The 100 Best Albums of 2015

The 100 Best Albums of 2015 (all styles, all genres)

Here are my selections for the 100 best recordings of the year.
And here is a link to my selections for the 201 best tracks of 2015.

1
Kamasi Washington
The Epi c
Post-Coltrane Jazz/R&B

2
Ibeyi
Ibeyi
Introspective Afro-Cuban Soul Music

3
Daniel Bachman
River
American Primitive Guitar

4
Laura Cannell
B eneath Swoopin g Talons
Early / Traditional / Experimental Music

5
Joanna Wallfisch (with Dan Tepfer)
The Origin of Adjustable Things
Austere Vocal Jazz

6
Fabiano do Nascimento (with Airto)
Dança dos Tempos
Brazilian Guitar Music

7
Laura Marling
Short Movie
Singer-Songwriter

8
Afiara Quartet & Skratch Bastid
Spin Cy cl e
String Quartet + Sound Manipulation

9
Anthony de Mare
Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim f rom t he Piano
Piano Reinterpretations of Stephen Sondheim

10
Julian Lage
World's Fair
Solo Guitar

11
Songhoy Blues
Music in Exile
West African Blues-Rock

12
Becca Stevens
Perfect Animal
Singer-Songwriter

13
Brad Mehldau
Ten Years Solo Live
Solo Jazz Piano

14
Allison Moorer
Down to Believing
Alt Country

15
Roomful of Teeth
Render
Progressive Vocal Polyphony

16
Miho Hazama
Time River
Contemporary Big Band Jazz

17
Antonio Sánchez
Three Times Three
Jazz

18
Emily Hall
Folie à Deux
Ambient Art Songs

19
Africa Express
Terry Riley's In C Mali
West African Minimalism

20
Horacio Lavandera
Dino Saluzzi: Imágenes – Music for Piano
Genre-Crossing Contemporary Piano Music

21
PRISM Quartet
Heritage/Evolution, Vol. 1
Jazz-Oriented Chamber Music for Saxophones

22
Daymé Arocena
Nueva Era
Cuban Singer-Songwriter

23
Fred Hersch
Solo
Jazz

24
Hamilton de Holanda
Caprichos
Brazilian Mandolin Music

25
Seasick Steve
Sonic Soul Surfer
Junkyard Blues

26
NOW Ensemble
Dreamfall
Contemporary Classical Music

27
St. Germain
St. Germain
EDM/African Music/Nu Jazz

28
Maria Schneider
The Thompson Fields
Contemporary Big Band Jazz

29
Kirk Elliott & the Orchestra of Unmitigated Gaul
Widdershins: The Legend of Tristan Shoute
Medieval / Modern Mashup

30
Pablo Márquez
El Cuchi Bien Temperado
Guitar Music of Gustavo 'Cuchi' Leguizamón

31
Chris Potter
Imaginary Cities
Noir Jazz

32
Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band
Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band
Ghanaian Highlife

33
The Unthanks
Mount the Air
Neo-Folk with Jazz Tinges

34
John Bence
Disquiet
Suite for Voice, Cello & Sound Manipulation

35
Asleep at the Wheel
Still The King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Western Swing

36
Anonymous 4
1865 - Songs of Hope and Home from the American Civil War
Americana / Vocal Ensemble

37
The Decemberists
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
Pop

38
Dave Barnes
Hymns for Her
Singer-Songwriter

39
Jean-Michel Pilc
What Is This Thing Called?
Jazz

40
The Tallis Scholars
Arvo Pärt: Tintinnabuli
Contemporary Choral Music

41
Vijay Iyer
Break Stuff
Jazz

42
Jayme Stone
Lomax Project
Folk/Roots

43
José James
Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday
Jazz

44
Allen Stone
Radius
Soul/R&B

45
So Percussion
Bryce Dessner: Music for Wood and Strings
Contemporary Classical Music

46
Kurt Elling
Passion World
Jazz Vocals

47
Omar Souleyman
Bahdeni Nami
Syrian Wedding Music

48
Omar Sosa
Il é
Jazz/Afro-Cuban

49
Tigran Hamasyan
Luys i Luso
Armenian Sacred Music

50
Adele
25
Pop-Soul

51
The Gary McFarland Legacy Orchestra
Circulation: The Music of Gary McFarland
Jazz

52
Daniel Lentz
In the Sea of Ionia
Contemporary Classical Music

53
Red Baraat
Gaadi of Truth
World Music/Jazz/Funk Hybrid

54
Saskia Lankhoorn
Kate Moore: Dances and Canons
Contemporary Piano Music

55
Boubacar Traoré
Mbalimaou
African Music

56
Harry Manx
20 Strings and the Truth
Delta Blues/Indian Classic Music Fusion

57
Jacky Terrasson
Take This
Jazz

58
Sufjan Stevens
Carrie & Lowell
Singer-Songwriter

59
Seryn
Shadow Shows
Folk-Pop-Rock

60
Bob Dylan
Shadows in the Night
Dylan Does Sinatra

61
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds
T he Weather Below
Soul Rock

62
Fazıl Say
Yeni Şarkılar
Turkish Art Songs

63
Roberto Fonseca & Fatoumata Diawara
At Home (Live in Marciac)
Mali-Cuba-Jazz-Funk Fusion

64
Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL)
Soundtrack to Mad Max: Fury Road
Film Soundtrack

65
Keith Jarrett
Creation
Jazz

66
Drew Holcombe & The Neighbors
Medicine
Folk/Country Singer-Songwriter

67
Faith Healer
Cosmic Troubles
Pop-Rock

68
John Luther Adams
The Wind in High Places
Contemporary Classical Music

69
Original Cast
Hamilton
Hip-Hop/R&B/Broadway

70
Corey Dargel
OK It's Not OK
Art Pop

71
Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express
Junun
World Music

72
Joey Calderazzo
Going Home
Jazz

73
Daniel Rowland, Priya Mitchell, Julian Arp & Luis Magalhães
The Korngold Project, Part One
Chamber Music

74
Liam Hayes
Slurrup
Rock

75
Diagrams
Chromatics
Pop

76
Justin Townes Earle
Absent Fathers
Folk-Country

77
Rudresh Mahanthappa
Bird Calls
Jazz

78
Olivia Chaney
The Longest River
British Folk Music

79
Nico Muhly
Cello Concerto
Contemporary Classical Music

80
Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly
Hip-Hop

81
Kenny Werner
The Melody
Jazz Piano Trio

82
Robert Earl Keen
Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions
Bluegrass/Americana

83
The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
So Delicious !
Rootsy Blues Rock

84
Kendrick Scott
We Are the Drum
Jazz

85
Benjamin Clementine
At Least for Now
Singer-Songwriter

86
Anoushka Shankar
Home
Indian Classical Music

87
Andy Sheppard
Surrounded by Sea
Jazz

88
Jeff Bridges
Sleep Tapes
Sleep Music

89
Kassé Mady Diabaté
Kirik é
Traditional Malian Music

90
Aaron Goldberg
The Now
Jazz

91
Ross Hammond
Flight
Solo Guitar

92
North Mississippi Allstars and Anders Osborne
Freedom & Dreams
Blues/Rock/Roots

93
Thundercat
The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
R&B/Nu Jazz

94
Conspirare
Joby Talbot: Path of Miracles
Contemporary Choral Music

95
Francisco el Hombre
La Pachanga!
Mexican/Brazilian Pop Music

96
Sonny Landreth
Bound by the Blues
Blues

97
The Milk Carton Kids
Monterey
Folk-Pop

98
Cassandra Wilson
Coming Forth by Day
Jazz

99
Gabriela Montero
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
Classical Music + Improvisations

100
Charlie Haden & Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Tokyo Adagio
Jazz

Ted Gioia

Related Links:

My 201 Favorite Tracks of 2015
The 100 Best Albums of 2014
The 100 Best Albums of 2013
The 100 Best Albums of 2012
The 100 Best Albums of 2011

BACKGROUND

I am often asked how I compile my
annual list of the 100 best albums.
Here is some background information.

What styles of music do I include in
my listening?

I listen to all genres and all styles of
music. I like to listen to music that is
fresh and different, and this spurs me
to search outside the dominant
commercial categories and hit
releases. But I also listen to the
heavily promoted albums from the
major labels.

How much music do I listen to?

I like to hear new music every day.
During 2015 I listened to more
than 1,000 new album releases.
(The exact number was 1,016.)

Why do I compile this list?

Like any music lover, I enjoy
sharing my favorite music with others.
But in the last few years, a different
motivation has spurred me. I believe
that the system of music discovery is
broken in the current day. There is
more music recorded than ever before,
but it is almost impossible for listeners
to find the best new recordings. The
most creative work in music is
increasingly found on self-produced
projects and releases from small
indie labels— to an extent hardly
conceivable only a decade ago. Very
little of this music ever shows up on
the radio, where formats seem to get
narrower and narrower with each
passing year. Music fans once heard
good new music at indie record stores,
but most of them have closed. Or
they could read reviews in the
newspaper, but both the newspapers
and the music reviews are shrinking or
disappearing. And the big record
labels are the worst culprits of all,
picking acts for their looks or their
potential appeal to fourteen-year-olds,
or some other egregious reason, and
in general jumping on the most trivial
passing fads. On the other hand,
the Internet presents an almost
infinite amount of music and music
commentary—yet where do fans
even begin to separate the good from
the bad and ugly? My personal solution
to this dilemma has been to listen to
lots and lots of music, and try to
identify recordings of quality and
distinction. I share my list because
I know, from past experience, that
many other listeners are frustrated
with the broken system of music
discovery, and are also looking for
good new music.

What criteria do I apply?

I have no axe to grind. My list is
filled with music I enjoy, and suspect
others will too—especially if they
have a reasonably good ear, and
an open mind. I like recordings that
show some flair and creativity, a
sense of style, solid musicianship,
and an emotional commitment to
the moment of performance. I
appreciate it when an artist
possesses a sense of musical
tradition; on the other hand, I don’t
want to see slavish imitation of the
past. When music strikes me as
too formulaic or contrived or cold,
I start to lose interest. Like any critic,
I want my readers to think that I am
cool and hip and oh-so-up-to-date,
but I learned some time ago that
many of the best recordings are
decidedly uncool and unhip. So if
you want to laugh at me for honoring
a Broadway musical or the soundtrack
to an action moive, go right ahead.
But also check out some of the lesser-
known titles on the list...you might just
be pleasantly surprised by what you hear.

Are any recordings excluded from
consideration for this list?

If I played any role in the release of a
recording—for example, wrote liner notes
—they are excluded from consideration
for my end-of-year lists. For this reason,
For One to Love by Cécile McLorin
Salvant is not included here. Also, I
compile the list at the end of November,
and by necessity cannot consider
albums released in December.

Happy listening!

Click on title or album
cover to purchase.

Follow Ted Gioia on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/tedgioia

Selected articles by Ted Gioia
available on the web

HONORABLE MENTION

Here is my honorable mention list— another 100 recordings of distinction, each one
worthy of your listening attention (in alphabetical order).

Rez Abbasi Intents & Purposes Jazz
Lee Actor Piano Concerto Contemporary Classical Music
Kiran Ahluwalia Sanata: Stillness Indian/Saharan/Jazz Fusion
Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet Ten Afro-Peruvian Jazz
Altan The Widening Gyre Irish Music Made in Nashville
Laurie Antonioli & Richie Beirach Varuna Jazz Vocal and Piano Duets
Sara Bareilles What's Inside: Songs from the Waitress Pop
Arga Bileg and Heiri Kanzig Agula: Swiss-Mongolian Music Exchange Project Jazz-World Music Fusion
Sonny Black Heart and Soul Blues
Terence Blanchard Breathless Jazz/R&B/Hip-Hop
Travis Bretzer Waxing Romantic Pop
Leon Bridges Coming Home Old School Soul
Andy Brown   Soloist Solo Jazz Guitar
Canned Heat with John Lee Hooker Carnegie Hall 1971 Previously Unreleased Live Blues-Rock Concert
Eliza Carthy & Tim Erkisen Bottle Traditional Anglo-American Folk Music
Bianca Caruso Bravado Country/Americana
Anat Cohen Luminosa Brazilian Jazz
Conspirare Pablo Neruda: The Poet Sings   Choral Settings of Neruda Poems
Contact Brian Eno: Discreet Music Minimalist Music
Shemekia Copeland Outskirts Of Love   Blues
Kat Dahlia My Garden Cuban-American Singer-Songwriter
Alexandre Desplat Soundtrack to Suffragette Film Soundtrack
Dave Douglas Brazen Heart Jazz
Lara Downes   A Billie Holiday Songbook Classical Arrangements of Billie Holiday Songs
The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers Heavenly Fire Contemporary Gospel
Mark Egan Direction Home Jazz
Mathias Eick Midwest Jazz
Eighth Blackbird   Filament Contemporary Classical Music
Emika Klavirni Contemporary Piano Music
ETHEL String Quartet Documerica   Contemporary Chamber Music
Renée Fleming & Emerson String Quartet Alban Berg: Lyric Suite Modern Classical Music
Fresh Cut Orchestra From the Vine Jazz
Brian Gallagher All That's Ahead   Singer-Songwriter
Gao Hong   Pipa Potluck   World Music Fusion
Claudio Curti Gialdino   Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Music Modern Classical Music
Judd Greenstein & Michi Wiancko Soundtrack to The Mend Film Soundtrack
J.J. Grey & Mofro Ol' Glory   Soul/Rock/R&B
Laura Groves Committed Language Soulful Electropop
Hanoi Masters War is a Wound, Peace is a Scar   Vietnamese Folk Music
H Hawkline In the Pink of Condition Pop-Rock
Heads of State Search for Peace Jazz
Albert 'Tootie' Heath   Philadelphia Beat Jazz
John Hollenbeck   Songs We Like a Lot   Jazz
Indiana   No Romeo Singer-Songwriter
Ahmad Jamal Live in Marciac: August 5, 2014   Jazz
Anders Jormin/Lena Willemark, Karin Nakagawa   Trees of Light   Jazz
Elle King   Love Stuff Singer-Songwriter
Petros Klampanis Minor Dispute   Jazz
Andrzej Kosendiak Gorczycki II Early Polish Polyphony
Diana Krall Wallflower Pop-Jazz
Queen Latifah and other artists   Bessie (Music from the HBO Film) Blues
Barrington Levy Acousticalevy   Reggae
The Lilac Time No Sad Songs Folk-Pop
Martin Lubenov's Jazzta Prasta   Impressions Balkan Jazz
Lyambiko Muse Jazz-Pop-Soul
Mbongwana Star   From Kinshasa EDM/Congolese Music
JD McPherson Let the Good Times Roll   Rock 'n' Roll
James McMurtry   Complicated Game Country
Marcus Miller Afrodeezia Funk/Jazz/R&B
Josh Nelson Exploring Mars   Jazz
Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard Django and Jimmie Country
Thomas Newman Soundtrack to Bridge of Spies Film Soundtrack
Danielle Nicole Danielle Nicole Blues/Rock/Roots
Jim O'Rourke Simple Songs   Singer-Songwriter
Mike Pace and the Child Actors Best Boy   Pop-Rock
José Luis Pastor The Evidence: El Arte Medieval de la Péñola Early Music
Gary Peacock Now This   Jazz
Itzhak Perlman & Emanuel Ax Fauré & Strauss Violin Sonatas   Classical Music
Gretchen Peters Blackbirds   Country/Folk/Roots
Enrico Pieranunzi Tales from the Unexpected   Jazz
Noah Preminger Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar   Jazz
Reggie Quinerly Invictus Jazz
Quixosis Aguas   Ecuadoran Electronica
Joshua Radin Onward and Sideways Singer-Songwriter
Enrico Rava Wild Dance Jazz
Terry Riley   ZOFO Plays Terry Riley Contemporary Music for 2 Pianists (on 1 Piano)
John Roney   Preludes Jazz Piano Arrangements of Classical Music
Ryuichi Sakamoto/Taylor Deupree/Illuha Perpetual Experimental Electronic Music
András Schiff Franz Schubert Schubert Played on Fortepiano
Seattle Symphony & Ludovic Morlot   Henri Dutilleux: Métaboles Contemporary Classical Music
The Sixteen   Spirit, Strength & Sorrow Contemporary Liturgical Choral Music
Snarky Puppy with the Metropole Orkest Sylva   Jazz
Jim Snidero   Main Street   Jazz
SOAK (aka Bridie Monds-Watson) Before We Forgot How to Dream Irish Singer-Songwriter
Bjorn Solli    Aglow: The Lyngor Project: Volume 1 Jazz
Simone Sou, Guilherme Kastrup and Benjamim Taubkin   Sounds of Life Brazilian Jazz
Tamikrest Taksera (Live)   Malian Folk-Pop
Otis Taylor Hey Joe Opus Red Meat Trance Blues
Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project Lines of Color: Live at Jazz Standard Big Band Jazz
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment Surf Hip-Hop
Shankar Tucker Filament   Clarinet Music with Indian/Jazz/Electronic Fusion
Twerps   Range Anxiety Australian Pop-Rock
Various Artists   Hommage à Eberhard Weber Jazz
Various Artists A Guide to the Birdsong of South America Bird Song + South American Electronica
The Vespers Sisters and Brothers Folk-Pop
Alex Walker/New Russia State Symphony   Havergal Brian: Symphonies 6, 28, 29, 31 Modern Classical Music
Kenny Wheeler Songs for Quintet Jazz
Matthew E. White Fresh Blood Singer-Songwriter
Brian Wilson No Pier Pressure Pop
Wilten Boys’ Choir (condcuted by Johannes Stecher) Arvo Pärt: Babel Contemporary Choral Music for Boys' Choir