Best Albums of 2015

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Explore the best albums of 2015, based on over 2 million album rankings across 61,000 charts. Last updated: 2 hours ago

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2015 year summaryThe best artists of 2015 were Kendrick Lamar, Sufjan Stevens, Tame Impala, Father John Misty, Grimes, Courtney Barnett, Beach House, Carly Rae Jepsen, Kamasi Washington and Steven Wilson.

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11.

In Colour

Jamie xx

"More than likely Album of the Year for me and perhaps even a contender for my favourite ever album, depending on how much staying power it has. Every track is just perfectly and meticulously arranged in a way that is reminiscent of Four Tet and Caribou. There are the dance sensibilities of the li..." Reply

Revolution909 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

514 charts

Rank Score:

2,702

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

628

Average Rating:

78 (642 votes)

Comments:

12.

Depression Cherry

Beach House

"This should be much higher. What a fantastic record. Bloom is their best, but I personally will take this one over Teen Dream. Theyre both classics, which makes me very confused why this one is ranked so low in comparison. I guess this site isnt perfect. Best tracks: Levitation, Space Song, PPP" Reply

micah88800 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

465 charts

Rank Score:

2,694

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

633

Average Rating:

78 (608 votes)

Comments:

13.

Vulnicura

Björk

"Incredibly dark and dense. Vulnicura is a taxing but rewarding listen. It does start to fall apart a little bit with the last half, but it never flat out does." Reply

teague | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

465 charts

Rank Score:

2,381

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

108

Overall Rank:

720

Average Rating:

78 (580 votes)

Comments:

14.

Divers

Joanna Newsom

"Like an even more eccentric Kate Bush singing Joni Mitchell. Amazing stuff, she has an incredible voice coupled with beautiful arrangements. Really mellow and easy to listen to, yet when you dig deeper there a lot more going on. Really, really love this record!" Reply

sethzzzzz | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

399 charts

Rank Score:

2,147

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

116

Overall Rank:

808

Average Rating:

80 (354 votes)

Comments:

15.

The Magic Whip

Blur

"Pleasantly surprised by this, it's much better than I thought it would be. A good batch of accessible tunes here, my favourite is My Terracotta Heart" Reply

Secondsoul | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 9

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

393 charts

Rank Score:

1,703

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

150

Overall Rank:

1,023

Average Rating:

76 (610 votes)

Comments:

16.

The Powers That B
Compilation

Death Grips

"For a while, The Money Store was Death Grips' best album. But The Powers That B (TPTB) is really contending for that spot. It's a bit of an unfair competition considering the fact that TPTB's two sides give it great variety. One really interesting pointer is that both sides feature someone who ha...""For a while, The Money Store was Death Grips' best album. But The Powers That B (TPTB) is really contending for that spot. It's a bit of an unfair competition considering the fact that TPTB's two sides give it great variety. One really interesting pointer is that both sides feature someone who has not directly worked with the band before. On the first part, Niggas on the Moon (NOTM) it's Icelandic singer Bjork. On the second half, Jenny Death (JD) it's guitarist Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos. While all the songs on NOTM feature Bjork's vocals (in fact, it features none of Flatlander's abrasive synths. Replacing that is Bjork's heavily edited vocals), only tracks 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 feature Nick's guitar. NOTM is another foray into the experimental side of Death Grips, more or less continuing on from the path they took starting from No Love Deep Web. While not nearly as abrasive and in-your-face as, say, Exmilitary and The Money Store, NOTM is still an entertaining listen, with Zach really pulling of some great drumming in each of the 8 tracks. However, NOTM's variety is, unfortunately, a bit too homogenous. Each track sounds very similar to the last, and none of them have MC Ride's infamous yelled vocals (although several songs hint at it). To put simply, all the songs are far softer and less abrasive. Instead a lot of the real content is in the lyrics, which thankfully are far more understandable due to MC Ride not shouting (this may possibly be the explanation for the lack of his shouted vocals). The songs' themes range from racism (Black Quarterback, Say Hey Kid) and paranoia (Up My Sleeves) to the lifelessness of modern sex (Billy Not Really, Have a Sad Cum, Fuck Me Out) and the idolization of celebrities (Voila). Either way the lyrical content on here is, as always, cryptic but has some sort of meaning behind it. JD, the much hyped second half, is quite literally the culmination of everything they've done. From the extremely loud, harsh and unforgiving I Break Mirrors With My Face in the United States to the almost ballad-like instrumentation of On GP (which stands for On General Principle by the way. It has absolutely nothing to do with their previous album Government Plates), this side has far more variety and content than the 32 minute NOTM (JD is 50 minutes, in comparison). It opens with the I Break Mirrors With My Face in the United States, which as I described earlier, is extremely loud, harsh and unforgiving. It features MC Ride's infamous yelled vocals, something which was completely absent from NOTM. The track is so quickly paced and short that despite how much there is going on, it goes by in a flash, as if it never happened. Then we get Inanimate Sensation, which is probably the most progressive song Death Grips has ever written. Although following the old "verse-chorus-verse" structure, each verse is drastically different from the other. The track opens with a chorus of voices ascending pitch. It's quite difficult to explain, really. The first verse is your average Death Grips verse, opening with the line "IN-ANIMATE SEN-SUH-A-TION", in MC Rides typical yelled rapping style. Then we get the chorus "BLOWNOUT, BASE", which leads to the second verse, which is rapped entirely in MC Ride's whispering voice, with the exception of the line "I'M NOT WITH YOU". Then we have the chorus again, and we move on to the third verse, which is rapped entirely with MC Ride's shouted vocals pitch shifted down. The third chorus continues with these pitch shifted vocals, and we have the fourth verse, where MC Ride makes multiple references to classic rock and popular music in general. Then we have the chorus again, and we have a miniature fifth verse which is quite similar to the first verse. And then we finally end with the chorus. Either way the entire 6 minute experience is extremely thrilling. The next song is Turned Off, which really does sound like a nu metal piece. Thankfully, it isn't terrible, in fact it's one of the best songs on the album. Then we have Why a Bitch Gotta Lie?, which follows the same nu metal style that Turned Off had. Although this song is less accessible than Turned Off due to the strange digital manipulation on MC Ride's vocals, it's actually pretty good once you get used to it. Then Pss Pss plays, a song about the lifelessness of sex. This song, quite interestingly, also references Have a Sad Cum early on. After that we get the title track, which is easily the loudest, sludgiest, heaviest, and most brutal thing Death Grips has ever put out. It's quite the experience, and really is quite indescribable. Then it's Beyond Alive, which would probably be my least favorite track on here if not for the final track (I'll get to that one later). It retains the nu metal style from tracks 3 and 4 but simply does not have the same magic that the aforementioned tracks have. Then we have Centuries of Damn, which, while good, has nothing too special about it to make it stand out. After this we have On GP, which in my opinion is one of the best tracks on JD as a whole, alongside Inanimate Sensation. Nick's guitar is extremely prominent on this track, and he really adds on to Flatlander's sound. It's also probably the closest Death Grips will be to a ballad or anything of the sort. The track glitches into the final (and most disappointing) track, Death Grips 2.0. From its name you'd expect some sort of amazing and revolutionary piece that will mark a complete change in Death Grips' style. But unfortunately, it isn't. It's just a repetitive instrumental track which was stretched out for way too long. Either way, the LP is abso-fucking-lutely phenomenal, perhaps even better than 2012's critically acclaimed The Money Store. Only time will tell if Death Grips can continue their streak of amazing albums. " Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 8

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

199 charts

Rank Score:

1,443

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

177

Overall Rank:

1,209

Average Rating:

79 (379 votes)

Comments:

17.

Viet Cong

"Beautiful noise. This will take a few listens if post-punk isn't your thing. "Continental Shelf" is especially catchy. My favorite album of 2015 if Frank Ocean continues to be a no-show." Reply

- henrygreen0203 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

302 charts

Rank Score:

1,412

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

183

Overall Rank:

1,233

Average Rating:

76 (405 votes)

Comments:

18.

Get To Heaven

Everything Everything

"This band is so underrated on here. This is a fantastic album and one of the best of this year. If it was released by an american band I reckon it would make the top 20 of this year." Reply

- altric13 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

184 charts

Rank Score:

1,356

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

192

Overall Rank:

1,280

Average Rating:

77 (226 votes)

Comments:

19.

Summertime '06

Vince Staples

"This could have honestly have been cut in half. It's not that it's a long album or anything, but many of these tracks are meaningless and boring. It has it's occasional moment, but the entire thing feels half baked. His delivery is pretty typical and sounds the same on every track... plus, 80% of..." Reply

Hayden | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

284 charts

Rank Score:

1,350

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

193

Overall Rank:

1,286

Average Rating:

77 (289 votes)

Comments:

20.

Rodeo

Travis Scott

"One of traps defining albums. A soon to be classic" Reply

Lukeanaderdude | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 8

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

189 charts

Rank Score:

1,284

Rank in 2015:

Rank in 2010s:

201

Overall Rank:

1,339

Average Rating:

80 (299 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 2 of 100

Best Albums of 2015 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	5	1%
Bruce Springsteen	3	0%
Prince	2	0%
Steven Wilson	2	0%
Gov't Mule	2	0%
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	2	0%
Petite Noir	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	469	47%
	193	19%
	51	5%
	39	4%
	30	3%
	28	3%
	26	3%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	10	1%

Best Albums of 2015 chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 21 from 120th to 99th Purple by Baroness
Up 12 from 112th to 100th Nothing But Thieves by Nothing But Thieves
Up 12 from 83rd to 71st Hasta La Raíz by Natalia Lafourcade

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 3 from 31st to 34th Meliora by Ghost (SE)
Down 2 from 72nd to 74th Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance by Belle And Sebastian
Down 2 from 74th to 76th At.Long.Last.A$AP by A$AP Rocky

New entries New entries in top 100 since last month
Up 21 from 120th to 99th Purple by Baroness
Up 12 from 112th to 100th Nothing But Thieves by Nothing But Thieves

Leavers Leavers from top 100 since last month
Down 2 from 99th to 101st Sprinter by Torres
Down 2 from 100th to 102nd Ones And Sixes by Low

« View best albums of 2014View best albums of 2016 »

Recognised Decade Charts (2020s)

1. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)

2. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)

3. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)

4. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)

5. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)

6. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)

7. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)

8. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)

9. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)

10. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)