Best of 2015.

1.  Oddisee—“The Good Fight.”  For me, Oddisee’s latest is significant in how anthemic and cathartic it was for me when I first heard it—political, self-reflective hip-hop with melodic grooves and hooks for days.  Essentially, the very antithesis of most hip-hop you hear on the radio anymore.  This album got me inspired and ready to act, while keeping the roots of heart and mind firmly intact.  Honestly, it’s quite surprising to me that this record came and went so quietly, as it has such classic, soulful appeal.  Whatever…regardless of what the charts say, this was my top choice this year.  The rest of this list isn’t really in order, but Oddisee’s “The Good Fight” is absolutely number one.

2.  Bilal—“In Another Life.”  Bilal just keeps it coming with the creativity.  Another album full of wild detours and excursions, this time produced by soul-soundtrack savant Adrian Younge.  The pairing works incredibly well, with Younge adding a sort of live grit and grease to the music that can’t always be found on Bilal’s other, more radio-friendly R&B releases.  This is a record for those days when all you want to do is hide out and listen.  An experience to get lost in.

3.  Kendrick Lamar—“To Pimp A Butterfly.”  I doubt I can say much about this album that hasn’t already been recycled ad infinitum by the music press for much of the last year.  So, I’ll just say, straight-up, this record is revolutionary, and new, and exciting, and difficult.  It’s somewhat necessary to spend days wrapping your head around it.  But whatever you do, do NOT ignore it.  The present and future are embedded in its footsteps.

4.  Kamasi Washington—“The Epic.”  Spring-boarding directly from Kendrick Lamar, there’s this album by sax player Washington, who guested on “To Pimp A Butterfly.”  This album plays like it’s 1972 and you’re hanging with Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter for an afternoon—and you will need the whole afternoon, since it’s three discs long.  “Epic” barely even suffices as a descriptor for this music, which practically explodes with expansiveness and inventiveness.  And while it does explore funk from time to time, the reason it’s so important to the evolution of jazz is because it swings.

5.  Blackalicious—“Imani, Vol. 1.”  The return of Blackalicious, and what a return it is!  The crew’s trademark combination of West Coast funk and tongue-twisting raps remains firmly in place, with a few new sonic and lyrical seasonings.  Gift Of Gab and Chief Xcel bring joy through beats, consciousness through awareness, love through music.

6.  Lianne La Havas—“Blood.”  Joni Mitchell meets Prince-style funk on this wild, lovely effort.  La Havas mixes acoustic guitars with bass-heavy grooves while musing about family, love and darkness, and comes up with an absolute stunner of an album in the process.  Rocked this one for days on end during the summer.

7.  Mark Ronson—“Uptown Special.”  Sure, “Uptown Funk” isn’t much more than a rehash of the kind of boogie-funk pioneered by bands like The Time, Zapp and Lakeside thirty years ago.  However, the album itself offers a surprising amount of variety, from funk-pop heavily influenced by Steely Dan, to the James-Brown-on-steroids tribute “Feel Right,” to fusion instrumentals featuring Stevie Wonder (!) on harmonica.  The kind of record where it’s important to look past the hit single for deeper, more interesting treasures.

8.  Jill Scott—“Woman.”  Jill Scott goes retro.  Kinda.  The songs here owe a bit more to soul revival acts like Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, yet Scott keeps just enough of the sparkling neo-soul touches of her previous work around, so as to create a highly enjoyable, unique hybrid.  Then of course, there is Jill Scott’s voice, which is easily among the greatest of her generation.  Miles and miles of poetic, funky soul goodness.

9.  Van Hunt—“The Fun Rises, The Fun Sets.”  Van Hunt has always been a personal favorite of mine, and the curious, creative spirit that has informed all of his work shows no signs of flagging on “The Fun Rises.”  Edgy, crunchy guitar and bass figures slam headlong into aching piano ballads and clever wordplay, with Hunt’s cutting, swooping, soulful voice leading the charge.  A must-have for anyone claiming to have lost faith in the innovative possibilities of modern music.

10.  Hiatus Kaiyote—“Choose Your Weapon.”  This highly unlikely collective of avant-funk Australians simply has to be heard to be believed.  I’ve told many of my musician friends that, as a musician myself, I listen to these tunes over and over again, trying to figure out how they wrote/performed these very challenging rhythms and melodies so gracefully, and yet with such ridiculous complexity.  Funky, intense, and deceptively smooth.  Also—completely brilliant.