Best Albums of 2015

As the end of the year approaches, it's now time to reflect on some of the albums that topped this year's charts. This year had so many new releases, from Madonna's "Rebel Heart," to Adele's mega-hit "25." Here's some of my favorites through out the year, all of which I think are worth the listen.

Source: Demi Lovato's "Confident" rocked the charts this year.

1. "Confident" by Demi Lovato
2. "Honeymoon" by Lana Del Rey
3. "Rebel Heart" by Madonna
4. "25" by Adele
5. "III" by JoJo
6. "Beauty Behind the Madness" by the Weeknd 
7. "Grand Romantic" by Nate Ruess
8. "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" by Drake

While these were some of my favorite releases this year, I would also like to point out some releases last year still managed to be a favorite of mine. "1989" by Taylor Swift was always on repeat, as was "Strange Desire" by Bleachers, just to name a few.
However, next year looks to be an equally promising year for new releases. I'm particularly excited about JoJo's new album, as well as Elton John's. But, for now, I'll have plenty from this year to hold me over until they come out.

Music Monday: 25 by Adele

Adele has been a busy woman. She's been taking over the iTunes music charts, with song "Hello" as number one, and "When We Were Young" at number 10. She's even been breaking world records, as her album has sold more copies than Taylor's Swift's "1989" and Drake's "If You're Reading This It's Too Late,' even breaking records held by *NSYNC's "No Strings Attached", according to an article called "12 Mind-Boggling Facts About Adele's Record Breaking Debut."

However, before we talk about the records, let's focus on the music. Because, let's face it, it's a pretty great album. The release was a long awaited follow up to Adele's "21," and says "hello" (no pun intended) to the next phase of the singer's life. Some of themes include moving on from heartbreak, and motherhood.
The album starts out with "Hello," which is the album's lead single. The song is a beautiful and emotional cry to one's ex-lover who they haven't spoken with in a while to get them to reunite, and is a great track to get the listener ready for the next hour (I have the deluxe edition) of "25." Breakups are a common theme with the album, but unlike "21" when they talk about the raw emotions of a breakup, they deal with the scars. Songs like "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)," "When We Were Young," and "Water Under the Bridge" deal with these themes. Other songs, such as "Sweetest Devotion," talk about motherhood, as the song is dedicated to Adele's song. While the album is classified as R 'n' B in my iTunes, I see some similarities to Taylor Swift's "1989," with songs such as "Water Under the Bridge." However, each and every one of the album's tracks showcase Adele's beautiful vocals, and song writing abilities.
"25" is something that I believe is unlike any other release recently. Adele is clearly talented, and she has the vocal range and ability to prove it. Even though it's been four years since "21" has been released, I can tell you the album was worth the wait. Adele shows lyrical and musical maturity, and each of these songs are something that have been listening to since the day that I got the album. (Which was last week, at Target.)
Overall, I recommend "25" by Adele. Sure, it's something that everyone is talking about. Sure, "Hello" is a bit overplayed.  However, it's an album that I believe is one of the best of 2015, and perhaps maybe an album that's going to be an classic in the years to come. Therefore, I recommend everyone--from the classic rock junkies to the rap music enthusiasts--to give this album a listen. I know you all will enjoy it. If you do purchase this album, I recommend that you get it from Target. You get three extra singles with the deluxe edition, all of which are amazing as the 11 in the standard edition.
Songs to Listen to: Hello, Send My Love (To Your New Lover), I Miss You, Remedy, Water Under the Bridge, When We Were Young, River Lea, Love in the Dark.
*Image source

2012: The Playlist.

2012 was an amazing year of music. Britain has taken over the charts, and artists that haven't come up with new music in nearly a decade at last came together. So, I've compiled a playlist of my favorite songs from the year 2012. Let's go kids.

• Gotta be you- One Direction. I'm not a huge fan of One Direction, but for some odd reason, I really like this song. It's very ballad, which I thoroughly enjoy. However, this is the ONLY song I actually listen to obessively...for the record.
• Call Me Maybe; Tiny Little Bows; Good Time (featuring Owl City) by Carly Rae Jepson. I will admit, these songs are my musical guilty pleasures. She's really talented, and of course, I think Call Me Maybe is the anthem of 2012. She's just awesome. Don't hate. 
• Looking Hot; One More Summer; Push and Shove; Settle Down by No Doubt. I was so excited when their new album came out, after nearly ten years of breaking up, and let me just say this it was amazing. These songs are a few of my favorites from Push and Shove, and are very, very amazing. Ps: they were amazing in their GMA Summer Concert Series Performance.
• Girl Gone Wild; I Don't Give A..., Give Me All Your Lovin' (featuring Nicki Minaj & MIA); Gang Bang; I'm Addicted; Turn Up The Radio by Madonna. I'm a huge Madonna fan. Needless to say, I love MDNA, despite it's bad critical reviews. I'm not a huge fan of pop music, but I can honestly say that Madonna is one of the best artists out there.You go, Madonna!
• Girl on Fire (featuring Nicki Minaj) by Alicia Keys. I loved this song ever since I heard it on MTV. Alicia's just talented. That's all. 
• Country Girl (shake it for me); Drunk on You; Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye by Luke Bryan. Okay, EVERY song in Tailgates and Tanlines is amazing. These however are a few of my favorites from him. Luke's amazing. And cute. That's all. Plus, I also got to see him perform on Good Morning America in the summer and that made me happy.
• Blown Away; Good Girl; Two Black Cadillacs by Carrie Underwood. Blown Away was amazing. I really think it shows off how talented Carrie is. The message from Good Girl is amazing, that no girl should have to stick with a guy that makes her unhappy nor is not good enough for her.
• Chasing the Sun; Glad you Came by the Wanted. Catchy. 
• The Only Way I Know (featuring Luke Bryan & Eric Church) & Take a Ride by Jason Aledean. I really got into country music this year. The Only Way I Know is one of my favorite songs of the year, because a; it has Luke Bryan, and b: it's a good song. 
• Anything Could Happen; Don't Say A Word; Lights by Ellie Goulding. I love her. Her songs are very original, which I look for in an artist. Anything Could Happen is literally my theme song. 
• Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. It started with a whisper....
• Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye. The video...? Wierd. However, I love this song A LOT. They need to play it on the radio more. Even though it was over played..yeah whatever..it's still good.
• Skyfall by Adele. I'm not the world's biggest Adele fan, but I really like this song. And the movie. But the song's pretty good too. 
• The A Team by Ed Sheeran. OKAY WHY DOES ENGLAND HAVE SO MANY AMAZING ARTISTS??? I love this guy. Literally, he's so talented, and it's such good music. How could you not love him? 
• Your Body by Christina Aguilera. I'm one of the biggest Xtina fans ever. Lotus is one of her best albums ever. She has talent, kids, and I really need to get her CD. 
• The entire Nashville soundtrack. This show? Amazing. These songs? Even more so. I literally have all of their songs. They are just so good!
• Give Your Heart A Break by Demi Lovato. Demi's so talented, in addition to inspirational. Her songs are not only really good, they are very inspiring. Unbroken really shows her getting away from her Disney image with really raw and personal tracks. You go, Demi!

So those are my picks for 2012. As you can tell, I have a lot of music. But one can truly never have enough music, and I can't wait to watch my music libary grow bigger as the new year comes in.