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Entries categorized as “Best Albums of the Year” 508 results
Rubbed in Dirt, Dipped in Sugar writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: John Lombardo
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our next list is from Live Performance Director John Lombardo.
This year has been a tough year for live music but this batch of records has kept me sane.
Kelsey Stimple writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2020: Kelsey Stimple
Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2020. Our first list for this year is from Substitute DJ Kelsey Stimple.
I last saw live music on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. I went to Sleeping Village with two friends from CHIRP (we bumped into more there) to see Sudan Archives. I remember that her dad was at the show, beaming up at his daughter performing for the sold out crowd. I convinced my friends to stay until midnight despite the fact we all had to work the next morning.
Given what transpired in the following weeks, I'm so glad that I did. COVID changed my music listening habits in several ways: I used to listen to music during my commute; I used to find out about new stuff at shows and Pitchfork Fest and wherever else; I used to see artists perform albums I already liked and leave the venue in love.
My favorite albums from 2020—played mostly in my apartment or as I wandered around my neighborhood alone—appear below. Twenty albums felt more appropriate than ten. Reflecting on the year in this very narrow way reminds me that my life still moved forward. I still managed to learn and discover new things. As a final note—I love list season. I finalized mine on December 3 and cannot wait to spend the rest of the month digging into others' to see what I missed.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio’s Top Ten Albums of 2019!
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All month we've been reviewing lists of our volunteers' favorite music for this year. Of the hundred of albums submitted for consideration, here are the 10 that were cited the most often. This year the top spot on the list goes to a Chicago artist whose 2nd album made a strong impression on many of our volunteers since its release in May. Call it R&B, call it Neo-Soul, there's no denying its musical power and inspiration. From all of us at CHIRP, THANK YOU for listening to and supporting independent radio, and Happy New Year!
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Shawn Campbell writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2019: Shawn Campbell
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2019. Our next list is from Founder and General Manager, DJ (Saturday 12-2pm) Shawn Campbell. I've seldom tended to order my lists, and I didn't again this year with the exception of #1. I couldn't be happier for the year Lizzo has had! |
DJ Mick writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2019: Mick Reed
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2019. Our next list is from volunteer and DJ Mick Reed. CHIRP AOY In the three years that I’ve been with CHIRP this is the first year that I can say that I genuinely felt like the majority of the albums I listened to were excellent. Not just good, not just fair, but excellent. As a result, this was the hardest list I’ve had to compile yet. It pains me when I think of all the worthy albums I’m leaving off either because I haven’t full absorbed them yet, or because I just haven’t gotten around to checking them out. The first couple of weeks of 2020 are going to be spent doing some major catch up listening and I really relish the opportunity to do a deep dive into everything 2019 had to offer. That’s not to say that 2019 didn’t have its duds though. While there were hundreds of phenomenal albums released this year for our listening pleasure, roughly half of the albums I was actually anticipating checking out ended up being either mediocre (Sudan Archives, Angel Olsen), not up to the artist’s potential (Pivot Gang, Chance the Rapper, Sleater-Kinney), “Whelp, we did an album” low-effort affairs (Tacocat), bed sh*tting embarrassments (In Flames, Fallujah), or boring to the point of feeling like a personal insult (Sun O)))). But, this is not about what I didn’t like, this is a celebration of what made 2019 a landmark year in music. So before I get all needlessly hung up on negativity, allow me to introduce my top 10 (plus 40ish) albums of the year. I hope this list inspires you to check out some of the albums I’ve written about, or at least introduces you to an artist you didn’t realize you needed in your life (or just listen to whatever you like, it doesn’t bother me either way). Enjoy! |