10.5 months ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to listen to every single album that cracked Apple Music’s Top 30, plus any others released by big-name artists.
Why pick a number as random as 30? For the uber-scientific reason that when I click on “Top Charts” in the iTunes mainframe, it only lists that many albums before I have to press “See All.”
Why did I make such a promise to myself? Masochism definitely runs in my Jewish blood, but mostly I believe that critics like me benefit from keeping up with popular trends in all forms of art. Plus, I’ve been reviewing a bunch of them both here and on Twitter, AND I’m planning to publish my official rankings in early 2018.
I’ve listened to a grand total of 133 albums since January, which is pretty good…
BUT NOW I NEED YOUR HELP!!!
Obviously a bunch have slipped through the cracks, and I’d love to fill in as many of those as possible before December 31. Below is a numbered list of the ones I missed. There is basically no chance that I can get around to them all, so I’m looking for a little guidance regarding which I should make sure to check off my list by the time the ball drops.
Feel free to leave a comment here with your suggestions, OR you can drop me a line on either Twitter or Facebook (OR OR, if you know me personally, text my digits). I’ve numbered all of them, just in case you’d rather forward me the corresponding numbers than write out the full names of the artists and albums. OH, and if you think I absolutely must hear anything not included below, I will totally do so (for your reference, find at the very bottom an alphabetical list of the aforementioned 133)…
Thanks in advance!
Now let’s do this thing:
- Kids in Love — Kygo
- Deadstar – Smokepurpp
- MASSEDUCTION — St. Vincent
- Colors — Beck
- Take Me Apart — Kelela
- Now — Shania Twain
- Double Duchess — Fergie
- Prophets of Rage — Prophets of Rage
- The Wild – Raekwon
- Prisoner – Ryan Adams
- Strength of a Woman – Mary J. Blige
- Gemini — Macklemore
- Seven Days — Partynextdoor
- Digital Druglord – Blackbear
- All Things Work Together — Lecrae
- Blkswn – Smino
- Blue Chips 7000 — Action Bronson
- After Laughter – Paramore
- Golden — Romeo Santos
- Bitch I’m the Shit 2 — Tyga
- Thot Breaker — Chief Keef
- Bloom – Machine Gun Kelly
- Long Live Nut – YFN Lucci
- At What Cost – Goldlink
- The Never Story – JID
- Step Brothers – G-Eazy & Carnage
- Gang Signs and Prayers — Stormzy
- Good for You — Amine
- Love Songs for the Streets — Lil Durk
- Bicep/Glue — Bicep
- Solar — MaceoPlex
- Is This the Life We Really Want — Roger Waters
- Human — Rag N Bone
- Stuff I Used to Do — Deadmau5
- Climate Change – Pitbull
- Oblivion — T-pain
- Baccward Feelings — Skooly
- The Space Between — Majid Jordan
- Pacific Daydream — Weezer
- I Believe in You — Dolly Parton
- Villains — Queens of the Stone Age
- One More Light – Linkin Park
- El Dorado — Shakira
- Flicker — Niall Horan
- 11:11 Reset — Keyshia Cole
- Slum Lords 2 — K Camp
- Designer Drugz 3 — HoodRich Pablo
- Mumble Rap — Belly
- Bluebird of Happiness – Tamar Braxton
- Savage — Tank
- Nudy Land — Young Nudy
- I’m Brain — Brain
- True’s World — MadeinTYO
- Odisea — Ozuna
- Saturation — Brockhampton
- Saturation II — Brockhampton
- Jugg King — Young Scooter
- Girl Disrupted – Sevyn Streeter
- From a Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton
- Back to the Basics – Rich Homie Quan
- You Only Live 2wice – Freddie Gibbs
- Step Brothers 3 – Starlito & Don Trip
- Plata O Plomo – Fat Joe & Remy Ma
- No Hooks II — Lud Foe
- Dirty Projectors — Dirty Projectors
- Heartworms – The Shins
- So There — Ben Folds
- Steve Aoki Presents Kolony — Steve Aoki
- Add Violence — Nine Inch Nails
- Reflective — Bassnectar
- Spirit – Depeche Mode
- Windy City – Alison Krauss
- Migration – Bonobo
- 11 Short Stories – Dropkick Murphys
- God’s Problem Child — Willie Nelson
- Songs for You — Victor Oladipo
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
12 — A$AP Twelvyy
17 — XXXTENTACION
4eva Is a Mighty Long Time — Big K.R.I.T.
A Love Letter To You 2 — Trippie Redd
A Moment Apart — Odesza
About Time — Sabrina Claudio
Alchemy — Lee Foss
All the Light Above It Too — Jack Johnson
All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ — Joey Bada$$
American Dream — LCD Soundsystem
American Teen — Khalid
Autobiography — Vic Mensa
Beautiful Thugger Girls/Young Martha — Young Thug
Big Fish Theory — Vince Staples
BOOMIVERSE — Big Boi
Brent Faiyaz — Sonder Son
Bulletproof — Young Dolph
Colours 2 — Partynextdoor
More Than You Know — Axwell & Ingrosso
Concrete and Gold — Foo Fighters
Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: 2 Cozy — A$AP Mob
DAMN. — Kendrick Lamar
Death Certificate — Ice Cube
Divide — Ed Sheeran
Don’t Kill My Vibe — Sigrid
Drogas Light — Lupe Fiasco
Drunk — Thundercat
Everything Now — Arcade Fire
Evolve — Imagine Dragons
Fifth Harmony — Fifth Harmony
Flower Boy — Tyler, the Creator
Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1 — Calvin Harris
Future — Future
Gelato — Young Dolph
Good Night and Good Luck — JD is The Straight Thot
Gotti Made-It — Yo Gotti & Mike Will Made-It
GTTM: Goin Thru the Motions — PNB Rock
Harry Styles — Harry Styles
Heart Break — Lady Antebellum
Heartbreak on a Full Moon — Chris Brown
HNDRXX — Future
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom — Halsey
Humble Beast — G Herbo
I Decided — Big Sean
I See You — The XX
I Still Am — Yo Gotti
Illuminati — Blac Yungsta
Issa Album — 21 Savage
Know No Better — Major Lazer
Laugh Now, Fly Later — Wiz Khalifa
Life Changes — Thomas Rhett
Love Yourself — BTS
Luv Is Rage 2 — Lil Uzi Vert
Make America Crip Again — Snoop Dogg
Meaning of Life — Kelly Clarkson
Melodrama — Lorde
Memories Do Not Open — Chainsmokers
Morning After — Dvsn
Mozzy — 1 Up Top Ahk
Nav — Nav
Oczy — Flaming Lips
Painting Pictures — Kodak Black
Paranoia: A True Story — Dave East
Perception — NF
Perfect Timing — NAV & Metro Boomin
Playboi Carti — Playboy Carti
Pleasure — Feist
Pretty Girls Like Trap Music — 2 Chains
Process — Sampha
Pure Comedy — Father John Misty
Ransom 2 — Mike Will Made-It
Rather You Than Me — Rick Ross
Rich Forever 3 — Rich the Kid
Shine — Wale
Signed to the Streets 2.5 — Lil Durk
Sleep Well Beast — The National
Soulfire — Little Steven
Still Striving — A$AP Ferg
Super Slimey — Future & Young Thug
SweetSexySavage — Kehlani
T-Wayne – T-Pain & Lil Wayne
Teenage Motions — Lil Yachty
Tell Me You Love Me — Demi Lovato
The Bigger Artist — Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
The Chief/Boomerang — Jidenna
The Laughing Apple — Yusuf/Cat Stevens
The Saga Continues — Wu Tang
The Search for Everything — John Mayer
The Thrill of It All — Sam Smith
Thinking Out Loud — Young Dolph
Tremaine — Trey Songz
Trip — Jhene Aiko
True to Self — Bryson Tiller
Without Warning — 21 Savage, Offset, Metro Boomin
Witness — Katy Perry
Wonderful Wonderful — The Killers
YB Never Broke Again — AI YoungBoy
WRITE ALL NITE 
I don’t know if I have anything imperative about most of the albums up here, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about BROCKHAMPTON, and I think Macklemore’s Gemini is worth at least one listen. I also really like Syd. I’ve listened to her music with The Internet, but I haven’t gotten to listen to Fin (On The Road). I really like her style, so I wouldn’t have any reason to believe this album wouldn’t be good. Other than that, check out Stormzy’s Gang Signs and Prayers if you like grime.
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I shall move Brockhampton, Gemini, and Stormzy towards the top of my list! As for Syd, not to spoil my forthcoming “Best of 2017” list, but I’ll just say her albums will DEF be included. I highly recommend you give them a listen.
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