If you’re wondering why we’re the absolute last music site filing a best-of list this year, it’s simple, really: We’re tired of pretending everyone relates to records the same way today they did when self-titled started way too many years ago. Back then, we really did have a top 50 albums of whenever, because most listeners could only afford to buy, beg, or steal so much. Now that all bets are off, and nearly every record imaginable is available online, it’s easy to get bowled over by choice and simply shut down.
Or to put it another way, remember how annoying/compelling it was when Kanye West decided to keep tweaking The Life of Pablo? Well, that’s what happened with the following rundown of 110 Records Worth Hearing At Least Once—context-free and complete with outbound buy links, so you can make up your own damn mind. Or you could always just stream the hell out of this Spotify playlist.
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75 Dollar Bill, WOOD/METAL/PLASTIC/PATTERN/RHYTHM/ROCK (Thin Wrist)
1991, No More Dreams (No More Dreams)
2 8 1 4, Rain Temple (Dream Catalogue)
A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (Epic)
Aesop Rock, The Impossible Kid (Rhymesayers)
Angel Olsen, MY WOMAN (Jagjaguwar)
Anna Meredith, Varmints (Moshi Moshi)
ANONHI, HOPELESSNESS (Secretly Canadian)
Antwood, Virtuous.scr (Planet Mu)
Årabrot, The Gospel (Fysisk Format)
Aphex Twin, Cheetah EP (Warp)
ASUNA, Tide Ripples (Home Normal)
Autechre, Esleq 1-5 (Warp)
Babyfather, BBF Hosted By DJ Escrow (Hyperdub)
Ben Frost, The Wasp Factory (Bedroom Community)
Bill Converse, Meditations/Industry (Dark Entries)
Biosphere, Departed Glories (Smalltown Supersound)
Black Merlin, Hipnotik Tradisi (Island of the Gods)
Botany, Deepak Verbera (Western Vinyl)
Brian Eno, The Ship (Warp)
Carla dal Forno, You Know What It’s Like (Blackest Ever Black)
Cat’s Eyes, Treasure House (self-released)
Cavern of Anti-Matter, void beats/invocation (Duophonic)
Dälek, Asphalt For Eden (Profound Lore)
Danny Brown, Atrocity Exhibition (Warp)
David Bowie, Blackstar (Columbia)
Death Grips, Bottomless Pit (Harvest)
Dedekind Cut, $uccessor (NON/Hospital Productions)
Delroy Edwards, Hanging At the Beach (L.A. Club Resource)
Demdike Stare, Wonderland (Modern Love)
DIIV, Is the Is Are (Captured Tracks)
Drugdealer, The End of Comedy (Weird World)
Equiknoxx, Bird Sound Power (DDS)
Exploded View, Exploded View (Sacred Bones)
Explosions in the Sky, The Wilderness (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
Fat White Family, Songs For Our Mothers (Fat Possum)
Grumbling Fur, Furfour (Thrill Jockey)
Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam, I Had a Dream That You Were Mine (Glassnote)
Heron Oblivion, Heron Oblivion (Sub Pop)
Hieroglyphic Being, The Disco’s of Imhotep (Technicolour)
Huerco S., For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have) (Proibito)
Ian William Craig, Centres (FatCat)
Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression (Loma Vista)
Jan Jelinek + Masayoshi Fujita, Schaum (Faitiche)
Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (Sacred Bones)
Jessy Lanza, Oh No (Hyperdub)
Juliana Barwick, Will (Dead Oceans)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, EARS (Western Vinyl)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani, Sunergy (RVNG Intl.)
Kamaiyah, A Good Night in the Ghetto (self-released)
Katie Gately, Color (Tri Angle)
Kedr Livanskiy, January Sun (2MR)
Klara Lewis, Too (Editions Mego)
Kvelertak, Nattesferd (Roadrunner)
Leon Vynehall, Rojus (Running Back)
Lorenzo Senni, Persona (Warp)
Loscil, Monument Builders (Kranky)
Marie Davidson, Adieu Au Dancefloor (Cititrax)
Mitski, Puberty 2 (Dead Oceans)
MJ Guider, Precious Systems (Kranky)
MONO, Requiem For Hell (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
Motion Graphics, Motion Graphics (Domino)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree (Bad Seed Ltd.)
Nicolas Jaar, Sirens (Other People)
Nisennenmondai, #N/A (On-U Sound)
Nothing, Tired of Tomorrow (Relapse)
Omar-S, The Best! (FXHE)
Oren Ambarchi, Hubris (Editions Mego)
Pangaea, In Drum Play (Hessle Audio)
Peder Mannerfelt, Controlling Body (Copyright Control)
Phaeleh, Illusion of the Tale (Undertow)
Pill, Convenience (Mexican Summer)
Pita, Get In (Editions Mego)
Powell, Sport (XL)
Preoccupations, Preoccupations (Jagjaguwar)
Prince of Denmark, 8 (Forum V)
Puce Mary, The Spiral (Posh Isolation)
Pye Corner Audio, Stasis (Ghost Box)
School of Seven Bells, SVII (Vagrant)
Second Woman, Second Woman (Editions Mego)
Seekers International, LoversDedicationStation (Bokeh Versions)
Studio OST, Scenes 2012-2015 (Lustwerk Music)
Sleaford Mods, TCR (Rough Trade)
S U R V I V E, RR7349 (Relapse)
Swans, The Glowing Man (Young God)
Tanya Tagaq, Retribution (Six Shooter)
The Avalanches, Wildflower (Astralwerks)
The Body, No One Deserves Happiness (Thrill Jockey)
The Comet Is Coming, Channel the Spirits (Leaf)
The Dwarfs of East Agouza, Bes (Nawa)
The Gaslamp Killer, Instrumentalepathy (Cuss)
The Julie Ruin, Hit Reset (Hardly Art)
The Radio Dept., Running Out of Love (Labrador)
The Range, Potential (Domino)
Tim Hecker, Love Streams (4AD)
U, Vienna Orchestra (Where To Now)
Vatican Shadow, Media in the Service of Terror (Hospital Productions)
Weyes Blood, Front Row Seat to Earth (Mexican Summer)
White Lung, Paradise (Domino)
Will Long, Long Trax (Comatonse)
Woods, City Sun Eater in the River (Woodsist)
Wrekmeister Harmonies, Night Falls (Thrill Jockey)
Xiu Xiu, Plays the Music of Twin Peaks (Polyvinyl)
Youth Code, Commitment to Complications (Dais)
Yves Tumor, Serpent Music (PAN)
