2019

Sam Ashley & Werner Durand – I’d Rather Be Lucky Than Good / Love Among The Immortals (Unseen Worlds)
Amma Ateria – Vague Pure Affection (Bimodal Press)
Breathe Blow Burn – S/T (Super Invincible)
Laura Cannell – The Sky Untuned (Brawl)
Layale Chaker & Sarafind – Inner Rhyme (In A Circle)
Drug Apts – Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances (MT.ST.MTN)
Nico Georis – Shirley Shirley Shirley! (Psychic Arts)
Gestalt – Music By Gestalt (Zero System Immersive Music)
Holly Herndon – PROTO (4AD)
Dean Hurley – Anthology Resource Vol. 2: Philosphy of Beyond (Sacred Bones)
Invasive Species – Adapter (Baggage Claim)
Joni Void – Mise En Abyme (Constellation)
JPEGMAFIA – All My Heroes Are Cornballs (EQT)
Land of Kush – Sand Enigma (Constellation)
Nazamba – Nazamba (Dub Quake)
Negativland – Destroying Anything (Seeland)
Object As Subject – Permission (Lost Future)
Kassa Overall – Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz (S/R)
Pengo – File Under WTF??? (Carbon)
Petra – Filament (Gold Bolus)
Pharmakon – Devour (Sacred Bones)
Dax Pierson – Live in Oakland (Ratskin)
Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis (Constellation)
Sophia Shen – THe Unveiling (S/R)
Sissy Spacek – Pitched Intervention (Helicopter)
Skyminds – Skyminds (Auasca)
SUSS – High Line (Northern Spy)
Tadzio – The Sick Room (Blight)
Thomas Carnacki – The Museum of Lost Species (Alethiometer)
Voicehandler – light from another light (Humbler)
Zlurad – Vo Blago Zlu (addicted)

Best Re-releases

Akiko Yano Japanese Girl (We Want Sounds)
Pearl Harbor and The Explosions Pearl Harbor and The Explosions (Blixa Sounds)

Best New World

Altin Gun Gece (ATO Records)
Angelique Kidjo Celia (Verve)
Julie Coker A Life in the Limelight (Lagos Disco & Itsekiri Highlife 1976-1981)
Tinariwen +10:1 Amadjar (Anti-)
Doctor Nativo Guatemaya (Stonetree)

Best New Rock

Indianhead Songs from The Deluge (Morphius)
The Darts I Like You But Not Like That (Alternative Tentacles)
Hearing Things Here’s Hearing Things (Yeggs)
Kepa Harkonen Spicy Tales & Spacey Tones (Ramasound)

Best New Blues

Charles Bradley Black Velvet (Dunham)
Pascal Bokar American Trails (S/R)

Best New Jazz

Paula Harris Speakeasy (S/R)

Best New Americana/Alt-Americana

Great American Trainwreck Great American Trainwreck (S/R)
Wooks Glory Bound (Gnar Vector)
Hayes Carll What It Is (Dualtone)

Best New Alt-Pop

Cave Clove Dollars to Tokens (S/R)
Emily Fairlight Mother of Gloom (Fishrider)
French Boutik L’Ame de Paris (Heavy Soul)
Liliana Herrrera Late Night Taco Stand Music (Round Whirled)
Madeleine Tasquin Future Telephone (S/R)
Roxy Rawson Quenching The Kill (S/R)
The New Pornographers In the Morse Code of Brake Lights (Concord)

Top 10 Debut Albums

100 Gecs – 1000 Gecs (Dog Show Records)
A Beacon School – Cola (Grind Select)
Clairo – Immunity (FADER)
The Japanese House – Good at Falling (Dirty Hit)
King Princess – Cheap Queen (Zelig)
Mansionair – Shadowboxer (Glassnote)
Nilüfer Yanya – Miss Universe (ATO)
Pip Blom – Boat (Heavenly Recordings)
Spielbergs – This is Not the End (By The Time It Gets Dark)
Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs (Secretly Canadian)

Top 10 Local Releases

Toro Y Moi – Outer Peace (Carpark)
Travis Hayes – Sleepless (S/R)
Luke Sweeney – Peace Meal (Royal Oakle)
The Y Axes – No Waves (S/R)
Kelly Finnigan – The Tales People Tell (Colemine)
Oceanography – Collier Canyon (S/R)
Boy Scouts – Free Company (Anti)
Meerna – Heart Hunger (Native Cat)
Rayana Jay – Love Me Like (All Angels)
Club Night – What Life (Tiny Engines)

Top 10 Local Shows

Pedro the Lion – The New Parish, 2/ 19
Sharon Van Etten, Nilüfer Yanya – The Fillmore, 2/26
Delicate Steve, The Independent, 3/28
Camp Cope, An Horse, Oceanator – The Uptown, 5/11
Kishi Bashi, Takénobu – August Hall, 6/12
Weird Al – The Greek Theater, 8/9
Better Oblivion Community Center – The Independent, 8/11
The Avett Brothers, Lake Street Dive – The Greek Theater, 8/17
Jenny Lewis, King Tuff – The Fox Theater, 9/28
Travis Hayes, Caracara – Amado’s, 10/12