Best Albums of 2015

In a year of some strikingly original music, the choices seemed somehow easier this year.  My musical DNA is on display in all these albums:  the long shadow of Prince and Sly; the pulse of early electronic sounds by Kraftwerk and Eno; the pounding noise of the Clash and the Ramones;  and the California pop of the Beach Boys and mid-period Fleetwood Mac.  It's all in the mix, made endlessly new to make the world understandable -- and danceable.

In no particular order:

Tame Impala, Currents - An irresistible blend of R&B and electronica proving once again that we're all from somewhere else originally.

Deerhunter, Fading Frontier - The perfect melancholy of the Beach Boys "In My Room," except that now there's weed and the internet in the room.

Sleater-Kinney, No Cities to Love - Hunger makes them modern girls.

Bob Moses, Days Gone By - Like floating on a raft in a swimming pool, McCarron Pool in Brooklyn that is.

Father John Misty, I Love You Honeybear - If this generation has a James Taylor, it might be him.

Lizz Wright, Freedom and Surrender - If this generation has a Roberta Flack, it might be her.

Thundercat, The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam - Sixteen minutes of perfect trip-hop, from the Flying Lotus branch of the tree.

D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah - Searing and salving, D'Angelo came blazing back.

Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit - Because the best rock has a sense of humor. 

Jaime XX, Colours - The DJ/producer/percussionist as auteur, visionary as Jimi Hendrix at his peak.  No shit, really.

Stay tuned: best singles of 2015 coming right up.