Top 20 Albums Of 2015

Just as we thought might happen way back in early January of 2015, it shaped up to be a great year for music. 2015 brought releases from some of our favorite artists and as usual, we discovered some great new talent that should be with us for years to come.

We spent painstaking hours compiling our list...moving albums up and down and back again, listening and hitting repeat...all so that we could finialize the proper order. It wasn't easy. It certainly isn't perfect. However, we feel very confident these are the right twenty and that our #1 would always be our #1. Without further ado, here are the 20 albums that were released between January 1st and December 31st of 2015 that either made us sing along, play air guitar, cry, reminisce about the old days, pretend our steering wheel was a drumset, ponder the meaning of life...or some combination thereof.

We hope you enjoy the list and take the time to search out & listen to albums you aren't familiar with. You may just find your next favorite artist. Once you've looked over the list, stop by our Facebook page to leave us your thoughts. Let us know what album was your favorite from 2015 and if we left off any releases that would make your Top 20 list.

20.

Artist: Dead Sara

Album: Pleasure To Meet You

Standout Tracks: Mona Lisa, Lovesick, Something Good, Blue Was The Beautiful You, Feel Right At Home...

RIYL: Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, Veruca Salt, Royal Blood

Comments: 2012 brought industry buzz, rock radio success for their debut single "Weatherman", and an electric live show to the masses. Despite all that, 2015 found the band estranged from Epic Records and utilizing PledgeMusic to release their sophmore album on their own Pocket Kid Records. We for one think the new album was well worth the wait.

19.

Artist: BØRNS

Album: Dopamine

Standout Tracks: Electric Love, American Money, The Emotion, 10,000 Emerald Pools, Overnight Sensation...

RIYL: Hozier, Zella Day, James Bay, St. Lucia, The Neighborhood

18.

Artist: Best Coast

Album: California Nights

Standout Tracks: Feeling Ok, In My Eyes, So Unaware, Jealousy, Fine Without You...

RIYL: Veruca Salt, Wavves, Metric, a little California sunshine with your pop music

17.

Artist: Bring Me The Horizon

Album: That's The Spirit

Standout Tracks: Happy Song, Throne, Drown, True Friends, Follow You, Doomed...

RIYL: Bullet For My Valentine, Blessthefall, Black Veil Brides, Shinedown, Pierce The Veil

16.

Artist: Misterwives

Album: Our Own House

Standout Tracks: Best I Can Do, Oceans, Not Your Way, Vagabond, Hurricane, Coffins, Imagination Infatuation...

RIYL: The Mowgli's, Walk The Moon, Echosmith, Lights, Fitz & The Tantrums, Save Ferris, Dance Hall Crashers

15.

Artist: The Corrs

Album: White Light

Standout Tracks: Bring On The Night, Ellis Island, Stay, With Me Stay, Kiss Of Life, Do What I Like...

RIYL: a little Irish with your pop music, Sara Bareilles, Sarah McLachlan, Kylie Minogue

Comments: After 10 years apart which included a solo outing for lead singer Andrea, two solo albums for Sharon, weddings, babies, and more...'White Light' is the triumphant return of a band that looks and sounds like only ten days, not ten years, have passed since their last release.

14.

Artist: Tori Kelly

Album: Unbreakable Smile

Standout Tracks: Should've Been Us, California Lovers, Nobody Love, I Was Made For Loving You...

RIYL: Demi Lovato, Bea Miller, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Tove Lo, Taylor Swift

Comments: She's already released a new song, "Hollow", which we can only assume will be featured on a new album hopefully set to drop in 2016. After show stopping performances on the MTV VMA's, The Billboard Music Awards, and just about every award show she took the stage for, she will certainly no longer be remembered only for being the one that Simon Cowell said couldn't make it on American Idol. In fact, we're convinced that had Capitol Records decided to release her collaborations with LL Cool J ("California Lovers") and Ed Sheeran ("I Was Made For Loving You") her debut album may have been owned in 1 out of every 4 homes in America! Obviously, the sky is the limit and she's well on her way!

13.

Artist: Adele

Album: 25

Standout Tracks: Hello, Send My Love (To Your New Lover), Million Years Ago, Love In The Dark, All I Ask, Remedy...

RIYL: Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Sia, Norah Jones, Florence + The Machine

Comments: Easily the most anticipated release for 2015 and most likely sitting high on many year end lists, '25' comes approximately three years since her James Bond theme "Skyfall" hit airwaves and four years since 2011's '21'. Many have even credited the album with saving the music industry and reviving the CD format, if even for just a short period of time. We were tempted to place her album atop our Top 20 list like so many others you may have seen, but we felt the moral responsibility to relieve even a little of that heavy weight on her shoulders. You can thank us later Adele.

12.

Artist: Night Riots

Album: Howl EP

Standout Tracks: Contagious, Follow You, Holsters, Break...

RIYL: The Killers, Night Terrors Of 1927, The Cure, Saint Motel, Vinyl Theatre, A Silent Film

Comments: At one point, this album was as high as #3 on our list, but it was hard to justify placing a six song EP that high. However, they were easily one of the best acts on the 2015 Vans Warped Tour and we now have extremely high expectations for a full length album in 2016 that better blow us out of the water. No pressure guys!

11.

Artist: Zella Day

Album: Kicker

Standout Tracks: 1965, Shadow Preachers, Ace Of Hearts, High, Hypnotic, Sweet Ophelia...

RIYL: Halsey, Lana Del Rey, Broods, Banks, Tove Lo, Say Lou Lou, Lights, Charli XCX

10.

Artist: Gabrielle Aplin

Album: Light Up The Dark (Deluxe)

Standout Tracks: What Did You Do, Skeleton, Sweet Nothing, A While, Anybody Out There, You Don't Like Dancing...

RIYL: Birdy, Foxes, Zella Day, A Fine Frenzy, Adele

9.

Artist: Chvrches

Album: Every Open Eye (Special Edition)

Standout Tracks: Bury It, Leave A Trace, Never Ending Circles, Empty Threat, Make Them Gold, Afterglow...

RIYL: Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding, Metric, Phantogram, Haerts, Broods

8.

Artist: Frank Turner

Album: Positive Songs For Negative People

Standout Tracks: Get Better, The Next Storm, Josephine, Mittens, Glorious You, Song For Josh...

RIYL: some folk with your punk rock, Bruce Springsteen, Glen Hansard, Social Distortion, The Gaslight Anthem

7.

Artist: Elle King

Album: Love Stuff

Standout Tracks: Ex's & Oh's, Under The Influence, I Told You I Was Mean, Last Damn Night, America's Sweetheart...

RIYL: Gin Wigmore, Amy Winehouse, ZZ Ward, Brandi Carlile, Houndmouth

6.

Artist: The Airborne Toxic Event

Album: Dope Machines/Songs Of God And Whiskey

Standout Tracks: One Time Thing, Wrong, Dope Machines, Chains, Cocaine & Abel, The Fall Of Rome, Change And Change And Change And Change, Poor Isaac...

RIYL: The Killers, The Cure, The National, The Gaslight Anthem, The Editors, Depeche Mode

Comments: TATE certainly threw their fans for a loop in early 2015. Not only is the sound of 'Dope Machines', their fourth studio album, more electronic than previous albums, but they also surprised fans with 'Songs Of God And Whiskey', an album that sounds more similar in sound & style to past releases, announcing details about the digital only album a day before 'Dope Machines' was released. Because of this, we cheated and felt we could group them together instead of having them take up two spots on our list. We make the rules here! If we had to separate them, odds are pretty good that 'SOGAW' would rank quite a bit higher than 'Dope Machines'. Where exactly they would fall, we'll never know!

5.

Artist: Kacey Musgraves

Album: Pageant Material

Standout Tracks: Dime Store Cowgirl, Pageant Material, Biscuits, Good Ol Boys Club, Die Fun...

RIYL: Miranda Lambert, Jana Kramer, Cam, Ashley Munroe, old school country music

Comments: The fact that most country radio seems to shy away from Ms.Musgraves (and she knows all too well, even playfully noting such during her live shows) is beyond us. Both applauded and chided for her country roots all at the same time, appearing more on year end lists than on radio playlists, she manages to get the last laugh with "Good Ol Boys Club", which not only calls out Big Machine Records (among others) but is also, in our opinion, the best song on the album. Take that boys!

4.

Artist: Halsey

Album: Badlands (Deluxe)

Standout Tracks: Drive, Hurricane, Ghost, Strange Love, Hold Me Down, New Americana...

RIYL: Zella Day, Ke$ha, Tove Lo, Lorde

Comments: It takes some artists multiple releases and years of success before they can sell out arenas such as Madison Square Garden in New York City as the headliner. Not Halsey. Success has come quick for the New Jersey native born Ashley Frangipane and she's only just starting. Buzz and fanbase have been growing ever since she released her debut EP, 'Room 93' and continued word of mouth, touring, and her single "New Americana" propelled 'Badlands' to debut at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

3.

Artist: Gin Wigmore

Album: Blood To Bone

Standout Tracks: Nothing To No One, New Rush, Written In The Water, Holding On To Hell, I WIll Love You, 24...

RIYL: ZZ Ward, Amy Winehouse, Elle King, Duffy, Clairy Browne & The Bangin Rackettes, Caro Emerald, Joss Stone

Comments: We'd like to go on record and say that her performance September 8th at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA would easily top any Top Concerts Of 2015 list we could come up with. So far, we don't have plans for that list, but you never know!

2.

Artist: A Silent Film

Album: A Silent Film

Standout Tracks: Lightning Strike, Paralysed, Something To Believe In, I Don't Need A Reason, Losing Hand...

RIYL: Coldplay, Snow Patrol, The Killers, Starsailor, Athlete, Travis, Keane, Civil Twilight

1.

Artist: Matt Nathanson

Album: Show Me Your Fangs

Standout Tracks: Bill Murray, Washington State Fight Song, Adrenaline, Disappear, Giants...

RIYL: Ed Sheeran, Mat Kearney, Eric Hutchinson, Chris Isaak, Jason Mraz, Josh Ritter

Comments: After proclaiming Matt Nathanson a modern day lyrical genius in a previous blog posting prior to the release of 'Show Me Your Fangs', we had high hopes he wouldn't disappoint and make us eat our words. Well, thankfully, he didn't. 'Show Us Your Fangs' is every bit the masterpiece we were hoping for and then some. Our only complaint, if we must find one, would be running time, as the album clocks in at about 32 minutes and always leaves us hitting the repeat button wanting more. Ah, we see what you did there Matt. Well played. Well played indeed.

Honorable Mention:

'Gravity' by Against The Current, 'My Garden' by Kat Dahlia, 'Wanted On Voyage' by George Ezra, 'Savages' by Five Knives, 'Just Kids' by Mat Kearney, 'Sorry' by Meg Myers, 'Keep The Village Alive' by Stereophonics, 'Ghost Notes' by Veruca Salt, 'Ones And Zeroes' by Young Guns

Disappointments:

'VHS' by X Ambassadors