Bit of a stretch this year compared to last, in both directions: the albums in the top 5 I listened to a lot more times; the albums in the other half of the top 10 I listened to a lot less. I still averaged out to more muisc listening in 2019 than 2018, as I listened to one album or another this year 494 times, as compared to a record-low 383 times last year. 2019 is still the second-lowest amount of time on record that I have listened to music in a given year, but hey, things are picking up!

10.
Madonna, Rebel Heart (2015)

There is no question this is the first year ever that any album made it into my top 10 that I listened to all of three times—but, I guess there's a first time for everything. I actually had six albums I had listened to three times in 2019 from which to choose just one to go into this slot, and the only way I managed to come up with a tie breaker was to consider that this one, by far, is the longest of them: at an hour and 29 minutes in length, that means I spent the most time on this album, by some distance, than on the other five in question. It was sort of a cheat, I know—especially considering this is the dumbest album overall that Madonna has ever released—but I could think of no other objective way to break the tie. It also makes a difference that Madonna put out another new, much better album this year, which naturally increases my rotation of her back catalog, and this also results in Madonna bookending this year's top 10 list.

Number of plays in 2019: 3

9.
Sia, Everyday Is Chistmas (2017)

I listened to this, the best Christmas pop album to be released in the past decade, the same number of times I did last year. Last year, that was not enough to put it on the year's top 10; this year it was. Even two years after its release, its inclusion remains justified. I really cannot get enough of this album any time it's between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the song featured in the video here is its best track. I dare you to listen and not find it happy making!

Number of plays in 2019: 4

8.
Troye Sivan, Blue Neighbourhood (2015)

Troye Sivan, who last year occupied the #3 and #1 positions with his first two albums, now stands at #8 and #7, with the same albums. This kid was the most exciting new musical discovery for me since Sia, and I still feel like I can wrap his music, and particularly his luscious voice, around me like a cozy blanket.

Number of plays in 2019: 7

7.
Troye Sivan, Bloom (2019)

I was slightly mystified that "My My My" was the only genuine hit from last year's Bloom; it does not showcase Troye Sivan's fantastic voice quite as well as virtually any of the other tracks on the album. That said, not a single one of the tracks would qualify as filler. The whole album is lovely and I continue to lose myself in it at least semi-regularly.

Number of plays in 2019: 10

6.
Beyoncé, Homecoming: The Live Album (2019)

Now we get into the meat of the albums actually released in 2019! Of which I only purchased six, the entire year. I used to regularly buy upwards of twenty or more, but I just don't have the sustained interest in new music as I once did—hence the state of these annual "top 10 albums" lists (which were "top 20 albums" lists, until I flipped half of them to podcasts in 2014). And in this case, the vast majority of the tracks were not exactly new, being a live album. But, there was something new about it: it coincided with the documentary release of the same name, featuring her critically acclaimed concert performance from the Coachella music festival in 2018. And as concert albums go, this one really is one of the best ever released by anyone.

Number of plays in 2019: 10

5.
Sheryl Crow, Threads (2019)

It's been a while since Sheryl Crow released an album much worth writing home about. I haven't been especially excited about an album release of hers since Detours (my #3 album of 2008), but I like Threads probably better than any of the other three albums she has released since. Granted, I listened to two of them more times than I did this one, and the other one as many times, but only barely in all cases, which is a poor reflection of those other albums during years I was otherwise spending a lot more time listening to music. Anyway, Threads is a slightly different direction for Sheryl Crow, almost entirely consisting of duets with other musicians she really admires. I really hate that Stevie Nicks's voice is not at all distinguishable on "Prove You Wrong," the opening track, but otherwise I quite like the album overall. It feels a lot more like the classic Sheryl Crow I fell in love with to begin with, than most of her other albums from the past decade.

Number of plays in 2019: 22

4.
Lily Allen, No Shame (2019)

I didn't even have any idea this album was out until Ivan messaged me that he was listening to it, and I wrote back, "WHAT." And then I immediately purchased it. Well? After the irresistible hooks of her previous three albums, No Shame is very much a comedown, if not an outright letdown—except, of course, I still listened to it 32 times. Compare that to the 37-47 times I listened to her other albums the first years in which I had them. I guess it's not that huge a difference, except that I already know I will be returning to this album far less frequently, if at all, than I will continue to her other albums. I listened to It's Not Me, It's You an additional 14 times the second year I had it. That won't happen with this album, which is a nice, chill listen, but also kind of makes it feel like Lily Allen just spent her recording sessions baked, wanting this album just to be "mellow."

Number of plays in 2019: 32

3.
Lizzo, Cuz I Love You (2019)

I didn't even know who Lizzo was until spring 2019, and the release of Cuz I Love You suddenly had half the people I follow on Twitter raving about her. I was finally convinced to get the album—her third, it turns out—when Claudia at work insisted that I should. I did, and then it became the instant soundtrack to my Birth Week, driving to visit family and friends from Shelton to Bellingham, and then for much of the spring this year. I was struck boy the urgent joy of both her vocal performance and her messaging, on nearly every track. This album very short, barely more than half an hour, but it truly kicks ass from start to finish.

Number of plays in 2019: 49

2.
Beyoncé, The Lion King: The Gift (2019)

Another first: Beyoncé appears on my top 10 albums twice, and not only that, both albums were released the same year! This was her tie-in to The Lion King, in which she played a part. It's the kind of album that could easily be forgettable (Madonna's I'm Breathless, "Music From and Inspired by" the film Dick Tracy, was forgotten rather quickly; people today never talk about how that's actually the album "Vogue" was originally from), but not so with this one. Beyoncé doesn't so much focus on the movie itself, but on integrating musical styles from the African continent. Okay, so some people were rubbed the wrong way by it not featuring any music "from the region that inspired the film." To that, I say: whatever. Yhere's just no pleasing people. Well, this album very much pleases me! More than half of it features other singers joining her on the tracks, and the album on the whole is unlike the other, perhaps the greatest analog being the African influences of Paul Simon's seminal 1986 masterword Graceland. Except, of course, Paul Simon was white. At least Beyoncé isn't just another white person appropriating black or African culture! She remains a talent to be reckoned with, and I actually don't think this album got as much attention as it deserved.

Number of plays in 2019: 52

1.
Madonna, Madame X (2019)

These are the rules: Madonna puts out a new album, by default it is my #1 album of the year. I am a little surprised that I have listened to it 12 times fewer than I did her previous album, Rebel Heart, in 2015. That's weird! In fact, it's the lowest first-year count for a Madonna album in 14 years—since the 68 times I listened to Confessions on a Dance Floor in 2005. Well, I would still say that album is better than any she has ever released after it, and it's worth noting that I returned to it more cosistently in subsequent years than I have other albums. There are always many factors in play when it comes to how much initial focus I give a given album, anyway, even one by Madonna: how soon thereafter someone else's new album was released; what else was going on in my life; how much I am listening to music just generally; even whether or not I have seen Madonna live in the same year, which always creates a bump in her rotation. And her current Madame X tour, for the first time exclusively in smaller theaters at mini-residencies in far fewer cities (all of them far from Seattle), during a year in which I already spent too much on travels to other destinations, proved just too expensive for me. It's the first tour I am not seeing her live since I first saw her in 2001, and I have seen her live during six tours since. Its a true bummer, because I actually do like this album a lot, in spite of the truly dippy lyrics on the second and third tracks. After those, though, it's the most eclectic and daring work Madonna has done in over two decades. If you like Madonna's music at all, you should give it a listen!

Number of plays in 2019: 80

So, now my Top 10 Podcasts of the year has only the slightest difference from last year, 9 of them being on last year's list and only one of them new. But, who cares! We're going to run through them anyway. I mean, who the hell is bothering to read this to even run the risk of getting bored by it? Probably no one. Okay maybe five people.

10. The Big Picture, hosted by Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins, and sometimes others from The Ringer

I seem to go back and forth as to whether I'll place a non-comedy podcast about movies in my top 10, but this is a new one from The Ringer network in the past year—the only new podcast on my top 10, edging out Savage Lovecast for at least this go-round—and I enjoy it very much. Sean and Amanda have pretty different tastes and sensibilities and yet they manage very engaging and genial conversations not just about movies in general, but about the most notable releases of the moment. I am always interested in what they have to say, even more than Chris Ryan and Any Greenwald on The Watch, and I like that podcast nearly as much.

9. Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, hosted by Peter Sagal

I figure I should keep most of the podcasts I have slated as a permanent part of a particular morning of the week's weekly podcast for when I get ready in the bathroom, and the perennial Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, which also keeps me abreast of a lot of news I might not hear about otherwise (even if Paula Poundstone inferred to me on Twitter that I should not regard them as a reliable news source), kicks off my week every Sunday morning. Seriously, I never listen to anything else on Sunday mornings. I can't postpone this show that first aired on Saturday; the breaking news on it might get stale! Also I love almost all the panelists (but especially Paula Poundstone).

8. Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone,, hosted by Paula Poundstone and Adam Felber

Speak of the devil! It's Paula Poundstone again. Nobody Listens to Paula Poudstone makes my top 10 podcasts for the second year in a row. Given Paula's penchant for distraction—a big part of what makes this podcast entertaining—I am honestly kind of surprised it is still going strong. I wonder how long she'll keep at it? For a few more years at least, I hope.

7. The Complete Guide to Everything, hosted by Tom Reynolds and Tim Daniels

I've been listening to this one so many years, it has honestly largely become a sort of "consolation prize listen," something I put on when nothing better is available. I stopped reserving a morning of the week for them, and typically listen to them later in the day sometime over the week after an episode's release, at work. That said, I still never miss an episode. It might take me nearly a week to get to it, but I've always got it done before their next episode has dropped. And I could never really describe it in a way that makes it sound like vital listening: they just take turns picking a random topic each week and telling the other one about it. You kind of have to have been listening to them a long time already to get it, as this is a couple of longtime friends with a particular rapport with each other, which is just fun to be a part of.

6. Threedom,, hosted by Scott Aukerman, Lauren Lapkus and Paul F. Tompkins

I love this podcast so much, and it has had two seasons so far, that I'll sign up for a free trial of Sticher Premium just so I can listen to them without ads the first time they air—and then, several months later, when they release them again outside their paywall and run them with ads, I happily listen to all of the episodes a second time, and they are just as entertaining as they were the first go-round. I will say they were slightly more entertaining in their first season, last year, than this year overall, but only slightly. I like to save this podcast for my Friday morning treat, and it's a bummer that they don't record all year and only do it for a few months at a time. Paul F. Tompkins, Scott Aukerman, and Lauren Lapkus have a singular chemistry as three very funny friends, and that's essentially all the podcast is about. Although they do a "feature" where they play a game of some kind at the end of every episode, they otherwise spend each hour just talking about whatever. I always wind up laughing with them.

5. Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, hosted by Conan O'Brien and "Team Coco"

This one crashed onto the podcast scene with a bang last year, and of all the podcasts I listen to, it has by far the tightest and the slickest production value. That alone doesn't make it "the best," but I still think it's the best new podcast to come along in several years. Also, Conan O'Brien is hilarious, and he is great with his assistant Sona on the show. The fact that he gets guests of consistently astonishing caliber is almost secondary. I really can't recommend this one highly enough, particularly for anyone who listens to comedy podcasts.

4. Do You Need a Ride?, hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Chris Fairbanks

The top four really never changes, does it? Here we go again: I discovered Do You need a Ride? before I started listening to My Favorite Murder, both of which are co-hosted by Twitter comedy master Karen Kilgariff. She co-hosts this one with Chris Fairbanks, who is clearly as much a joy to be around as he is. In the beginning the shows were just recordings in their car as they gave comedian friends rides to and from the airport. This eventually proved too harrowing, not to mention nearly impossible with recent changes at LAX, and for a while they would sometimes just take friends in rides around town in the car. They still do, sometimes. But more often than not, they just ride around town with each other—well, and with Steven, who runs the recording equipment in the back seat—and even then, they are every bit as entertaining.

3. My Favorite Murder, hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

Did I mention My Favorite Murder? I'm not even big on true crime, even in the slightest! What I am big on is this podcast's humor, from co-hosts Georgia Hardstark and, of course, Karen Kilgariff. I've been listening since episode #16 in 2016! I saw their first-ever live show at the L.A. Podcast festival later that same year! I do have a slight sense that they may slip in the ratings slightly in the coming years, just because how huge they have gotten has changed their sensibilities slightly, no matter how nobly they have attempted to resist that happening. Still, I devour every episode as they come, and they just read to each other about a murderous (or occasionally, just basically fucked up in one way or another) story they've picked each week.

2. WTF with Marc Maron, hosted by Marc Maron

The first podcast I ever listened to, to this day one of my two favorites. I love how reliably episodes come every Monday and Thursday, and without exception, those are my morning podcast listens on those days. Marc Maron's podcast can really make me laugh, and sometimes even make me cry (he just recently had to put down one of his now-iconic cats). This show has everything I could possibly want from a podcast, and it always has. It was the perfect one for me to start with, really.

1. Doug Loves Movies, hosted by Doug Benson

Move over, pretty much everyone else! Now it's true, if it's a Monday or Thursday morning and a new Doug Loves Movies has dropped, I still make WTF with Marc Maron the priority. But! Doug Benson still gets the edge since he takes precedence virtually any other day. These episodes come randomly because they are based on when he can get gigs booked around the country (or, often, at the UCB Theater in Los Angeles). It can still be said that this podcast delights me with more consistency than any other. I would also more readily recommend it to others, especially if you have dual interests in movies and comedy. Doug Loves Movies can't be beat.

[posted 9:36 am]