lists are a great way to expose people to how you experienced the year in music … here’s mine. you guys made long ass lists this year! I kept it to the 50 I usually do instead of running up 100s of songs, felt like being inundated w music just means I should be making harder choices

as for my feeling about the year in music, I think there’s been some amazing stuff lately. It feels like the critical mindset is exhausted, though (no disrespect to the guys who are fighting through it) and that discussion of music as *form* has all but dropped off in an effort to sort through the mass of content. what are artists doing creatively? I feel like I’m being told what ostensible audience they’re for (“…guys who wear black air forces” or whatever–marketing-speak) & less abt what they’re doing that makes them original … for whatever reason it feels like we’re not respecting them as artists, just treating them as audience avatars. w/ the notable exception of artists who are aggressively anti-commercial

disclaimer, i’m no longer working in journalism/criticism; some artists may share corp. parentage but I’m being typically stubborn about my tastes regardless. this is a personal list, & tells a story of my year in music. but it’s also not exclusively a mindgarden thing either; music is a social art form & that influences how we hear it

50. Trill Ryan – She Gon Go
49. Major Nine – What’s Love
48. CK – No Love
47. 42 Dugg – Dog Food
46. Rico Nasty – Fashion Week
45. NSG – OT Bop
44. Chief Keef – 2 Cell Phones
43. THF Crack – Find You
42. 30 Deep Grimeyy x NWM Cee Murdaa – NoCap
41. Cota – I Like the Way You Love Me
40. Daphni feat. Paradise – Sizzling Hot
39. Dopeboyra – Freebase
38. Unprocessed – Abandoned
37. Prince Glo and Jackboi Boomain – Glockies
36. Roisin Murphy – Incapable
35. Sky Ferreira – Downhill Lullaby
34. Saint Jhn – Call Me After You Hear This
33. Jidenna – Sufi Woman
32. Juice WRLD – Fast
31. Grind2Hard Osh’a feat. Baby Sola – Straight Drop
30. Trinidad Ghost – More Zessing “Zesser”
29. Skooly – Lil Boy Shit
28. Smoove L – New Apolos
27. T9ine – Mind of a Real
26. Baby Fifty – No Good
25. Traptize Ky – All Whites
24. Koffee – Rapture
23. Intence – Go Hard
22. Sam Smith and Normani – Dancing With a Stranger
21. 54 Baby Trey x Mari Boy Mula Mar – Noon
20. King Ace feat. Smiles – Fed Up
19. Tems – Try Me
18. Ambjaay – Uno
17. Darkoo feat. One Acen – Gangsta
16. Dalex – Pa Mi (remix)
15. Raphael Saadiq – Something Keeps Calling Me
14. Amaarae – Like It
13. Valee and ChaseTheMoney – Humbug
12. Teejayx6 – Swipe Lesson
11. Caroline Palochek – So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings
10. NoCap – Ghetto Angels
9. Tree – Hooters
8. Sada Baby – Dumbass
7. Erika de Casier – Intimate (Club Mix)
6. Duke Deuce – Yeh
5. Zero12Finest – Baby Are You Coming?
4. Rio Da Yung OG – Shit Talkin Pt 3
3. Roddy Ricch and DJ Mustard – Ballin
2. Fireboy DML – Jealous
1. Polo G – Bad Path

1. Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah Ancestral Recall
2. Burna Boy African Giant
3. Polo G Die A Legend
4. Underworld Drift
5. Big Thief UFOF
6. Rio Da Yung OG 2 Faced
7. Lady Donli Enjoy Your Life
8. Tree The Wild End
9. Lucki Freewave 3
10. Kool Keith Keith
11. Jacquees King of R&B
12. Jamila Woods Legacy! Legacy!
13. Moodymann Sinner
14. Octo Octa Resonant Body
15. Tree and Vic Spencer Nothing is Something
16. Chance the Rapper The Big Day
17. Chris Crack The Future Will Be Confusing
18. Duke Uingizaji Hewa
19. Ambjaay It Cost to Live Like This
20. billie eilish when we all fall asleep where do we go?

Songs from Before 2019:
10. Mills Brothers – Cab Driver
9. Tommy Guerrero – In My Head
8. Daso – Meine
7. 2Pac – Dope Fiend’s Diner (Shock G Remix)
6. Pineapples – Come On Closer
5. Mort Garson – Ode to an African Violet
4. Flans – No Controles
3. Madonna – Justify My Love (The Beast Within Remix)
2. Judie Tzuke – Shoot From the Heart
1. Vitas – Тело

Albums from before 2019:
Gigi Illuminated Audio
Leslie Winer Witch
Vitas Философия чуда