as one of the scene’s strongest pop-rock songwriters. You Are OK feels more cinematic than its predecessors, giving the band’s melodic strengths a new sense of gusto to close out a decade that began with Warped Tour and ended with a passionate cult fanbase. –Adit Ahmed
25. Laura Stevenson – The Big Freeze
No artist put out an indie folk album as intimate and invigorating as Laura Stevenson did with The Big Freeze this year. It places an increased emphasis on the singer-songwriter’s voice compared to her previous works, imprinting its magnified importance with powerfully layered vocals and instrumentation. –Tim Dodderidge
24. Flying Lotus – Flamagra
Steven Ellison (aka Flying Lotus) continues his reign with Flamagrama — yet another remarkable record that exemplifies how all-encompassing the term “electronic” can really be. It also relies more than ever on a diverse, all-star cast of hip-hop features (such as Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, Toro y Moi, Solange, and more). -Jessica Heim-Brouwer
23. La Dispute – Panorama
La Dispute showcases their poetic prowess on Panorama just as they’ve done across their decade-plus career. But the progressive explosion that defines their fourth LP is more atmosphere and post-rock, perfectly supporting a momentous and multi-faceted story of grief and suffering. –Tim Dodderidge
22. DIIV – Deceiver
Shoegaze is back in fashion, but that wouldn’t matter to DIIV, as their genre playing comes across not as a trend but as a necessity on Deceiver. It was the ideal style for Zachary Cole Smith to relay his recovery (he checked into rehab in 2017), as the album is a triumph of echoing guitars and vocals. –Tim Dodderidge
21. Counterparts – Nothing Left to Love
Canadian -core giants Counterparts continue to get better with every album, and Nothing Left to Love is no exception to the standard the fivepiece keeps setting. They add more structure and composure to the filler-free sound of You’re Not You Anymore, and it’s for the benefit of this 33-minute melodic hardcore romp. –Tim Dodderidge
20. Great Grandpa – Four of Arrows
After the success of their debut’s ’90s alternative rock throwback, Great Grandpa took some time to live their lives before letting their experiences sculpt the masterful Four of Arrows. The result is a darker, more dynamic follow-up that explores folksier sounds and full-blown catharsis. –Tim Dodderidge
19. Danny Brown – uknowwhatimsayin?
Hip-hop has spent the last half decade adapting to the unorthodox tendencies that made Danny Brown one of the most unique voices in the scene. Brown’s latest record moves towards a relatively more conventional sound, doing so in the context of a scene that sees him as a leader instead of an outsider. –Adit Ahmed
18. Big Thief – Two Hands
Were we blessed in 2019 or what? That’s because Big Thief didn’t simply gift us with one album but two. The latter holds a candle to the masterful folk of the spring release U.F.O.F. in every way, even if Two Hands isn’t quite as strong as a whole. What is has going for it is consistency, as the group holds to their distinct and satisfying indie rock formula. -Tim Dodderidge
17. The Menzingers – Hello Exile
It’s clear that The Menzingers hit a groove on 2017’s After the Party, and they stick to what worked so well for them on Hello Exile. It’s a punk powerhouse full of beefy guitars and big choruses, and it offers up some of the band’s biggest standouts and most fun sing-alongs to date. –Tim Dodderidge
16. JPEGMAFIA – All My Heroes Are Cornballs
JPEGMAFIA’s All My Heroes Are Cornballs is the epitome of precise experimentation. Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks has never tried too hard to mimic the out-there style of Death Grips, and he focuses on melodic ambiance more than ever on Cornballs. Yet, he keeps his identity in check with plenty of off-the-wall production. –Tim Dodderidge
15. Hovvdy – Heavy Lifter
Hovvdy’s melancholy songwriting is preserved on Heavy Lifter, but more prominent percussion presents a newfound layer of energy. Despite both Charlie Martin’s and Will Taylor’s drumming backgrounds, though, these are men of subdued decibels. With more reflective lyrics, the slowcore combo explores where they’ve been and where they might go. -Jessica Heim-Brouwer
14. Carly Rae Jepsen – Dedicated
Carly Rae Jepsen’s transition from one hit wonder to cult icon defined the latter half of the 2010s. Her newest effort, Dedicated, combines a fresh ’80s throwback sound with modern, precise dance pop romps. What we get is a pop record that wouldn’t have existed before the contemporary pop moment, coming from one of the artists who managed to define it. –Adit Ahmed
13. Crumb – Jinx
Crumb makes every second count on their freshman full-length. Arguably, Jinx is some of the most hypnotic, palatable psychedelic pop out there. Its jazzy elements — freeform feel, light-as-air percussiveness, and quiet confidence — carries you into a dreamlike yet introspective state. -Jessica Heim-Brouwer
12. Bon Iver – i,i
The triumphant final act in a four-part series, i,i is the most interesting album in Bon Iver’s catalogue because it’s Justin Vernon’s most musically and structurally diverse. Listening to this album is a journey, with peaks in the middle (“Hey, Ma” and “Naeem”) and lyricism that tackles both personal and political pain. –Tim Dodderidge
11. Clairo – Immunity
Up-and-coming indie pop star Claire Cottrill (aka Clairo) shattered expectations with her first full studio album, produced by Rostam Batmanglij (formerly of Vampire Weekend). Immunity is an intimate, sophisticated, sonic scrapbook of a young woman’s struggles with mental health, uncertainties surrounding love, and acceptance of her sexuality. – Jessica Heim-Brouwer
10. Men I Trust – Oncle Jazz
For a nearly hour-and-fifteen-minute album, Oncle Jazz is one you won’t mind playing all the way through — especially if you’re fond of funky bass lines and fuzzy, downtempo dream-pop. Lead vocalist and guitarist Emma Proulx’s breathiness blends warmly with the rest of the instrumentation, which remains minimal and purposeful. -Jessica Heim-Brouwer
9. Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind
Not since 2001 has Slipknot put out an album with the metallic fury that they do in We Are Not Your Kind. It isn’t only the unabated heaviness and confrontational lyricism (circling around vocalist Corey Taylor’s depression) that makes an impact, as some experimentation and maturity makes this the band’s best effort in 18 years. –Tim Dodderidge
8. PUP – Morbid Stuff
Pop-punk has a reputation for being the genre for immature teenagers, but PUP brings a level of adulthood and edge to the table that stands out with Morbid Stuff. The band continues to pair fired-up guitars with meaningful reflections on aging, using the orchestrated chaos of punk to make their messages stick. –Adit Ahmed
7. Big Thief – U.F.O.F.
Big Thief received a ton of hype early in 2019 for U.F.O.F., and it nearly lives up to the acclaim and attention it’s received. Adrianne Lenker’s oft-whispered vocal delivery is a mystical match to the instrumentalists’ densely textured folk instrumentation. U.F.O.F. is undoubtedly one of the year’s most climactic and impressive indie releases. –Tim Dodderidge
6. American Football – American Football (LP3)
American Football does greater justice to their 1999 emo masterpiece with LP3 than they did with LP2, and that’s because they didn’t ride the coattails of its success but rather evolved their sound substantially. Thicker atmosphere and shoegaze tendencies make album three a vibrant and joyous listen. –Tim Dodderidge
5. (Sandy) Alex G – House of Sugar
House of Sugar encapsulates the exquisitely turbulent essence of Alex Giannascoli’s songwriting. Moments of discomfort are offset by sounds of sweetness, and his storytelling remains both abstract and honest. The artist’s latest indie rock release showcases his mysterious unpredictability as a seamless final product. -Jessica Heim-Brouwer
4. FKA twigs – Magdalene
Full of luscious texture — musically and emotionally — FKA twigs created Magdalene with an intensity that is both haunting and ethereal. Feeling a tie to the biblical character Mary Magdalene, who was misunderstood by prejudiced men, twigs reminds listeners that judgment and sexism are still prevalent in today’s world. –Katie Rich
3. Oso Oso – Basking in the Glow
Oso Oso have been on track to inherit the historic posture of Long Island, and manage to do so with Basking in the Glow. The band combines the legacy emo kicks that defined their forefathers with the delicacy of indie rock, making a deceptively simple record that brings coy optimism to the genre. –Adit Ahmed
2. Tyler, the Creator – IGOR
The world took it seriously when Tyler, the Creator came into full form with Flower Boy. IGOR builds off its predecessor’s staying power and leans into his ability to shine through expressing his vulnerabilities in the record’s story. Tyler’s dynamic eccentricity through sing-songy, psychedelic neo-soul infused tracks keeps things free and fresh. –Adit Ahmed
1. Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell!
It’s hard to pick a favorite from Lana Del Rey’s impressive catalogue. But six albums into her career, she forced us to do so with Norman Fucking Rockwell!. Her polished sound, resonating songwriting, and waves of nostalgia come together to curate the best of Lana Del Rey — and the best album of 2019 — in a full hour-plus runtime. –Katie Rich
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