The Young Folks’ Best Albums and Songs of 2015

Best Music of 2015

You know it has been a great year for music when a song has completely changed the way that you would normally say “Hello“, “Alright” or even “Here”.
Here at TYF, everyone has their own different taste in music, and you can see that in our Top 10 for Albums and Songs released in 2015!

Click NEXT to read more!

Gabrielle Bondi’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

It’s been a great year for music, and I honestly wish I listened to more of it. However, these ten new albums and songs made an impression on me. From Adele’s amazing comeback to Chvrches’ electrifying new album, these artists showcase a wide range of styles and musical ingenuity that I hope to see more of in 2016. However, it’s Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece that earns the top of my list. The most generation-defining album in years, To Pimp A Butterfly is a profound listening experience.

  1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
  2. Adele – 25
  3. Jamie xx – In Colour
  4. Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION
  5. Chvrches – Every Open Eye
  6. Justin Bieber – Purpose
  7. Lianne La Havas – Blood
  8. Ellie Goulding – Delirium
  9. Hamilton Musical soundtrack
  10. Mark Ronson – Uptown Special

Gabrielle Bondi’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Run Away With Me”
  2. Adele – “When We Were Young”
  3. Kendrick Lamar  – “Alright”
  4. Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
  5. Jamie xx feat. Romy – “Loud Places”
  6. Jamie xx feat. Young Thug & Popcaan – “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)”
  7. The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
  8. Chvrches – “Clearest Blue”
  9. Nick Jonas – “Levels”
  10. Alessia Cara – “Here”

Advertisement

Allyson Johnson’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

The big thing that stood out to me when reflecting on the past year in music (aside from just how monumentally terrific it was) was how pop had a fantastic year. Newcomers and old favorites all had some strong, genre spinning music to share. The first four on my list I’ve played through likely more than ten times since their respective releases, and for once, it seems that catchiness doesn’t negate the actual quality of the album. Genres were mixed and played with this year, from Turnover taking their alternative, pop-punk sound and injecting some dream pop, to Carly Rae Jepsen taking sounds of the 80s and melding them with her sugary sweet vocals, or Miguel adding a rock vibe to some of his tunes. This year marked a time where experimentation was key, and it lead to a lot of interesting and exciting albums being released.

  1. Grimes – “Art Angels”
  2. Miguel – “Wildheart”
  3. Years & Years – “Communion”
  4. Carly Rae Jepsen – “E•MO•TION
  5. Torres – “Sprinter”
  6. Turnover – “Peripheral Vision”
  7. Sufjan Stevens – “Carrie & Lowell”
  8. Kendrick Lamar – “To Pimp a Butterfly”
  9. Father John Misty – “I Love You, Honeybear”
  10. CHVRCHES – “Every Open Eye”

Brooke Pawling Stennett’s Top 10Albums 2015

Advertisement

So many albums to choose from, so little time. It was release after release all year in 2015, and the pop side of me rejoiced, the country music side of me blossomed and every other part of me replayed these albums on repeat:

  1. X Ambassadors – VHS
  2. Lana Del Rey – Honeymoon
  3. One Direction – Made In The A.M.
  4. Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood
  5. Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION
  6. Ryn Weaver – The Fool
  7. Leon Bridges – Coming Home
  8. Gabrielle Aplin – Light Up The Dark
  9. George Ezra – Wanted on Voyage
  10. Kehlani – You Should Be Here

Brooke Pawling Stennett’s Top 10 Songs Of 2015

This was a pretty solid year for music. While I didn’t listen to the radio much, by the end of the year my Spotify had a long list of my top 10 to choose from. In the end, here’s what I narrowed it down to:

  1. Troye Sivan – “YOUTH”
  2. M.I.A – “Borders”
  3. LEON – “Tired of Talking”
  4. Emily Vaughn – “Better Off”
  5. Oh Wonder – “Technicolor Beat”
  6. Rita Ora – “Poison”
  7. Ryn Weaver – “OctaHate”
  8. X Ambassadors – “Renegades”
  9. Ella Eyre – “Comeback”
  10. W. Darling – “Hunting Happiness”  


Matt Conway’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

Advertisement

2015 turned out to be one of the better years in recent memory for music, with several of the industry’s best releasing new albums. To create as diverse of a list as possible, my rankings will include only one song from an artist’s yearly resume, although some could easily have two or three on the list.

  1.  Tame Impala – “The Less I Know the Better”
  2.  Sufjan Stevens – “Death with Diginity”
  3. Summer Fiction – “Perfume Paper”
  4. Kendrick Lamar – “King Kunta”
  5. Passion Pit – “All I Want”
  6. Beach House – “Majorette”
  7. Brian Wilson – “The Right Time”
  8. Imagine Dragons – “Shots”
  9. Mumford and Sons – “Just Smoke”
  10. Coldplay – “Hymn for the Weekend”


Caryn Welby-Solomon’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

  1. Halsey – Badlands
  2. Melanie Martinez – Cry Baby
  3. Carly Rae Jepson – E•MO•TION
  4. Troye Sivan – Wild
  5. Jess Glynne – I Cry When I Laugh
  6. Justin Bieber – Purpose
  7. Lana Del Rey – Honeymoon
  8. The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
  9. Marina and the Diamonds – Froot
  10. Florence + the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

 

Caryn Welby-Solomon’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Alessia Cara – “Here”
  2. Adele – “Hello”
  3. Halsey – “New Americana”
  4. The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
  5. Selena Gomez feat. A$AP Rocky – “Good for You”
  6. Justin Bieber – “Love Yourself”
  7. twenty one pilots – “Stressed Out”
  8. Taylor Swift – “Wildest Dreams”
  9. Missy Elliot feat. Pharrell Williams – “WTF”
  10. Major Lazer feat. Ellie Goulding – “Powerful”

Ryan Gibbs’ Top 10 Albums of 2015

  1. Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION
  2. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
  3. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Just Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
  4. Makeshift Shelters – Something So Personal
  5. Hop Along – Painted Shut
  6. Blur – The Magic Whip
  7. Line & Circle – Split Figure
  8. CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye
  9. Miguel – Wild Heart
  10. Speedy Ortiz – Foil Deer

Ryan Gibbs Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Run Away With Me”
  2. Courtney Barnett – “Depreston”
  3. American Wrestlers – “I Can Do No Wrong”
  4. Stealing Sheep – “Not Real”
  5. Speedy Ortiz – “The Graduates”
  6. Pure Bathing Culture – “Pray for Rain”
  7. Blur – “Lonesome Street”
  8. Makeshift Shelters – “Lighter Fluid”
  9. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – “Sunday Candy”
  10. Daphne & Celeste – “You & I Alone”

Luciana Villalba’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Adele – “Hello”
  2. Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
  3. Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
  4. Drake – “Hotline Bling”
  5. The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
  6. Nicky Jam feat. Enrique Iglesias – “El Perdón”
  7. Big Sean feat. Drake – “Blessings”
  8. Taylor Swift – “Bad Blood”
  9. Fetty Wap – “My Way”
  10. Drake – “Know Yourself”

 

Amber Mack’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

  1. Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood (Deluxe)
  2. Adele – 25
  3. Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
  4. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
  5. The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
  6. Florence and the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
  7. Hilary Duff – Breathe In. Breathe Out.
  8. Run Weaver – The Fool
  9. Pentatonix – Pentatonix
  10. The Japanese – HouseClean

Honorable Mention: Wild EP by Troye Sivan

It contains the same songs that are on Blue Neighbourhood but they’re so good that they deserve to be mentioned twice.

Amber Mack’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Troye Sivan – “Blue”
  2. Coldplay – “Hymn for the Weekend”
  3. Adele – “Hello”
  4. Wet – “Deadwater”
  5. Zara Larsson, MNEK – “Never Forget You”
  6. Kendrick Lamar – “Complexion (A Zulu Love)”
  7. Adele – “I Miss You”
  8. The Japanese House – “Cool Blue”
  9. Frances – “When it Comes to Us”
  10. The Weeknd – “Acquainted”

Cristina Moreano’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

  1. Blur – The Magic Whip
  2. The Libertines – Anthems For A Doomed Youth
  3. The Wombats – Glitterbug
  4. Circa Waves – Young Chasers
  5. Mark Ronson – Uptown Special
  6. Grimes – Art Angels
  7. Tame Impala – Currents
  8. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Chasing Yesterday
  9. Muse – Drones
  10. Cage the Elephant – Tell Me I’m Pretty

Cristina Moreano’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. The Wombats – “Greek Tragedy”
  2. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds –  “In The Heat Of The Moment”
  3. 3.Grimes –  “Flesh without Blood”
  4. Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
  5. Bloc Party – “The Love Within”
  6. Tame Impala – “Disciples”
  7. FFS – “Collaborations Don’t Work”
  8. Blur – “Go Out”
  9. Wavves – “My Head Hurts”
  10. Adele – “Hello”

Matt Rice’s Top 10 Albums of 2015

  1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
  2. The Paranoid Style – Rock and Roll Just Can’t Recall
  3. Dead Sara – Pleasure to Meet You
  4. Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show
  5. James McMurtry – Complicated Game
  6. Vince Staples – Summertime ’06
  7. Laurie Anderson – Heart of a Dog
  8. Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment – Surf
  9. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
  10. Shamir – Ratchet

Honorable mention: Tanya Tagaq’s Animism, a wonderful album from 2014 that I didn’t hear until this year.

Matt Rice’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen” (RGF/300)
  2. Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment – “Sunday Candy”
  3. Thomas Rhett – “Crash and Burn”
  4. Nicki Minaj (feat. Beyoncé) – “Feeling Myself”
  5. Kendrick Lamar – “King Kunta”
  6. Courtney Barnett – “Pedestrian at Best”
  7. Jamie xx – “Gosh”
  8. Cita Citata – “Goyang Dumang”
  9. Ciara – “I Bet”
  10. Lil Mama – “Sausage”

Honorable mentions: CL’s “Hello Bitches,” Jamie xx’s “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” and Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush.”

Joey Daniewicz’ Top 10 Albums of 2015

  1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
  2. Grimes – Art Angels
  3. Heems – Eat Pray Thug
  4. Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION
  5. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – Surf
  6. Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp
  7. Miguel – Wildheart
  8. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
  9. Jamie xx – In Colour
  10. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities To Love

Joey Daniewicz’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Estelle – “Stronger Than You”
  2. Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
  3. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – “Sunday Candy”
  4. Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
  5. Justin Bieber – “What Do You Mean?”
  6. Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
  7. Grimes – “Flesh Without Blood”
  8. Rihanna & Kanye West & Paul McCartney – “FourFiveSeconds”
  9. Miguel – “Coffee”
  10. Missy Elliott feat. Pharrell – “WTF (Where They From)”

Melissa Berne’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. JoJo – “JoJo’s Tringle”
  2. Drake – “Hotline Bling”
  3. The Weeknd – “Earned It”
  4. The Weeknd – “The Hills”
  5. Alessia Cara – “Here”
  6. Drake – “Back to Back”
  7. Adele – “Hello”
  8. Demi Lovato – “Cool For the Summer”
  9. Selena Gomez – “Same Old Love”
  10. 10. Big Sean feat. E-40 – “I Don’t F*ck With You

Bri Lockhart’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. The Wombats – “Be Your Shadow”
  2. Annie Lennox – “I Put a Spell on You”
  3. Marina and the Diamonds – “Can’t Pin Me Down”
  4. Fall Out Boy – “Irresistible”
  5. Panic! at the Disco – “Emperor’s New Clothes”
  6. Matt Nathanson – “Giants”
  7. Phases – “I’m in Love with My Life”
  8. Neon Trees – “Songs I Can’t Listen To”
  9. Miranda Lambert – “Little Red Wagon”
  10. Demi Lovato – “Confident”

Kevin Montes’ Top 10 Songs of 2015

  1. Vince Staples – “Jump Off the Roof”
  2. Jamie xx feat. Young Thug and PopCaan – “I Know There’s Gonna be Good Times”
  3. Donnie Trumpet feat. Chance the Rapper – “Sunday Candy”
  4. Kehlani – “The Ways”
  5. Boogie – “Oh My”
  6. Jack U feat. Justin Bieber – “Where Are U Now”
  7. Bomba Estero – “Fiesta”
  8. Kanye West – “All Day”
  9. Vince Staples – “Señorita”
  10. Janelle Monae – “Yoga”

Kevin Montes’ Top 10 Albums of 2015

  1. Vince Staples – Summertime ‘06
  2. Kamasi Washington – The Epic
  3. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
  4. Jeremih – Late Nights
  5. Erykah Badu – But You Can’t Use My Phone
  6. Wara From the NBHD – If Guns Could Speak PSA
  7. Bomba Estero – Amanacer
  8. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
  9. Donnie Trumpet – Surf
  10. Hamilton Cast Recording

Alana Chase’s Top 10 Songs of 2015

From my vantage point, this year’s music scene was less punchy with career-changing releases for new artists as compared to years past (think 2014’s Take Me to Church album from Hozier, or 2011’s + album from Ed Sheeran). But that’s not to say it went without merits, or without some songs I could really jam/dance/sing-scream to. 2015 was freckled with killer music from artists I’ve long admired (Allen Stone, Brendan Maclean, Julia Nunes), eclectic and exuberant releases from my new discoveries and some new kids on the block (Future Islands, Lake Street Dive, Troye Sivan), and wickedly good tracks from bands I know I can always rely on (The Maine, Twenty One Pilots, The 1975, and Fall Out Boy). Here’s my Top 10 of 2015, in alphabetical order by song title:

  1. “American Privilege” by Allen Stone

  2. “Call Off Your Dogs” by Lake Street Dive

  3. “FOOLS” by Troye Sivan

  4. “Same Suit, Different Tie” by The Maine

  5. “The Chase” by Future Islands

  6. “The Feeling Again” by Brendan Maclean

  7. “The Judge” by Twenty One Pilots

  8. “Then OK” by Julia Nunes

  9. “UGH!” by The 1975

  10. “Uma Thurman” by Fall Out Boy

Which songs and/or albums made your 2015 Top 10 list? Let us know in the comments!

Advertisement

Exit mobile version