GORILLA VS. BEAR’S ALBUMS OF 2015

We feel pretty confident proclaiming 2015 the best year for new music this decade, and we'd even go so far as to say it's been arguably our favorite year in the history of this site. So many stars seemed to serendipitously align this year — our 10th as a blog — for sounds that veered right into our own personal, sometimes insular little lane: the triumphant return of Grimes; the improbable meteoric rise of Leon Bridges from seemingly out of nowhere (i.e., right here in our own backyard); a sweet, thoroughly relatable, '90s-hip-hop-inspired record from Panda Bear (our favorite artist); two Beach House albums in the span of two months; D'Angelo with probably the best show we've seen since the last time he rolled through town 15 years ago; Grouper started a pop group; the summer of Jamie xx; and on and on. If 2015 had seen the release of Dear Tommy and new music from Shabazz Palaces or Burial (all still possible, I suppose), our blog might have imploded.

With all of that said, I still feel like we went as deep as ever this year, and as always, there were some genuinely incredible hidden gems to uncover if you spent a little time digging. Let us know how your year went as you check the full list of our 50 favorite records of the year, and lose yourself in our nearly 3-hour-long spotify playlist:

50 PALMBOMEN | PALMBOMEN II

49 DANNY L HARLE | Broken Flowers

48 RAE SREMMURD | SremmLife

47 JESSICA PRATT | On Your Own Love Again

46 STEALING SHEEP | Not Real

45 TEI SHI | Verde

44 CAROLINE NO | No Language

43 JLIN | Dark Energy

42 BICEP | Just

41 PURE BATHING CULTURE | Pray For Rain

40 VALET | Nature

39 YUMI ZOUMA | EP II

38 BEACH HOUSE | Depression Cherry

37 KNXWLEDGE | Hud Dreems

36 MOLLY NILSSON | Zenith

35 NEON INDIAN | VEGA INTL Night School

34 DILLY DALLY | Sore

33 ANTHONY NAPLES | Body Pill

32 CINDY LEE | Malenkost

CINDY LEE // Always Lovers

31 AIRBIRD & NAPOLIAN | Mr. Foolish

30 EMPRESS OF | Me

29 JOANNA NEWSOM | Divers

28 ABRA | Rose

27 SUSANNE SUNDFØR | Ten Love Songs

26 ERYKAH BADU | BUT YOU CAINT USE MY PHONE

25 EARTHEATER | RIP Chrysalis

24 LANA DEL REY | Honeymoon

23 DISASTERPEACE | It Follows OST

22 DOMENIQUE DUMONT | Comme Ça

21 TORO y MOI | Samantha

TORO y MOI // The Usual

20 THE GALLERIA | Calling Card / Mezzanine

THE GALLERIA // Mezzanine

19 AUTRE NE VEUT | Age of Transparency

18 COUSIN STIZZ | Suffolk County

17 BOP ENGLISH | Constant Bop

16 JULIA HOLTER | Have You In My Wilderness

15 YOUNG THUG | Barter 6

14 ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER | Garden Of Delete

13 SUFJAN STEVENS | Carrie & Lowell

12 SOPHIE | PRODUCT

11 U.S. GIRLS | Half Free

10 GEORGE CLANTON | 100% Electronica

09 BEACH HOUSE | Thank Your Lucky Stars

08 LOWER DENS | Escape From Evil

07 HELEN | The Original Faces

06 VINCE STAPLES | Summertime '06

05 CINDY LEE | Act of Tenderness

CINDY LEE // Power and Possession

04 LEON BRIDGES | Coming Home

03 JAMIE XX | In Colour

02 PANDA BEAR | Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper

01 GRIMES | Art Angels

31 AIRBIRD & NAPOLIAN | Mr. Foolish
32 CINDY LEE | Malenkost
33 ANTHONY NAPLES | Body Pill
34 DILLY DALLY | Sore
35 NEON INDIAN - VEGA INTL Night School
36 MOLLY NILSSON - Zenith
37 KNXWLEDGE - Hud Dreems
38 BEACH HOUSE - Depression Cherry
39 YUMI ZOUMA - EP II
40 VALET - Nature

41 PURE BATHING CULTURE - Pray for Rain
42 BICEP - Just
43 JLIN - Dark Energy
44 CAROLINE NO - No Language
45 TEI SHI - Verde
46 STEALING SHEEP - Not Real
47 JESSICA PRATT - On Your Own Love Again
48 RAE SREMMURD - SremmLife
49 DANNY L HARLE - Broken Flowers
50 PALMBOMEN - PALMBOMEN II

Filed Under: 2015, albums, albums of the year, favorite albums, gorilla vs. bear, grimes, jamie xx, leon bridges, lists, panda bear

Categories: classics, featured, mixes, mp3, news