Complex's Best Albums of 2015 (So Far)

Complex's Best Albums of 2015 (So Far)

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50.

Joey Bada$$ - B4.DA.$$
January 20, 2015
Critic Score
71
24 reviews

B4.DA.$$ is a commendable performance from an MC who has every opportunity to capitalize on his next project with some more seasoning, experience, and focus.

49.

Madeon - Adventure
March 30, 2015
Critic Score
67
6 reviews

48.

Curren$y - Pilot Talk III
April 4, 2015
Critic Score
74
4 reviews

47.

Dom Kennedy - By Dom Kennedy
June 2, 2015
Critic Score
70
2 reviews

46.

Kamasi Washington - The Epic
May 5, 2015
Critic Score
87
10 reviews

45.

Jazz Cartier - Marauding in Paradise
April 15, 2015
Critic Score
74
3 reviews

44.

Cousin Stizz - Suffolk County
June 1, 2015
Critic Score
70
1 review

41.

Snoop Dogg - Bush
May 12, 2015
Critic Score
67
19 reviews
As an extension of Snoop’s ever-mutating musical identity this decade, this album might be his most successful non-traditional hip-hop album.

40.

T-Pain - The Iron Way
March 27, 2015
Critic Score
64
3 reviews

39.

Toro y Moi - What For?
April 7, 2015
Critic Score
70
27 reviews

38.

Jme - Integrity>
May 4, 2015
Critic Score
80
1 review

37.

Blur - The Magic Whip
April 27, 2015
Critic Score
79
45 reviews

36.

Maxo Kream - Maxo 187
March 5, 2015
Critic Score
63
2 reviews

35.

Sleater-Kinney - No Cities to Love
January 20, 2015
Critic Score
89
46 reviews

34.

Tyler, The Creator - Cherry Bomb
April 13, 2015
Critic Score
65
24 reviews

Cherry Bomb is Tyler's greatest creation to date. However, the album is bit of a mess in the beginning, and while Tyler's grown immensely as a producer, his rapping isn't consistently up to par.

33.

The-Dream - Crown
April 14, 2015
Critic Score
66
4 reviews

32.

Speedy Ortiz - Foil Deer
April 21, 2015
Critic Score
78
28 reviews

31.

DJ Esco - 56 Nights
March 21, 2015
Critic Score
77
2 reviews

27.

Bankroll Fresh - Life of a Hot Boy 2: Real Trapper
April 25, 2015
Critic Score
67
2 reviews

26.

Wale - The Album About Nothing
March 31, 2015
Critic Score
65
10 reviews
The D.C. rapper shares his most personal project to date.

25.

Young Thug - Barter 6
April 16, 2015
Critic Score
70
14 reviews

On Barter 6, a rapper frequently dismissed as a druggie dance trapper inverts himself, yielding a passionate and personal record that's as insular as Earl's latest, but with charisma and color.

24.

Hudson Mohawke - Lantern
June 16, 2015
Critic Score
72
28 reviews

23.

Emile Haynie - We Fall
February 23, 2015
Critic Score
70
5 reviews

22.

Towkio - .Wav Theory
April 28, 2015
Critic Score
60
2 reviews

21.

Fifth Harmony - Reflection
February 3, 2015
Critic Score
75
5 reviews

20.

Action Bronson - Mr. Wonderful
March 24, 2015
Critic Score
71
18 reviews

Mr. Wonderful is a solid offering from a guy who consistently puts out quality music.

19.

Earl Sweatshirt - I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside
March 23, 2015
Critic Score
76
28 reviews
This album sounds like the diary of a man who retreated into himself and now chooses to share his darkness with the rest of the class.

18.

Jack Ü - Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü
February 27, 2015
Critic Score
66
8 reviews
The results? More excellent than one might imagine...or would want to give these two credit for.

17.

Boosie Badazz - Touch Down 2 Cause Hell
May 26, 2015
Critic Score
77
8 reviews

Hell is nearly the best you could expect from 32-year-old Torrence Hatch, who's five years younger than Kanye West but speaks with a certain okra-fed croak that keeps him sounding about as old and wise as Scarface, who turns 45 this year.

16.

Brodinski - Brava
March 3, 2015
Critic Score
63
5 reviews

15.

Björk - Vulnicura
January 20, 2015
Critic Score
85
41 reviews

14.

Jazmine Sullivan - Reality Show
January 13, 2015
Critic Score
81
8 reviews
Sullivan’s latest feels a lot more current—which should make it easier for the public to relate to.

13.

Panda Bear - Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
January 13, 2015
Critic Score
80
41 reviews
The result is Lennox's sharpest, poppiest, and most idea-packed LP to date—it's also his most explicitly personal record, not to mention one of the first truly great albums of 2015

12.

Tinashe - Amethyst
March 16, 2015
Critic Score
67
3 reviews

11.

Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo & Youth
January 20, 2015
Critic Score
75
15 reviews
You will not find any throwaway tracks on here. It is quite possibly his greatest creation.​

9.

Kehlani - You Should Be Here
April 28, 2015
Critic Score
79
5 reviews

Aside from the strength of her voice, which bubbles at top range like Lil Mo’ and is suede-soft down below like Jojo, Kehlani’s imagination for storytelling is what sets You Should Be Here apart from its current R&B-pop corollaries.

8.

Big Sean - Dark Sky Paradise
February 24, 2015
Critic Score
75
12 reviews

Occasionally clumsy but wonderfully plainspoken, and impassioned when he wants to be, Sean has advanced (if not graduated) from the tepid mythmaking of Hall of Fame. Here he’s dynamic, and a pretty good rapper. No fronting.

7.

Jamie xx - In Colour
June 1, 2015
Critic Score
83
45 reviews

In Colour isn't only a necessary listen, but an important one too.

6.

Shamir - Ratchet
May 19, 2015
Critic Score
75
29 reviews

Dark, frenetic, and complicated, Ratchet is so thrilling because of its refusal to settle down.

5.

Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late
February 12, 2015
Critic Score
76
30 reviews
Long chided for being a simp, this new Drake still loves his mom but no longer has love for anyone else. It’s wonderful.

4.

A$AP Rocky - AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP
May 26, 2015
Critic Score
74
30 reviews

All things considered, this is a solid album. Fans of old Rocky will be happy to hear he hasn’t left them behind and new fans will have a plethora of options to choose from.

3.

Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - Surf
May 29, 2015
Critic Score
82
18 reviews

Surf is a boardwalk picnic with sunset views of the Ferris wheel, grassy laughter, and paper plates smeared with blueberry shortcake.

2.

Rae Sremmurd - SremmLife
January 6, 2015
Critic Score
76
12 reviews
Never faltering toward the monotony of most Migos hooks or the allegedly artistic boredom of late-stage Future, the boys from Tupelo are grit and grease, energetic in both cases, an uncanny synthesis of Rich Gang and Ke$ha.

1.

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
March 15, 2015
Critic Score
95
45 reviews

With all its superfly flourish and talk of Willie Lynch, Butterfly is heady and ambitious, if not unprecedented as subject matter. As promised, Butterfly is (somehow) darker and more thoroughly conflicted than good kid.

Original Source: http://www.complex.com/music/best-albums-of-2015/
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