The Top 15 Albums of 2015

Everyone and their mother has been releasing their list of favorite albums from this past year, and now it’s our turn. According to my humble opinion, these are the 15 best albums of 2015! 

15. James Bay – Chaos and the Calm 

• The 25 year old UK native took the states by storm with his impressive debut album, Chaos and the Calm. “Move Together” and “Let it Go” are standouts on this record for me. James pairs his soulful voice with honest lyrics and sings his way into our hearts. 

14. Major Lazer – Peace Is The Mission 

• The boys teamed up again in 2015 and had one of their first radio hits, “Lean On” feat. MØ, who I love. The album has features from Ariana Grande, Travi$ Scott, Elliphant, and Ellie Goulding!

13. Carly Rae Jepsen – EMOTION 

• The first single off of the album was “I Really Like You“, which had a quirky music video that starred Tom Hanks. I prefer the album’s current single, “Your Type“; it talks about the painful reality of being friendzoned, but in an awesome, 80s pop, non cheesy way. Other standouts include “I Didn’t Just Come Here to Dance” and “Favourite Colour“. 

12. Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material 

• I love this woman. Her lyrics are a combination of “ha ha” and “a-ha”. She is true country but in the most progressive, honest, sassy, and hilarious way. Somehow, Kacey manages to be both angelic and unapolgetic on this album, and we praise her for it. Listen to “Late To The Party” and “Dime Store Cowgirl“. 

11. Selena Gomez – Revival 

• I would have never expected to like this album as much as I did. Selena sounds more mature and teamed up with amazing writers and producers for this new project. It truly was a revival if you compare it to her old music. This is a fun pop record, but it’s also one to be taken seriously. I have too many favorites on the album to name. 

10. Drake – If Youre Reading This It’s Too Late 

• I remember being in my dorm last semester, casually scrolling through twitter, when I found out that Drake Beyonce’d us and dropped a suprise album/mixtape. After hearing “Energy“, I was hooked. And because of this album, we all have a new favorite term of endearment in “Woe”. 

9. One Direction – Made In The A.M. 

• The boys had a rough 2015. They lost a member when the relentlessly talened Zayn Malik quit the band in the middle of a world tour. However, the remaining boys, Louis, Harry, Liam, and Niall got themseleves together and created the band’s best album. This one is so different from their others, and it experiments with sounds and vibes from different decades. Listen to “History“, “End of the Day“, “Never Enough“, and the title track. 

8. Fifth Harmony – Reflection 

• This album is nearly perfect. The reason I say nearly is because there are two songs on it that I don’t care for. But luckily, they’re the last two songs on the album. Reflection, like a couple of other albums on this list, can be played from top to bottom without any skips. It’s what pop should be. 

7. Rae Sremmurd – Sremm Life 

• This album has caused a debate in the hip hop community! Everyone praised Sremm Life when it was released, because it is a fantastic album. But now that the album is being put on major ‘best of 2015’ lists, people are mad. This album is great. The boys possess this extremely raw energy and with the help of Mike Will Made-It , they managed to capture it sonically. To me, their excitement and attitude is unmatched to anyone else in the game.

 6. Bully – Feels Like 

• This is another band who’s debut album created major buzz. Bully sounds like a 90s, grunge, garage band but doesn’t try too hard. Lead singer Alicia Bognanno has a hypnotic voice; you can’t help but hang on every word she says. Another one to be played from start to finish. 

5. Best Coast – California Nights 

• This album was the sountrack to my summer. If you close your eyes and listen to it, you’re immediatley transported to a day at the beach with your friends, soaking in perfect wether, probably throwing a frisbee, but then later in the night, you’re sitting in front of a bonfire (still on the beach) talking about life. Just press play. You’ll see what I mean. 

4. The Maine – American Candy 

• Perfection! This pop/punk band has only gotten better over the years. American Candy is absolutely the best thing The Maine has ever done. The lyrics on this album are so simple but they are also brilliantly crafted.  There are so many standouts on this one, but listen to my favorites, “24 Floors“, “Am I Pretty?” and “Miles Away“. Well done boys! 

3. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly 

• You already know. While TPAB might not be a masterpeice sonically, (I don’t listen to half the songs on this cd) it is a cultural masterpeice. The album is amazing because of what Kendrick is saying, He is so important to our generation!

2. Future – DS2 

• This album made me a Future fan. And not just any fan; Future has become one of my favorite artists of all time. I’ve never listened to an artist that causes this much of a physical reaction in people. I dare anyone to listen to this album and try to sit still. It’s impossible. 

1. Chris Stapleton – Traveller 

• Chris started out as a songwriter and wrote hits for Thomas Rhett, Tim McGraw, Lee Ann Womack, and many other country stars. His debut album Traveller hit number 1 on the Billboard charts and the world got to see just how brilliant he is. Chris is nominated against Taylor Swift, Alabama Shakes, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd for album of the year at this year’s Grammys. You can guess who I’m rooting for.