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

PALMBOMEN II
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49 DANNY L HARLE | Broken Flowers

DANNY L HARLE BROKEN FLOWERS
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48 RAE SREMMURD | SremmLife

SREMMLIFE
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47 JESSICA PRATT | On Your Own Love Again

JESSICA PRATT ON YOUR OWN
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46 STEALING SHEEP | Not Real

STEALING SHEEP NOT REAL
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45 TEI SHI | Verde

TEI SHI VERDE
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44 CAROLINE NO | No Language

CAROLINE NO NO LANGUAGE
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43 JLIN | Dark Energy

JLIN DARK ENERGY
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42 BICEP | Just

BICEP JUST
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41 PURE BATHING CULTURE | Pray For Rain

Pure Bathing Culture Pray for Rain
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40 VALET | Nature

VALET NATURE
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39 YUMI ZOUMA | EP II

YUMI ZOUMA EP II
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38 BEACH HOUSE | Depression Cherry

DEPRESSION CHERRY
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37 KNXWLEDGE | Hud Dreems

HUD DREEMS
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36 MOLLY NILSSON | Zenith

MOLLY NILSSON ZENITH
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35 NEON INDIAN | VEGA INTL Night School

vega intl night school cover final
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34 DILLY DALLY | Sore

DILLY DALLY SORE
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33 ANTHONY NAPLES | Body Pill

ANTHONY NAPLES BODY PILL
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32 CINDY LEE | Malenkost

CINDY-LEE-MALENKOST
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CINDY LEE // Always Lovers







31 AIRBIRD & NAPOLIAN | Mr. Foolish

AIRBIRD NAPOLIAN MR FOOLISH
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30 EMPRESS OF | Me

EMPRESS OF ME
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29 JOANNA NEWSOM | Divers

JOANNA NEWSOM DIVERS
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28 ABRA | Rose

ABRA ROSE
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27 SUSANNE SUNDFØR | Ten Love Songs

SUSANNE SUNDFOR TEN LOVE SONGS
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BADU-MIXTAPE
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25 EARTHEATER | RIP Chrysalis

EARTHEATER RIP CHRYSALIS
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24 LANA DEL REY | Honeymoon

LDR HONEYMOON
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23 DISASTERPEACE | It Follows OST

IT FOLLOWS OST
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22 DOMENIQUE DUMONT | Comme Ça

DOMENIQUE DUMONT COMME CA
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21 TORO y MOI | Samantha

TORO Y MOI SAMANTHA
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TORO y MOI // The Usual







20 THE GALLERIA | Calling Card / Mezzanine

THE GALLERIA CALLING CARD
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THE GALLERIA // Mezzanine







19 AUTRE NE VEUT | Age of Transparency

ANV-AGE-OF-TRANSPARENCY
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18 COUSIN STIZZ | Suffolk County

COUSIN STIZZ SUFFOLK COUNTY
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17 BOP ENGLISH | Constant Bop

BOP ENGLISH CONSTANT BOP
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16 JULIA HOLTER | Have You In My Wilderness

JULIA HOLTER HAVE YOU IN MY WILDERNESS
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15 YOUNG THUG | Barter 6

YOUNG THUG BARTER 6
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14 ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER | Garden Of Delete

0PN GOD
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13 SUFJAN STEVENS | Carrie & Lowell

SUFJAN CARRIE LOWELL
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12 SOPHIE | PRODUCT

SOPHIE PRODUCT
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11 U.S. GIRLS | Half Free

US GIRLS HALF FREE
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10 GEORGE CLANTON | 100% Electronica

GEORGE CLANTON 100 ELECTRONICA
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09 BEACH HOUSE | Thank Your Lucky Stars

BEACH HOUSE TYLS
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08 LOWER DENS | Escape From Evil

LOWER DENS // ESCAPE FROM EVIL
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HELEN THE ORIGINAL FACES
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06 VINCE STAPLES | Summertime '06

VINCE STAPLES SUMMERTIME 06
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05 CINDY LEE | Act of Tenderness

CINDY LEE ACT OF TENDERNESS
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CINDY LEE // Power and Possession







04 LEON BRIDGES | Coming Home

LEON BRIDGES COMING HOME
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03 JAMIE XX | In Colour

JAMIE XX IN COLOUR
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PBVSGR
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01 GRIMES | Art Angels

GRIMES ART ANGELS COVER ART
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01 GRIMES | Art Angels
02 PANDA BEAR | Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
03 JAMIE XX | In Colour
04 LEON BRIDGES | Coming Home
05 CINDY LEE | Act of Tenderness
06 VINCE STAPLES | Summertime '06
07 HELEN | The Original Faces
08 LOWER DENS | Escape From Evil
09 BEACH HOUSE | Thank Your Lucky Stars
10 GEORGE CLANTON | 100% Electronica

11 U.S. GIRLS | Half Free
12 SOPHIE | Product
13 SUFJAN STEVENS | Carrie & Lowell
14 ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER | Garden Of Delete
15 YOUNG THUG | Barter 6
16 JULIA HOLTER | Have You In My Wilderness
17 BOP ENGLISH | Constant Bop
18 COUSIN STIZZ | Suffolk County
19 AUTRE NE VEUT | Age of Transparency
20 THE GALLERIA | Calling Card / Mezzanine

21 TORO y MOI | Samantha
22 DOMENIQUE DUMONT | Comme Ça
23 DISASTERPEACE | It Follows OST
24 LANA DEL REY | Honeymoon
25 EARTHEATER | RIP Chrysalis
26 ERYKAH BADU | BUT YOU CAINT USE MY PHONE
27 SUSANNE SUNDFØR | Ten Love Songs
28 ABRA | Rose
29 JOANNA NEWSOM | Divers
30 EMPRESS OF | Me

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