Music Review Lists

My annual list of personal favorite studio albums, EPs, live releases, and box sets.

Young artists and veteran hitmakers alike created an abundance of memorable tunes in 2019. Post Malone, Jay Som, Beck, and Sharon Van Etten are among them.

Just in time for the 2020 Grammys, here is my annual list of top releases of 2019 (including Baroness, Lana Del Rey, Neil Young, Lizzo, and Slipknot).

Rock music will always come first in my world, but you'll see an eclectic list of everything from jazz-hop (Anderson .Paak) to metal, country, electronica, R&B, and folk rock.

Rock and roll is alive and well - and didn't need a Zeppelin clone to prove it in 2018.

Veterans such as Neil Young, Ryan Adams, blues great Joe Bonamassa, Bjork, The War On Drugs, St. Vincent, The National, Spoon, and Living Colour made stellar releases. Favorite new artist: Jay Som.

These are in no particular order, except for this first one, my vote for song of 2016, at least for guitar. After listening to Joe Bonamassa's blistering, searing solo, you will not forget it anytime soon.

As for the music of 2016, there was the usual amount of "meh" mixed in with a host of impressive releases. Certainly, there were no game-changers that I heard. (Sorry Kanye and Kendrick.)