Best Albums of 2019

Don
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Anyone still buying albums now a days? :p

These are my best albums of 2019, in no particular order

Chaka Khan - Hello Happiness
I'm generally of the opinion that pensioners aren't relevant when it comes to making fresh music. Then I heard this album.


The Chemical Brothers - No Geography
Never really been disappointed with The Chemical Brothers, though this is particularly good from them.


Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Never really knew about this guys music, more his brilliant parody social media output. But the album is actually quite good!


Friendly Fires - Inflorescent
One of my most favourite groups, and after their last album didn't think they were going to do be doing anything new. But then out of the blue, they started putting new tracks out and then the album earlier this year.


and last but not least,

Foals - Everything Not Save Will Be Lost: Part 1
Really enjoy a lot of the tracks on this, though I'm not overly fussed about the Part 2 album (might take some listening to get into it).


Things I was a bit disappointed of this year:-
Hot Chip - A Bath Full of Ecstasy
Elbow - Giants of All Sizes

So what's yours?
 
Associate
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After two decades worth of music disappointment, this year has felt like a renaissance: old favourites returning with stonking albums, new artists aplenty. It finally feels like the industry is flickering back into life.

The Pineapple Thief - Hold Our Fire
50 minutes of accomplished prog-rock. Essentially a live version of last year's Dissolution release, the vocals and musicianship are tight. Occasionally a band releases an album that feels like a seamless musical journey; this is one such album, it demands to be listened to start-to-finish. Standout tracks: Threatening War, All That You've Got, White Mist, 3000 Days. I couldn't find a full version of the album on Youtube, so I've posted one of the shorter tracks as a sampler.


Tool - Fear Inoculum
The album that divides Tool fans, I think it's ace and was worth the 15 year wait. Albeit different from their earlier offerings, the musicianship overrides the perceived lack of aggression. Standout tracks: 7empest, Invincible, Descending.


Hands Off Gretel - I Want The World
A band I discovered purely by chance browsing a Led Zeppelin cover version the lead singer, Lauren Tate, had uploaded on Youtube. It's grungey, punky and vocals roll from saccharine and pop-oriented in places to a rasp that would make Brody Dalle proud. Top to bottom, really good album. Standout tracks: Milk, I Want The World, Kiss Me Girl. Again, couldn't locate the full album, so I've posted one sample.


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Special mention:
Alice In Chains - Rainier Fog

Didn't include this in my three as, although I came to it at the turn of the year, it was actually released at the end of last year. It's arguably their most accomplished work and would sit second solely to Dirt in their back catalogue for me. My favourite-ever band releasing any new music is a bonus, but this is a tremendous effort in it's own right. Standout tracks: Red Giant, Never Fade, All I Am. Those three tracks would be in my all-time top 10 AIC too, a feat in itself.


Commended:
Lacuna Coil - Black Anima

Damn rare that a band releases their best work twenty years after their debut, or gets more aggressive with the passing of time - that's Black Anima. Veneficium is a ludicrous track.


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Other stuff I've enjoyed this year, alphabetic:
Amyl and The Sniffers - Amyl and The Sniffers
Badflower - Ok, I'm Sick
Dirty Honey - Dirty Honey EP
L7 - Scatter the Rats
Pumarosa - Devastation
Rammstein - Rammstein
Reignwolf - Hear Me Out
Rival Sons - Feral Roots
Spermbirds - Go to Hell Then Turn Left
Spread Eagle - Subway to the Stars
Sun House - Rosedale EP
The Blinders - Columbia
The Hu - The Gereg
The Pearl Harts - Suck It Up
Vok - In the Dark

Generally, my favourite artist 'finds' in 2019 have been Hands Off Gretel, Kaelan Mikla, The Pearl Harts and The Blinders. The latter two released strong albums last year that weren't included in my 2018 version of this thread, and there are a shedload of others too.
 
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Soldato
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I'm struggling to think of any albums i've heard that have been particularly stand out this year. Although i do blame how easy it's been to just stick Spotifys "release radar" on and listen to new songs on their own rather than as a collection of work.

Although i'd disagree that the Hot Chip album was a disappointment. I preferred it to Why Make Sense
 
Soldato
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I suppose if I go on the albums I have actually replayed more than a handful of times then it would be the following:

Thom Yorke - Anima
The National - I Am Easy to Find
Blink-182 - Nine
Tool - Fear Inoculum

I really want to put Bon Iver's latest on here but I can't get into it at all. Slipknot got one proper listen and then just became background music for me to do other things.

Any recommendations based on what I have liked?

Although i do blame how easy it's been to just stick Spotifys "release radar" on and listen to new songs on their own rather than as a collection of work.

This is what I've found myself doing. I don't trust any publications to point me towards music I might like, my friends have totally different tastes to me, and I find myself just letting Spotify or Amazon do the work for me.

One thing does remain though, if Spotify decides to give me anything in the "charts" I instantly recoil in disgust. I have however become a fan of Gaga's since last years A Star is Born.
 
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Caporegime
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Anyone still buying albums now a days? :p

These are my best albums of 2019, in no particular order

Chaka Khan - Hello Happiness
I'm generally of the opinion that pensioners aren't relevant when it comes to making fresh music. Then I heard this album.

listened to this out of curiosity as i like chaka who doesnt from that era but what i heard wasnt no album of 2019. was like a lets do a commecial song then do my own thing messed with the whole vibe.some kind of 80s prince thing going off then commercial. kinda made no sense.

shows you how bad albums are now days.
 
Associate
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Mine has been:
Tool - Fear Inoculum
Refused - War Music
Lana Del Rey - Norman ******* Rockwell!
Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Cult of Luna - A Dawn To Fear
Aurora - A Different Kind Of Human (Step 2)
Life of Agony - The Sound of Scars
Torche - Admission
Norma Jean - All Hail
Chelsea Wolfe - Birth of Violence
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucination
 
Associate
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sunderland
I think it’s been a really good year for music, my top 10...
  1. Moon duo stars
  2. National I am easy to find
  3. Springsteen western stars
  4. Big thief ufof
  5. Beirut Gallipoli
  6. Jessie malin sunset kids
  7. Toy songs of consumption
  8. Julia jacklin crushing
  9. Hot chip bath full of ecstasy
  10. Keane cause and effect
 
Associate
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I tend to listen to random stuff and add it to a play list if I like it, but my favourite has probably been Rammstein's untitled album.
 
Permabanned
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Albums I actually bothered to buy that were released this year:

A Winged Victory for the Sullen - The Undivided Five.
American Football - Third self titled.
Boris - Love & Evol.
Earth - Full Upon Her Burning Lips.
Loscil - Equivalents.
Sunn0))) - Life Metal.
Sunn0))) - Pyroclasts.
Tool - Fear Inoculum.

Bought because I own everything else they've done. Disappointments from them would be the American Football and Earth albums. Favourite is AWVFTS.
 
Soldato
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Gang Starr - One of the best yet
Charlie 2na and Krafty Kuts - Adventures of a reluctant Superhero
Nas - The Lost Tapes
Denzel Curry - Zuu
Ocean Wisdom - Big Talk Vol 1

Probably some of my favourite albums that released this year.
 
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