Favourite Things I Heard in November 2018

Albums
1. A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships - The 1975
2. Some Rap Songs - Earl Sweatshirt

3. Oxnard - Anderson .Paak

4. FM! - Vince Staples
5. Interstate Gospel - Pistol Annies

6. Hard to Imagine the Neighbourhood Ever Changing - The Neighbourhood
7. DiCaprio 2 - J.I.D
8. The Pains of Growing - Alessia Cara
9. Young HeartThrob - Kodie Shane
10. NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES - Metro Boomin

Songs
1. "Anywhere" feat. Snoop Dogg and The Last Artful, Dodgr - Oxnard - Anderson .Paak
2. "I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)" - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships - The 1975
3. "My Own Thing" feat. Joey Purp - Single - Chance the Rapper
4. "thank u, next" - Single - Ariana Grande
5. "Comfortable"- The Pains Of Growing - Alessia Cara
6. "Party For One" - Single - Carly Rae Jepsen
7. "Anyways" - Single - Arctic Monkeys

8. "Can't Fight the Feeling" feat. Menahan Street Band - Black Velvet - Charles Bradley
9. "Screamy Dreamy" - Bought to Rot - Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers
10. "Wintertime" - Single - Norah Jones

Favourite things I heard in March 2018

Albums.

1. Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves
2. Girl Going Nowhere - Ashley McBryde
3. Language - Starchild and The New Romantic
4. Every Little Thought - Hurry
5. Historian - Lucy Dacus

6. Tearing at the Seams - Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats
7. Cocoa Sugar - Young Fathers
8. Clean - Soccer Mommy
9. United We Swing - Wynton Marsalis Septet
10. May Your Kindness Remain - Courtney Marie Andrews

Songs
1. "Oh, What A World" - Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves
2. "Call Out My Name" - My Dear Melancholy, - The Weeknd
3. "Livin' Next to Leroy" - Girl Going Nowhere - Ashley McBryde
4. "'Til It's Over" - Single - Anderson .Paak
5. "Get the Fuck Off My Dick" - Single - Vince Staples
6. "Once in My Life" - I'll Be Your Girl -The Decemberists
7. "Language" - Language - Starchild and The New Romantic
8. "Boyfriend" - Castles - Lissie
9. "Eureka" - Single - The Hold Steady
10. "Lost in Japan" - Single - Shawn Mendes

Favourite things I heard in Feb. 2018

Albums
1. Black Panther The Album - Various Artists
2. Sleepwalkers - Brian Fallon
3. Everything Is Recorded by Richard Russell - Everything Is Recorded
4. Dear Annie - Rejjie Snow
5. Nobody Has to Know - Onra
6. A Whole Fucking Lifetime of This - American Pleasure Club
7. What a Time to Be Alive - Superchunk
8. Someone Out There - Rae Morris
9. Blood - Rhye
10. Wait for Love - Pianos Become The Teeth

Songs
1. "X" - Black Panther The Album - ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz and Saudi
2. "Etta James" - Sleepwalkers - Brian Fallon
3. "Bloody Waters" - Black Panther The Album - Ab-Soul, Anderson .Paak and James Blake
4. "Opps" - Black Panther The Album - Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok
5. "Morning View" feat. SZA - WWW. - Towkio
6. "Bloodshot Red Eyes" feat. Infinite and Green Gartside - Everything Is Recorded by Richard Russell - Everything Is Recorded
7. "Honey" - Three/Three - Dabrye
8. "Charlie Brown" feat. Anna of the North - Dear Annie - Rejjie Snow
9. "Fulton County Jane Doe" - By the Way, I Forgive You - Brandi Carlile
10. "Say Something" feat. Chris Stapleton - Man of the Woods - Justin Timberlake

Best music of 2017...so far

It's hard to believe 2017 is halfway over already.

In many ways, the first six months of the year have flown by, but in others, it feels like ages have passed since Jan. 1. So far 2017 has been an unsettling and unsettled year, and that has led to strange new reality, where terrorists target pop music audiences, and leaders snipe at each other over social media instead of working together.

Although most of the albums released in the first half of the year were written before the 2016 election and its successive uproar, the best music of the year manages to reflect the anxiety and search for hope so many are experiencing.

And there's been a lot of great music released in the past six months. So much that you'd be forgiven for missing some of the year's best just trying to keep up with it all. But I'm here to help with my list of 10 best albums you might've missed in the first half of the year. 

Best albums of the year so far (arranged alphabetically)

1. Prisoner – Ryan Adams 

2. Number 1 Angel – Charli XCX 

3. City of No Reply – Amber Coffman 

4. Tourist in This Town – Allison Crutchfield

5. More Life – Drake 

6. Pure Comedy – Father John Misty 

7. We All Want the Same Things – Craig Finn 

8. Crack-Up – Fleet Foxes 

9. The Far Field – Future Islands 

10. The Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 

11. Near to the Wild Heart of Life – Japandroids 

12. DAMN. – Kendrick Lamar 

13. Melodrama – Lorde 

14. The Search for Everything – John Mayer 

15. After the Party – The Menzingers 

16. City Music – Kevin Morby

17. Goths – The Mountain Goats 

18. One Foot Out – Nines

19. No Shape – Perfume Genius 

20. Process – Sampha 

21. Big Fish Theory – Vince Staples 

22. From A Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton 

23. Ctrl - SZA

24. Drunk - Thundercat

25. The World's Best America Band – White Reaper 

Best music of 2015...so far

We're six months into 2015, and it is already shaping up to be one of the best.years. ever. for music. Classic albums in almost every genre are being released on the regular, and even the quiet weeks present some great music for our pleasure.

There have been so many solid releases in just half-a-year, I don't know how the second half can match it, but there are already signs that it could happen – Kanye! Frank Ocean! Tame Impala! Titus Andronicus! Carly Rae Jepsen! Disclosure!

I didn't think it would be this difficult to narrow down my list of the best albums thus far to 25, but that's a great reflection of the year we've had. Here's hoping the rest of the year keeps the streak alive.

Best albums so far (arranged alphabetically)

1. At.Long.Last.A$AP – A$AP Rocky

Rocky gets woozy and weird, and even sings to great effect on "L$D."

2. Coming Home – Leon Bridges

Click here to read my full review. 

3. Kintsugi – Death Cab for Cutie

Click here to read my full review. 

4. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World – The Decemberists

Click here to read my full review. 

5. Surf – Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment

Click here to read my full review. 

6. If You're Reading This It's Too Late – Drake

Click here to read my full review. 

7. I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside – Earl Sweatshirt

Easily my favorite album name of the year, if not ever. A lonely, dark and engaging listen. 

8. I Love You, Honeybear – Father John Misty

Click here to read my full review. 

9. Tetsuo & Youth – Lupe Fiasco

Lupe's best album in a long while, it shows his lyrical dexterity and sonic risk-taking. 

10. Goon – Tobias Jesso Jr. 

Click here to read my full review. 

11. To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar

Click here to read my full review. 

12. Strange Trails – Lord Huron

Absolutely lovely apocalyptic folk music, with a serious undercurrent of early rock. 

13. Dreams Worth More than Money – Meek Mill

The most cinematic and escapist hip-hop album of 2015 so far. It also benefits greatly from being buckets of fun.  

14. Wildheart – Miguel

Miguel injects psychedelia into his baby-making soul, and comes up with his most adventurous album yet.  

15. Pageant Material – Kacey Musgraves

Musgraves' second album is quieter than her debut, but no less stellar. Probably the loveliest album of the year. 

16. The Waterfall – My Morning Jacket

Click here to read my full review. 

17. QUARTERBACKS – QUARTERBACKS

Twee-punk done right. An album about love that gets under your skin in 22 minutes flat.

18. Uptown Special – Mark Ronson

My favorite album of the year for night driving. Sounds great with city lights flying by the window. 

19. Ratchet – Shamir

Click here to read my full review. 

20. Summertime '06 – Vince Staples

Click here to read my full review. 

21. Traveler – Chris Stapleton

Could well be the best country album of the year. This guy has a voice that'll just rock you back. 

22. The Epic – Kamasi Washington

The best jazz album I've heard in years. A three-disc monster that fully lives up to the name. 

23. Ivy Tripp – Waxahatchee

Click here to read my full review. 

24. In Colour – Jamie xx

Click here to read my full review. 

25. Second Hand Heart – Dwight Yoakam

Click here to read my full review.