[Direckshun]

I don't have very good taste in music, but here's what I did like this year:

Vijay Iyer Trio's Accelerando



A quietly flawless jazz album. Peerless composition. It was a good year for jazz but this album moved into my head and rearranged the furniture.

Regina Spektor's What We Saw from the Cheap Seats



Spektor is a really good songwriter, and she puts together a relatively oddball collection narratives on this album. I love this piece, and it's indicative of what her album does so well.

Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid: M.A.A.D City



I'm one of those guys who think that Kanye West's insanity is what's finally pushing rap music into fascinating directions. Lamar doesn't quite amp it up to West's degree but he's got a lot of really great ideas that leak into this album.

Matthew Dear's Beams



There's a handful of electronic producers out there who are thinking on planes no other genre is really considering just yet. Dear's Beams is a flashlight for the rest of the genre to follow.

Rhosyn's Elbow of Capture



This is like the Apocalypto of music -- just ideas, pared down to their most basic, not an extraneous sound to be heard. Challenging listen, though.

James Lidell's James Lidell



Totally obnoxious shit that owns your ass if you blow it up on some speakers.

Project Trio's When Will Then Be Now



This actually a 2010 album, but I ran across them this year. Chamber music with some balls.

FaltyDL's You Stand Uncertain



There is an amazing R&B album in here somewhere, but it's covered in smog and Aphex Twin.

Lake Street Dive's Fun Machine



Brand new swing jazz outfit, totally chill and muy perfecto. A couple originals on this album, but the rest are these flawless covers.

Bobby Womack's The Bravest Man In The Universe



Dusty, smokey soul, some of the best I've heard.

I'll be back with more later. For now, enjoy if you can.