Listed below are the best albums of 2019 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 5 hours ago).
"An exceptional change of pace. Perhaps it doesn't peak like AE did, but it's such a left turn that the sheer quality of it on it's own is admirable. Its unique lyrically and sonically, and overall it's just a really adventurous album."Reply
"One of the most promising artists of the decade finally comes through with the album we’ve been waiting for. This thing is soulful, funky, gritty, sexy, and even funny."Reply
"A very unique sounding album. I'm impressed by the incredibly clean instrumentals and the idiosyncratically authentic lyrics that cover a wide variety of topics but never falter. From the start, the album is abrasive but it also possesses the chaotic form that continues throughout. Consistently g...""A very unique sounding album. I'm impressed by the incredibly clean instrumentals and the idiosyncratically authentic lyrics that cover a wide variety of topics but never falter. From the start, the album is abrasive but it also possesses the chaotic form that continues throughout. Consistently great."[+]Reply
"One of the best pop punk albums I've heard in a long time! Ever since they came out with The Dream Is Over, I felt that PUP had the potential to put out something really great. On Morbid Stuff, they definitely live up to that potential. From the energetic riff on "Kids" to the catchy chorus on "S...""One of the best pop punk albums I've heard in a long time! Ever since they came out with The Dream Is Over, I felt that PUP had the potential to put out something really great. On Morbid Stuff, they definitely live up to that potential. From the energetic riff on "Kids" to the catchy chorus on "Sibling Rivalry," this album is full of polished, well written songs. PUP has definitely grown as a band, as can be noted by the song structure of "Scorpion Hill," which I thoroughly enjoy. In addition, Stefan Babcock's vocals are really on point and add that extra bit of authenticity to each track.
I was surprised when I saw the current rating on this site - it seems way too low to me. I see this as PUP's best album as of yet, and with each listen I find more and more to like about it. Definitely will end up being one of my favorite albums of the year. If you are a fan of the genre, Morbid Stuff is an essential listen. Looking forward to what they put out next!"[+]Reply
"Earlier this week I was blessed with an absolutely crippling case of insomnia and, in my dazed, "can't fucking believe I'm awake at 6am" state, I figured I'd give that darned new Coldplay record a shot. "Ghost Stories" had actually landed pretty nicely on my ears just a few years prior and all, s...""Earlier this week I was blessed with an absolutely crippling case of insomnia and, in my dazed, "can't fucking believe I'm awake at 6am" state, I figured I'd give that darned new Coldplay record a shot. "Ghost Stories" had actually landed pretty nicely on my ears just a few years prior and all, so...why not give it a go? "Experimental" was a claim I was never going to buy: we all knew what this "double album" was going to be before launching in.
...Or did we?
Welp, turns out, we basically did. Everyday Life is not pushing pop-rock-anthem boundaries another band hasn't pushed (and pushed more successfully) before: U2 has been doing this shit since "All that You Can't Leave Behind." That said, after a decade of half-hearted attempts at more straightforward pop, it seems that Martin and co. have finally chosen to (belatedly) acknowledge that their strength lies in tender balladry and chorus-driven anthems. This plays to their advantage. Chris Martin, despite his desire to front a neo-disco outfit, has not lost his superhuman touch with the sentimental: "Orphans", "Old Friends", and "Champion of the World" all pluck heartstrings with greater force than any of the next-best Coldplay tracks of the 2010s (Charlie Brown, Always in My Head...Magic?). Frankly, I don't see much use in delving in to the more traditional highlights: what's to be gained from reminding you that Coldplay is really fucking good at being...Coldplay?
Except that's not really all that happened.
Oh no. Not at all.
No, this record is bizarre, and what's damn bizarre about this record is the borderline-abrasive genre hopping. Let's break down the "Coldplay-not-doing-Coldplay-shit" just for kicks:
Broken (I refuse to capitalize the E, sorry Chris): Straight vocal gospel. Like...played totally, 100% straight. This is, again, right out of the U2 playbook (everyone knows the best version of "I Still Haven't Found..." is the gospel-choir infused cut on Rattle and Hum), but still...that our British boys refrained from breaking into a reverb-addled gospel-hybrid-thing is commendable. Again, though, just...bizarre. Think about this. Then listen to it. It doesn't get any less weird.
Arabesque: It's been a few weeks, so we're used to it now...but...the Kuti family is playing on a Coldplay track. The Kuti family is playing on a Coldplay track and it's not a fucking gimmick. Gimmick-be-damned, "Arabesque" is a poorly-named heavy hitter of a song, the centerpiece of "Everyday Life", and blessed with thick-ass electric piano, horns galore, and Martin successfully writing the "we're all one" message Bono hasn't been able to string together in years. The only downside to this number is how it brings the degrees of separation between Kuti and the Chainsmokers down to one.
When I Need a Friend: I'm fucking losing my mind. Is this fucking real? Chris Martin singing with a church choir (like, traditional church choir) over found-sounds? Do I even need to talk about this? It's fucking great. Fuck. Fuck.
Èkó: Joni-esque guitar. Flower-child folk-music. They just keep hitting us with this shit, huh? It's well executed, too! I've lost the ability to speak critically about what's going on here; all I know is that the sounds aren't weird, it's just weird to hear them coming from Coldplay. It might be even weirder that it's actually good.
Cry Cry Cry: Chris Martin and the Coldtones. How long has Martin been into doo-wop and why is it just now manifesting in his musical direction? It's hard to imagine this track translating to a Coldplay show (not that they'll be playing any on an international level, I suppose), but it almost feels like I'm being toyed with at this point. "Bet you didn't know I like Dion, assholes"- Chris Martin, 2019
بني آدم: Why is this baroque piano piece on the record? Because Chris Martin is already richer than god, that's why.
What a bold, anti-commercial move from a band I had written off as selling-out harder than Tekashi69 in court. I'm not sure that this genre-hopping approach served the record's flow particularly well, but it might've been the only way the Coldplay family could challenge the ever-growing perception of the band as a brand rather than...well, a band.
How did "Cry Cry Cry" end up being good. Fuck."[+]Reply
"There existed an addiction to blood has fantastic flow and really builds on its atmosphere. The sound design is really interesting particular on the background noise based "Run For Your Life:. Unfortunately what really prevents the album from succeeding is the hollowness of the beats. There comes...""There existed an addiction to blood has fantastic flow and really builds on its atmosphere. The sound design is really interesting particular on the background noise based "Run For Your Life:. Unfortunately what really prevents the album from succeeding is the hollowness of the beats. There comes a part in many of the songs were you are waiting for the beat to kick in but it never does. "[+]Reply
"This album has entered my Overall list at the expense of Burial’s EPs on their own which gives me room to add other deserving albums. I want to highlight Kindred and Truant/Rough Sleeper as the 2 EPs on this compilation that tower above the others. They have so much to offer the avid, immersive l...""This album has entered my Overall list at the expense of Burial’s EPs on their own which gives me room to add other deserving albums. I want to highlight Kindred and Truant/Rough Sleeper as the 2 EPs on this compilation that tower above the others. They have so much to offer the avid, immersive listener of electronic music. They really do seem to tell a story, but not the same story. There is always a new story floating throughout with each new listen.
As the English writer Mark Fisher so evocatively puts it;
“Burial's London is a wounded city, populated by ecstasy casualties on day release from psychiatric units, disappointed lovers on night buses, parents who can't quite bring themselves to sell their Rave 12 inches at a carboot sale, all of them with haunted looks on their faces, but also haunting their interpassively nihilistic kids with the thought that things weren't always like this. It is like walking into the abandoned spaces once carnivalised by Raves and finding them returned to depopulated dereliction. Muted air horns flare like the ghosts of Raves past. Broken glass cracks underfoot. MDMA flashbacks bring London to unlife in the way that hallucinogens brought demons crawling out of the subways in Jacob’s Ladder’s New York. Audio hallucinations transform the city’s rhythms into inorganic beings, more dejected than malign. You see faces in the clouds and hear voices in the crackle. What you momentarily thought was muffled bass turns out only to be the rumbling of tube trains”.
Some of the purely ambient tracks kick off this album which makes for a long intro to the subtle beats of my preferred tracks and prevent the album from being a top 10 contender for me but the quality of the second half makes it a definite contender."[+]Reply
"Not nearly as bad as some people are saying. Obviously, different people have different tastes but the production on this album is A+. The lyrics might not be the best but I wouldn't say its so bad that it ruins the entire album. The album is called JESUS IS KING, obviously Kanye is going to be p...""Not nearly as bad as some people are saying. Obviously, different people have different tastes but the production on this album is A+. The lyrics might not be the best but I wouldn't say its so bad that it ruins the entire album. The album is called JESUS IS KING, obviously Kanye is going to be preaching about his religion (and yes it's as heavy handed as you'd expect from ye). Honestly my biggest complaint isn't the lyrics but rather the short length. Makes for an easily digestible album but after all the waiting and delays it would have been nice to get something closer to an hour long. In conclusion, music wise this is an A but lyrics are more of a C. Overall this record is a solid B in my opinion.
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