TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

For 2025 I did something first time: I tracked every complete album I listened to. Sure, Spotify Wrapped comes out every November, but it doesn’t account for the music I listen to on CD, vinyl, or from other sources. I found that keeping track this way made me much more mindful of what I was listening to – and the process itself encouraged me to listen to more music.

Here are some basic numbers for the year:
• 465 total album plays
• 379 unique albums
• 174 albums listened to for the first time
• 75 albums released in 2025

I believe this exercise pushed me in two directions at once: listening to more new releases while also diving deeper into the back catalogs of artists I already love. You can find the full list here. The first tab includes every album, alphabetized by artist, with additional tabs for each month of the year.

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1- The Last Dinner Party • From The Pyre

In an age when many rock and pop bands operate on three-year album-and-tour cycles, it’s both surprising and refreshing to receive a second release from a band as in demand as The Last Dinner Party just 19 months after their excellent debut, Prelude to Ecstasy. From the Pyre builds on that foundation and expands it with the confidence of full-fledged sonic world-building. Every song feels like its own distinct setting, where vocals, lyrics, melodies, and instrumentation combine to draw the listener deep into a richly imagined, fantastical reality.  Also, when this band wants, they can rock out – check out “Second Best” from the All Things Go Festival this fall. [2025-list]

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2- Wet Leg • Moisturizer

If anyone thought Wet Leg’s self-titled debut was a fluke, or dismissed them as unserious because some of their lyrics were funny, well, this is the answer. The band takes everything that made that first album great and does it again here, only better. Their second album, Moisturizer, still delivers clever lyrics and plenty of hooks, but this time around everything feels bigger and bolder. And beyond the obvious fun of listening to Rian Teasdale sing, growl, scream and purr, this band has guitars – and knows exactly how to use them! Check out the live-in-the-studio performance of “CPR” on Later… with Jools Holland. [2025-list]

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3- Ivy • Traces of You

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4- Florence + the Machine • Everybody Scream

Florence Welch seems to pour her entire being into every album she makes. In her case, it’s probably a good thing we only get a new release every three years or so – the sheer amount of life she experiences, absorbs, and then channels into her music might be too much otherwise. Mostly for her! A prime example is the epic six-and-a-half minute long epic, “One of the Greats”, which builds and builds, then back down, only to finally burst wide open in sound and emotion. [2025-list] 

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5- Steven Wilson • The Overview

6- The Beths • Straight Line Was a Lie

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7- SPRINTS • All That Is Over

SPRINTS – the indie/garage/punk/post-punk/rock band from Dublin (is that enough descriptors?) – is back with their second LP in as many years. Like The Last Dinner Party at the top of this list, SPRINTS landed in my top 20 for the second year running. This time out, they took everything I already liked about them and somehow made it bigger. Check out this video for “Descartes” to hear exactly what I mean. [2025-list]

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8- Austra • Chin Up Buttercup

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9- Lucius • Lucius

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10- Deep Sea Diver • Billboard Heart

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11- Sharon Van Etten • Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory

Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory, the first of Van Etten’s albums to be credited as a full-band effort, is bookended by two five-minute-plus tracks – “Live Forever” and “I Want You Here” – that build slowly and finish big. In between is a set of songs that draw from influences as wide-ranging as the post-punk of early New Order and Joy Division (“Somethin’ Ain’t Right”) to the pulsing, neo-rock-disco of Masseduction-era St. Vincent (“I Can’t Imagine”). Yet Van Etten and her band pull these influences together in a way that feels unmistakably their own. Here’s an incendiary performance of “Southern Life (What it Must Be Like)” from The Tonight Show earlier this year. [2025-list]

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12- Robert Plant • Saving Grace

I wonder how surprised we all would have been, back in Led Zeppelin’s 1970s heyday, to hear the kind of music Robert Plant would be releasing four or five decades later. His voice, vision, and sound have evolved so dramatically over time that it’s hard to believe this is the same artist we first met in 1969, proclaiming, “In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man.”  And yet, this new record – named after his new backing band, Saving Grace – still carries his unmistakable voice as the band drifts through Americana, roots rock and the blues.  And while Plant is clearly the main draw, this is a genuine collaboration with his new band and their vocalist, Suzi Dian.  Check out “Higher Rock” from their appearance on Later … with Jools Holland to hear what I mean. [2025-list]

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13- Jehnny Beth • You Heartbreaker, You

Like her previous band, Savages, Jehnny Beth’s music is ferocious and uncompromising. Where Savages largely channeled the sound and spirit of the original post-punk era, Beth has expanded on that foundation, adding more layers and complexity – including clear nods to the electronic and industrial textures of Nine Inch Nails.  Here’s the official video for the song, “No Good for People” (also, turn the volume up!) [2025-list]

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14- Portugal. The Man • SHISH

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15- Momma • Welcome to My Blue Sky

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16- Geese • Getting Killed

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17- Garbage • Let All That We Imagine Be the Light

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18- Kadavar • K.A.D.A.V.A.R.

I discovered this psychedelic hard-rock band from Germany about a decade ago when they opened for Austin doom/prog-rockers The Sword, and I’ve followed them ever since. This album scratches the same itch I had growing up on early Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Rainbow. Here are a couple of performance videos that show what Kadavar is all about: “Lies”  and  “Total Annihilation” (a song that completely lives up to its title!) [2025-list]

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19- Melody’s Echo Chamber – Unclouded

If I were asked how I first discovered the music of Melody Prochet, the French multi-instrumentalist, I wouldn’t have an answer. She must have slipped into my musical orbit while I wasn’t paying attention. But I’m glad I found her in time to enjoy this new record, Unclouded, which I’ve since learned is her fourth album since her self-titled debut in 2012. The album has a cinematic yet dreamlike sound, chill and atmospheric without ever becoming boring. I’m now looking forward to diving into the rest of Melody’s catalog. Here’s the video for the opening track, “The House That Doesn’t Exist”. [2025-list]

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20- Automatic • Is It Now?

If Gary Numan, circa “Cars” and “Are Friends Electric?”, got together with Ladytron around the time of Gravity the Seducer, it might sound a bit like Automatic. Automatic is a three-piece band from Los Angeles that formed in 2017, combining the stark electronics of the late ’70s with early ’80s post-punk, then filtering it all through the detached cool of the ’60s. The result is a sound that feels both out of step with time, and completely timeless.  Here’s the official video for the lead track “Black Box” [2025-list]

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Bonus: Black Country, New Road • Forever Howlong

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Bonus: Panda Bear • Sinister Grift

I came across this album just as I was finishing my list for the year. It’s already a daunting task paring down all the new music I listened to into a top-20 list, without having an artist I’d barely heard of catch my ear right as I was “going to press.” A quick check revealed that Panda Bear is the solo project of Noah Lennox from Animal Collective—another artist I know almost nothing about. All of this goes to show that no matter how much I try, I can’t listen to everything! That said, Panda Bear is now firmly on my radar, and I really like what I’m hearing so far.  Here’s a video for “Praise” – enjoy the cute dogs! [2025-list]

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2024 • 2025 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

Here’s the list of my favorite albums for 2024 along with a disclaimer.  For the sake of creating a list I put these albums in a sequence, though there is not as significant a difference between the rankings as it would seem. So while The Cure’s new record is my favorite of the year, it’s not easy placing the new Opeth album a full 19 spots later.  What I’d really like is a TARDIS of a list where I could fit 20 albums into my top 10 and at least 30 into my top 20.

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1- The Cure • Songs of A Lost World

Ever since I discovered The Cure in the late 70s/early 80s, they’ve been a significant part of my musical experience. For me, The Cure’s music transcends genres, styles and eras. They may have begun as part of the post-punk/new wave movement, but they’ve long since eclipsed those labels. Robert Smith and his band create music that exists outside of whatever else is happening in music or pop culture. So here we are in 2024, forty-five years since their debut (Three Imaginary Boys) and sixteen years since their last output (4:13 Dream), with an album that can stand alongside the best of their long career. Songs of A Lost World has found a place among albums like The Head on the Door, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Disintegration and Wish, as one of their best records. How often does this happen so deep into a band’s career? Here’s the epic album closer, “Endsong” from the Shows of a Lost World tour. [go-up-to-list]

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2- Vampire Weekend • Only God Was Above Us

Some albums take a few listens to cement their place in my mind (and ears), but not the newest release from Vampire Weekend, Only God Was Above Us. From my first listen last April to my most recent spin earlier today, this album was a shower, not a grower! Every song has something that draws the listener close and then takes them on a journey. The first track, “Ice Cream Piano”, starts soft and slow, but there’s an undercurrent of tension represented by the hum of feedback that keeps growing little by little until the song explodes into sound at about the 1:17 mark. Then, just as you think they can’t add any more, here comes tumbling arpeggios of strings, and the song takes off all over again. This LP is an instant no-skip classic! [go-up-to-list]

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3- St Vincent • All Born Screaming 

Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, is described by AllMusic as “a musical polymath who blends rock, jazz, electronic and classical touches innovatively”. Oh, and she also shreds on guitar! Her new album, All Born Screaming, is yet another collection of genre-bending, exhilarating songs. My favorite moment in the album (among many!) happens during the second song, “Reckless”. After the achingly slow buildup that takes up the first 2/3 of the song, there’s a pause at the 2:38 mark – and then the music shatters everything you thought was happening and explodes into a wall of noise. And that song just barely prepares one for the electro-industrial funk of the one that follows, “Broken Man”, which also twists and turns and pummels the listener. To get an idea of what I mean check out this batshit crazy performance on Jimmy Kimmel. When listening to St Vincent, turn the volume to 11! [go-up-to-list]

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4- David Gilmour • Luck and Strange 

The title track of David Gilmour’s fifth solo album is built around a recorded jam session with the late Pink Floyd keyboardist, Richard Wright, and there are certainly parts of this excellent late-career album that have the feel of classic Floyd.  The standout third song, “The Piper’s Call”, starts off with a simple strummed ukulele and slowly builds and swells.  Then the final 2-minutes turns into a powerful, evocative guitar solo/jam that would be right at home on the classic 1977 Pink Floyd album, Animals.

However, Gilmour isn’t merely trying to replicate his past glories.  By continuing to tour to stay sharp and finding new collaborators, including his talented daughter, Romany (as singer, harpist & writer, he has created an album that fits in well amongst the best of a long and celebrated career. Here is the music video for the song David and Romany Gilmour performed together, “Between Two Points”, which was originally recorded by the British dream-pop duo The Montgolfier Brothers. [go-up-to-list]

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5- Still Corners • Dream Talk 

Still Corners, a British/American dream-pop duo, has been making lush, atmospheric music since their debut EP, Remember Pepper, in 2007. While I’ve enjoyed all their albums since discovering them about a decade ago, this is the first time that they’ve captured my attention so fully. Dream Talk was released back in April, and according to my Spotify Wrapped I listened to this album A LOT – especially the song “The Dream”. This is music to escape and chill out with, where the mood and feeling matters as much as the music and the words. In some ways the album can feel like one long, evolving song – though each number stands on its own. Here’s a live version of “The Dream” which takes the song to another level. [go-up-to-list]

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6- The Last Dinner Party • Prelude to Ecstasy 

Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party turned out to be my favorite debut album of the year, though first efforts by Sprints and English Teacher made this a close call! This British band, comprised of four women who had never been in bands before, began planning, writing and performing in 2021.  They soon gained a reputation as a band to watch in the London live scene and before even releasing a single the band opened for acts like Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and even the Rolling Stones.  Finally, they released their first single “Nothing Matters”, which charted well in both the UK singles chart and the US alternative chart .  They followed that up with “Sinner” and “My Lady of Mercy”, all with creative videos that harken back to the classic MTV era. The band presents a beguiling mix of baroque indie rock that sounds like it could be the lost lovechild of Florence + the Machine and Queen. I caught them live earlier this year, and they put on a fantastic show in front of a sold out, wildly enthusiastic crowd at The Music Box here in San Diego. Here’s a clip of “Portrait of a Dead Girl” from the show I attended. As the song goes on check out how invested the audience is. [go-up-to-list]

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7- English Teacher • This Could Be Texas 

There is just so much going on in this debut LP from Leeds four-piece English Teacher, that it’s hard to know where to start.  From song to song, and often within a song, the band segues and swerves between a wide range of sounds and styles.  Sure there are established forms present like rock, post-punk, dream pop and electronica, but you almost need to invent new genres, like “indie-prog”, to accurately describe their sound.  This is an expansive, nuanced, mesmerizing album that shows English Teacher to be a group of musicians worth following to see what they’ll do next. Here’s a live in the studio video of the slow burner, “Mastermind Specialism” and both a the official music video and then a live performance video of the song “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab”.  [go-up-to-list]

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8- La Luz • News of the Universe 

La Luz (Spanish for “the light”), are a 4-piece surf – indie – psychedelic – garage – rock band formed in 2012. Led by Shana Cleveland on guitar and lead vocals, the Seattle band began mostly as a surf-revival band with a modern take on the classic surf sound. Since their first album, It’s Alive released in 2013 with songs like “Sure As Spring”, La Luz has continuously added to their sound with influences from garage rock, psychedelia, girl group and doo wop being added to the mix. These influences have culminated in their fifth album, News of the Universe. After an introductory a cappella piece that sets the stage for what’s to come, we get the first real song, “Strange World”, which starts off with a psychedelic garage-rock stomp, a la the Black Keys. But then, 38 seconds in, the song shifts gears into a gorgeous psychedelic girl-group piece, with soaring, harmonized vocals, only to shift again as the sounds, voices and music swirl and build and finally end with a flurry of percussion and an electronic keyboard breakdown. La Luz may have begun as an indie-surf band, but by expanding their sound and aesthetic they’ve created a timeless album that both borrows deftly from the past and fits right in today. [go-up-to-list]

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9- Pearl Jam • Dark Matter 

After thirty-three years and twelve albums, Pearl Jam are still here, filling arenas and releasing compelling rock n’ roll albums.  Dark Matter starts out with the bracing one-two punch of “Scared of Fear” and “React, Respond”.  These are two charging, riff-filled, all-out classic rock songs that show just how much life Pearl Jam still has entering the fourth decade of their career. Yet as much as some songs on Dark Matter rock, Pearl Jam still knows how to slow it down with great results, as on the gorgeous and contemplative closer, “Setting Sun”.  But the song that reaches for the brass ring of the band’s early glory years the most is “Waiting For Stevie”.  This song, which gets its title from Stevie Wonder, begins as a mid-tempo rocker and then slowly builds until an epic guitar riff takes over.  Add in Matt Cameron’s huge drum fills and sound, followed by an extended, scorching guitar solo from Mike McCready and you have a song that can stand with the best in the bands’ catalog. [go-up-to-list]

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10- SPRINTS • Letter to Self 

From the SoundCheck podcast: “Dublin band SPRINTS combines roaring guitars and searing punk melodies with inward-looking lyrics, and always deliver charged music with abrasive authenticity.”  SPRINTS is everything I love about rock n’ roll and demonstrates why I still search for new music and new bands to this day.  It’s so simple: vocals, guitar, bass and drums.  Sure, you can add keyboards, and every once in a while throw in a horn section, but mostly it’s the first four.  SPRINTS has found a way to take these primal ingredients of rock music and shape them into something that has both classic punk energy and a modern, ferocious and blistering feel. Check out SPRINTS live at KEXP. [go-up-to-list]

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11- Amyl and the Sniffers • Cartoon Darkness 

With massive guitars, driving bass, pummeling drums and fervent vocals, Amyl and the Sniffers create music that is both confrontational, cathartic and rocks the fuck out!  This Aussie band is now three albums into their career and has found a way to expand their no-frills punk into a sound that can still turn a club into a frenzy or blow off the roof of the arenas they’re now playing in.  Bands like Amyl and the Sniffers are proof that rock music is still as vital as ever.  Rock is not dead, and it’s still giving “the man” a middle finger! (here’s “Guided By Angels”, the first song I ever heard from Amyl and the Sniffers) [go-up-to-list]

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12- Mannequin Pussy • I Got Heaven 

This indie-punk band from Philadelphia has been turning heads and bursting eardrums for a decade now, with each of their three previous albums topping the previous one.  But Mannequin Pussy has officially arrived with their fourth LP, I Got Heaven.  This album is full of big hooks, searing riffs and dizzying shifts in dynamics; and it’s all led by the wildly charismatic and often unhinged performance of frontwoman Marisa Dabice. I regret not seeing this band at their sold-out show at The Observatory in San Diego (capacity 1100) last October but I won’t make that mistake again. Here’s the official music video of “I Got Heaven” plus the live version on KEXP. [go-up-to-list]

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13- Mr. Gnome • A Sliver of Space 

Mr. Gnome’s music is almost impossible to categorize. While descriptors like art-rock, indie-psychedelic, synth-pop and theatrical are useful, they don’t tell the whole story. Just check out the opening track, “Nothing and Everything”, which is a seven-minute long, intense, proggy, layered, musical journey. This is followed by “Fader”, another epic seven-minute song, that features an extended psychedelic electric guitar freakout that sounds like Jeff Beck fronting the Flaming Lips at a concert on Jupiter. If you already know about Mr. Gnome then congratulations – if you don’t, then do yourself a favor and check them out. (for further listening check out “House of Circles” from their 2011 album, Madness In Miniature) [go-up-to-list]

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14- Kim Deal • Nobody Loves You More 

While the voice that opens and carries the listener through this excellent solo debut is unmistakably that of Kim Deal, this record sounds very different from any of her previous work with The Breeders, Pixies or The Amps. The first track, “Nobody Loves You More”, features a languid, string laden opening for 90 seconds before a full-on brass section bursts into the song, letting the listener know to expect anything and everything going forward. The third song, “Crystal Breath”, sounds like it could sooner fit right in on a Masseduction era St. Vincent album than on any Breeders record. This album, with its many adventurous, eclectic, often lavish twists and turns, only gets better with each listen. [go-up-to-list]

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15- Sleater-Kinney • Little Rope 

I came late to the Sleater-Kinney party, arriving in time for the excellent 2015 album No Cities to Love which featured the incendiary track “Surface Envy”.  I’m not proud of that, but as much as I’ve tried, I can’t follow every band!  But I’ve done my best to catch up since then and have discovered just how much SK has meant to rock music since they started in the mid-90’s, especially the indie-punk-riot grrrl scene that they sprang from. Fast forward to 2024 and the opening song, “Hell”, off the band’s 11th album, Little Rope.  It starts off slow and sparse until it breaks out into a maelstrom of sound and fury.  The song continues as the dynamics shift violently back and forth from calm to fury and back again.  It’s hard to believe that a band can put out an album this striking and meaningful a full 30 years after their debut. [go-up-to-list]

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16- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds • Wild God 

Nick Cave long ago transcended the role of being a mere rockstar.  From his start as the leader of Australia’s short-lived, impactful, post-punk band, The Birthday Party; through the many albums with his eclectic backing band, The Bad Seeds; to his soundtrack work with Warren Ellis; Cave has been a prolific, enigmatic, iconoclastic anti-rockstar rockstar.  It seems like the less accessible Cave becomes with his music and lyrical themes, the more his star rises.  Over the course of the last 45 years, Cave and his band have gone from rooms to clubs to theaters to arenas to stadiums without seeming to give one fuck about what anyone else thought of their music.  Let’s give credit to the music fans around the world who have figured out just how essential Cave’s work is. So just put Wild God on and let Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds tell you another story. [go-up-to-list]

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17- Jack White • No Name 

With No Name, Jack White now has as many solo albums (six) as he released with the White Stripes.  Add in three LPs each with the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather and that is a lot of music for one person to be a part of, much less the driving/creative force for much of it.  Yet here we are, 18 albums and 25 years since The White Stripes was released in 1999, and Jack White has put out an exciting, raucous and primal record that fits in well with the records of that two-piece band that made him famous so many years ago. Check out “That’s How I’m Feeling” to hear what it’s all about. [go-up-to-list]

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18- X • Smoke & Fiction 

X arrived in 1980 with their ferocious debut LP, Los Angeles, which is not just one of the best punk-rock albums ever, but one of the best rock ‘n’ roll albums. And now we have the bookend to a storied career as Smoke & Fiction is billed as the band’s farewell album. The album opener, “Ruby Church”, has everything you could want from X: snarling, intertwined vocals from Exene Cervenka and John Doe; rockabilly infused guitar licks from Billy Zoom; and a driving beat from DJ Bonebrake on drums. While it may not be as visceral as their debut (how could it be?), Smoke & Fiction is still a powerful final statement from a band that helped change the face of rock n’ roll 45 years ago. [go-up-to-list]

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19- Beth Gibbons • Lives Outgrown 

I still remember the first time I heard Portishead.  It was at a friend’s loft in downtown San Diego in 1998.  I was living in Houston at the time and had not been exposed to “trip hop” or whatever other labels were being assigned to artists like Massive Attack, Tricky and Thievery Corporation.  Those bands were (and are still) fantastic, but Portishead had something they didn’t: Beth Gibbons on vocals.  Portishead only released three albums between 1994 and 2008 and this is only Gibbons’ second solo outing, her first being a collaboration with Rustin Man (aka Paul Webb of Talk Talk) on the 2002 LP Out of Season. 

Beth Gibbons’ voice is all at once haunting, intense, mysterious and ethereal.  And she brings her unique vocals to a set of songs that don’t seem to inhabit any particular style or genre.  They just exist as the perfect vehicle for Gibbons’ singular voice.  Here’s “Floating On A Moment”. [go-up-to-list]

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20- Opeth • Last Will and Testament 

By now Opeth has become an institution in the annals of heavy progressive metal.  Many OG fans were dismayed when they ditched the harsh vocals several albums ago, but it turned out to be a good move as the band was able to gain a wider audience by leaning even more in the progressive heavy-rock direction. 

So it was surprising to hear Mikael Åkerfeldt’s wrathful roar return in 2024, this time as a character in an epic concept album about the reading of the will of a powerful and wealthy man, the patriarch of a family whose saga is full of deceit and intrigue.  Some may be turned off by the growling voice of “the patriarch”, but just know he’s just one character in a complex story told alongside music that is dramatic, layered and constantly shifting gears.  At one point you’ll hear a gorgeous Mellotron passage accompanied by orchestral strings followed by an extended brain-melting prog-metal guitar outro. It was also an unexpected treat to hear Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson on the album as he provided both a trademark flute solo and the spoken-word voice of the seedy lawyer. Here’s the full epic Chapter §4 and a live clip of Chapter §3. [go-up-to-list]

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Saint Etienne – The Night

It’s a sign of what a strong year in music this was that I could not find a spot for the excellent new Saint Etienne LP in my top-20.  So here’s the album that didn’t quite fit:

This latest album by this British indie-pop-experimental band is meant to be listened to at night, with headphones, in a very quiet and dark room (seriously, don’t listen to it any other way). The songs swirl and morph from stark and simple to lushly atmospheric. The words and music seem like they just appear, almost out of nowhere, to take us wherever Saint Etienne is going.  [go-up-to-list]

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Kings of Leon • Can We Please Have Fun 

In 2005, I went to see U2 play an arena show in San Diego in support of their 2004 album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.  Their set featured a dazzling display of sound, lights and special effects, but before they played, there was a relatively unknown band from Tennessee opening the show.  As usual, the crowd was sparse at the beginning of the openers’ set, as it usually takes a while for the arena to fill in for the headliner.  But this felt different.  This sounded different.  This band that most attendees had barely heard of, if at all, was just going for it on stage, playing like they were the headliners.  The crowd seemed to notice, and by halfway through their set the Kings of Leon, who had just released their second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, had pulled the audience in from the hallways and let them know they weren’t there to fuck around.

While it wasn’t long before the Kings of Leon were headlining arenas themselves, it was still quite a moment to see a new band take control of a crowd that wasn’t there to see them the way they did.  That’s a fair amount of words to say that I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart (and my ears) for the Kings of Leon.  While this album may not contain the next “Sex On Fire”, it is still their strongest collection of songs in at least a decade, and proves to me once again why I always get to shows in time to see the openers.  [go-up-to-list]

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2023 • 2025 • 2024 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2022 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2021 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2019 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2018 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2017 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

As usual, after the top five, the order is not very meaningful.  Also, my yearly list is based solely on the albums I’ve purchased and I’m sure there are many great records that I missed —  but really, you can’t hear everything!  I’ll fill in the blurbs as I get a chance. Here we go…

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1- St. Vincent • MASSEDUCTION

Just like in 2014, St. Vincent’s album came in at number 1. This record is quite different from her previous one, but it still grabs the listener from the opening bass riff of Hang on Me and doesn’t let go until the bass-heavy outro at the end of Smoking Section. While St. Vincent has always been just a vehicle for whatever Annie Clark wants to do, she has always had a stellar band backing her up – both on her records and in concert. Having said that, this record felt much more like a solo offering, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw her live recently that she performed alone – without her band.  It was disconcerting at first but after not too long it made sense and her spectacular guitar playing, singing, and stage presence made it a compelling and memorable show. [2017 List]

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2- The War on Drugs • A Deeper Understanding

Here’s another band from my 2014 list that scored high again.  This band, which still reminds me of classic rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits, sounds perfect in 2017 yet could really be from any time in the last 30 years.  Their lyrics and melodies are timeless, and they let their songs stretch and breath – never in a hurry. There are ten songs on the record and they average over 6.5 minutes per track. [2017 List]

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Best San Diego Album

Birdy Bardot • Birdy Bardot II

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2016 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013

This was an interesting year in music for me.  Just like I did 4 decades ago, I do a lot of my best listening while I drive.  My challenge this past year though was that I kept getting distracted by this ridiculous election.  I’m not going to get into that here, but I spent way too much time flipping the dial between news channels and not enough time listening to music.  Because of that there are albums that got by me or that I didn’t pay enough attention to.  Hopefully I’ll catch up to them soon enough but until then, here are the albums that got my attention this year.  I’ve put them in order – but really, outside of the top 5 the sequence isn’t that meaningful.  Though the first one was easy….

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1- David Bowie• Blackstar

Considering Bowie’s immeasurable talent, contributions, and influence on rock ‘n’ roll I imagine I’d put this album at the top of my annual list anyway. But it just so happens that this record belongs in this spot regardless of the circumstances.

The first time I heard this album I was making a nighttime drive from San Diego to Phoenix.  I had resisted listening to previews of the record so I could take it in all at once the first time I heard it. I had nothing else to do but keep my car pointed straight and listen to this magnificent record unfold.  Man, if we could all pick our own way to “shuffle off this mortal coil” this is the way to do it. [2016 list]

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2- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds• Skeleton Key  

Of all the records that came out in 2016 I’ll bet I listened to this one the most. The pain, anguish and grief that Cave poured into this album – without ever coming close to being maudlin – is astonishing.

If I hadn’t already known that Cave’s 15-year-old son had died during the making of this record it still would have been obvious that something devastating had occurred.  The first couplet of the opening song, “Jesus Alone”, tells you where Cave’s heart was:  You fell from the sky/Crash landed in a field; which describes literally and poetically how his son died. The anguish is unmistakable and really comes to a head with the gorgeous, though brief, chorus of: With my voice/I am calling you.

This is a minimalist album musically, with most songs seeming like ambient soundscapes, but the lyrics are breathtaking and often harrowing.  When the vocal melody breaks through the dirge, as in the set piece of “Distant Sky”, it can bring tears to your eyes.  It also, in just one song, provides enough light to balance an otherwise very dark album. [2016 list]

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3-  Black Mountain• IV 

One of the things I like about getting my music at a real record store is that I often discover music I wouldn’t have otherwise. Either by talking to the staff, browsing the racks, or hearing what’s playing while I’m shopping.  But the next level up from that is when the staff – often surreptitiously – plays something while I’m in the store just to see if I’ll go for it.  As if they are baiting a hook and to see if I’ll take a bite.  I was in my favorite record store, Lou’s Records in Encinitas, just browsing around when the sonic mood shifted decidedly.  I don’t remember what was playing before but suddenly something loud, and heavy, and trippy was pummeling the handful of customers in the store.  I pretended not to notice what Jeremy was doing since I knew he was trying to manipulate me.  But of course, I succumbed and went over to the counter and said something along the lines of, “I know what you’re doing but I really want this record!”.  This was Black Mountain’s 2008 release In the Future.  Since then I’ve I haven’t missed an album, or a tour and they are easily one of my favorite acts since the turn of the century.

This record has everything I loved about the band almost 10 years ago and more — massive guitars, melodic vocals, proggy keyboards and arrangements, and interesting lyrical ideas – but the craft they’ve learned over the past decade is on display as well.  This isn’t just one of my favorite albums of 2016 but might make my top-10 of the new millennium. And for what it’s worth they are a beast live and easily one of the loudest groups I’ve ever seen. [2016 list]

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4- Frightened Rabbit • Painting of a Panic Attack

Yet another dark album thematically this year (Bowie, Cave, SVIIB) but this time with soaring guitars, huge hooks, and big choruses. Frightened Rabbit has been a favorite since my daughter texted me years ago to check out the band when she came across them playing a free set on the UC Berkeley campus. This is another band that puts on sensational live performances. [2016 list]

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5- Plants & Animals• Waltzed in from the Rumbling

I guess it’s no coincidence that this record is listed right behind Frightened Rabbit’s. The day after my daughter sent me that text re FR I caught their show at the House of Blues here in San Diego and the openers were Plants & Animals!  While Plants & Animals don’t swing for the fences the way Frightened Rabbit does, they have still captured my attention ever since.  One of my favorite songs over the last several years was “The Mama Papa” off their 2010 album, La La Land.  This new album, their fifth overall, is filled to the brim with musical and lyrical ideas and at times it seems like the songs can barely contain them all.  This is an album I usually put on when I’m in a good mood and half way through the ebullient second song, “No Worries Gonna Find Us”, I feel even better! [2016 list]

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6- Shearwater• Jet Plane and Oxbow  

If someone asked me to describe most genres in rock I think I could give a reasonably good description. But modern indie rock? I’m not so sure.  Really it seems like anything goes now and this album illustrates that quite well.  There are pulsing electronic synths (“Prime”), jagged beats followed by a Bowie-esque vocal hook (“Quiet Americans”), and driving melodic rockers (“A Long Time Away”).  And that’s just the first three songs!  A lot of music fans have never heard of Shearwater, but they’ve put out 9 long-players since splitting from Okkervil River way back in 2001. [2016 list]

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7- Steven Wilson • 4 ½  

The name of this record suggests that this is not a full album – as if it exists only to bridge the gap between the previous record, 2015’s Hand. Cannot. Erase and 2017’s To the Bone. But at nearly 40 minutes long and six fully formed songs this sure seems like a full album to me. Regardless, this is just great modern prog-rock.  In an era when most artists and groups of any stature put out albums only every 3 to 4 years (or 11 years and counting – hello Tool!!) Steven Wilson is undeniably prolific.  Yet the quality of his music is never diminished.

This record is book-ended with two behemoths in track one, “My Book of Regrets”, and the final track, “Don’t Hate Me”.  These are both 9 minutes-plus epics that cover a vast array of musical styles.  In these songs you’ll find everything from prog-metal to jazz and everything in between.  Fans of Pink Floyd and King Crimson will find a lot to like with this record, but Steven Wilson and company are no retro act and if this is just some in-between-album it’s a damn good one. [2016 list]

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8- Opeth • Sorceress  

This album marks the third outing since Opeth abandoned the blast-beats and cookie-monster vocals that accompanied the death-prog-metal from their earlier years. While they can still summon a bludgeoning presence, as on the title track, the band has fully transformed itself into a nimble, and at times crushing, prog rock band. [2016 list]

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9- Wolfmother • Victorious  

It’s hard to imagine Wolfmother releasing an album and it not being in my top-20 for the year. Since the first time I heard of the band (in a surf video called Young Guns II) they have scratched every itch I’ve ever had for melodic hard rock. To my ears, it seemed like someone had put Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and The White Stripes into a blender and poured out a cool mug of Wolfmother.  There may be different players alongside songwriter, guitarist, singer Andrew Stockdale, but their formula of hard-charging melodic 70’s fueled rock ‘n roll is still essentially the same. [2016 list]

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10- Claypool Lennon Delirium • The Monolith of Phobos.

This super-group formed around Sean Lennon and Les Claypool sounds exactly like you think it would. It’s weird, trippy, psychedelic, proggy and very strange. Just put some headphones on, drop the needle on the opening title track, turn the volume knob to 11, and get ready to go on a trip into intergalactic space. [2016 list]

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11- Tacocat • Lost Time

I think it’s safe to say that Tacocat, the 4-piece punk/pop [the order of those descriptors matters!) band from Seattle, were not writing their latest album for me, a middle-aged man who grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Jethro Tull. But fuck-it, that’s not my fault, because this is just great music! I like everything about this album, from its big surf-inspired guitars to its clever lyrics. And if you ever get a chance to see this band live do not miss it – while their records are great this band is a whole different animal onstage and put on easily one of the best shows I saw all year. [2016 list]

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12- Garbage • Strange Little Birds  

I wonder if this album had come out, exactly as it is, in 1999 if their fans from almost 20 years ago could tell this was a blast from the future? I doubt it.  Just listen to track two, “Empty”.  It has everything anyone ever loved about Garbage: a huge production, mammoth guitars and towering choruses.  So, is this just a retread from their past glory?  I don’t know and really I don’t fucking care. All I know is that when I put this cd in car’s player I turn the volume knob clockwise and set my cruise control so that I don’t drive 100 mph. [2016 list]

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13- Savages • Adore Life  

If I had somehow never heard of Savages and you played this record for me and then asked me to guess which decade it’s from, there’s a good chance I might miss by 30 years! I’d sooner believe that this was a contemporary of the post-punk scene that produced Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bauhaus than believe it was a modern record.  At this point though, does it really matter?  My 15-year-old son’s favorite band is Blue Oyster Cult – genres and eras don’t seem to matter anymore. [2016 list]

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14- Daughter • Not to Disappear  

The listener might be fooled into thinking this is just chill background music. The listener would be wrong.  At times the music is slow and languid, at others it is noisy and bristling with post-punk energy.  This record should be played loud and listened to carefully as there is a lot more going on, and it is much more powerful, than it first seems. [2016 list]

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15- School of Seven Bells • SVIIB  

One of my favorite bands of the early 00’s was Secret Machines – a band that seemed to combine elements of every movement in rock since the Beatles with a heavy dose of pre-DSOTM Pink Floyd psychedelia and the stomp of early Led Zeppelin. When that band broke up I followed singer/guitarist Ben Curtis when he joined Alejandra and Claudia Deheza (On! Air! Library!) to form School of Seven Bells. The new band combined the best parts of each of their original groups and went on to release four excellent albums.  This, though, is their best album yet as it takes everything they were doing to another level.  The first song, “Ablaze”, really sets the tone as the music brings back the power and majesty of Secret Machines and combines it with the ethereal, driving vocals of Alejandra (by now the group was just a duo).  Set against the force of the music/vocals the lyrics are often melancholy and aching – yet ever hopeful as well.  Sadly, after much of the album was written and recorded, Ben Curtis was diagnosed with, and succumbed to cancer. This album, finished by Curtis’s romantic and creative partner Alejandra and Ben’s brother Brandon two years after his death, stands as a brilliant final statement for the band. [2016 list]

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16- The Kills • Ash & Ice  

Yet another dark record in a year that saw plenty of them. The songs on this first album by the British/American duo in 5 years are lacerating both lyrically and musically. It’s clear that Alison Mosshart’s time with The Dead Weather raised her profile, but it certainly didn’t soften her approach to songwriting or singing.  And her partner in The Kills, Jamie Hince, must have had his own demons to exorcise since this record has a bristling, defiant vibe throughout. [2016 list]

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17- Okkervil River • Away

Okkervil River’s last album, 2013’s Silver Gymnasium, contained one of my favorite songs of the past several years: “Down Down the Deep River”. There is nothing on this record that grabbed me so dramatically, but this was still a highlight for the year.  In contrast to most of Okkervil River’s catalog this record is quiet and often melancholy.  It feels more like a Will Sheff solo LP rather than the output of a full band, but Okkervil River has always revolved around Sheff’s guitar and songwriting.  Perhaps it’s fitting then that the title of the first song is Okkervil River R.I.P. And though it’s quiet, there is no shortage of melodic vocal hooks and gorgeous musical passages. [2016 list]

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18- Caveman• Otero War  

This band is yet another example of why I always arrive at shows in time to see the opening act. When I went to see Frightened Rabbit at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, I had never heard of the opener, Caveman, but I’m sure glad I had a chance to see them. Caveman fits in well with other Brooklyn bands I’ve seen recently like Snowmine and Small Black as they present an interesting blend of clever indie-pop that veers between traditional song structures and more experimental offerings. [2016 list]

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19- Wye Oak• Tween

Like Steven Wilson’s 4 ½, this record by the duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack is not meant to be an official album. Apparently, this is a collection of songs left over from previous albums. That may be but this is still a great collection of songs that has all the elements I like about Wye Oak.  Like many others I discovered Wye Oak when their song, “Civilian”, played during a haunting sequence in an early episode of The Walking Dead.  They can be quite and noisy, soft and loud, electronic and analog — often in the same song.  Wye Oak was also one of the highlights of my 2016 summer concert season. [2016 list]

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20- Kristin Kontrol • X-Communicate

Crunchy power cord riffs, disco rhythms, new wave embellishments, and pop vocals. This seems like a pop album – but I don’t really listen to pop music – so why do I like this? I know I bought the album on the strength of Kristin Gundred’s (Dee Dee) previous work with Dum Dum Girls but she has definitely gone in a new direction with this project. It may be pop – but it’s a subversive pop – and I like it! [2016 list]

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2015 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 •2016 • 2014 • 2013

We are now halfway through the 6^th decade of Rock ‘n Roll A.B. (After Beatles).  That’s 52 years since Please Please Me and Meet the Beatles came out in 1963.  Until recently each decade in rock had its own signature sounds.  Of course, there was some overlap, or there might have been simultaneous but separate genres going on (like New Wave and Hair Metal in the 80’s) but each successive decade in rock spawned a new sound and a new set of artists: the 60’s had The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks and The Who; the 70’s had Led Zeppelin, Queen, Elton John and the Eagles; the 80’s had U2, REM, Duran Duran and Gun’s n Roses; the 90’s had Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Beck; the 00’s had The Killers, The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes.  Of course there have always been bands and scenes that didn’t really fit the mold poured by the decade they came from – like The Velvet Underground in the 60’s,The Sex Pistols in the 70’s or The Misfits in the 80’s – but for the most part each decade had an identifiable sound.

But the 2010’s?  What group or artist in rock n’ roll defines this decade?  There are certainly great bands and performers that have become prominent over the past five years: St. Vincent, Alabama Shakes, Vampire Weekend and Tame Impala come to mind.  But aren’t they all just an extension of the anything-goes indie rock explosion of the previous decade?  Since the turn of the millennium rock music, more than ever, has become a true amalgamation of all the styles and genres that have come before.

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1- Steven Wilson • Hand Cannot Erase  

In an age when artists typically take three or more years to complete an album cycle, here comes Steven Wilson just two years after his last masterpiece, The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories, with another modern prog-rock classic.  Really, it is astonishing what Wilson has accomplished in his career: in addition to his four solo records, he has helmed or been a main creative force in at least a half a dozen other bands (Porcupine Tree, No-Man, I.E.M., Bass Communion, Blackfield, Storm Corrosion) which together have released 25 studio albums. This album is built around the story of Joyce Carol Vincent; a British woman whose death went unnoticed for almost three years as her corpse lay undiscovered in her flat amongst a pile of Christmas presents.  The music that accompanies the story is a vast, imaginative and complex combination of styles including prog rock, classic rock, metal and electronics.  In 2013 Wilson held my #1 spot and now two years later he has earned it again. [2015 list] 

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2- The Dead Weather • Dodge and Burn  

I resisted every urge to listen to parts of this album as they became available, instead waiting to hear the effect of the full album – all at once and really loud!  My patience was rewarded as this record lived up to all my expectations and fucking rocks from start to finish. Whoever had the idea of having Allison Mosshart sing in front of a Jack White band deserves a medal because he/she is a rock ‘n roll genius. Mosshart venomously spits out the lyrics in front of a furious squall of guitar, bass and drums. There seems to be some kind of backlash against JW going on out there in internet-land – but really, fuck ‘em – because this album is awesome!! [2015 list]

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3- Sleater-Kinney • No Cities to Love

 I’m going admit something right from the start.  I did not follow Sleater-Kinney during their initial run.  I don’t have a good reason for that except to say I guess you can’t hear everything that’s out there.  But when this new record came out earlier this year there was so much buzz about it that I figured I’d better check it out.  Good thing I did too, because this record just rocks out from start to finish.  The album is filled to overflowing with angular riffs, pulsating basslines, syncopated rhythms, melodic hoods and lyrical urgency.  This album is strong from start to finish over its brief 33-minute running time, but a standout number for me was track 3: “Surface Envy.”  The song starts with a descending guitar motif backed by a simple bassline; then the drums kick in followed by a massive bass riff. With the song now roiling at full boil, Corin Tucker’s voice joins in like a caged tigress that was being held back from the microphone.  And that’s just the first 30 seconds!  So much tension is built throughout the introduction and the first long verse that it is exhilarating when the main riff is exposed and blows the song wide open during the chorus.  This record came out way back in January so I guess it’s now time for me to start checking out the band’s earlier output and find out where all this passion and fury came from. [2015 list]

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4- David Gilmour • Rattle That Lock 

While the former co-writer and lead guitarist for Prog-rock super-heroes Pink Floyd has been busy with a variety of projects – (the collection of previously unreleased Floyd tracks, The Endless River; and his trance/electronic work with The Orb) – it has been a long time since his last solo release, On an Island in 2006.  In fact, this is only Gilmour’s fourth solo outing since his self-title debut in 1978.  However, what he lacks in quantity, he more than makes up for in quality.  This is stunning album, especially for a 69-year-old artist with an already exceptional 50-year career in his rear-view mirror. [2015 list]

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5- Alabama Shakes • Sound & Color  

Three years ago Brittany Howard and the Alabama Shakes seemed to arrive out of nowhere to drop an awesome set of bluesy, soulful rock tunes on us with their debut album, Boys & Girls.  That record spent a lot of time on my turntable back in 2012 so I was eager to see what the band had in store with their second offering.  While they didn’t change the focus of their sound drastically, this also doesn’t feel like Boys & Girls Part 2.  If the first record seemed a bit controlled, they definitely let it all hang loose with this set. With Howard’s fierce vocal performance and the band locked in behind her, The Shakes seem to simultaneously look back to their influences and forward with their own sound. This band is going to be around for a long time.   [2015 list]

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6- Built to Spill • Untethered Moon  

With a jungle drum beat followed by crashing power chords and a distorted lead riff, it sounds like Built to Spill started off their first album in six years right in the middle of some classic rock song you’ve never heard before.  And really the entire album is like that.  It is new and creative, to be sure – but it is not of any particular time.  It’s like our needle was dropped in a random groove in music history and we just started rocking out.  This record keeps offering bursts of riffs, rhythms and lyrics that are as good as anything in this storied bands’ career.  And then there’s the final number, “When I’m Blind,” an epic track on an already standout album. This is a two-minute-long song with a six-minute guitar freak-out stuck right in the middle of it [yes, this song is a Tardis], and the release back into the main riff at the 7:08 mark is my favorite musical moment of the entire year. [2015 list]

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7- Metric • Pagans in Vegas  

Some bands just confound me that they are not more popular.  I’m sure that Emily Haines and her band are making a decent living filling House of Blues sized venues – but they should be a lot bigger.  This time out Metric trades in their guitar-oriented sound for a synth-heavy set that recalls many of the band’s heroes and influences like Depeche Mode (“Lie Lie Lie”) and New Order (“For Kicks”).  Don’t ever try to have a conversation with me when I play this album because every time it comes on I reach for the volume knob and twist it to the right! [2015 list]

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8- Courtney Barnett • Sometimes I sit and Think 

Here comes Courtney Barnett, a young singer/songwriter/guitarist from Australia, to prove that rock & roll is still alive and well in its second half-century of existence.  She combines clever, almost stream of consciousness, lyrics with classic rock & roll riffs and an energy that dares you to not start bobbing your head as you listen on your car stereo. [2015 list]

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9- The Waterboys • Modern Blues 

Mike Scott has lead the Scottish band, The Waterboys, with himself as the sole continuous member, since the early 80’s.  I remember the band mostly from their early smash hit, “A Girl Called Johnny”, a song that was hugely popular but did not seem to fit into the pop landscape at the time.  Then I promptly forgot about them for the next 32 years!  It wasn’t until I went into one of my favorite record stores, Spin Records in Carlsbad CA, that I rediscovered the band when the owner recommended that I get the new album.  All it took was the first song, “Destinies Entwined”, with a bluesy guitar riff backed by a Hammond organ and an Ennio Morricone-style trumpet solo, to get my full attention.  This album features song after song of Americana inspired classic blues-rock until it gets to the epic closing number, the 10:23 long opus “Long Strange Golden Road”, which sounds like a long lost classic from some Mark Knopfler/Bob Dylan super group.

 It turns out that The Waterboys have been busy in the intervening 3 decades, releasing 11 albums in between their 1983 debut and this new collection.  I was fortunate to see the band play live this past year and based on the energy and passion that Scott and company displayed on stage, and the enthusiastic response from the crowd, I’d wager this band has a lot of miles left in it. [2015 list]

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10- My Morning Jacket • The Waterfall  

I can never get enough of Jim James’ melodic voice and his band’s combination of classic rock mixed with prog-rock complexity and guitar heroics.  While much of this record is a more mellow and measured affair, there are tracks like “Spring (Among the Living)” that surge with power and emotional weight.  When I saw MMJ in concert this past year, they played most of this new album, and these new songs held up quite well against their classic repertoire. [2015 list]

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11- Florence + the Machine • How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful  

It’s hard for me to separate my feelings and thoughts about this album from the impression I got when I heard much of it live earlier this year. Florence Welch and company played most of the songs from the new album, her third overall and first in four years, on her headlining worldwide tour this year. Welch’s performance was so dramatic and the staging was so epic that I picture the show whenever I listen to the album. This is a gorgeous, propulsive album full of big hooks, massive choruses and the occasional kitchen sink thrown in for good measure. [2015 list]

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12- Wilco • Star Wars 

It has been four years since The Whole Love came out in 2011 and that is a long time in Wilco-land.  The good news is that Jeff Tweedy and the rest of the band have delivered an album that was definitely worth the wait.  Star Wars covers a lot of ground – from the noise-rock blast of the opener, EKG; to the alt-rock classic vibe of More… with its huge chorus; to the glam-rock stomp of Random Name Generator – and that’s just in the first three songs! Someone smarter than me said that this was like a greatest hits album of songs that had never been released before. [2015 list]

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13- John Grant • Grey Tickles, Black Pressure  

There is so much going on in this album, musically and lyrically, that it’s hard to know how to describe it.  There are clear homages to Frank Zappa and David Byrne, along with a lavish mix of New Wave, Chamber Pop and indie rock.  This is a dense, complex record that takes repeated listens and probably a lyric sheet to fully absorb.  It’s been out for just over two months now and I’m not nearly done figuring it out. [2015 list]

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14- Howlin’ Rain • Mansion Songs  

Howlin’ Rain is led by Ethan Miller, the creative force behind NorCal’s psych-rock outfit, Comets On Fire.  After issuing 4 albums in 5 years (just like they did back in the 70’s – an era that Miller has fully explored with all his projects) the Comets went on indefinite hiatus back in 2006.   Since then Miller, the only constant member in the band, has released 4 albums as Howlin’ Rain.  While his former band specialized in smashing together various styles and sounds, touching on acid-tripped psych-rock over a foundation of classic rock underpinnings, the group could also fool the listener into thinking that they had created a more normal song structure with the melodies and themes stretched out. Then, just when they lulled you into a false sense of safety, the guitars would just come unhinged and take the song to a completely different place. While Howlin’ Rain’s songs still take some interesting twists and turns, and Miller might still insert a guitar freak-out here and there, this new band is a much easier going affair.  Now the main influence is West Coast 70’s rock, with more emphasis on melody over distortion, and Miller’s ragged voice sounds perfectly at home over the often languid arrangements.  But don’t let this Laurel Canyon vibe deceive you – there are still plenty of big, hooky riffs and chanted choruses to bring some real energy to the songs.  This is especially true in a live setting.  I’ve seen this band a few times now and they are quite adept at locking into a melodic chilled-out groove, then building up and unleashing a ferocious racket. I like all their albums quite a bit but if I had to recommend the perfect starting point I would pick 2008’s Magnificent Fiend.  Get some good headphones and find a comfortable spot, then play the back to back numbers “Nomads” and “El Rey”. You’re welcome. [2015 list]

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15- The Sword •High Country  

One of the first albums I ever bought was Black Sabbath’s Paranoid – and it is still a favorite today.  But as good as Sabbath was, for my money their heyday ended back in 1975 with the 6^th album by their classic lineup, Sabotage.  Yet here we are 40 years later and new bands start up every day trying to emulate that epic heavy metal sound.  There has been a thriving retro heavy metal/stoner rock scene going on for some time and some of these bands are actually starting to break through to a wider audience; bands like Wolfmother, Mastodon, Priestess and Black Mountain come to mind.  Another standout group that has reached for Sabbath’s crown is The Sword (short for The Sword of Doom) who hail from Austin, Texas.  Since their first LP, Age of Winters, was released in 2005 The Sword have released four more doom-laden, prog-metal classics that would have been wildly popular had they come out in the 1970’s.  Even though they may not be filling the arenas that their music was meant for, they still regularly sell out smaller venues like the 700-person capacityBelly Up Tavern here in San Diego where I saw them earlier this year. [2015 list]

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16- Franz Ferdinand & Sparks • FFS

This pairing of two distinctive bands from completely different eras is like the Reese’s peanut butter cup of super-groups; they were meant to be together.  Sparks was new wave before the term existed; and Franz Ferdinand was greatly influenced by this now 30+ year old style.  Both bands are known for their clever wordplay and memorable choruses as well as wild shifts in tempo and rhythm.   Nearly every song is a duet between the two lead voices: 67-year-old Russell Mael and 43-year-old Alex Kapranos; but you’d never guess they were separated by so many years and several generations of rock ‘n roll.  Each holds their own, with and against the other, as their voices combine and split-up throughout the set.  A funny story that I read about this record when it came out:  when Kapranos first approached the Mael brothers with the idea of collaborating, the Sparks sent back a demo-song called “Piss Off”. Eleven years later it finally came together and of course that song is on the album! [2015 list]

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17- Baroness • Purple  

While I love vinyl, I still buy a lot of my new music on CD – mostly for cost considerations.  But there are some groups I always purchase on vinyl and Baroness is one of them.  The covers are magnificent and their 70’s influenced hard rock/heavy metal sound is perfect for the medium.  This new record gets the listener’s attention right from the start with a short multi-tracked guitar intro that clearly references early Queen. The intro is interrupted by a burst of crashing drum fills, returns again, and then all hell breaks loose with a monster guitar riff and pummeling rhythm section.  Purple features a furious twin guitar attack – at times locked together into crushing riffs and at other times intertwined in knotty melodic leads. Baroness draws from many generations of heavy rock as you can hear the influence of groups like Thin Lizzy, Metalica and Mastadon.  This record only arrived a week ago, otherwise it probably would have been higher on my list.  Regardless, I can tell that Purple is going to get a lot of play on my turntable. [2015 list]

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18- Drenge • Undertow

I like record stores for a lot of reasons.  One of them is that I often enter with a clear idea of what I want to buy, only to leave with something completely different.  If I go into a Sears store to buy a microwave oven, there is no chance that a salesman will be able to talk me into buying a blender. But if I go into a record shop to buy the new Mr. Gnome record and it is out of stock, when the clerk says, “Hey, check out this new album by Drenge”, then I’m all over it!  This record touches on so many genres, and sub-genres of rock: metal, psychedelic, garage, post-punk, and post-rock all come to mind; and the band seems to just toss them all into the blender (from Sears of course) to make a sound all their own. Thank you to Lous Records in Encinitas CA – your store has hung in there and fought the good fight since 1980. [2015 list]

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19- La Luz •Weirdo Shrine.

La Luz (Spanish for “the light”), are an all-female quartet based out of Seattle, WA.  After forming in 2012 they quickly released their debut, It’s Alive, in 2013.  Over the course of two albums now, the band, led by singer/guitarist Shana Cleveland has created a sound that deftly mixes girl-group sounds, indie rock, doo wop and of course the predominant element of their sound: surf rock.  This is indie music for surfers that don’t care about indie rock; just as it is surf-rock for indie scenesters that don’t care about surf music.  This turns out to not be a problem for me at all since I love both Surf and Indie rock.  The music goes from languid to upbeat between and within many of the songs, but always there are reverb drenched guitars and girl-group vocals.  If you’re feeling a little down in the dumps one day – grab a cup of coffee, or maybe a beer, and pop this record on.  Problem solved! [2015 list]

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20- Veruca Salt • Ghost Notes.  

Not a lot of groups made a lasting impression in the post-grunge boom of the mid-90’s. Groups like Live, Bush, Fuel and many others sold plenty of records and played to good crowds, but 20 years later they all kind of run together.  Not so with Veruca Salt.  Their first record, American Thighs from 1994, was an alt-rock classic.  Yes, they mixed a pop sensibility with their crushing guitars, but they stood out from the pack at the time and the album holds up quite well today [check out their hit “Seether” from American Thighs].  Ghost Notes is the band’s fifth record overall but the first since 1997’s Eight Arms to Hold You to feature the original lineup.  Most importantly, this means that the duel voice/guitar attack of Louise Post and Nina Gordon is back in action. They announce their return with “The Gospel According to Saint Me” which starts off with a sinewy bass line and then explodes with a huge glam-pop guitar riff.  Another standout track is “Laughing at the Sugar Bowl” which would probably have been a huge hit in 1994 but still sounds great today in a pop/rock landscape that is not so concerned with fitting into a specific genre or scene. [2015 list]

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2014 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2013

For me 2014 seemed to be more about big releases by established acts rather than discovering a lot of new, independent bands.  While I still enjoy discovering new artists I can’t help the fact that I came of age in the 70’s and am still heavily influenced by classic rock.  The following list is really only in a loose order since I find it pretty difficult to rank my album preferences after the first few selections.  Anyway, here are the albums released in 2014 that got the most spins on my turntable and CD player…

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1- St. Vincent •St. Vincent   

This record grabs the listener straight out of the gates with the slithery bass line of “Rattlesnake” and never lets you go. Annie Clark’s fourth record as St. Vincent is an instant classic and shows just how otherworldly her talent is. [2014-list]

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2- Jack White •Lazaretto  

Jack White is easily one of the most prolific songwriters of the past 15 years.  Between the White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and his own solo material he’s released at least a dozen albums of new material since 1999.  And that doesn’t even count his work with Loretta Lynn or the Rome album with Danger Mouse and Norah Jones. All the while he’s done as much as anyone else with his Third Man Records company to revive vinyl records.  All that and this new album is as varied and rocking and strange and awesome as anything he’s ever done. [2014-list]

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3- Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger • Midnight Sun  

This was the second full length LP (following 2011’s groovy La Carotte Bleue) by famous progeny Sean Lennon and his “It girl” partner, Charlotte Kemp Muhl.  With this record, the younger Lennon both steps out of the shadow of his father while also reminding us of his dad’s incredible influence.  This is an expansive, psychedelic and proggy set that reminds me of a perfect combination of late-period Beatles, mid-period Flaming Lips and current Tame Impala. [2014-list]

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4- The War on Drugs • Lost In a Dream 

For a relatively new group I’d say that TWOD fits right in with many of the other classic rock veterans on this list.  It’s no slight to say that many of the melodies and vocals are reminiscent of artists like Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits.  I especially like how each song is allowed to breathe and stretch out as if they are in no hurry to go anywhere.  This is my first record by The War on Drugs and it won’t be my last. [2014-list]

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5- Opeth • Pale Communion 

These Swedish metal gods may have started out as a somewhat progressive leaning death-metal group but they have left all their grunts in the rear view mirror on their eleventh album.  While powerful riffs and chugging bass lines still abound, this record has way more in common with the classic prog-rock of King Crimson and Yes than the black metal of Entombed and Children of Bodom.  Twenty years into their career, Opeth have created a prog-metal classic. [2014-list]

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6- U2 • Son gs of Innocence 

I purchased my first U2 album, Boy, from the import section of a little record store in Goleta (near the UC Santa Barbara campus where I was going to school).  The album had yet to be released in the states and we had no idea at the time that they would become arguably the biggest band since the Beatles and the Stones.  It seems pretty fashionable these days to hate on U2. Well, not me.  When I put this record on I always reach for the volume knob and turn it as far to the right as I can! [2014-list]

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7- Foo Fighters • Sonic Highways 

Who would have thought that the second drummer for some grungy punk band ( /s ) would go on to carry the torch for the classic rock of 10 to 20 years before Nirvana even existed (which itself is now 20 years ago!)?  This record rocks from start to finish and I really like how they used the various guest artists from the cities they visited. [2014-list]

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8- Black Keys • Turn Blue  

Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney and unofficial third member, Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse), have created a slow burning, psychedelic, soulful and groovy record that has more in common (listen carefully) with Pink Floyd than with that other guitar/drums duo they used to always get compared to. [2014-list]

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9- Bruce Springsteen • High Hopes  

While this is mostly a collection of covers and songs that didn’t fit onto earlier albums, the addition of Tom Morello on guitar brings a new energy to Bruce’s sound as well as making this feel like a more cohesive album.  “The Ghost of Tom Joad” is an epic number and is worth the price of admission right there! [2014-list]

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10- Spoon • They Want My Soul 

Spoon opened for Arcade Fire on their recent tour and it was a real shame that more of the crowd hadn’t arrived in time to hear their set which included several songs from this excellent new record.  From top to bottom this album is full of clever lyrics and strong melodies and as usual the rhythm section keeps it all bouncing along. [2014-list]

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11- The New Pornographers • Brill Bruisers  

If you don’t care for brilliant pop with huge hooks, soaring vocal melodies and thundering drums then this band, and this new record in particular, are not for you. This album has all the NP’s trademark sounds, only bigger than ever this time around.

Here’s the video for “Champions of Red Wine” [2014-list]

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12- The Birds of Satan • The Birds of Satan

This new side project from the Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins puts Hawkins’ reported love for classic rock on full display.  Within the outline provided by the modern rock of groups like the Foos, Queens of the Stone Age and the White Stripes, The Birds of Satan manage to fill in the rest of the space with licks, riffs and melodies from the pantheon of classic arena rock.  The sounds of Queen, Sweet, Slade, Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath are all over the place – and that’s just in the first song, the nine minute long opus, “The Ballad of the Birds of Satan”. [2014-list]

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13- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers • Hypnotic Eye 

In 2010 Petty reconvened his famous backing band for a pretty solid set with the bluesy Mojo.  Now, four years later, Petty and company have made a complete return to form with a rocking set that recalls the energy of his early, classic albums.  For me, this is the best record Petty has released since 1999’s Echo. [2014-list]

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14- Robert Plant • Lullaby and… the Ceaseless Roar 

By my count this is Robert Plant’s 22^nd album, including Zeppelin, solo work, the Honeydrippers and collaborations with Allison Krause and Jimmy Page.  That is an incredible amount of music, and to still be writing and performing at such a high level after all those songs and years is astonishing.  This new record, filled with dense rhythms, swirling melodies and meditative vocals/lyrics is yet another keeper in a long career of them. [2014-list]

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15- Afghan Whigs • Do to the Beast 

I was late to the Afghan Whigs party, real late.  I only just now arrived in time for this new album, which apparently is their first release since 1998.  I’ve been told that this album is not as deep, dark and huge as some of their previous efforts.  If that’s the case then I have something to look forward (backward?) to as I dig back into their catalogue.  I like everything about this record, from the big guitar riffs to the passionate screamed/sung lyrics to the awesome album cover. [2014-list]

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16- Temples • Sun Structures  

This new band of psych-rockers from the UK may be this year’s Tame Impala.  So far they have created a very listenable blend of 60’s psychedelia with a modern indie-rock punch. [2014-list]

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17- Snowmine • Dialects   

The Brooklyn chill wave/indie rockers have returned with their second album which builds and expands on the sound from their excellent debut, Laminate Pet Animal from 2011.  This time out they have expanded their sound somewhat and invite favorable comparison to Vampire Weekend’s recent records. [2014-list]

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18- Broken Bells • After the Disco 

I have heard some folks say that this second LP by the super-duo of Danger Mouse and James Mercer isn’t as strong as their first.  My typical response is that they’re just not playing it loud enough.  It’s hard to figure how Brian Burton has this much creativity left over after all the work he has done producing and playing with other artists (e.g. Black Keys, Portugal. The Man)  Disco has come a long way! [2014-list]

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19- Fanfarlo • Let’s Go Extinct  

I’ve been following Fanfarlo since their first LP Reservoir came out in 2009.  This is their third record and like its predecessors the group has changed direction once again.  They may have started out as part of the indie-folk movement like so many others but they have moved well past it by now. Like their contemporaries, Arcade Fire and the Decemberists, Fanfarlo use a lot of non-rock instruments and aren’t afraid to let the arrangements stray wherever they need to go.  Yet they have also separated themselves from the pack and found their own voice.  Speaking of voices, Simon Balthazar’s just keeps getting better.  On their debut he sounded a little too much like the singer from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (who in turn sounded a lot like David Byrne) but now he has really come into his own and provides strong vocal melodies to go with the lush arrangements.  [2014-list]

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20- Dum Dum Girls • Too True  

The Dum Dum Girls join the high fidelity world this time out, combining the best parts of the Go Go’s, Echo & the Bunnymen and the Raveonettes into their own sound. [2014-list]

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TOP 20 ALBUMS: 2013 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

The music industry may be facing serious challenges, but to these ears this has not diminished the variety and quality of the music being created and performed this year.  Another thing I perceive is that listeners seem less concerned with following a particular genre and more interested in following what they like, regardless of style.  I believe this tendency is reflected in my top 20 list this year.  Without trying to cover all the bases I managed to include prog-rock, heavy metal, indie rock, classic rock, neo-psychedelia and whatever the hell Nick Cave is!  

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1- Steven Wilson • The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories

It seems impossible for one man to be so prolific while still creating such a distinctive and excellent body of work.  Yet here’s Wilson again with an astonishing record that is both a throwback to the glory days of prog-rock and a step forward into a new realm of creativity. [2013-list]  

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2- Okkervil River • The Silver Gymnasium 

This CD hasn’t come out of my player since it came out in September.  I like everything about this record – plus it contains my favorite song of the year: “Down Down the Deep River.” [2013-list]

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3- Pearl Jam • Lightning Bolt 

Pearl Jam has transcended their grunge beginnings to become a classic rock band in their own right.  Lightning Bolt came out in 2013, but with a few stylistic changes, it could have come out in 1969 or 1978 or 1984.  This is classic arena rock, as passed down from The Who and Bruce Springsteen, at its best. [2013-list]

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4- Portugal. The Man • Evil Friends. 

Sure, this is their most accessible work, due in large part to Danger Mouse’s production. But if music this loopy and psychedelic can be considered “mainstream” then there is still hope for rock and pop. [2013-list]

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5- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds • Push the Sky Away 

For me, if Nick Cave puts out a record it’s going to automatically be in contention for this list – so here it is.  On the surface this is a melodic and quite often elegiac record.  However, just below that there is a lurking menace that reveals itself in the stories that Cave weaves. [2013-list]

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6- David Bowie • The Next Day 

A full 46 years into his carreer, Bowie has created a compelling work, both musically and lyrically, that sounds great today and holds up well against his classic canon. [2013-list]

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7- Volcano Choir • Repave 

Somehow I had never heard of this group and only discovered it by accident when I was at the record store. The cover caught my attention so I asked the clerk about it.  He merely said, “Oh, you’re gonna want to get that”.  So I did. [2013-list]

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8- Arcade Fire • Reflektor 

I’m still in the camp that believes there is an incredible single album held inside the padding of an overlong double album.  I am also aware though that I might be wrong and with more time I will appreciate the entire package.  In the meantime, the good parts are so good that I’m going with it anyway.  I also appreciate how the group clearly did not pander to the masses after their surge in popularity due to their Grammy win. [2013-list]

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9- Vampire Weekend • Modern Vampires of the City  

Even in my (slightly more) headbanging youth I always had a soft spot for Paul Simon.  So this new record by Vampire Weekend, with its clever lyricism, strong melodies and worldly percussion, sounds like something Paul Simon might have created had he began his career in the 00’s instead of the 60’s. [2013-list]

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10- Frightened Rabbit • Pedestrian Verse 

I had almost forgotten to include this record since it came out so early in the year.  That would have been a mistake.  There is just so much going on here, from the strong imagery in the lyrics, to the creative melodies, to the driving, propulsive bass and drums – this group is clearly still growing ten years and four albums into their carreer. [2013-list]

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11- Shearwater • Fellow Travelers 

I don’t usually consider cover albums for my end-of-year list but the concept and execution of this record made it easy to include.  This aptly named record is a collection of songs by many of the artists that Shearwater has toured with over the years, including: Coldplay, Xiu Xiu, St. Vincent, Wye Oak, Clinic and others.  More than that, many of these artists were invited to help arrange and play on the album.  [2013-list]

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12- Savages • Silence Yourself  

In this age of genre-revivals the searing debut album from London’s Savages actually sounds like less of a copy and more like it really belongs amongst the post-punk pioneers like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and Bauhaus. [2013-list]

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13- Black Sabbath • 13 

Heavy Metal isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and Sabbath has returned to show everyone who the real King of Hell is. With Iommi’s menacing riffs, Ozzy’s howl and Geezer’s doom-laden lyrics, this record fits right in with the best of Sabbath’s early classics. [2013-list]

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14- Queens of the Stone Age • …Like Clockwork 

This time out QOTSA seems to have taken all they have done before and taken it to a whole other level.  The most apt description I found was from Stephen Thomas Erlewine on AllMusic: “…smartly sculpted guitar fuzz, elastic solos, haunted harmonies, and deceptively slinky rhythms into a cool, relentless collection of heavy rock.” [2013-list]

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15- Jonathan Wilson • Fanfare 

This record, Wilson’s third, features a who’s who from the classic melodic rock pantheon, including David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jackson Brown, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench.  Yet even with these heavy hitters this is Wilson’s record all the way and he shows that he is able to create something new and memorable from all these classic influences. [2013-list]

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16- Grant Hart • The Argument  

The drummer/singer/songwriter from seminal indie rockers Hüsker Dü is back with just his 4^th solo outing since the Hüskers broke up in 1987. And man is he back! The Argument is a double-album-rock-opera based on a splicing together of John Milton’s Paradise Lost and William S. Burroughs’ unpublished sci-fi story Lost Paradise.  This is a sprawling, epic and varied record with 20 songs and almost as many styles. [2013-list]

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17- Boards of Canada • Tomorrow’s Harvest 

From time to time I am made aware of a group or artist that has somehow slipped past my radar.  So when an old friend, whose knowledge and taste in music I really respect, began raving about this new release I figured I’d better see what all the fuss was about.  Well, it looks like I have some catching up to do after hearing this gorgeous album. [2013-list]

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18- !!! • Thr!!!er 

This might be my favorite put-on-the-headphones-and-play-it-really-loud record of the year.  You can just get completely lost in the rythms and effects and deep down funky groovyness of this record. [2013-list]

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19- Flaming Lips • The Terror 

This is a bleak record fueled reportedly by Wayne Coyne’s separation with his long-time girlfriend/partner.  Breakup records in general can be a dark affair so you have to figure if the Lips are going to create one it will be especially hopeless.  Fortunately for us Coyne and company have surrounded all this despair with music that is fascinating and captivating.  [2013-list]

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20- Paul McCartney • New 

I like music quite a bit but I don’t really understand how musicians can create a song out of nothing, all the while making sure the notes haven’t been played that way before.  Then they do it again.  And again.  But to think about accomplishing this at the level Paul McCartney has on his “New” album, 50 years into his carreer, is mind-boggling. [2013-list]

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Bonus Album: Melody’s Echo Chamber • Melody’s Echo Chamber

It’s December 2025 as I write this, and I feel like I’ve traveled back in time to tell myself to start listening to Melody’s Echo Chamber sooner. This is the debut album from French multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Melody Prochet. The record strikes just the right balance between dreamy pop and a psychedelic-tinged haze around the edges. After a couple of listens, it made perfect sense to learn that it was produced by Kevin Parker, a.k.a. Tame Impala. Here’s the official video for “You Won’t Be Missing That Part of Me” and a raw live version of my favorite song off the album, “Endless Shore”. [2013-list]

Other notable albums (a-z)

• Austra • Olympia
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club • Spectre at the Feast
• Chvrches • The Bones of What You Believe
• Daughter • If You Leave
• John Grant • Pale Green Ghosts
• Lightning Dust • Fantasy
• Man Man • On Oni Pond
• Nine Inch Nails • Hesitation Marks
• Rose Windows • The Sun Dogs
• Russian Circles • Memorial
• Spock’s Beard • Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep