The Needle Drop's Top 50 Albums of 2015

The Needle Drop's Top 50 Albums of 2015

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50.

August 7, 2015
Critic Score
59
6 reviews
Pissgrave's debut album is one of the most disgusting things you'll hear this year.

49.

Dope Body - Kunk
August 28, 2015
Critic Score
63
7 reviews
Baltimore's Dope Body drops a short but exciting album of new material based off noisy, intense improvs.

48.

July 17, 2015
Critic Score
83
49 reviews

Tame Impala returns with a new sound.

47.

October 16, 2015
Critic Score
76
23 reviews
Neon Indian returns with a woozy, dreamy synth funk album.

46.

billy woods - Today, I Wrote Nothing
March 31, 2015
Critic Score
70
1 review
New York rapper Billy Woods' latest album is a a filling pile of bite-sized glimpses into a myriad of different situations and topics.

45.

April 28, 2015
Critic Score
78
18 reviews
Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld team up for an experimental, enjoyable collection of tracks, featuring skilled combinations sax and violin.

44.

April 7, 2015
Critic Score
83
30 reviews
Scotland's Young Father's change direction, and head into lo-fi pop territory on this creative new album of theirs.

43.

January 27, 2015
Critic Score
80
4 reviews
Zs' latest album shows the band taking a more stripped back approach to their hypnotically repetitive approach to experimental rock, jazz, and drone.

42.

January 27, 2015
Critic Score
84
15 reviews
Grindcore godfathers Napalm Death prove their lasting power in yet another decade.

41.

January 20, 2015
Critic Score
71
24 reviews
New York rapper Joey Bada$$ meets expectations on his commercial debut.

40.

August 7, 2015
Critic Score
84
8 reviews
Deathgrind outfit Cattle Decapitation's latest record is a deadly combination of technical extremity and human touch.

39.

October 16, 2015
Critic Score
83
4 reviews

The second installment of the Game's sequel to 2005's The Documentary turns out more focused and emotive than its predecessor.

38.

June 16, 2015
Critic Score
66
9 reviews

KEN mode releases their most savage record yet with Success!

37.

May 5, 2015
Critic Score
82
15 reviews
Hop Along delivers a series of indie rock tunes with some serious vocal power.

36.

The Underachievers - Evermore: The Art of Duality
September 25, 2015
Critic Score
74
4 reviews
The Underachievers explore the duality of life on this new two-part album.

35.

May 26, 2015
Critic Score
79
30 reviews
Unknown Mortal Orchestra comes through with their most eerie, catchy, soulful, and idiosyncratic record yet.

34.

October 16, 2015
Critic Score
79
5 reviews
Panopticon comes through with a sharp finish to the project's recent trilogy of albums combining strong black metal guitars with folk instrumentation.

33.

July 31, 2015
Critic Score
73
19 reviews
Singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas drops a mature, lyrically sound followup to her breakout debut.

32.

CZARFACE - Every Hero Needs A Villain
June 15, 2015
Critic Score
78
4 reviews
7L, Esoteric, and Wu-Tang's own Inspectah Deck--a.k.a. Czarface--deliver a sophomore album that's an improvement on all fronts: lyricism, delivery, production, personality.

31.

April 21, 2015
Critic Score
79
35 reviews
Alabama Shakes drop a sophomore record that's an improvement on all fronts.

30.

Jeff Rosenstock - We Cool?
March 3, 2015
Critic Score
75
2 reviews
Former Bomb the Music Industry! frontman Jeff Rosenstock releases an explosive and smart solo effort, pulling from pop punk and existential crises for inspiration.

29.

July 24, 2015
Critic Score
76
22 reviews

Sleaford Mods follow their breakout album Divide and Exit with an even more impressive release.

28.

April 29, 2015
Critic Score
80
2 reviews
Lil Ugly Mane's latest compilation is a genre-hopping collection of warped musical beauties.

27.

September 25, 2015
Critic Score
79
4 reviews
Milo returns with a confrontational album backed with a series of synthetic, jazzy instrumentals from Kenny Segal.

26.

November 27, 2015
Critic Score
77
25 reviews

Sophie compiles her biggest singles from the past year or so into one sharp comp!

25.

June 9, 2015
Critic Score
80
1 review
London-based produced Ash Koosha comes to my attention with a complex and engaging album of otherworldly electronic music.

24.

October 23, 2015
Critic Score
89
43 reviews
Singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom's latest record is equally beautiful and conceptual.

23.

April 7, 2015
Critic Score
74
23 reviews
The latest Mountain Goats LP is an exciting and emotional head-first dive into the world of pro wrestling.

22.

February 12, 2015
Critic Score
76
30 reviews

Drake's sounding more confident than ever on a series of somewhat minimal, dark, moody, trap-inspired pop rap beats with contemporary R&B change-ups.

21.

August 7, 2015
Critic Score
78
28 reviews
Chelsea Wolfe's latest record is her most dense and brooding yet.

20.

September 4, 2015
Critic Score
62
16 reviews
Travis Scott's ambition and songwriting translates artfully on his latest commercial effort.

19.

August 28, 2015
Critic Score
82
34 reviews
Destroyer's latest record continues to show singer-songwriter Dan Bejar's talents as the modern age's preeminent rock poet.

18.

June 2, 2015
Critic Score
75
16 reviews
Georgia's Algiers fuse post-punk, gospel and more on their fantastic debut LP.

17.

June 16, 2015
Critic Score
78
12 reviews
High On Fire's latest album is one of their catchiest and most melodic yet.

16.

February 10, 2015
Critic Score
87
42 reviews

J. Tillman, aka Father John Misty, comes through with a grand, funny, and gorgeous sophomore release under this recently embraced pseudonym of his.

15.

November 13, 2015
Critic Score
78
32 reviews

Oneohtrix Point Never returns with a mind-bending set of tracks on Garden of Delete.

14.

May 12, 2015
Critic Score
80
11 reviews
Prurient's new double album is a soul-crushing carnival of blissful, tundra-temperature misery.

13.

March 3, 2015
Critic Score
79
8 reviews
Leviathan comes through with what's surely to be one of the most dense, grand, experimental, and hellish black metal albums this year.

12.

Injury Reserve - Live from the Dentist Office
July 21, 2015
Critic Score
80
1 review
Arizona's Injury Reserve comes through with one of the most impressive hip hop debuts I've heard this year.

11.

September 18, 2015
Critic Score
79
21 reviews

Ought's neurotic, jittery approach to art rock and post-punk really impressed me on their latest album. Still room for improvement, but very impressive.

10.

December 18, 2015
Critic Score
82
26 reviews

Savannah, GA sludge metal outfit Baroness returns with the latest installment in their color-coded album series, Purple.

9.

June 15, 2015
Critic Score
81
22 reviews
Everything Everything comes through with a creative, progressive pop album with equal parts eccentricity and accessibility.

8.

The Pop Group - Citizen Zombie
February 24, 2015
Critic Score
74
19 reviews
Bristol post-punk vets The Pop Group are back with a new album after 35 years of studio album silence. And, in my opinion, it's one of the best comeback albums of the decade thus far.

7.

January 20, 2015
Critic Score
85
41 reviews

Icelandic singer, songwriter, producer Björk is back with another record, and it's one filled with romantic heartbreak and whimsical instrumentation.

6.

March 2, 2015
Critic Score
75
6 reviews
Up-and-coming producer Clarence Clarity take a uniquely dense and cacophonous approach to pop and R&B on his hour-long debut.

5.

September 25, 2015
Critic Score
88
37 reviews
Julia Holter's latest record is one of the most heavenly albums I've heard in the past five years.

4.

August 21, 2015
Critic Score
81
18 reviews
Ghost is back with an album that adequately depicts their dark, melodic, and occult musical world.

3.

May 5, 2015
Critic Score
87
10 reviews
Running just short of three hours in length, this new Kamasi Washington album lives up to its name.

2.

March 31, 2015
Critic Score
78
8 reviews

Death Grips finally completes an immense double album with the release of Jenny Death, assembling two very different--but satisfying--releases in the DG discography.

1.

March 15, 2015
Critic Score
95
45 reviews

Several years ago, Kendrick Lamar was hip hop's underdog. Today, he's dropping what's possibly the best rap album of the decade.

Original Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0UtPI9Jp2Y&t=45s
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