Philadelphia's Top Musicians' Pick Their Top 5 Albums Of The Year
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's been a great year for music, but an even better year for Philadelphia.
While you were worrying about the Pope stopping by for a weekend visit, the City of Brotherly Love not-so-quietly continued to stake its spot on the musical map. Philly bands like Hop Along and The Districts kicked the door down this year in the indie rock world, while Meek Mill went number one and started (and lost) the biggest beef in hip hop.
Singers like Christina Perri and Jill Scott continued to sing Philadelphia's praises, while bands like Beach Slang and Cheerleader broke out.
There were goodbyes to legendary venues like The North Star, and hellos to new spaces with familiar faces like The Fillmore. We welcomed Madonna, Beyonce, and Miley – and still managed to survive.
Yes Philadelphia, you've got some pretty bad teams, but you've done some pretty nice things. What a time, to be alive.
Rather than give you my top five albums of year, I thought we might be better served to turn the task over to the singers and bands that helped make Philadelphia special in 2015. Here are the top five albums from some of Philadelphia's favorite musicians.
Christina Perri
Bensalem-born Perri may camp out in LA these days, but one look at her Instagram shows she's still filled with Philly pride. Continuing on the success of 2014's Head Or Heart, Perri set off this summer on the "Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too" Tour with fellow songstress Colbie Caillat – making a stop at The Mann. These are her top five albums of the year.
5. Susanne Sundfør - Ten Love Songs
4. Mumford & Sons - Wilder Mind
3. Justin Bieber - Purpose
2. Various Artists - Finding Neverland: The Album
1. Adele - 25
"My number one is Adele, 25. I feel like "duh" could be the reason as to why; but I'll explain. The album is perfect. I adore her voice, her songs, her production, and her authenticity... but mostly because she said she thought about not doing another album after the success of 21 but she realized she had no other choice because this is who she is and this is what she's here on the planet to do. I love that and I love her."
Chill Moody
Consistently as you ask artists about the health of the hip hop scene in Philadelphia, the first name they say is Chill Moody. This year the West Philadelphia MC turned thirty and released the hot TV Made Me Do It with Producer Wes Manchild, continuing to rep 215 to the fullest. These are his top five albums of the year.
5. (Tie). Bilal - In Another Life | Nate Ruess - Grand Romantic
4. Chill Moody x Wes Manchild - TV Made Me Do It
3. The Internet - Ego Death
2. Joe Budden - All Love Lost
1. Rick Ross - Black Market
"My number one pick was pretty easy. Even though this album just dropped, no album this year had the instant affect of inspiration on me like this Rick Ross album did. Instantly made me want to get in the studio and get to work. The album dropped at the perfect time, Ross is on fire recently, and the production and overall feel of this album was really want I wanted to hear exactly when it dropped. For those reasons it is my top album this year."
Frances Quinlan – Hop Along
A lot of great things were said about a lot of great Philadelphia bands this year, but perhaps nobody caught critical acclaim quite like Frances Quinlan and her band Hop Along. Everyone from Vulture to Rolling Stone had praise for the pipes of Quinlan, an amazing dynamic voice that makes you feel every emotion-immersed moment on their remarkable album Painted Shut. There's good reason this sophomore effort has landed on a lot of other best of lists for 2015. These are Frances top albums of the year.
5. Sheer Mag – II EP
"Maybe the fact that it's an EP should exclude this record but I just don't care, it's so good. Every component of this band does exactly what it should, no showing off or overstating. It's perfect rock and roll."
4. Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass
"Mark put this on in the van a few months back and I was immediately drawn in. Lovely laid back hooks, and brilliant arrangements."
3. Joanna Newsom – Divers
"To be truthful I have to sit with this record more, I have only heard a few songs. However, Joanna Newsom is absolutely one of the most brilliant songwriters out there, and very important to me. She takes her time with her work and it is constantly of the finest quality. I am really excited to dig into this one."
2. Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color
"A while back I watched Alabama Shakes play "Gimme All Your Love" on SNL and was stunned. What a voice, what a shredder! Brittany also has band called Thunderbitch. She rules."
1. Sleater-Kinney - No Cities to Love
"I just cannot tell you how glad I am that they're back. I hope lots more young women can fall in love with this band the way I did years ago."
And with that we say goodbye to another amazing year of music in Philadelphia. Have a safe and happy holiday. See you at a show in 2016.
