Oliver

Queens

Channel Orange by Frank Ocean. Channels old Prince and new swag to form a cohesive, moving, and memorable album. Playfulness, honesty, vulnerability, and untouchable cool all wrapped up in unbelievably sick production.

Tie:

Crack Rock by Frank Ocean. My favorite example of all the qualities mentioned above in question 1.

Bloody Knuckles by High on Fire. This song is undeniable proof that my favorite stoner metal band is again firing on all cylinders.

Brendon Small's Galaktikon. He's the creator of Metalocalypse, and has released three albums under the guise of the show's protagonist metal band Dethklok. His new Galaktikon project is more interesting than (and just as fun as) the Dethklok albums, and shows off a wider spectrum of Brendon Small's musical tastes and talents.

A pleasant surprise! The album Bloom by Beach House was amazing... probably their best yet. Not to knock them, but I didn't think they had it in them. With lots of bands, you can maybe imagine what they would sound like "fully mature"; whether or not they get there is another story (see The xx). Beach House definitely exceeded all expectations on this one.

The album Port of Morrow by The Shins. Disappointed me for many reasons... some people praised the fact their sound as a band has evolved/filled out a bit, but at best it adds nothing to James Mercer's normally wonderful vocals (and at worst, it distracts). It didn't help that I waited almost 5 years for this.

Gojira @ Santos Party House on Aug. 9th. This was the first time I saw them live, and I was stoked to see them at a small venue as opposed to the huge ones that they normally play these days. Their live sound is incredible... every bit as heavy, nuanced, and "OMG did they just do that??" as their recordings.

Hip hop and RnB that breaks away from the monolithic homophobia that's characterized most of hip hop musical culture. Maybe I'm making too much of the fact that Frank Ocean came out, but it's a big (and thankfully very visible) step in the right direction. Let's hope it continues so we can have more meaningful, resonant, and honest lyrics/concepts/content in hip hop.