Best Albums of 2019

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Explore the best albums of 2019, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
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2019 year summaryThe best artists of 2019 were Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator, Weyes Blood, FKA Twigs, Black Midi, Billie Eilish, Big Thief, Nick Cave, Little Simz and Vampire Weekend.

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Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Lana Del Rey

"Can somebody please explain to me how Lana Del Ray just dropped the greatest album ever? Like, I'm just so confused because it's not like Lana's a bad artist but I never exactly imagined she'd be able to create something of THIS quality" Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (14 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

711 charts

Rank Score:

7,803

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

190

Average Rating:

83 (736 votes)

Comments:

Igor

Tyler, The Creator

"Really glad to see Tyler expand in the promise he showed from his phenomenal last album, this a natural progression from Flower Boy that I’ll come back to for a long time" Reply

Keatownrodriguez | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (9 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

675 charts

Rank Score:

6,570

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Natalie Mering is a bit of a nostalgic, in the finest way possible. This doesn't seem to be a blinding nostalgia that reflects the allure of contemporary music. This is a kind that serves as the heartbeat of her work, a tender nucleus that she builds around with expert craftsmanship (or craftwoma...""Natalie Mering is a bit of a nostalgic, in the finest way possible. This doesn't seem to be a blinding nostalgia that reflects the allure of contemporary music. This is a kind that serves as the heartbeat of her work, a tender nucleus that she builds around with expert craftsmanship (or craftwomanship). It's not hard to see what her strengths are. She wields a voice powerful enough to disrupt fault lines and agitate prospective avalanches. In short, she's a beautiful singer who's designed an album perfectly engineered around her vocal dexterity. Weyes Blood's fourth record is entitled Titanic Rising, which is fitting considering many of the tracks here call upon the past, through both Mering's personal experience and her music's sonic disposition. The result is a dreamy, aqueous take on different kinds of love, self-satisfaction and loss. The album art refers to Mering's creative subconscious from the comfort of her bedroom. The metaphor couldn't be more appropriate given that the young songstress' portrays her innermost sentiments flawlessly and with vivid explicitness on Titanic Rising. The LP begins with A Lot's Gonna Change, a track that starts with a series of fragile piano key strikes. The track quickly escalates with the introduction of Mering's stirring voice. Her voice washes over every inkling of the track like a soothing breeze, starkly opposite of bracing drumbeats. The track finishes amongst lush backing vocals that play off of Mering's sympathies, "Let me change my words, show me where it hurts." The track exemplifies the term "grand opening" and provides a blueprint for ambitious soundscapes to follow. Second track Andromeda, the first single off of the album, sports a western-tinge blended with psychedelia, embodying equal parts Dolly Parton and Iron Butterfly. If you haven't listened to the track, please take a moment to imagine that sonic cocktail in your mind. Mering laments, "Treat me right, I'm still a good man's daughter, let me in if I break, and be quiet if I shatter." The song paints a portrait of unrealistic expectation and subsequent emotional investment. Sixth track, Movies, stands as the album's artistic centerpiece. It's also the most pioneering cut from Weyes Blood so far, submerged in synthesizer arpeggios that are just as delectable as they are alien. The vocals lacerate the wall of electronics with ease as she announces, "I'm bound to that summer, big box office hit, making love to a counterfeit." The poetry points to an endless wave of typicality when it comes to romance and a distinct longing for a love-affair fit for the silver screen. The track ends with a cello barrage capping the whimsical, serene track supported by Mering's heavenly bellows. The penultimate, Picture Me Better, is a likely candidate for the most straight-forward cut of the lot. The instrumentation is heavily stripped back incorporating pacifying strings that play shyly behind Mering's vocals. Her hair-raising falsettos quickly supplant the strings and aid the notion that she could create transfixing serenades if rendered acapella. The song itself is a poignant memorial to a friend lost to suicide's destruction. "If I could have seen you just once more, tell you how much you are adored, there's no point anymore," she details. The track winds down into a final instrumental entitled Nearer to Thee, a reference to the final song played during the demise of the unsinkable ship. Titanic Rising's artistic vision is crystalline and unalloyed. The thematic framework is a thunderous damnation of monotony and all things ordinary relating to modern life and romance. It's a testament to the artist's admiration of true love in its purest form. Furthermore, the album is a musical mission statement pleading the listener to refuse social conventionality. As emotional as the record is, it's also a vehemently liberating experience. Much of its power is drawn from the sun-dwarfing brightness of its vocal standard-bearer. These tracks are crafted around Natalie's Mering's voice as opposed to common music-making methodology. After all, a traditional approach would just be too run-of-the-mill for Weyes Blood. We can thank her ambition, emotional insight and angelic vocal register for her ever-growing collection of winsome work. "Lost and tangled up in you, Everyone knows you just did what you had to, Burning much more than ever before, Burning down the door, It's a wild time to be alive." -Wild Time Standout Tracks: 1. A Lot's Gonna Change 2. Andromeda 3. Picture Me Better 94.4" [+] Reply

DriftingOrpheus | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

649 charts

Rank Score:

5,671

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"WOW! I did not expect this. I think we have an album of the year!" Reply

- chuchunezbie | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (4 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

403 charts

Rank Score:

2,553

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"A fantastic album and one of the best debuts I've ever heard. Everything about it is impressive. The song structures are complex, their timing is impeccable and their energy is incredible. The little repetitive riffs remind me of Trout Mask Replica but that could be because I listened to them in ..." [+] Reply

mdbaxter | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

379 charts

Rank Score:

2,480

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

103

Overall Rank:

697

Average Rating:

79 (434 votes)

Comments:

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

Billie Eilish

"There are basically 2 sides of this record: the "she's a 17 year old industry plant whose audience are fake edgy 12 year olds" and "she's the best new thing in modern pop". I can honestly see both sides of this argument manifesting on this record, but the most important thing is that this sounds ..." [+] Reply

LedZep | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (12 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

436 charts

Rank Score:

2,383

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

"A little too slow for me. There isn’t much variety between the songs. I’m not the biggest fan of the vocals but I appreciate the passion. You can feel the anguish throughout the album. The lyrics are the best part of the album, in my opinion, but there isn’t enough else happening for me." Reply

mdbaxter | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (4 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

388 charts

Rank Score:

1,966

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Hey prawnboy, come back in 10 years when you've grown up enough to muster up some actual criticism. As for my opinion, best rap album since Untitled Unmastered. I might increase my score as I listen more, but the production and songwriting on this thing is phenomenal. The instrumentation and prod..." [+] Reply

- BLO | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (4 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

351 charts

Rank Score:

1,810

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Great album, and while it might not be as good as some of their previous work, it still has some pretty solid material. For me it's at least on par with Contra. The downside of the record it's obviously the lenght, in my opinion there's not a bad song in here and i actually found Harmony Hall to ..." [+] Reply

Crhmgs | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

354 charts

Rank Score:

1,715

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

146

Overall Rank:

1,016

Average Rating:

76 (535 votes)

Comments:

10.

Purple Mountains

"David Berman's ultimate existentialist excersise. Deep mostly sad lyrics with delightful indie melodies. A memorable goodbye record, it's growing on me more and more." Reply

- Altsoul | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2019

Appears in:

300 charts

Rank Score:

1,690

Rank in 2019:

Rank in 2010s:

147

Overall Rank:

1,033

Average Rating:

79 (252 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 2019 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	5	1%
Weezer	3	0%
Kim Petras	2	0%
Beabadoobee	2	0%
Carlos Santana	2	0%
Tourist	2	0%
Hildur Guðnadóttir	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	465	47%
	185	19%
	45	5%
	37	4%
	35	4%
	26	3%
	20	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	980	98%
Yes	20	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	982	98%
Yes	18	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	991	99%
Yes	9	1%

Best Albums of 2019 chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 4 from 53rd to 49th Tunes 2011-2019 by Burial
Up 1 from 97th to 96th South Of Reality by The Claypool Lennon Delirium
Up 1 from 89th to 88th Ferris Wheel On Fire by Neutral Milk Hotel

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 1 from 46th to 47th Morbid Stuff by PUP
Down 1 from 49th to 50th House Of Sugar by (Sandy) Alex G
Down 1 from 50th to 51st Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1 by Foals

« View best albums of 2018View best albums of 2020 »

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 Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)

6. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)

7. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)

8. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)

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

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