Top 5 Vinyl of 2015. And Thanks!
Top 5 Vinyl of 2015
2015 was a big year for vinyl, and since this was the first year of Vinyl Deals, it was an even bigger year for me. We injested the first price on March 29th and now track the prices on over 66,000 albums, with more added every day. For the inaugural end-of-year post, I wanted to highlight five of the best vinyl albums from the past year. In our database, there were 14,654 vinyl issues released this year, so picking five was a tough job.
I want to say a sincere, heartfelt thanks to everyone who has come by the site to check out the deals and shopped. Buying records from our links pays the bills and keeps the servers running. Handling the never-ending stream of price data is quite a challenge and with your support, we've been able to keep the site advertisement free.
There's a lot planned for 2016 and I can't wait to share it with you. If you've got an suggestions for the site, drop me a note. Cheers!
5. Punch Brothers - The Phosphorescent Blues
Bluegrass may not be your thing, but the talent level of the five Punch Brothers is something to behold. This album mixes original songs with some traditional bluegrass and rounds it out with some classic chamber music. The imaging on the recording is incredible; each of the musicians around a single microphone, duplicating how they stand in their live shows.
4. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
I actually won't listen to this album anymore. It's so powerful and puts me in a place I don't like to spend a lot of time. I'm content enough to know it's on the shelf, that it'll be there when the time is right.
3. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
The songwriting talent on this album is awesome. It's not just the stream of conciousness lyrics, but the music and production are teriffic. Comparisons to Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do" are on the nose. So far in 2015, SISATASIJS has won two ARIA Music Awards in her home country (Australia) and Barnett herself won best female artist. She's also now a Grammy nominee for Artist of the Year. I don't get invited to a lot of parties anymore, but the lyrics "I wanna go out but I wanna stay home" in her riff heavy song "Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party" sums up my bygone twenties perfectly.
2. Tame Impala - Currents
When I want to get the energy up and get some work done, I drop this double LP on the platter and get crankin'. Blending rock with dreamy synths, Kevin Parker and crew offer up broad, room filling soundscapes. The production quality is top notch.
1. Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
This was my go-to album in 2015 when I wanted some bluesy-rock to accompany my Old Fashioned filled evenings. Brittany Howard's soulful voice along with the rough hewn band's backing remind me of charcoal and tweed. Even Apple decided to use the title track for their iPad Pro ad. Oh, then there's the 6 Grammy award nominations. If you were going to pick just one album from this list, this is the one.
