StrawberryBlond 14,820 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 It's here - my annual list of the best and worst of last year. For those who don't know, I'm an amateur music reviewer (by the way, there's too much hassle in going pro, I'm happy doing this for free out of the love of music) and I've been making these lists on here for the last 2 years. Because a lot of people only listen to their favourites or only pay attention to the most popular artists, there's a lot of good things that slip under the radar, so I like to hope my thread alerts them to things they never even knew existed as well as give everyone an opportunity to share their own favourites and post their own lists. But understand that I never intend my word to be law - everyone's entitled to their own opinion and mine is no more than that. This is just how I choose to devote my spare time, so I just like to put the fruits of my labour out there. This year's list is very within the lines, to say the least, which is unusual for me. I usually feature a good mixture of mainstream and indie but I don't know, I think mainstream's won this year and indie's let me down a bit or wasn't as good as I expected. There's a lot of surprising choices here. Suffice to say, this was a really bad year for music, in my mind. I had to put in so many lower ranked albums this year, it was so depressing. And picking out the worst singles was a nightmare because while there were a lot of terrible songs out there, most of them weren't being made into singles, so the biggest crime with singles this year is that they were just boring and separating boring from boring is a very hard task. With all that in mind, my list this year isn't as...sure. Even though I like my choices, I still don't feel quite comfortable with them. But I think it's just because there was such a lack of truly outstanding stuff this year that I'm left wanting. Bear in mind that the lower ranked songs and albums have the most minute difference between them. Please don't take offence if a favourite of yours is on the list, particularly if it's a single because they're all basically the same ranking anyway, especially the ones in the lower half. In all lists, it's only the top ten where massive distinction starts to come into play. With that, here's my lists, half-spoilered for length. Please don't kill me if you don't agree with some choices! Best Singles Of 2015 40. Janet Jackson - No Sleeep (feat. J. Cole) 39. Britney Spears & Iggy Azalea - Pretty Girls 38. Mark Ronson - Feel Right (feat. Mystikal) 37. Maddie + Tae - Shut Up And Fish 36. Leona Lewis - Fire Under My Feet 35. Little Mix - Black Magic 34. Halestorm - Amen 33. Sia - Alive 32. Melanie Martinez - Pity Party 31. Carly Rae Jepsen - I Really Like You 30. One Direction - Perfect 29. Little Mix - Love Me Like You 28. David Guetta - Hey Mama (feat. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack) 27. Sam Smith - Writing's On The Wall 26. Carly Rae Jepsen - Your Type 25. A$AP Rocky - Everyday (feat. Rod Stewart, Miguel & Mark Ronson) 24. Carrie Underwood - Smoke Break 23. Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me 22. Charlie Puth - Marvin Gaye (feat. Meghan Trainor) 21. The Weeknd - Earned It 20. Carrie Underwood - Heartbeat 19. Fifth Harmony - Worth It (feat. Kid Ink) 18. Rachel Platten - Stand By You 17. Lana Del Rey - High By The Beach 16. Meghan Trainor - Dear Future Husband 15. Rihanna - Bitch Better Have My Money 14. Rachel Platten - Fight Song 13. Selena Gomez - Good For You 12. Eminem feat. Gwen Stefani - Kings Never Die 11. Florence + The Machine - What Kind Of Man Spoiler 10. Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams 09. Adele - Hello 08. Lana Del Rey - Music To Watch Boys To 07. David Bowie - Lazarus 06. Demi Lovato - Confident 05. Halestorm - Apocalyptic 04. Demi Lovato - Cool For The Summer 03. Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do 02. Rihanna - American Oxygen 01. Brandon Flowers - Can't Deny My Love Worst Singles of 2015 40. The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face 39. Kacey Musgraves - Dime Store Cowgirl 38. Chris Brown - Zero 37. The Vamps - Wake Up 36. Big Sean - Play No Games (feat. Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign) 35. Grimes - Flesh Without Blood 34. Duran Duran - Pressure Off (feat. Janelle Monae & Nile Rogers) 33. Jason Derulo - Want To Want Me 32. Hurts - Lights 31. Snoop Dogg - So Many Pros 30. R. Kelly - Switch Up (feat. Lil Wayne & Jeremih) 29. OMI - Hula Hoop 28. Marina And The Diamonds - Blue 27. The Corrs - Bring On The Night 26. Years & Years - Shine 25. Roisin Murphy - Exploitation 24. OMI - Cheerleader 23. Meghan Trainor - Better When I'm Dancin' 22. Chris Brown & Tyga - Bitches N' Marijuana 21. Roisin Murphy - Evil Eyes 20. Rixton - We All Want The Same Thing 19. Ty Dolla $ign - Drop That Kitty (feat. Charli XCX & Tinashe) 18. Jess Glynne - Don't Be So Hard On Yourself 17. Miley Cyrus - Dooo It! 16. Justin Bieber - Sorry 15. Future - Rich $ex 14. 5 Seconds Of Summer - She's Kinda Hot 13. John Newman - Come And Get It 12. Justin Bieber - What Do You Mean? 11. Future - F**k Up Some Commas Spoiler 10. Taylor Swift - Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar) 09. Justin Bieber - Love Yourself 08. Rihanna - FourFiveSeconds (feat. Kanye West & Paul McCartney) 07. Madonna - Bitch I'm Madonna (feat. Nicki Minaj) 06. Maroon 5 - Feelings 05. Fetty Wap - My Way feat. Monty 04. Future - Blow A Bag 03. Fetty Wap - Trap Queen 02. Pentatonix - Can't Sleep Love 01. Psy - Daddy (feat. CL) Best Albums of 2015 20. Muse - Drones 3/5 19. Janet Jackson - Unbreakable 3/5 18. Nate Ruess - Grand Romantic 3/5 17. Marilyn Manson - The Pale Emperor 3/5 16. James Bay - Chaos And The Calm 3/5 15. One Direction - Made In The A.M. 3/5 14. Kacey Musgrves - Pageant Material 3/5 13. Adele - 25 3/5 12. Maddie + Tae - Start Here 3.5/5 11. The Weeknd - Beauty Behind The Madness 3.5/5 Spoiler 10. Little Mix - Get Weird 3.5/5 09. Dr. Dre - Compton 3.5/5 08. Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby 3.5/5 07. Joss Stone - Water For Your Soul 3.5/5 06. Carly Rae Jepsen - E*MO*TION 3.5/5 05. Halestorm - Into The Wild Life 3.5/5 04. Halsy - Badlands 3.5/5 (deluxe version included would have made it 4/5) 03. Carrie Underwood - Storyteller 4/5 02. Demi Lovato - Confident 4/5 01. Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon 5/5 Worst Albums Of 2015 20. Justin Bieber - Purpose 2/5 19. Chris Brown - Royalty 2/5 18. Giorgio Moroder - Deja Vu 2/5 17. Kid Rock - First Kiss 2/5 16. John Newman - Revolve 2/5 15. Ben Haenow - Ben Haenow 1.5/5 14. Lil Wayne - Free Weezy Album 1.5/5 13. Years & Years - Communion 1.5/5 12. Hilary Duff - Breathe In. Breath Out. 1/5 11. Jess Glynne - I Cry When I Laugh 1/5 Spoiler 10. Roisin Murphy - Hairless Toys 1/5 09. Bjork - Vulnicura 1/5 08. Tyler, The Creator - Cherry Bomb 1/5 07. Future - DS2 1/5 06. The Corrs - White Light 1/5 05. Rixton - Let The Road 1/5 04. Snoop Dogg - Bush 1/5 03. Big Sean - Dark Sky Paradise 1/5 02. R. Kelly - The Buffet 1/5 01. Fetty Wap - Fetty Wap 0.5/5 So, there we have it. As you can see, a very odd year, by my standards. A lot of mainstream stuff, especially in singles. But I'm proud to say the genres are quite diverse this year in the best of category. Pop, rap, rock, RnB, world, even country! I have never featured a country album on a best of list and I had 3 this year, so things are looking up for that genre in my eyes. I hope no one interprets my lack of black artists and an overabundance of them in the worst of category as anything malicious - it was just the way it worked out and I hope next year will be better. Obviously, I can't provide an explanation for everything or it would take too long but if there's any single or album you want to ask my reasons for ranking it so, just let me know. And if any of your favourites aren't here or there's just a song/album you want my opinion on as to why it didn't make the lists, let me know. I've listened to over 100 albums this year, so it might be there, unless it's super indie! I hope this is the worst year I've experienced in music for a while and 2016 will get better - already there's promising artists due to release. But for now, understand that this list was very difficult to compile and rank. But I hope you enjoy reading it nevertheless! Agree? Disagree? Post your own personalised lists if you want. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blade 5,603 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I feel like you should add "Focus" by Ariana Grande to worst songs and this comes from a huge fan of hers. I sometimes even bop to that song but yeah....it's a bad song imo. I agree with the rest! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gohan 16,396 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 "06. Demi Lovato - Confident 04. Demi Lovato - Cool For The Summer" "02. Demi Lovato - Confident 4/5" Slay me!!!!!! tryna go ask Alice, tryna catch that rabbit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARTPOPisaChoice 946 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 My Top 5 Albums of 2015 #5 : E•MO•TION - Carly Rae Jepsen #4 : FROOT - Marina & The Diamonds #3 : How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence + The Machine #2 : Blurryface - twenty one pilots #1 : Art Angels - Grimes My Top Singles of 2015 "In The Night" - The Weeknd "Glass & Patron" - FKA twigs "Can't Deny My Love" - Brandon Flowers "World Princess Part II" - Grimes "Ship To Wreck" - Florence + The Machine "Heavydirtysoul" - twenty one pilots "Roman Holiday" - Halsey "E•MO•TION" - Carly Rae Jepsen "Can't Pin Me Down" - Marina & The Diamonds "Sippy Cup" - Melanie Martinez "Cool For The Summer" - Demi Lovato Hands up to the sky 🌧 I’ll be your galaxy 🌌 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PabloDaBlowfish 428 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 11 minutes ago, StrawberryBlond said: 02. Rihanna - American Oxygen 11 minutes ago, StrawberryBlond said: 09. Bjork - Vulnicura 1/5 cool. don't do year end lists ever again though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Gaga 22,889 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 What a job to analyze all that music i enjoyed reading your choices, although i don't agree with some of them (Demi is way too high imo). Where's TIHTY? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocketno10 2,062 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Best album: how big how blue how beautiful, honeymoon, froot, art angel, Me, Architech, ESKA, Carrie and Lowell Ok album: blue neighborhood, revival, emotion, badland, crybaby Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManuelColon 702 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Vulnicura 1/5. Okay, bye. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrer Zorola 3,966 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 In my opinion, the best singles of 2015 were: 17. Selena Gomez: same old love 16. Madonna & Nicki Minaj: bitch I'm Madonna 15. Demi Lovato: cool for the summer 14. The Weeknd: earned it 13. Ariana Grande: one last time 12. Selena Gomez: good for you 11. Jason Derulo: want to want me 10. Ariana Grande: focus 9. Taylor Swift: wildest dreams 8. The Weeknd: can't feel my face 7. Taylor Swift: style 6. The Weeknd: the hills 5. David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack: hey mama 4. Taylor Swift & Kendrick Lamar: bad blood 3. Adele: hello 2. Major Lazer, DJ Snake & Mø: lean on 1. Lady Gaga: til it happens to you Spoiler til it happens to you and focus are my favorite songs right now LIFE IS GOOD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riot Poof 2,236 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Poor Vulnicura. I know it's just your opinion, but oh my goodness. That was my #1 of 2015. I'm not a woman. I'm not a man. I am something that you'll never understand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bio 23,538 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Loool not Pretty Girls, Confident and American Oxygen being on the best list and Blue, Vulnicura and Shine on the worst. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prismatic 4,789 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Best Album 1. Emotion 2. Art Angel 3. Vulnicura 4. Honeymoon 5. Rebel Heart I Only Stan For Risk Takers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameltoe Chariot 15,151 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 lol at "Confident" by Poot Lovato being higher than Adele's "Hello" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirLudicopro 1,351 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Keep doing what you're doing hun, but this list seems kind of biased to me. You seem to be Lana fan, which I respect, but you can't just give an album a 5/5 because it's your fave's. Every album has flaws. ARTPOP slayed my life, but I wouldn't go as far as giving it 5/5. The Fame Monster is a goddamn masterpiece with 8 outstanding songs, but it still does not deserve a 5/5 because that kind of perfection is not really attainable. Still, good job, you seem to have put a lot of work and time into this list. Also... Pretty Girls in the top 40 best singles?... Really? I am not a professional whatsoever, but I'm pretty sure that objectively speaking, it is a known fact that that song's lyrics and composition are not exactly good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PabloDaBlowfish 428 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 10 hours ago, CameltoeKween said: lol at "Confident" by Poot Lovato being higher than Adele's "Hello" Which is accurate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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