Justin's Favorite Albums and Songs of 2015

As with any year in music, honesty is what makes an album stick. Sometimes that honesty is brutal. Torres' Sprinter, my favorite record of the year, tears her religious upbringing to shreds as she builds her new identify. Here her raw screams live hammered home the point. Björk chronicled her breakup with long-time partner Matthew Barney in ways that made me cringe and cry.

Other times honesty is joyful. Daddy Issues took not giving a fuck to another level and spoke their own truth without a care of who was listening. John Darnielle reveled in his love of professional wrestling with an entire album about it. It's not a passion I share, but his enthusiasm had me wanting to jump off the top rope.

All this honesty challenged me to be more honest with myself, to be more open about what I do and don't like and stop people pleasing. It's a work in progress, but I'll look back on this year in music as a catalyst in my own growth.

Favorite Albums

1. Sprinter by Torres
2. No Cities To Love by Sleater-Kinney
3. River by Daniel Bachman
4. Traveller by Chris Stapleton
5. To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
6. Vulnicura by Björk
7. Natalie Prass by Natalie Prass
8. Fuck Marry Kill by Daddy Issues
9. Beat The Champ by The Mountain Goats
10. Everything Dies by Des Ark
11. Sometimes I Sit And Think Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
12. Goon by Tobias Jesso Jr.
13. Coming Home by Leon Bridges
14. Southland Mission by Phil Cook
15. The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting

Also Great: Poison Season by Destroyer, Loyalty by The Weather Station, Glossa by Positive No, Litlle Neon Limelight by Houndmouth, Beth Bombara by Beth Bombara, Feels Like by Bully, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Bury Me At Makeout Creek by Mitski

Favorite Songs

1. "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" by The Mountain Goats
2. "No Anthems" by Sleater-Kinney
3. "Strange Hello" by Torres
4. "Violently" by Natalie Prass
5. "Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party" by Courtney Barnett
6. "Woke Up Dead" by The Wyrms
7. "Pretty Pimpin" by Kurt Vile
8. "King Kunta" by Kendrick Lamar
9. "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars
10. "Weird Hugs" by Positive No
11. "Trying" by Bully
12. "Holy Moly" by Matthew E. White
13. "Shy Women" by The Weather Station
14. "S.O.B." by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
15. "Townie" by Mitski

Favorite North Carolina Shows

1. Jenny Lewis and Torres - Haw River Ballroom - 5/4/15
2. Boulevards - CAM at Hopscotch Music Festival - 9/10/15
3. Sleater-Kinney - The Ritz - 4/22/15
4. The Decemberists and Shovels and Rope - Red Hat Ampitheater - 6/3/15
5. The Mountain Goats - Cat's Cradle - 4/7/15