Favorite Albums of 2019

Well, there were two easy choices. After that, it was hard. Lots of good albums, but few that jumped out and immediately made me believe.

• Amanda Palmer, There Will Be No Intermission: she's an acquired taste for many, but she's a great song-writer addressing big topics in interesting, emotionally arresting ways. See, e.g., "Judy Blume," "Voicemail for Jill," and "Machete."
• Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go: what a great album from a 17 year-old who is now among the biggest pop stars in the world. Great songs, great production, reminiscent of the debut Lorde album, but with a more cynical attitude. A generation-defining classic. 
• Patty Griffin, Patty Griffin: her voice is not as perfect anymore, but her song-writing just gets deeper with age. Like the later Emmylou Harris and Leonard Cohen albums, this could only be written by someone who has known regret. 
• Brittany Howard, Jaimie: the solo debut by the lead singer for The Alabama Shakes, this album appeared on nearly every "best of the year" list. A blend of Af-Am contemporary musical styles, jammed with funky energy, this one is much more than something you can dance to. 
• Sault, 5: the mysterious album that materialized in May and pushed into many "best of the year" lists, this one is a crazy quilt blend of hip-hop, electronica, 70s funk, Nigerian high-life, and who knows what else. Now this is what I call dance music. 
• The Dove & the Wolf, Conversations: ah, young white women singing about lost loves. My home genre. In this case, it's a duo that has conjured a record that feels like wistful driving on a warm evening at sunset. Reminiscent of Daughter and Mazzy Star. 

But there were lots of other albums this year that I also really liked, including these that I might eventually decide deserve a place on the list more than the ones I've chosen: Rhiannon Giddens' There Is No Other, FKA Twigs' MAGDALENE, Jesca Hoop's Stonechild, and Francesco Turrisi's Northern Migrations (technically a 2018 release). 

It was also a strong year for reissues and compilations. So much so, that I've shunted them into a separate top 4: 

• The Beatles, Abbey Road: another remarkable remix and remaster by Giles Martin, somehow making this classic record sound even more like itself. The new clarity in the vocal tracks alone is a revelation. 
• Joan as Policewoman, Joanthology: this anthology collection makes the case for her under-appreciated, sultry, downtown, pop-jazz-r&b sound. Here it is, applied to Prince's "Kiss."
• John Coltrane, Blue World: new Coltrane tracks unearthed? From 1964, before he disappeared down the more experimental rabbit hole? Oh yes.  
• Burial, Tunes 2011-2019: from the Pitchfork review: "The effect is akin to taking a muscle relaxant and watching black waves crashing against a beach in slow motion, a dark night of the sandy soul."