Howl & Echoes Staff Picks: Best Albums 2015

End of year lists are undoubtedly the hardest task on the musical calendar; figuring out what we liked the most is not easy when there’s this much choice. We’ve sifted through hundreds of albums to pick out our absolute favourites, and we’re so excited to share them with you. Rather than rank our choices into a numbered list, we’ve asked each and every contributor (writers and photographers) so submit their choices for your enjoyment.

Note: these lists are in alphabetical order, not ranked order.

Enjoy! PS – check out our favourite songs of 2015 here.

Lauren Ziegler

Action Bronson, Mr Wonderful
Alabama Shakes, Sound and Colour
Angel Haze, Back to the Woods
Chelsea Wolfe, Abyss
Dr Dre, Compton
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly
Leikeli47, Leikeli47
Lupe Fiasco, Tetsuo & Youth
Miguel, Wildheart
Sleater-Kinney, No Cities To Love

Emma Jones

A$AP Rocky, At.Long.Last.A$AP
Jamie xx, In Colour
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly
Kurt Vile, b’lieve i’m goin down…
Lana Del Rey, Honeymoon
Pond, Man It Feels Like Space Again
Ratatat, Magnifique
Shlohmo, Dark Red
Tame Impala, Currents
Tyler, The Creator, Cherry Bomb

James Tait

Action Bronson, Mr Wonderful
Bad//Dreems, Dogs At Bay
Drunk Mums, Gone Troppo
Foals, What Went Down
Gang Of Youths, The Positions
Joey Bada$$, B4.DA.$$
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly
Leon Bridges, Coming Home
The Paper Kites, Twelvefour
Wavves, V

Samantha Armatys

Alabama Shakes, Sound and Color
A$AP Rocky, At.Long.Last.ASAP
Battles, La Di Da Di
Big Grams, Big Grams
CHVRCHES, Every Open Eye
Grimes, Art Angels
Jamie XX, In Color
Little Simz, A Curious Tale of Trials and Persons
Neon Indian, Vega Intl. Nightschool
Vince Staples, Summertime ‘06

Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh

A$AP Rocky, At. Long. Last. A$AP
Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
Angel Haze, Back to the Woods
Gang Of Youths, The Positions
The Internet, Ego Death
Jamie xx, In Colour
Justin Bieber, Purpose
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly
Tame Impala, Currents
Youth Lagoon, Savage Hills Ballroom

Georgia Bell

Baio, The Names
Chrome Sparks, Parallelism
Years & Years, Communion
Grimes, Art Angels
Holy Holy, When the Storms Would Come
Jamie xx, In Colour
Japanese Wallpaper, Japanese Wallpaper
Neon Indian, Vega Intl. Night School
Raury, All We Need
Tame Impala, Currents

Jessica Testa

Björk, Vulnicura
Boy & Bear, Limit of Love
Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit
Everything Everything, Get to Heaven
Florence And The Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Jarryd James, Thirty-One
Oh Wonder, Oh Wonder
Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell
Troye Sivan, Blue Neighbourhood
Until The Ribbon Breaks, A Lesson Unlearnt

Sam Bytheway

Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly
Vince Staples, Summertime ‘06
Travi$ Scott, Rodeo
Future & Drake, What a Time to be Alive
Joey Bada$$, DA.$$
A$AP Rocky, Long. Last. A$AP
Yelawolf, Love Story
Action Bronson, Wonderful
Childish Gambino, STN MTN / Kauai
Lupe Fiasco, Tetsuo & Youth

Alex Osborne

A$AP Rocky, LONG.LAST.A$AP
Earl Sweatshirt, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt
Ghostface and BadBadNotGood, Sour Soul
Joey Bada$$, DA.$$
Oddisee, The Good Fight
Onra, Fundamentals
Raised By Eagles, Diamonds in the Bloodstream
Scarface, Deeply Rooted
Slum Village, YES
Warren G, The Funk Era Part II