2015 is coming to an end. With it, the moment for our annual recap has arrived. Good news is this has been an excellent year for music. Arguably the best one for at least a decade; so much so that we haven’t been able to accomodate all the albums we have enjoyed in the typical Top 50. So we’ve decided to kickstart our best of 2015 review looking at all the records -or at least the 30 most significant ones- left at the gates of our selection, which will be revealed later on the week, followed by the best singles, reissues and the nominations for the Rober Awards.
Among them, a few notable debuts (Floating Points; Sophie; Tobias Jesso, Jr.); a number of second works that have avoided the much feared sophomore slump (Arca; CHVRCHES; A$ap Rocky); some notable mixtapes (Erykah Badu; Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment); a delicate soundtrack; a triumphant return; a rock opera (ooh, the audacity!) shaping up a notoriously well-tuned year of music. Even Florence Welch managed to tone down her habitual histrionics and delivered her most enjoyable collection to date.
And the 30 bubbling under albums of the year are (in alphabetical order):