best of 2022

Things have been quiet here at DFSBP, but as always, I wanted to try and round up my favorite sounds of the year. To anyone tuning in, thank you, and I hope you find something you enjoy. 

Before I get to the picks — divided into an overall top 10, a metal-/rock-centric section, a jazz list and a rundown of my favorite live shows of the year — I just want to say, again, thanks for reading this and/or keeping up with my work in any way during this busy, transitional year. With Twitter on the rocks, it seems harder than ever to spread the word, so your attention means a lot.

Here goes!

P.S. All album-title links below go to Bandcamp.

P.P.S. The DFSBP year-end list archives have been updated to reflect the below: overall and jazz-only.

P.P.P.S. Here is a best-of-2022 playlist featuring 22 tracks drawn from the releases below. The inspiration was my old friend John's "50 Cuts of '22" opus.

 

OVERALL TOP 10, PLUS

Right up front, I want to say that my absolute favorite release of the year was:

Bleed, Somebody's Closer

I'm leaving this off the proper top 10 for a couple reasons: 1) It's a four-song EP rather than an album, lasting just shy of 14 minutes, and 2) it was originally self-released by the band in 2021 but got a much-deserved reissue this year via the respected metal label 20 Buck Spin. Anyway, I spun this thing dozens of times and also caught a great set by this Texas quartet in Brooklyn a few months back. 

Bleed are a great illustration of why I can never really invest in objective discussions about the "best" music — of a given year, of all time, etc. This is a band that pushes my particular buttons, namely tapping into my deep love of '90s alt-metal, and coming up with a heavy, atmospheric and extremely catchy sound that, as I wrote elsewhere, "plays like a fan-fic collab between Helmet circa Aftertaste and White Pony–era Deftones." 

Does that description intrigue you? If so, great! If not, this might not excite you as much as it does me. But Bleed also exemplify a loose trend in recent years, across various genres, where you see young bands zeroing in on these very specific bygone micro-eras, right down to the cover art and production aesthetic, with incredibly satisfying results. There's really no downside to pastiche when you do it this well. Bleed also put out a fine stand-alone single in October, and I can't wait to hear more. 

And with that shout-out behind us, here are my favorite albums of the year, arranged in an imprecise and somewhat arbitrary order. Also, there's not 10; there's 11. I really can't decide which of these to leave off, and since no one's forcing me to make that tough call, this is the list! Each selection includes a brief annotation and a link to prior coverage where applicable.

1. Gospel, The Loser [sci-fi screamo; track write-up @ Rolling Stone]
2. Fleshwater, We're Not Here to Be Loved [crushing modern hardcore meets brooding melodic alt-rock]
3. Chat Pile, God's Country [scorched-earth noise-rock tragicomedy; interview @ SPIN]
4. Meshuggah, Immutable [that steel-plated sound you know and love; feature @ Rolling Stone]
5. Faetooth, Remnants of the Vessel [transporting, ritualistic doom; year-end metal list @ SPIN, tied for #1]
6. The Bad Plus, The Bad Plus [more indelible songs from the best beyond-jazz band on earth; year-end all-genre albums list @ SPIN, #3]
7. Messa, Close [breathtakingly epic dark prog; year-end metal list @ SPIN, tied for #1]
8. Afghan Whigs, How Do You Burn? [a veteran band that still really means it; "Please, Baby, Please" please]
9. 40 Watt Sun, Perfect Light [exquisite chamber rock from an elite songwriter; track write-up @ Rolling Stone]
10. Zoh Amba, O, Sun [delicacy and catharsis, masterfully intertwined; feature @ New York Times]
11. Hammered Hulls, Careening [Dischord all-stars make a new Dischord classic]

MORE METAL, AND A DASH OF ROCK

As far as the heavy stuff, I love all the other records I cited in the SPIN metal round-up, including but not limited to:

-Sigh, Shiki [expert eclecticism; feature @ Bandcamp Daily]
-Voivod, Synchro Anarchy [the renaissance continues]
-Undeath, Live… From the Grave [instant mosh]
-Goatwhore, Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven [seething blasphemy]
-Anal Stabwound, Reality Drips Into the Mouth of Indifference [the one-man-band, T-1000 version] 
-Wormrot, Hiss [visionary grindcore]
-Clutch, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach [the earth rockers reappear in full splendor]
-Cloud Rat, Threshold [dire extremity]
-Sumerlands/Haunt, Dreamkiller/Windows of Your Heart [retro done right]

I also love the Darkthrone record, which has sparked a re-engagement with their revelatory run of recent LPs.

Another recent listening project: a first-time immersion in Frusciante-era(s) Chili Peppers, sparked by the two new double albums and a fascinating run of Rick Rubin–conducted interviews on the Broken Record podcast. Have really dug both Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen so far and look forward to getting to know them better.

Two new Krallice albums! As ever, I'm a few years behind these guys, but every record is a revelation once you really wrap your head around it.

A new Extra Life album! Charlie Looker is an avant-garde powerhouse, not to mention a hell of a YouTuber.

The Drug Church record is strong, though it didn't prepare me for what a massively entertaining live band they are. More on that below. 

PS to this section: I love reading/watching year-end metal round-ups. The genre is basically impossible to keep comprehensive tabs on so I always learn a ton from these. Check out best-of-'22 posts from:

Rolling Stone

Machine Music

Last Rites

Bandcamp Daily

Stereogum / Black Market

Burning Ambulance [plenty of metal on here, among many other genres]

Ken's Death Metal Crypt

BangerTV 

JAZZ, NEW AND OLD

Below is the ballot I submitted for the annual Jazz Critics Poll — formerly masterminded by Francis Davis and now run by Tom Hull — with two additional historical titles added. Full 2022 results should be online soon are online now.

new releases:

1. The Bad Plus, The Bad Plus [see top 10 entry above]
2. Zoh Amba, O, Sun [see top 10 entry above]
3. Makaya McCraven, In These Times [timeless instrumental-R&B majesty, filtered through contemporary jazz aesthetics; had the pleasure of profiling Mr. McCraven for the recently relaunched Creem but the piece is print-only]
4. Tyshawn Sorey, The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism [raucous romps through standards both familiar and fresh]
5. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, MSM Molecular Systematic Music - Live [an authoritative statement from my favorite of JBL's several excellent working bands]
6. Eubanks-Evans Experience, EEE [an unexpected and beautifully diverse duo set from mid-career masters Kevin Eubanks and Orrin Evans]
7. The OGJB Quartet, Ode to O [Oliver Lake, Graham Haynes, Joe Fonda and Barry Altschul doing gritty yet graceful stuff that sounds like it could have come out on Black Saint in the mid-'80s; side note: it's a real shame that you can't purchase TUM albums in any digital form]
8. Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, LongGone [the all-star band to beat]
9. Karl Berger and Kirk Knuffke, Heart Is a Melody [timeless free-bop warmth from a beautifully matched quartet with Jay Anderson on bass and Matt Wilson on drums]
10. Tumi Mogorosi, Group Theory: Black Music [a powerful return to early-'70s choral jazz à la Billy Harper's Capra Black and Max Roach's Lift Every Voice and Sing]

historical titles:

Charles Mingus, The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott's [a wonderful surprise from a super-obscure '72 lineup]
Albert Ayler, Revelations: The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings [a welcome invitation to reengage with an underrated Ayler chapter]
Horace Tapscott, The Quintet [a previously unreleased companion album to Tapscott's cult-classic debut, The Giant Is Awakened]
Elvin Jones, Revival: Live at Pookie's Pub [portrait of the drum giant as budding bandleader]
John Sinclair Presents Detroit Artists Workshop [a window into an overlooked regional scene]

Note: I wrote all these up for a recent New York Times box set round-up.

***

Jazz-related addendum: 

I predict we'll be hearing a lot more from Fievel Is Glauque.

SHOWS

So many good ones. Here are 30 that seem to sum up the year, grouped intuitively. Twitter links included where applicable.

Tyshawn Sorey, Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano @ Village Vanguard (February 6)
Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade @ Town Hall (April 19)
John Zorn New Masada Quartet with Julian Lage, Jorge Roeder and Kenny Wollesen @ Village Vanguard (April 24)
These were all just scorching. The top players, reminding you why.

Khruangbin @ Radio City Music Hall (March 10)
The ultimate party band. See them at all costs.
 
Gulch @ Saint Vitus (April 30)
The final New York appearance by the new kings of hardcore. These guys left behind a smoking crater.

Maryland Deathfest; Baltimore (May 26–29)
Extreme-metal heaven (hell?). Highlights too numerous to name, but catching Coroner (big bucket-list check-off), Demilich, Immolation, Deicide, Tom G. Warrior, Obituary, Carcass, Deeds of Flesh, Autopsy, Atheist, Massacre, Monstrosity, Nocturnus A.D. and other giants in the same weekend — along with cult masters Rottrevore, Divine Eve and Drawn and Quartered — was life-altering.

Rage Against the Machine @ MSG (August 8, 14)
Rex @ Tubby's; Kingston, NY (August 17)
Afghan Whigs @ Brooklyn Steel (September 15)
Jawbox @ Le Poisson Rouge (July 22) 
Crowbar @ Bottleneck; Lawrence, KS (September 4)
Sunny Day Real Estate @ Brooklyn Steel (September 29)
Mars Volta @ Terminal 5 (September 30)
For a few months there, it was like my CD wallets from the '90s and early 2000s had come to life. The highlight was seeing RATM for the first time, but every other one of these — from my first time seeing Rex (after having the honor of profiling them for TIDAL) in around a quarter century to my first times seeing Mars Volta, SDRE and Afghan Whigs at all — was an utter joy.

Anteloper @ Public Records (July 16)
This is how I will always remember jaimie branch, thrillingly engaged and supercharging every moment.  

Ravi Coltrane Freedom Trio @ Mama Tried (August 4)
The second of two great Ravi sets I caught at MT this year. The first was pure abstraction; this was a funk-fusion mega-jam.

Greg Tardy, Christian McBride and Johnathan Blake @ Village Vanguard (August 11)
This was supposed to be a Bill Frisell gig, but COVID intervened, Christian McBride subbed in, and it turned into the ultimate late-night Vanguard hang.

Makaya McCraven @ Public Records (September 19)
Look, the album is really good, but hearing it live in full with a string quartet, Brandee Younger on harp and De'Sean Jones on sax and EWI was the peak In These Times experience.

Gospel + Uniform @ Saint Vitus (August 12)
City of Caterpillar + Foxtails @ Saint Vitus (October 2)
Saetia + Pique + Uniform @ Le Poisson Rouge (November 19)
Always go see the screamo reunion! Props to Foxtails and Pique, standouts of the new guard, and Uniform, who never fail to bring the noise.

Domi and JD Beck @ Le Poisson Rouge (October 19)
This made me feel old! In a good way.

The Chats + Drug Church + Scowl @ Brooklyn Steel (October 22)
Punk gig of the year. Three different flavors of awesome.

Chat Pile @ Saint Vitus (October 24)
The nastiest songs of the year were even nastier live. 

Mercyful Fate + Kreator + Midnight @ Kings Theater (November 10)
Undeath + 200 Stab Wounds + Enforced + Phobophilic @ Saint Vitus (November 13)
Stacked bills representing the best of the old and new schools.

Hammered Hulls @ TV Eye (December 2)
D.C. comes to Queens in style. Was sad not to see usual Hulls bassist Mary Timony, but the fill-in (Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty) wasn't too shabby.

Dinosaur Jr. + Guided by Voices + Eugene Mirman @ Terminal 5 (December 3)
The indie-rock party of the year.

Orrin Evans Quintet with Gary Thomas, Nicholas Payton, Robert Hurst and Marvin "Smitty" Smith @ Smoke (December 11)
The single best hour of jazz I heard in 2022. This band apparently hit the studio the next day and I can't wait to hear the results.

Charles McPherson Quintet with Terell Stafford, Jeb Patton, David Wong and Billy Drummond @ Smoke (November 6)
George Coleman Quintet with Eric Alexander, Emmett Cohen, David Williams and Joe Farnsworth @ Smoke (December 22)
Always go hear the masters!

AND TWO TO GO OUT ON

My favorite songs of the year by artists not mentioned above are…

Avril Lavigne, "Bite Me" (late 2021 single release ahead of a 2022 album)

and

Alex G, "Runner" 

2019/2010s in review

*2019 all-genres-in-play list, plus runners-up, songs and shows.

*2019 jazz list.

*2010s all-genres-in-play list, plus runners-up and songs.

*2010s jazz list.

I've also updated the two archives of prior top 10 lists:

*All-genres-in-play lists, 2005 through the present.

*Jazz lists, 2008 through the present.

/////

This year, I released 10 episodes of the Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast, featuring interviews with Black Sabbath's Bill Ward, Living Colour's Vernon Reid, Jan Hammer, Dave King and more. Please check them out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Podbean if you haven't already. More to come in 2020!

And thanks to these and other music/etc. podcasts that have enriched and inspired me; I strongly encourage you to give them all a look/listen:

-The 5049 Podcast
-The Trap Set
-Kreative Kontrol
-The Heavy Hole
-Dean Delray's Let There Be Talk
-Radical Research
-Crash Bang Boom Drumming Podcast
-Burning Ambulance
-Noisextra
-Washed Up Emo
-Everything Went Black
-You Don't Know Mojack
-Henry & Heidi

I wrote a lot this year, but the pieces I'm most proud of were the King Crimson–related stories, namely:

*A Robert Fripp interview.

*A two-part deep dive into the history and influence of "21st Century Schizoid Man."

*And a career-spanning interview with Bill Bruford.

And thank you to anyone still making their way to this webspace! It's less active than it has been in years past as more of my work appears elsewhere, but it's still meaningful to me as a personal archive and occasional writing outlet.

Best of 2019: Overall top 10 + songs + shows

Here are my 10 favorite records of 2019, with corresponding links to prior coverage where applicable. (ICYMI, here's the jazz-only list.)

1. Moon Tooth, Crux
2. Tomb Mold, Planetary Clairvoyance
3. Arch/Matheos, Winter Ethereal
4. Sheer Mag, A Distant Call
5. Angel Bat Dawid, The Oracle
6. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You [she owned the culture this year, and rightfully so]
7. The Messthetics, Anthropocosmic Nest
8. Branford Marsalis Quartet, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul
9. Purple Mountains, Purple Mountains [this record made me realize just how much I'd overlooked w.r.t. the late, great David Berman. R.I.P.]
10. Hole Dweller, Flies the Coop [stumbled across this one only a few weeks ago; it's just fantastic — transporting lo-fi synthscapes inspired by The Hobbit!]

Here are some others that came close to making the cut:
-La Dispute, Panorama
-Bob Mould, Sunshine Rock [he just keeps making solid, no-nonsense rock records]
-Jeromes Dream, LP
-Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won't Hold [such a bummer that the band basically imploded during the making of this, but there are good songs here]
-Darkthrone, Old Star

Here are a couple more that I just really liked and look forward to spending more time with:
-Giants Chair, Prefabylon
-Liturgy, H.A.Q.Q. [this is visionary music, plain and simple]

Here is a reissue that absolutely floored me:
Santa Lucia, Perse Palaa

Here are 15 miscellaneous songs I loved this year:

Billie Eilish, "Bad Guy"
Luke Combs, "Even Though I'm Leaving"
Haunt, "Mosaic Vision"
Lizzo, "Juice"
Vampire Weekend, "Harmony Hall"
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road"
Sheer Mag, "Chopping Block"
Moon Tooth, "Crux"
Lizzo, "Jerome"
Mannequin Pussy, "Drunk II"
Lizzo, "Truth Hurts"
Haunt, "Callouses"
Billie Eilish, "Bury a Friend"
Orville Peck, "Hope to Die"
Sam Fender, "Hypersonic Missiles"

And here are 20 particularly memorable shows I saw:

Jan 25/26 - Black Flags Over Brooklyn at Brooklyn Bazaar
Mar 7 - Cannibal Corpse + Morbid Angel + Blood Incantation at Playstation Theater
May 9 - Feast of the Epiphany at Vital Joint
May 12 - Eyehategod + Sheer Terror at Kingsland
June 1 - Bikini Kill at Terminal 5
June 11 - Andrew Cyrille "Lifetime Achievement" concert at Vision Fest
June 15 - Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison at Central Park SummerStage
June 22 - Jawbox at Brooklyn Steel
June 29 - Moon Tooth at Amityville Music Hall
July 26 - Jeromes Dream at Saint Vitus
July 27 - Iron Maiden at Barclays
Aug 10 - Cheer-Accident at Ceremony
Sept 13 - Pat Metheny Side-Eye (w/ James Francies and Marcus Gilmore) at Sony Hall
Sept 21 - King Crimson at Radio City Music Hall
Oct 9 - Sheer Mag at Elsewhere
Oct 10 - Melvins + Redd Kross at Warsaw
Oct 18 - Battles at Max Fish
Nov 2 - Mike Watt and the Missingmen at the Echo (L.A.)
Nov 3 - John Zorn Masada (w/ Julian Lage, Jorge Roeder and Kenny Wollesen) at Village Vanguard
Nov 29 - Giants Chair at the Brick (KC)

Best of 2018: Digest

*Jazz list.

*Metal list.

*All-genres-in-play list.

*Live list.

*All-genres-in-play top 10 list archive, 2005 through the present.

*Jazz-only top 10 list archive, 2008 through the present.

Thank you as always for your kind attention. Cool things are afoot for 2019 — stay tuned and take care!

Year-end jazz top 10 lists: 2008 through the present

The below is an un-annotated survey of Hank Shteamer's jazz-only "Albums of the year" top 10 lists, stretching back to 2008, compiled for various polls and outlets. All-genres-in-play top 10 lists from 2005 through the present can be found here.

Best jazz albums of the decade: 2010–2019.

 

2024

1. Tarbaby, You Think This America (Giant Step Arts)

2. David Murray Quartet, Francesca (Intakt)

3. Tyshawn Sorey Trio, The Susceptible Now (Pi)

4. Louis Hayes, Artform Revisited (Savant)

5. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!)

6. Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic)

7. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers (Pi)

8. Frank London/The Elders, Spirit Stronger Than Blood (ESP-Disk)

9. Melissa Aldana, Echoes of the Inner Prophet (Blue Note)

10. Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few, The Almighty (Division 81)

Read more.

2023

 

1. Mendoza Hoff Revels, Echolocation (Aum Fidelity)
2. James Brandon Lewis, Eye of I (Anti-)
3. Christian McBride’s New Jawn, Prime (Mack Avenue)
4. Joe Farnsworth, In What Direction Are You Headed? (Smoke Sessions)
5. John Zorn, Full Fathom Five (Tzadik)
6. Jason Moran, From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes)
7. The Schrimps, Ain’t No Saint (Intakt)
8. Ambrose Akinmusire, Beauty Is Enough (Origami Harvest)
9. Kate Gentile, Find Letter X (Pi)
10. jaimie branch, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die (​(​world war​)​) (International Anthem)
11. Leap Day Trio, Live at the Cafe Bohemia (Giant Step Arts / Little (i) Music)

Read more.

 

2022

 

1. The Bad Plus, The Bad Plus (Edition)
2. Zoh Amba, O, Sun (Tzadik)
3. Makaya McCraven, In These Times (International Anthem / Nonesuch / XL)

4. Tyshawn Sorey, The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism (Pi)
5. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, MSM Molecular Systematic Music - Live (Intakt)
6. Eubanks-Evans Experience, EEE (Imani)
7. The OGJB Quartet, Ode to O (TUM)
8. Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, LongGone (Nonesuch)
9. Karl Berger and Kirk Knuffke, Heart Is a Melody (Stunt)
10. Tumi Mogorosi, Group Theory: Black Music (Mushroom Hour Half Hour / New Soil)

 

Read more.

 

2021

 

1. Jason Moran, The Sound Will Tell You (Yes/self-released)
2. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Code of Being (Intakt)
3. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra, Promises (Luaka Bop)
4. Dan Weiss and Miles Okazaki, Music for Drums and Guitar (Cygnus)
5. Francisco Mela, MPT Trio Volume 1 (577)
6. Artifacts, …and Then There's This (Astral Spirits)
7. Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor, Long Tall Sunshine (Not Two)
8. The Cookers, Look Out! (Gearbox)
9. William Parker, Mayan Space Station (AUM Fidelity)
10. Chris Potter, Sunrise Reprise (Edition)

Read more.

 

2020

1. Alan Braufman, The Fire Still Burns (Valley of Search)

2. Dezron Douglas and Brandee Younger, Force Majeure (International Anthem)

3. Immanuel Wilkins, Omega (Blue Note)

4. Josh Johnson, Freedom Exercise (Northern Spy)

5. Pat Metheny, From This Place (Nonesuch)

6. Chicago Underground Quartet, Good Days (Astral Spirits)

7. Eric Revis, Slipknots Through a Looking Glass (Pyroclastic)

8. Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela, Rejoice (World Circuit)

9. Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes, Heritage of the Invisible II (International Anthem)

10. Peter Evans, Being & Becoming (More Is More)

+ two "honorable mentions" that easily could have made it on:

Joel Ross, Who Are You? (Blue Note)

John Zorn, Beyond Good and Evil — Simulacrum Live (Tzadik)

 

Read more.

2019

1. Angel Bat Dawid, The Oracle (International Anthem)
2. Branford Marsalis Quartet, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul (Okeh)
3. The Messthetics, Anthropocosmic Nest (Dischord)
4. Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity, To Whom Who Buys a Record (Odin)
5. 10³²K, The Law of Vibration (self-released)
6. Joel Ross, KingMaker (Blue Note)
7. Chris Lightcap, SuperBigmouth (Pyroclastic)
8. Blacks' Myths, Blacks' Myths II (Atlantic Rhythms)
9. Steve Lehman Trio & Craig Taborn, The People I Love (Pi)
10. JD Allen, Barracoon (Savant)

Read more.

2018

1. The Bad Plus, Never Stop II (Legbreaker)
2. Wayne Shorter, Emanon (Blue Note)
3. Dan Weiss, Starebaby (Pi)
4. Peter Brötzmann / Heather Leigh, Sparrow Nights (Trost)
5. Ray Angry, One (JMI)
6. Charles Lloyd & the Marvels + Lucinda Williams, Vanished Gardens (Blue Note)
7. James Brandon Lewis / Chad Taylor, Radiant Imprints (Off)
8. Makaya McCraven, Universal Beings (International Anthem)
9. Cécile McLorin Salvant, The Window (Mack Avenue)
10. Houston Person and Ron Carter, Remember Love (HighNote)

Read more.

2017

1. Vijay Iyer Sextet, Far From Over (ECM)
2. Ornette Coleman & Various Artists, Celebrate Ornette (Song X)
3. Kate Gentile, Mannequins (Skirl)
4. Jason Moran and the Bandwagon, Thanksgiving at the Vanguard (Yes)
5. Matt Mitchell, A Pouting Grimace (Pi)
6. Chris Speed Trio, Platinum on Tap (Intakt)
7. Borderlands Trio, Asteroideia (Intakt)
8. Craig Taborn, Daylight Ghosts (ECM)
9. Jaimie Branch, Fly or Die (International Anthem)
10. Roscoe Mitchell, Discussions (Wide Hive)

Read more.

2016

1. Jack DeJohnette / Matt Garrison/ Ravi Coltrane, In Movement (ECM)
2. Jason Moran, The Armory Concert (Yes)
3. Ethan Iverson, The Purity of the Turf (CrissCross)
4. Peter Evans, Genesis (More Is More)
5. Masabumi Kikuchi, Black Orpheus (ECM)
6. Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith, A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke (ECM)
7. Jasmine Lovell-Smith's Towering Poppies, Yellow Red Blue (self-released)
8. Andrew Cyrille, The Declaration of Musical Independence (ECM)
9. Billy Mintz, Ugly Beautiful (Thirteenth Note)
10. Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Ana (PNL)

Read more.

2015

1. Milford Graves & Bill Laswell, Space/Time Redemption (TUM)
2. Jack DeJohnette, Made in Chicago (ECM)
3. Henry Threadgill, In for a Penny, In for a Pound (Pi)
4. Mary Halvorson, Meltframe (Firehouse 12)
5. Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman (Nonesuch)
6. Stanley Cowell, Juneteenth (Vision Fugitive)
7. Wadada Leo Smith & John Lindberg, Celestial Weather (TUM)
8. Kirk Knuffke, Arms & Hands (Royal Potato Family)
9. Jon Irabagon, Behind the Sky (Irrabagast)
10. John Zorn, Inferno (Tzadik)

Read more.

2014    

1. Mark Turner, Lathe of Heaven (ECM)
2. Frank Kimbrough, Quartet (Palmetto)
3. Kenny Barron & Dave Holland, The Art of Conversation (Impulse)
4. Sarah Manning, Harmonious Creature (Posi-Tone)
5. David Weiss, When Words Fail (Motéma)
6. Johnathan Blake, Gone but Not Forgotten (Criss Cross)
7. Dave Douglas & Uri Caine, Present Joys (Greenleaf)
8. David Virelles, Mbókò (ECM)
9. Us Free [Bill McHenry / Henry Grimes / Andrew Cyrille], Fish Stories (Fresh Sound New Talent)
10. Louis Hayes, Return of the Jazz Communicators (Smoke Sessions)

Read more.

2013

1. Black Host, Life in the Sugar Candle Mines (Northern Spy)
2. Charles Lloyd & Jason Moran, Hagar's Song (ECM)
3. Aaron Parks, Arborescence (ECM)
4. David Ake, Bridges (Posi-Tone)
5. Aaron Diehl, The Bespoke Man's Narrative (Mack Avenue)
6. Matthew Shipp, Piano Sutras (Thirsty Ear)
7. Dr. Lonnie Smith, In the Beginning, Vols. 1 & 2 (Pilgrimage)
8. Kirk Knuffke, Chorale (SteepleChase)
9. Harris Eisenstadt, The Destructive Element (Clean Feed)
10. Kris Davis, Massive Threads (Thirsty Ear)

Read my Pitchfork review of the Black Host album.

2012

1. Billy Hart, All Our Reasons (ECM)
2. Steve Lehman, Dialect Fluorescent (Pi)
3. Jim Black, Somatic (Winter & Winter)
4. Darius Jones, Book of Mæ'bul (Another Kind of Sunrise) (AUM Fidelity)
5. Federico Ughi, Songs for Four Cities (Skycap)
6. Henry Threadgill, Tomorrow Sunny/The Revelry, Spp (Pi)
7. Joel Harrison & Lorenzo Feliciati, Holy Abyss (Cuneiform)
8. David Virelles, Continuum (Pi)
9. Tim Berne, Snakeoil (ECM)
10. The Cookers, Believe (Motéma)

Read more: parts I, II and III.

2011

1. Branford Marsalis & Joey Calderazzo, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy (Marsalis Music)
2. Gerald Cleaver, Be It as I See It (Fresh Sound New Talent)
3. New Zion Trio, Fight Against Babylon (Veal)
4. Ben Allison, Action-Refraction (Palmetto)
5. Honey Ear Trio, Steampunk Serenade (Foxhaven)
6. Jeremy Udden, If the Past Seems So Bright (Sunnyside)
7. Bill McHenry, Ghosts of the Sun (Sunnyside)
8. Craig Taborn, Avenging Angel (ECM)
9. Wadada Leo Smith, Heart's Reflections (Cuneiform)
10. Tin/Bag, Bridges (MabnotesMusic)

Read more.

2010

1. Dan Weiss, Timshel (Sunnyside)
2. Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth, Deluxe (Clean Feed)
3. Harris Eisenstad, Woodblock Prints (NoBusiness)
4. Jason Moran, Ten (Blue Note)
5. Mike Pride's From Bacteria to Boys, Betweenwhile (AUM Fidelity)
6. The Cookers, Warriors (Jazz Legacy)
7. Weasel Walter, Invasion (ugExplode)
8. The Bad Plus, Never Stop (E1)
9. Jon Irabagon, Foxy (Hot Cup)
10. Chicago Underground Duo, Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey)

Read more.

2009

1. Ran Blake, Driftwoods (Tompkins Square)
2. Chad Taylor, Circle Down (482 Music)
3. Jon Irabagon & Mike Pride, I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues (Loyal Label)
4. John Hollenbeck, Eternal Interlude (Sunnyside)
5. Darius Jones, Man'ish Boy (AUM Fidelity)
6. Henry Threadgill, This Brings Us To, Volume 1 (Pi)
7. Borah Bergman, Luminescence (Tzadik)
8. Jim Black's Alasnoaxis, Houseplant (Winter & Winter)
9. Charles Evans & Neil Shah, Live at Saint Stephens (Hot Cup)
10. Loren Stillman, Winter Fruits (Pirouet)
 
2008
[seven new releases, three archival]

1. Harris Eisenstadt, Guewel (Clean Feed)
2. Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet, Tabligh (Cuneiform)
3. Ideal Bread, The Ideal Bread (KMB Jazz)
4. Eivind Opsvik, Overseas III (Loyal Label)
5. Bill Dixon, 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur (Aum Fidelity)
6. Ari Hoenig, Bert's Playground (Dreyfus)
7. Fieldwork, Door (Pi)
8. Andrew Hill/Chico Hamilton, Dreams Come True (Joyous Shout)
9. Anthony Braxton, The Complete Arista Recordings (Mosaic)
10. Don Cherry, Live at Cafe Montmartre 1966, Vol. 2 (ESP)

Year-end top 10 lists: 2005 through the present

The below is an un-annotated survey of Hank Shteamer's all-genres-in-play "Albums of the year" top 10 lists, stretching back to 2005, compiled for various publications and polls. Jazz-only lists from 2008 on can be found here.

Highlighted titles are ones that have really "lived on" for me beyond the year in question — each is an album I feel comfortable calling a modern classic.

Best albums of the decade: 2010–2019. 

2024

1. The Jesus Lizard, Rack 
2. Gouge Away, Deep Sage
3. Pearl Jam, Dark Matter
4. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
5. Upright Forms, Blurred Wires
6. Tyshawn Sorey Trio, The Susceptible Now
7. Chat Pile, Cool World
8. Tarbaby, You Think This America
9. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers
10. Dirty Three, Love Changes Everything

+ 

J. Robbins, Basilisk [2024's year's customary late-breaking add]

Read more.

2023

1. Richard Inman, Inman
2. Scream, DC Special
3. Foo Fighters, But Here We Are
4. Queens of the Stone Age, In Times New Roman…
5. Mendoza Hoff Revels, Echolocation
6. Khanate, To Be Cruel
7. Jeromes Dream, The Gray in Between
8. John Zorn, Full Fathom Five
9. James Brandon Lewis, Eye of I
10. Tomb Mold, The Enduring Spirit 

+ Metallica, 72 Seasons [late but necessary add…]

Read more.

2022

1. Gospel, The Loser
2. Fleshwater, We're Not Here to Be Loved
3. Chat Pile, God's Country
4. Meshuggah, Immutable
5. Faetooth, Remnants of the Vessel
6. The Bad Plus, The Bad Plus
7. Messa, Close
8. Afghan Whigs, How Do You Burn?
9. 40 Watt Sun, Perfect Light
10. Zoh Amba, O, Sun
11. Hammered Hulls, Careening  

[couldn't narrow this down to 10, or more accurately, saw no reason to!]

+ 

Bleed, Somebody's Closer [favorite release of the year but left off above b/c it's an EP and technically came out first in 2021]

Read more.

2021

1. Turnstile, Glow On
2. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra, Promises
3. Mastodon, Hushed and Grim
4. Assertion, Intermission
5. Matt Sweeney and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Superwolves
6. Willow, Lately I Feel Everything
7. Jason Moran, The Sound Will Tell You 
8. Amyl and the Sniffers, Comfort to Me
9. Leo Nocentelli, Another Side
10. Carcass, Torn Arteries

+

Bo Burnham, Inside (The Songs) [honorary inclusion]

Read more.

2020

1. Dezron Douglas and Brandee Younger, Force Majeure

2. AC/DC, Power Up

3. Kirk Windstein, Dream in Motion

4. Undeath, Lesions of a Different Kind

5. Alan Braufman, The Fire Still Burns

6. Bob Dylan, Rough and Rowdy Ways

7. Josh Johnson, Freedom Exercise

8. Gulch, Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress

9. Erica Freas, Young

10. Mr. Bungle, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo

Read more.

2019
1. Moon Tooth, Crux
2. Tomb Mold, Planetary Clairvoyance
3. Arch/Matheos, Winter Ethereal
4. Sheer Mag, A Distant Call
5. Angel Bat Dawid, The Oracle
6. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You
7. The Messthetics, Anthropocosmic Nest
8. Branford Marsalis Quartet, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul
9. Purple Mountains, Purple Mountains
10. Hole Dweller, Flies the Coop

Read more.

2018

1. The Bad Plus, Never Stop II
2. Esperanza Spalding, 12 Little Spells
3. Haunt, Burst Into Flame
4. Dan Weiss, Starebaby
5. Voivod, The Wake
6. Wayne Shorter, Emanon
7. Peter Brötzmann / Heather Leigh, Sparrow Nights
8. Tomb Mold, Manor of Infinite Forms
9. Harriet Tubman, The Terror End of Beauty
10. Tyshawn Sorey, Pillars

Read more.

2017

1. Sheer Mag, Need to Feel Your Love
2. Vijay Iyer, Far From Over
3. Elder, Reflections of a Floating World
4. Mastodon, Emperor of Sand
5. Queens of the Stone Age, Villains
6. Code Orange, Forever
7. Jason Moran, Thanksgiving at the Vanguard
8. Cheer-Accident, Putting Off Death
9. Morbid Angel, Kingdoms Disdained
10. Chris Pitsiokos Unit, Before the Heat Death

Read more.

2016

1. Esperanza Spalding, Emily's D+Evolution
2. The Hotelier, Goodness
3. Bob Mould, Patch the Sky
4. Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith, A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke
5. Metallica, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct 
6. Deftones, Gore
7. 40 Watt Sun, Wider Than the Sky
8. Crying, Beyond the Fleeting Gales 
9. Billy Mintz, Ugly Beautiful 
10. Meshuggah, The Violent Sleep of Reason

Read more.

2015

1. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
2. The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
3. Henry Threadgill Zooid, In for a Penny, in for a Pound 
4. Title Fight, Hyperview
5. Blind Idiot God, Before Ever After
6. Krallice, Ygg Huur
7. Black Star Riders, The Killer Instinct
8. Laddio Bolocko, Live and Unreleased 1997–2000 
9. Mary Halvorson, Meltframe 
10. Revenge, Behold.Total.Rejection

Read more.

2014

1. Future Islands, Singles
2. Antemasque, Antemasque
3. Alvvays, Alvvays
4. La Dispute, Rooms of the House
5. Juan Wauters, N.A.P. North American Poetry
6. Cloud Nothings, Here and Nowhere Else
7. Mitski, Bury Me at Makeout Creek
8. Mark Turner, Lathe of Heaven
9. Run the Jewels, RTJ 2
10. White Lung, Deep Fantasy

Read more.

2013

1. RVIVR, The Beauty Between
2. Haim, Days Are Gone
3. Carcass, Surgical Steel
4. Diarrhea Planet, I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
5. Queens of the Stone Age, ...Like Clockwork
6. Suffocation, Pinnacle of Bedlam
7. Black Sabbath, 13
8. Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
9. The Men, New Moon
10. Gorguts, Colored Sands

Read more.

2012

1.  Christian Mistress, Possession
2. Japandroids, Celebration Rock
3. Converge, All We Love We Leave Behind
4. Pallbearer, Sorrow and Extinction
5. Propagandhi, Failed States
6. fun., Some Nights
7. Loincloth, Iron Balls of Steel
8. Billy Hart, All Our Reasons
9. Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
10. Corin Tucker, Kill My Blues

Read more.

2011 

1. Frank Ocean, Nostalgia, Ultra
2. Anthrax, Worship Music
3. Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy
4. Drake, Take Care
5. Deceased, Surreal Overdose
6. Gerald Cleaver’s Uncle June, Be It as I See It
7. The Strokes, Angles 
8. Disma, Towards the Megalith
9. New Zion Trio, Fight Against Babylon
10. Ben Allison, Action-Refraction

Read more.

2010

1. Francis and the Lights, It'll Be Better
2. Drake, Thank Me Later
3. The Bad Plus, Never Stop
4. Buke and Gass, Riposte
5. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
6. Graham Smith, Accept the Mystery
7. Ludicra, The Tenant
8. Sia, We Are Born
9. Charred Walls of the Damned, Charred Walls of the Damned
10. Dan Weiss Trio, Timshel

Read more.

2009

1. Propagandhi, Supporting Caste
2. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca
3. Ran Blake, Driftwoods
4. Julian Casablancas, Phrazes for the Young
5. Chad Taylor, Circle Down
6. Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures 
7. Dinosaur Jr., Farm
8. Sean Kingston, Tomorrow
9. Jon Irabagon with Mike Pride, I Don’t Hear Nothin’ but the Blues
10. Heaven and Hell, The Devil You Know

2008

1. Graham Smith & KGW, Yes Boss
2. Cynic, Traced in Air
3. Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean Blue [reissue]
4. Guns N’ Roses, Chinese Democracy
5. Krallice, Krallice
6. Andrew Hill and Chico Hamilton, Dreams Come True
7. Metallica, Death Magnetic
8. Josh Fix, Free at Last
9. Randy Newman, Harps and Angels
10. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend

2007

1. Pissed Jeans, Hope for Men
2. Muhal Richard Abrams, Vision Towards Essence
3. Sigh, Hangman’s Hymn
4. Thurston Moore, Trees Outside the Academy
5. Deerhoof, Friend Opportunity
6. Zs, Arms
7. Rob Crow, Living Well
8. Levon Helm, Dirt Farmer
9. Tyshawn Sorey, that/not
10. Ween, La Cucaracha

2006

1. Baby Dayliner, Critics Pass Away
2. Ocrilim, Anoint
3. Xiu Xiu, The Air Force
4. This Heat, Out of Cold Storage [reissue]
5. Melvins, (A) Senile Animal
6. Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar
7. The Lemonheads, The Lemonheads
8. The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers
9. Nels Cline, New Monastery
10. Joanna Newsom, Ys

2005

1. Deerhoof, The Runners Four
2. Orthrelm, OV
3. Matthew Welch, Dream Tigers
4. Sicbay, Suspicious Icons
5. Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Matt Sweeney, Superwolf
6. Big Business, Head for the Shallow
7. Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Mostly Other People Do the Killing
8. Sunn O))), Black One
9. The Locust, Safety Second, Body Last
10. Coptic Light, Coptic Light