This list is for fun (and just my opinion). Many of my favorites hurtled from the orbit of obscurity, but, some didn’t exit the atmosphere. But hey, the cream doesn’t always float to the top. (And sometimes you have to mix metaphors.) I hope you discover a new favorite below and let me know what rocked your world in the comments. To 2015 and beyooooond!

Kishi Bashi // Lighght

Progressive pop masterpiece and my most-played album this year.

John Luther Adams // Become Ocean

Definitive recording of this epoch-defining composition by JLA.

Timber Timbre // Hot Dreams

Sunburned gem that would make Ennio Morricone proud.

Sylvan Esso // Sylvan Esso

Electronic bliss via North Carolina by two former folkies.

Olga Bell // Krai

Dazzling depiction of the Russian “krais” (frontier, or district) by the former Dirty Projectors member.

Battle Trance // Palace of Wind

Breathless sojourn through extended techniques by four tenor saxophones to rule them all.

Danish String Quartet // Wood Works

Top shelf classical quartet tackles the (really) old folk music of Scandinavia.

OOIOO // Gamel

Ecstatic noise pop with Indonesian Gamelan by the former Boredoms member.

Jorge Drexler // Bailar en la cueva

Colorful collection of songs by the Uruguayan musician.

Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal // Songs of Lost Time

Tour of language and genre in this beautiful duet between vocalist and cellist.

Tristan Perich // Surface Image

Epic “piano concerto” backed by forty rapturous 1-bit channels.