It was only right to approach this piece with a degree of dizziness, music having been a masseuse through 12 months of emotional crossfit (you know, writers and crossfitters always talking about their ~pain~). So around 9 o’clock on New Years Eve Eve, I sparked up, poured out, and danced around my third-floor shoebox for an audience of one (my mirror). Once I was good and wobbly, I got to work.
The following albums rummaged through thrift stores—odes to my favorite white linen pants. They gazed listlessly upon the subway tracks, wondering “what if?” Smiled through triumphant strides down the Schuylkill River Trail, revering the Art Museum’s grandeur at mile 2 of 5. They rode in Ubers to Fishtown and Passyunk and Old City. Walked home from dates with men who bored my every cell. Laid in the bathtub wondering if I’ll ever love again. They contemplated vanity and scribbled self-hate in notebooks after getting lip injections. Blew a kiss in the mirror when my lips healed and realized it’s ok to alter your look, so long as it isn’t symptomatic of fixation. They cooked bolognese and wrote poetry and paid electric bills and lit candles and took a pregnancy test. And they grabbed a bottle of red and an aged Gouda in the middle of a sticky August night and realized life is pretty simple after all.
In no particular order, and likely with plenty forgotten, I present to you my favorite albums of 2019 and a playlist curated with a banger from each:
- Big Wild, Superdream
I’ve been a fan of Jackson’s since I caught his set at Camp Bisco 2016. Seeing him perform this gloriously cohesive project that exudes the energy of nature was like literal church. - Deerhunter, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?
Bradford Cox is my lord and savior. Experimental vocals. “Greenpoint Gothic” serving a cinematic instrumental. You’ll have your coolest existential crisis to this album. - Sabrina Claudio, Truth Is
The epitome of sultry, let her angelic voice tell you stories of love, loss, and the acceptance that maybe there’s a bright side to sharing (I’m looking at you, “As Long As You’re Asleep” and “Me In Her”). - (Sandy) Alex G, House of Sugar
A Philly native! This album fuses elements of country with discordant indie rock to create a sort of futuristic Neil Young sound for me. “Gretel” might be my favorite overall song of 2019. - Gucci Mane, Woptober II
Honestly? I expected this album to be trash solely because Gucci is prolific to a fault. But Sir Radric Delantic Davis proved a bitch wrong with a perfect length and solid features. - Clairo, Immunity
I treated this album exactly like I treated SZA’s CTRL in 2017: beat it to death, put it down out of necessity, beat it to death again, and eventually learned how to listen responsibly (read: not all at once… repeatedly… whilst hungover and sad). It feels cringey admitting you love someone who entered the industry through virality and a huge leg up from her dad, but the girl is salt of the earth. - EARTHGANG, Mirrorland
EARTHGANG is among those funk-rap artists whose songs often blur together, but always feel good, like Anderson .Paak and GoldLink. You don’t listen to this album. You BANG THIS SHIT. The transition from “Top Down” to “Bank,” arguably the hardest moment of the album, is mood all 2020. - King Princess, Cheap Queen
Like Clairo, it feels a bit juvenile to like another queer art student Instagram account embodied, but here I am. You can feel how young (21) and delusional (Brooklyn-raised with an industry parent) she is, but the music is charming and current. - Young Dolph/Key Glock, Dum and Dummer
This album oozes the same sinister energy as 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin’s 2017 album, Without Warning. In the age of homogenized Young Thug wannabes, this is my version of a purist moment. - Cuco, Para Mi
Imagine a hazy, summer Saturday, blunt-cruising around southern California in a Honda Civic with a bunch of hot, chicano skaters with SoundClouds. This is your soundtrack. - Maggie Rogers, Heard It In A Past Life
Released in January, this album set the musical precedent for a year of drinking matcha in Outdoor Voices leggings. Rogers has a classically beautiful voice and a Taylor Swift knack for conventionally relatable lyrics. And you know what? I enjoy it. - Solange, When I Get Home
The effortlessly cooler Knowles, Solange delivered a jazzy r&b masterpiece. It’s no wonder Barack Obama listed “Binz” as one of his favorite songs in 2019. - DaBaby, KIRK
If 2019 belongs to anyone, it’s DaBaby. KIRK was the culmination of hype—a testament to his punchy flow and musicality. It helps that half the beats have a trap snake charmer sound to them. - Whitney, Forever Turned Around
If I had to describe Whitney in three words, they’d be wholesome, nostalgic, and summer. This album has a full 70’s lean, so if you, too, get down with an easy listening vibe, this is it. - Kim Petras, Clarity
Kim is a modern pop icon, and this album evokes the sounds of divas before her. It’s candy-coated goodness for the bad bitch with a sweet tooth. - Bassnectar, Reflective (Part 4)
Lorin Ashton leads an entire subculture (emphasis on CULT) that has largely gone unknown to the general population. Dreadlocks. Tie-dyes and baggy, patchwork corduroy pants. Ketamine. Sneaking into festivals. I have stories for days about my stint among bassheads. Reflective (Part 4) is a seven-song project that features Bassnectar’s usual elements: the grimy, the ambient, the eclectic, and the very, very loud. - Doja Cat, Hot Pink
I’ve loved Doja Cat since hearing “No Police” on a girl’s Tumblr in 2014 who said she loved listening to it while doing heroin. Hot Pink is essentially the pop-rap background music to your dirty FaceTime. - KAYTRANADA, BUBBA
I’ve probably listened to something off his 2016 album 99.9% every day since it came out over three years ago. KAYTRANADA is the master of genre-bending electronic. I look forward to jamming this elite collection of beats and features until… his next release!