This is an album that was introduced to me through a friend, as we were looking through the popular albums that had come out this year. My interest was immediately piqued after hearing "Run, Run, Run Pt. II". The instrumentation made a lot out of a little, instruments working together cleaner than clockwork, immediately captivating rapping, and I was hooked.

McKinley's flow and style of rapping fit perfectly into the beats he pairs with them. It's a masterful understanding ... read more

Only Dust Remains is an album that was brought to my attention through the "AOTY" website, as an album recommended by critics and typical music listeners alike.

Like a lot of other albums that I'll be reviewing that came out this year, I just wanted to stay up to date on what "everyone else" considered to be a highlight of the year. Unlike all those other albums, however, this one left me utterly amazed; my jaw might as well have been on the floor.

It is important to ... read more

Quadeca has refined his music so beautifully over the years. I thought it was going to be hard for him to top some of his most formative and original works such as "I Didn't Mean To Haunt You" and boy was I wrong. This is easily the best work he has put out to date; it is a gorgeous and cinematic masterpiece, and is nothing short of a work of art. I don't know what more to say except to just give it a listen! My personal AOTY.

A great album through and through, filled with classics that have influenced so many metal and hard rock albums today. Black Sabbath beautifully speaks through their loud, heavy, crushed, dark sounds on so many relevant cultural topics then and now. This album was ahead of its time, and if you haven't heard at least some of the works on this album you might as well have been living under a rock.

Super super solid performance from Topaz. When the music hits the music HITS, and more often than not it does. Unfortunately, I find it underwhelming and boring more often than I'd like from someone who can clearly consistently write funky jams that get your head boppin'. Even so, the album delivers and is absolutely worth the full listen!

You can hear how much fun Tyler was having making this album, and it's hard as a listener to not have fun with him as you listen. This album is a great demonstration of Tyler's versatility, fusing disco/synth/funky beats with his "big shot" hip-hop personality we heard on cmiygl. Also a very needed change of pace from Chromakopia in my opinion.

Definitely an incredibly consistent album, dare I say nearly perfect. It just doesn't always have a certain "wow factor" that I feel like makes an album "perfect". Even though I liked every song, some just stood out as blatantly better than others. Some were great while others were just good.