My Favorite Albums of 2019
This is a repost of a Facebook Note published on Dec. 20, 2019.
The following are my 10 favorites albums of 2019. Most, though not all, of this music was released in 2019, but that is when I really dug into it. Let me preface this year’s list by saying that 2019 was a down year when it came to albums. I love many of these albums, but I found 2019 to be much more difficult to choose a top 10 compared to previous years.
I’ve also included my top 10 songs of the year. Fortunately, 2019 offered plenty of good singles to choose from, and I actually had a tough time narrowing the list down to just 10.
If an album or song is on this list it is because it means something to me. I consider most of these songs and albums to be great music.
Songs
Honorable Mentions: Walker & Royce feat. OnCue — Role Models (2017), Malaa — Diamonds (2016), Sheck Wes — Mo Bamba (2017), Elderbrook and CamelPhat — Cola (2017)
10. Denzel Curry feat. Ice Billion Berg — Carolmart (2019)
9. Jax Jones feat. Mike Dunn and MNEK — House Work (2016)
8. ASAP Rocky — Babushka Boi (2019)
7. Tove Lo — Glad He’s Gone (2019)
6. Sam Smith — I Feel Love (2019) (a worthy remake of the 1977 Donna Summer classic)
5. Young Thug feat. J Cole & Travis Scott — The London (2019) (this song is best appreciated after watching this)
4. ASAP Ferg, Big Sean and Hit-Boy — Bezerk (2019)
3. Lizzo — Truth Hurts (2017)
2. Rufus Du Sol — You Were Right (2016)
1. Charly XCX feat. Lizzo — Blame It on Your Love (2019)
Albums
10. Toro y Moi — Outer Peace (2019)
My favorite songs: Laws of the Universe, Freelance, Who I Am
“Outer Peace” was one of my favorite albums to listen to throughout 2019. The album is smooth and chill, like modern jazz.“Outer Peace” is easy to listen to no matter the circumstance. Whether it’s in the background while you’re at work or the main soundtrack when hanging with friends.
One of my favorite parts comes in “Laws of the Universe” in the lyric “James Murphy is spinning at my house.” Murphy is the lead singer of LCD Soundsystem, which made the song “Daft Punk is Playing At My House.” ~meta~
9. Billie Eilish — When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019)
My favorite songs: Bad Guy, You Should See Me in a Crown, Ilomilo
Billie Eilish first popped up on my radar when a San Francisco music-focused Facebook group I’m in started popping off with requests for tickets to her show. People were paying $500 for those things. That’s more than music festivals that give you access to 30+ artists. That’s worth one and a half Nintendo Switches! (I measure the value of money by how many game consoles it can buy)
With so much hype, I came at Eilish with a raised eye brow, but she lived up to it. Most notably, I was impressed with her performance during SNL this year. And in “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” she puts together a dark, seductive album.
8. Charly Bliss — Young Enough (2018)
My favorite songs: Blown to Bits, Capacity, Camera
I found “Young Enough” late in the year while scouring for some good albums to feature in my list (did I mention this was a light year?), and I’m glad I went looking. “Young Enough” is a fast paced rock album with good 90s vibes that’s a fun listen the whole way through.
One of my favorite things about “Young Enough” was that it reminded me a lot of another album I love — 2012’s “Suicide Pact” by JJAMZ. The two albums feature playful and upbeat sounds laced with some dark lyrics. A perfect little cocktail.
7. FKA twigs — Magdalene (2019)
My favorite songs: Fallen Alien, Home With You, Cellophane
“Magdalene” is filled with all-encompassing bass, fascinating electronic sounds and some gorgeous singing by FKA twigs. The album is dark and heavy and was inspired by heartbreak.
FKA twigs has said that she worked through that heartbreak by reading about the story of Mary Magdalene, who serves as the inspiration for the album’s name.
Magdalene was one of the people who traveled with and supported Jesus. She’s been incorrectly referred to as a prostitute. FKA tackles and incorporates that complexity in her work.
“It’s easier to call her a whore, because as soon as you call a woman a whore, it devalues her. I see her as Jesus Christ’s equal. She’s a male projection and, I think, the beginning of the patriarchy taking control of the narrative of women. Any woman that’s done anything can be subject to that; I’ve been subject to that,” FKA twigs told Apple Music.
6. Denzel Curry — Zuu (2019)
My favorite songs: Ricky, Carolmart, Shake 88
“Zuu” was my hype up album of 2019. Every week before soccer, a big interview or something important, these were the songs I bumped.
The highlight of the album is toward the end with the back-to-back lineup of “Carolmart” and “Shake 88.” These two tracks will pump up your confidence for whatever obstacle you’re facing. Back up one track to “Yoo” and you get the other highlight of the album, which is a hilarious skit that’s worth at least one listen.
The album is pretty reminiscent of Vince Staples’ 2018 “FM!” They’re both short, but they’re not sweet. “Zuu” goes hard, and it goes fast.
5. Lizzo — Cuz I Love You (2019)
My favorite songs: Truth Hurts, Juice, Tempo
I’m pretty sure there’s an unofficial rule that my lists require at least one Houston artist each year, and in 2019, it was the breakout artist of the year: Lizzo.
You really don’t need me to explain who Lizzo is or why this album slaps. So instead, I just want you to know and accept that Lizzo grew up in Houston, and she played the flute while going to the University of Houston. Lizzo’s a Houston girl.
4. Tove Lo — Sunshine Kitty (2019)
My favorite songs: Glad He’s Gone, Bad as the Boys, Anywhere u go
Tove Lo has been one of the most intriguing artists for me since hearing “Habits (Stay High),” but I always found it difficult to really dive into the rest of her work. With “Sunshine Kitty,” the Swedish singer put together one of my favorite pop albums of the year.
The highlight of the entire album is right at the start. The intro “Gritty Pretty” is a voicemail left for Tove by her friend’s ex following their break up. The intro, which is all in Italian, is captivating whether you understand it or not, and it leads directly into “Glad He’s Gone,” one of my favorite songs of the year. In the track, Tove shit talks her friend’s ex and hypes her up for the single life, like any good friend should.
3. Blink-182 — Nine (2019)
My favorite songs: The First Time, Blame It On My Youth, Black Rain
I remember getting to watch Blink-182 in Tempe while I was at ASU shortly after they got back together. You could tell the band was rusty and had gotten old. I had a good time, but I figured Blink was washed up.
But somehow Blink managed to recapture their magic. It must have happened somewhere in the four years since they cut ties with Tom DeLonge and replaced him with Matt Skiba in 2015. With “Nine,” the band sounds like they picked up exactly where they left off after 2003’s “Blink-182,” which is my favorite album by them.
Blink doesn’t shy away from the similarities between “Nine” and “Blink-182” either. From the cover’s rainbow aesthetic to the similarities between the two albums’ opening tracks, “Feeling This” in 2003 and “The First Time” in 2019. “Nine” is heavy on nostalgia.
Blink isn’t paving new ground with “Nine,” but they’re finally back to being Blink. Sometimes recapturing who you truly are is enough.
2. Rufus Du Sol — Solace (2018)
My favorite songs: Treat You Better, Lost in My Mind, Underwater
If you know me, you know my guilty pleasure is non-stop listening to Rufus Du Sol. Since discovering this Australian electronic dance group last year, I haven’t stopped jamming their music. Last year, I was so obsessed with their 2016 album “Bloom” that I hardly paid attention to “Solace.” But with due time, “Solace” grew on me, and I can hardly stop dancing to it.
I like to joke that Rufus’ songs all sound the same, but they have a way of capturing such different emotion in each of their tracks with just a few tweaks here and there. For me, “Treat You Better” was the love song of 2019. Meanwhile, “Another Life” is the perfect track for anyone who has lost a loved one and wants the perfect background music for reliving cherished memories.
If you ever get a chance to see Rufus live, do it. You’ll never forget dancing and howling along with this group.
1. Tyler, The Creator — Igor (2019)
My favorite songs: Earfquake, Gone, Gone / Thank You, Are We Still Friends?
From the moment Tyler dropped “Igor” in May, I had little doubt this would be my top album of the year. Building on his success from 2017’s “Flower Boy,” Tyler created a love story that is a beautiful listen from start to finish.
It tells the story of Tyler falling for a guy only to be rejected by him for his ex-girlfriend, leaving Tyler to feel like Igor, the ugly, deformed character of many horror stories. With every album, Tyler has continued to evolve and impress, proving to be one of the best rappers and artists of his generation. “Igor” was my album of the year.
