Hey, welcome. I’m glad you found this page. Here’s my Album of the Year (AOTY) for every year since 2016. This page started in 2020, so some AOTYs for years earlier than that were retroactively chosen and written about, which may explain the change in tones from earlier years (although the album choice is likely accurate since I look back at some older social/logs/etc. I have).

For an album to be in my AOTY, it just had to have some significance in that year to me. It doesn’t have to be an album that is released in that year (this most likely will not be the case), but it should somehow be a defining album for the state of my mind in that year. Main criteria is based on how much I listen to that album, how much I like it and how much the song means to me. I try my best to pick an album from different artists in each year.

Starting in 2023, I also name a Timely AOTY, reserved for an album released in that year (if the AOTY was not already released in said year), so that I also get to reflect on music that was released in that year itself also. The criteria is the same as the AOTY from above, with the additional constraint that the album must be either be released that year or be eligible for the Grammy awards in the following year[^1]. This is so that the best album from that period is acknowledged by me and I don’t fall behind the current music scene too much.

I’m also not a music critic/journalist (nor am I hoping to be one), so my writing regarding music is probably going to be a bit cliche (and quite a bit poorly written) probably.

2023

Let me preface this by saying I was very tempted to list a Birdy album as my AOTY again. Especially that Birdy has released Portraits in 2023 (special shoutout to Paradise Calling the energetic opener and Your Arms which spoke to me this past year), and she has firmly put herself on my most streamed artist this year (with almost 4k streams and around 10 days worth of streaming time). And I think that Young Heart is still the best album I have heard in the past two years, and firmly believe that it is an overlooked masterpiece by the general public. I even went more Birdy exploring this year, revisiting some of her older works.

But alas, I did already have Birdy as my AOTY last year, so for this year…

AOTY: The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles

Song highlight: 1000 Times

The day where I streamed the most music was on ICML deadline day, where I stayed up until 3am to rush my paper. The whole time, I was rotating between songs by Birdy and Sara Bareilles. Both of these artists has become a part of my “comfortable music” over the past year – essentially artists who I just kept going back to the entire year round.

I think while most people might be familiar with Sara Bareilles through some of her big singles (Love Song being one of her biggest singles), but I really enjoyed going through her discography a lot this year. Sara Bareilles has many good albums, and I was tempted to pick something like Kaleidoscope Heart over The Blessed Unrest. The former album has a few very good pop hits that I felt didn’t get nearly as big as it should. Songs like Gonna Get Over You or Uncharted are some very nice tracks to bop your head along to, and I really do enjoy. Even her latest album Amidst The Chaos had some heartfelt lyrics in there. Not to mention her writing for multiple broadway shows and etc.

However, I was a big fan of The Blessed Unrest since the first listen. I few of the songs are well-known Sara tracks with uplifting mood and lyrics, like Brave or I Choose You. But there are also some deeper tracks that I really like as well. Songs like 1000 Times and December were ones whose lyrics I really enjoy and resonated with (for different reasons), and I came back to a lot this year.

For my runner up, I had a few choices. Let me first say who I picked, and then justify why I didn’t pick some of the other related albums.

Timely AOTY: the record by boygenius

Song highlight: Not Strong Enough

I listened to way too much boygenius this year. It was to the point where my friends might have started to look at me a bit weird. It was to the point that Spotify said my Sound Town was Burlington, VT (which iykyk). I went to watch not one but two Phoebe Bridgers concert when she played here.

boygenius did release an album this year too, titled the record. The first time I heard a song on the album was at the Phoebe Bridgers show, and based on the song I heard (I’m really sorry, Emily) I didn’t expect the album to be a big hit. However, the album grew on me a lot. The other tracks that were released were bops. Songs such as Not Strong Enough is incredibly catchy and is probably my favourite song from 2023. Cool About It is a softer sad song from the album but with relatable lyrics. We’re In Love is also a very Lucy song that paints a story of her friendship. The tracks are incredible and it really blends the sound of the three of them together (albeit – in my honest opinion – not as much as their first EP did).

I wasn’t completely sure at first how the album was going to come out, and what kind of stuff the the boys were going to produce when together. But from the album and beyond, I’d say I’m quite glad to see boygenius back. They’re all such a delight. However, there’s one member in boygenius in particular whose music I’ve really grown to really enjoy…

Runner Up: Historian by Lucy Dacus

Song highlight: Night Shift

So of course, it is no surprise that Lucy is probably my favourite member of boygenius. Each members of boygenius have their own song-writing style, and somehow Lucy’s lyricism just resonates with me. Her album Home Video is another album with good lyrics, where each of the tracks on that album is like a peek into someone else’s diary (which to be honest it kind of is).

But in particular, Historian is a great album, front to back. The lyrics throughout is great, and the music that goes with it is some very good rock music. The album opens with an incredible song Night Shift, which I will easily say is the best break-up song ever written with how it conveys someone’s emotion through a breakup, to a great buildup towards the song’s end. Other tracks like Nonbeliever or Timefighter was also some of my favourite bit of guitar work, music buildup/climax and lyricism I heard this year.

Other albums that I want to mention for the year are:

  • In A Perfect World by Kodaline. It’s the second time I get to see Kodaline live, and it was honestly incredible. I felt fortunate to get to see two very good artists live this year (the sad part, I suppose, is that I only got to see two artists live this year). But for Kodaline in particular, I was quite glad to see them again and rediscover how much I like their music, especially for someone whose music I have listened to since high school. Highlights of songs that made some marks on me this year are After The Fall, Talk and Way Back When – the last song being one that I unexpectedly got to hear live.

  • This Is Why by Paramore. I’m just so glad they released a new album this year, thought we were never going to get another one of those. It’s a different sound from After Laughter, but a great new direction nonetheless. It’s nice to see that they still can pull out these sort of tracks even after all this time (and I’m so totally still into them).

  • English Rain by Gabrielle Aplin. The album turned 10 in 2023, but it was only this year that I really dug into it. Some highlights I like from the album are Panic Cord and November.

2022

AOTY: Young Heart by Birdy

Song highlight: Surrender

Birdy was definitely not an artist I have listened to a great deal of in the past. I do have her cover of Skinny Love in some of my playlists and have heard some of her bigger hits like Wings before. However I think recently (maybe last few months or so) I stumbled upon her 2021 release and I instantly fell in love with it.

The album just flows extremely well. Musically it has a very soothing acoustic sound (compared to her previous album which feels more pop and “artificial”), and Birdy’s voice is definitely very therapeutic. The lyrics revolve around the theme of relationships and being in one, leaving one, and longing to be with the one. I tend to not be a lyrics person when I listen to music, but even here I can feel the emotions very well. The instrumental and the lyrics definitely makes the album feel very genuine and personal, and that’s definitely my favourite part about it. My highlights from the album include the following.

  • The opening track Voyager (technically not the true opening but really behaves like one in the context of the album). It is a song that opens so gently with birds chirping, lying on some grass listening to nature with another person. But it conveys a heavier feeling, one that knows that you feel something is off, that the moment isn’t going to last. It sets the tone up for the album, giving the feeling that
  • Surrender (which is definitely my song of this year). It’s a gentle song, kind of like you are sitting in a train, alone with your thoughts, but knowing that there is only one place (or one person’s arms) that you really want to be in at the moment.
  • Evergreen. An acoustic track that is for one of those days where you want to look back at a fond memory. Or at least that’s how it makes me feel when I listen to it. A warm feeling.

Honestly though, I have listened to the album so many times and I can’t point at a bad song from the album.

I know this is the Album of the Year and maybe there is a recency bias going on with how most of the listens of this album came after September. However,

  1. Stats don’t lie, and I did listen to this album enough times compared to other albums this year (Surrender even ended up in my Top 5 most listened tracks this year, and the only artists who I had on heavy repeat some time this year are her and maybe Keane), and

  2. The lyrics and feels of the song does really hit me hard, more than any other albums that I came across this year.

So for these reasons Young Heart is definitely a justified pick for me.

Runner up: A Rush of Blood To The Head by Coldplay

Song highlight: In My Place

For those who know me it’s not a secret that I really like Coldplay. Sure, they have their downs (cough Music of the Spheres cough) but when their in their game, they really are one of the best.

This year, I do find myself listening back to their 2002 album quite a bit. Fittingly, the album turns 20 this year, and it still really holds up. It is probably the most rock that Coldplay has gone into, and you can feel the rawness of the sounds here. Their first two albums both seem to a simpler, rock-four-piece-band feel (not proper terminology), but unlike Parachutes, I think AROBTTH is definitely when they have refined their sounds a bit more, and starting to have their own unique touch.

Highlights from AROBTTH for me are the following.

  • In My Place. Such a simple song with a catchy drum track and guitar riff. Even more powerful when played live. It holds other importance to me as it is one of the first songs I tried to really learn on the drums, and I also occasionally use as my alarm sound.
  • Warning Sign. It is one of the more downbeat songs from the album (maybe only second to Amsterdam which itself is also a great track). The lyrics is quite of nice though, and I think it’s why I keep coming back to it, especially on worse days.
  • A Rush of Blood to the Head (the title track). I don’t know why the song hits me so much. It’s so simple, there is just some haunting guitar sliders work by Johnny, but it still feels powerful.

But honestly, I love all the songs on this track (maybe bar A Whisper, but even then it’s because it feels too “unpolished” for me rather than it being a bad song). Truly an iconic Coldplay album.

2021

AOTY: Funeral by Arcade Fire

Song highlight: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

I have took way too long to discover Arcade Fire. These guys have been putting out bangers since 2004 or so, and I only found them after they released their fifth album. I mean, one doesn’t simply win a Grammy by chance.

A lot may call Funeral as one of the best debut albums of all time, and I may be inclined to agree with them. They really went big with the instrumentals. For example, the song that really got me hooked in the beginning is Tunnels (I like to joke that after their first track they went downhill because of how good Tunnels was). It is definitely a song that starts of slow, like a calm winter morning, and it just builds, and builds, and builds, until it climaxes.

Tunnels is definitely my favourite Arcade Fire track. However I also really like the groove in other tracks too such as Laika or Rebellion. Oh, of course, Wake Up is the live anthem too isn’t it.

Runner up: Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers

Song highlight: Chinese Satellite

Phoebe was definitely one of the most popular artists amongst teenagers (and, let’s be honest, adults as well) in 2021. It did take me a while until I discovered Punisher almost by accident by having Spotify sneaking Kyoto onto one of my playlists earlier in the year.

Punisher is such a good album. I can’t point to exactly what it is about the album I like so much. I don’t think the instrumentation is flashy, but rather seems to compliment the moods of the song well - Kyoto is a more upbeat song about being in a somewhat upbeat city, Chinese Satellite sounds like you are just looking at the skies in space, the sounds Moon Song sets a hopelessness mood, and so on. Phoebe also seems to write the lyrics in a way that it seems kind of personal, and at points relatable. If I had to pinpoint something I enjoy about the album, it may be that.

Highlights for me are Kyoto (as mentioned before, also the biggest hit from the album so not a surprise), Chinese Satellite (a very good track for lying in the grass and just hoping something takes you away), and I Know The End (which is such a good closer with the disorienting ending like the end was truly coming, made better live when Phoebe smashes her guitar to pieces).

2020

AOTY: Under The Iron Sea by Keane

Song highlight: Atlantic

I have listened to Keane since high school, but Under The Iron Sea is a work that I have picked up again in 2020. The album is over a decade old at this point, but somehow it’s still holds up even after all these years. It amazes me how creative Keane can be mostly with just drums, synths and a piano. It takes you through the emotions like riding on a wave into a storm, and you come out the other side like you escaped a dark, gloomy place.

Some personal highlights include Hamburg Song, The Frog Prince (which is probably the favourite song amongst the Keane fandom according to multiple polls I’ve seen), and of course, the opening track and probably the greatest song ever written, Atlantic (a song so good it has an entire cult behind it).

Runner up: In A Perfect World by Kodaline

Song highlight: Talk

Similar to Keane, Kodaline is another band that I have listened to since high school. Also similar to Keane, they have been another band that I have re-listened to quite a lot back in 2020. In particular, during the lockdown period, they are one of the most active bands on social media, playing quite a number of livestream acoustic sessions, and even playing some of their seldomly played songs or some deep cuts. It has gotten my to pick up their albums again, and realise how good In A Perfect World was as an album.

2019

AOTY: Kid A by Radiohead

It’s beep boop time, boys.

Often called the greatest left turn in music history (or at least by the folks on r/radioheadcirclejerk), it’s definitely a departure from their more rock sounds. OK Computer was another album I obsessed over in 2018, but Kid A is the one that really gets me hooked. It’s pure vibes. You listen to the album for the instrumentals, and then going, “how can someone even think about doing that with instruments”. No worry about the lyrics (maybe except for How To Disappear Completely), it’s all about the tunes here. And it really does get me going.

Personal highlight definitely is The National Anthem, which does sound quite messy to some people, but for me it’s the beauty in the chaos that gets me. I don’t even know what free-form jazz is but Radiohead really made it work. I also really like Morning Bell and Optimistic too, and maybe How To Disappear Completely on some of those days.

Runner up: After Laughter by Paramore (yes, just like in 2018)

Just check the 2018 section for my thoughts on the album. However, I think in 2019 Paramore really cemented themselves into my favourite artists, that I’m prepared to list the same album in two consecutive years (albeit in second place in both of those years).

2018

AOTY: Paramore by Paramore

I somehow only discovered about Paramore in 2018 from one of my friends. Going through their discography is literally just like seeing someone go from an angsty teen all the way to growing and being more understanding of their emotions or something.

For older Paramore fans (i.e. people whose teenage years was pre-2010 or so), the self-titled album was probably a big surprise due to the change in sound from their first three albums, not to mention the change in band members over that time. Although for me, it was just another album.

Highlights from the album are probably Still Into You (which probably remains my favourite Paramore track), Now, and Proof.

Runner up: After Laughter by Paramore

Yeah, Paramore really defined my 2018.

After Laughter was the other Paramore album that I listened to a lot of in 2018. For older Paramore fans it’s definitely very different from their early stuff, as they venture into more pop and electronic. It’s an album with happy music but depressing lyrics. You can dance to (most of) the songs on here as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the lyrics. I have always been someone who enjoys their music played using more “real” instruments, but somehow Paramore has sneaked in just enough electronic to make some very enjoyable grooves. My favourites from the album are probably Fake Happy and Pool.

2017

AOTY: Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park

2017 was a tragic year for Linkin Park fans due to Chester leaving us all behind for a gig in the sky. But regardless, their work still remains in all our playlists. Or definitely still on mine. Minutes To Midnight is the point where they start to move into more alternative rock sounds, and I think it’s definitely their finest album. At moments it hits you with a heavier, exciting rock sound that makes you jump on your feet, and in another it makes you want to float in space and away from everything. It really showcases the band who have moved on from their old angst sound and establish their own style of music.

Personal highlights are Leave Out All The Rest, What I’ve Done (which I once performed live with some friends), and the closing track The Little Things Give You Away.

Runner up: Tell Me It’s Real by Seafret

I don’t recall how Seafret came about in 2017, but I do remember listening to them a good amount that year. There was a period where Atlantis was played daily for me. Other than that, To The Sea is another track that I still listen to, even years on from 2017.

2016

AOTY: How To Save A Life by The Fray

I remembered telling a friend that The Fray somehow always releases a song that conveys a sad feeling to some degree. I don’t know how accurate that is, but a large chunk of their catalogue definitely seems to follow this. The album (and the band too in fact) came at a time when I was just obsessed with piano rock bands, since they seem to provide an interesting dynamic compared to just strings. My favourite tracks from it are Over My Head and Look After You.

Runner up: Viva La Vida or Death And All Of His Friends by Coldplay

I’ll admit that since 2016 is the first year I’m making this list for, I will loosen the criteria a bit here and award the runner-up spot for an album that wasn’t just defining in 2016, but for the years leading up to 2016.

Viva La Vida or Death And All Of His Friends was one of the first albums that I remembered listening all the way through, and also the first album I bought for my CD collection. That was back in about 2014, but even years on, it still holds up. It was a very artistic piece released by a band essentially at their peak. Personal highlights are Viva la Vida, Lovers in Japan (with its softer acoustic instrumentation plus the beaufitul hidden track Reign of Love), and probably Violet Hill (which needs to really return to the setlist).

[^1] For example, for Timely AOTY 2024, the album should be released between 1/1/2024 to 31/12/2024 (within 2024), or between 16/9/2023 to 30/8/2024 (eligibility period for Grammys 2025). To simplify, it means an eligible album for me should be released between 16/9/2023 to 31/12/2024.