This year, music fans have seen exceptional releases from a variety of artists with some albums changing the trajectory of the music industry. 

From loud punk to conceptual albums based in space, every album had distinct sounds that left me in awe. 

It was hard to narrow down this list to just five albums since we’ve seen incredible releases from so many artists but here are five albums I’ve had on repeat. 

There’s nothing I love more than being transported to a soundscape created by an artist. Music has always been a visual experience for me and each of these albums provided me with an escape from the monotony of my daily life. 

I hope these albums do the same for you: 

No. 1: MOTOMAMI – Rosalia 

Rosalia’s single “La Fama” featuring Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd was a brilliant intro to her fourth and latest album “MOTOMAMI,” which features Rosalia’s slick voice dancing over a catchy melody.  

Although the single sounds a bit different from the rest of the album’s high-energy songs, it’s an excellent introduction to Rosalia’s versatility which is present on every single track. 

“MOTOMAMI” was a highly-anticipated album since Rosalia began changing the sound of pop music since her 2017 album “Los Ángeles”. 

Her 2019 single “Con Altura” featured addictive instrumentation with classic Reggaeton beats. Fans and critics alike anticipated “MOTOMAMI” in hopes she would build off of the R&B sound from her singles. 

The album transcended all expectations and showcased her distinct way of making music. Mostly produced by Rosalia herself, each track surprises the listener as she introduces a different side of herself. 

“Hentai” is a slow ballad that describes longing for sensual pleasures. It’s a heavy contrast given that most artists would have opted for a harsher sound for a song about sex, but Rosalia always strives to keep listeners on their toes. 

Most tracks don’t follow a standard song format. She mixes verses, choruses and bridges around with listeners never knowing what’s coming next. 

In the middle of “CUUUUuuuuuute,” she breaks into a sustained note and the drum-line present throughout the first half is replaced with a piano, mimicking a ballad. 

She switches it up so seamlessly that listeners will be left speechless at how incredible the album sounds. 

“Delirio de Grandeza” takes inspiration from her Spanish background and transports listeners to the 1960s. Her vocals are sharp and clear as an accordion plays in the background. 

Her consistent vocals go from quiet to fast rapping to complex vibrattos to belting sustained notes. At times, this happens in the same song. 

Her vocals are autotuned to fit electronic instrumentation but it never sounds unnatural– nothing sounds unnatural for Rosalia. Her voice and sound fit every single genre from R&B to Reggaeton to ballads. She carries every sound with confidence to the point that it sounds as if she was an originator of the genre. 

It’s a talent few artists have but years of being in the industry have allowed Rosalia to be courageous in her production. 

“MOTOMAMI” is bold, beautiful and immense. If this is the beginning of Rosalia’s career, listeners and critics should be ready to continue to be impressed by her next musical eras which are sure to once again shake up the music industry. 

No. 2: Asha’s Awakening – Raveena Aurora 

Indian-American singer-songwriter Raveena Aurora invites listeners into the world of Asha, a woman who’s coming back down from space and experiencing human emotions for the first time. 

Her voice is light and breezy as she combines English lyrics with Hindi, blending both aspects of her identity harmoniously. 

Through Asha, Raveena describes falling in love with mind-altering drugs, natural wonders of the world and other people. 

Throughout the album, Raveena blends Bollywood music influences by including Indian bells and harmonies. 

Although most people think of cheesy dance sequences and colorful outfits when they think of Bollywood which is India’s film industry, Raveena takes inspiration from the old classic songs from when she was young. 

Her higher range vocals are reminiscent of Indian singer Shreya Goshal, who’s known for her expansive range. 

“Rush” ends with a few verses in Hindi which translate to, “Hold onto my heart, say you agree (with me), let everything else go.” It’s an ethereal introduction to the rest of the album which emotes a calming energy. 

The second track “Secret,” in a collaboration with singer and rapper Vince Staples, is a sensual song with a catchy drum beat in the background as Raveena’s vocals float through the words. 

Toward the end of the song, listeners can faintly hear the sounds of a ghungroo, which are small bells worn on ankles of Indian dancers. When they dance, each step makes a jingling sound, making the dancers themselves the music. 

It’s fitting since the entire album is about becoming one with everything beautiful the world has to offer such as natural elements and psychedelic drugs. 

Raveena welcomes us to her India, one that is filled with elegant sounds and angelic harmonies. It’s an India that’s not often represented in media, let alone music. 

Raveena’s India is one that I grew up with and hearing it on this album transported me to my grandparents’ garden on the balcony of their house in New Delhi. 

The album ends with a 13-minute guided meditation, asking us to slow down as we reenter reality from the soundscape on “Asha’s Awakening.” 

Since this is only Raveena’s second album, her career is just beginning and I imagine she has even more stunning worlds to take us through her music. 

No. 3: The Unraveling of PupTheBand – PUP 

Many punk artists have always had some sort of humor surrounding their music. The band Panic at the Disco! humorously give all of their songs long titles, including “Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off” but not many have curated entire albums about failing miserably at being a musician. 

On “The Unraveling of PupTheBand” by punk band PUP, they sing about the tumultuous ride of stardom, falling from great heights and rising up again only to get caught up in corporate greed. 

Throughout it all, they humorously crack jokes about their band being a “board of directors” that act as puppets to their label. It’s the reality of the music industry and PUP uses it to their advantage. Why act against the system when you can use it? 

It’s a very punk mentality and many of their songs sound extremely disorganized. It’s noise punk at its best: loud and unabashedly self aware. 

On “Robot Writes a Love Song,” they sing about a machine “dying” and bringing it back to life by getting a new robot “body.” It’s a funny reflection of the state of our society which is quickly approaching humans falling in love with robots. 

The listeners never know if the lyrics are serious but the infectious guitar riffs are catchy enough that it doesn’t matter. Falling in love with a robot doesn’t seem that far-fetched anymore. 

The vocals are rough as they shout over a cacophony of drums and guitars. 

The next track “Matilda” opens with a catchy electric guitar melody as they continue to shout over loud instrumentation. 

There is an autotuned guitar solo at the bridge before the shouting vocals about creating songs naturally without worrying about writing them down. 

It feels like PUP wrote the entire album that way: it’s as if the band members sat together and created whatever guitar melodies came to mind regardless of how brash or excessive they were. 

They asked, “Why not?” to every single ridiculous idea thrown out there. For a band that has been around for more than 10 years, it makes sense that they’ve reached a point in their career where they’ve finally escaped formulaic music creation. 

Verses, choruses, lyrics about love are great and everything but PUP’s found a home in not making any sense at all. And it couldn’t sound better. 

After each song ends, uncomfortable silence fills the air, similar to the feeling of coming home from a loud concert. Listeners get a brief break before PUP once again draws us into their extremely raucous world. 

No.4 : Five Seconds Flat – Lizzy McAlpine 

Singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine’s last couple albums including her 2020 “Give Me A Minute” were dominated by her mellow guitar melodies and soft vocals. It was fitting for the lyrics, which surrounded the despair that followed after a failed relationship. She sings about running away to the mountains, seeing things that remind her of her ex-lover and breaking up with someone over the phone. 

“Five Seconds Flat” still has songs about heartbreak but she takes a different approach, one that’s centered on anger. She’s traded in her acoustic guitar for drums, aggressive sound effects and electric guitars. It’s quite a departure and at first, I was doubtful whether it would work since her breathy vocals mix well with gentle guitars. 

But McAlpine shows listeners a more wide-ranging side of her vocals which works brilliantly with the more synth-heavy production. Many of the songs start off slow but progress to include synths and hardcore harmonies. 

The album opens with “Doomsday,” introducing listeners to a haunting, somewhat morbid soundscape. 

Before the bridge arrives, the track goes completely silent and is cut by gunshot sounds. 

On “Erase Me,” she collaborates with English producer and singer Jacob Collier who’s known for layering vocals and using them as background instruments. 

Midway through the song, Collier adds electronic synths that sound like space guns. 

“Reckless Driving” is a duet with Ben Kessler and a conversation between two lovers. McAlpine sings about being worried about her lover not keeping his eyes on the road and hands on the wheel when he is driving. She doesn’t love him as much as he loves her. 

It places you in the vehicle as they’re speeding down the highway. You can feel the fear in McAlpine’s voice and at the end, listeners do a double take because of its abrupt end, indicating that his reckless driving got them into a car accident. 

Many songs on the album make listeners do a double take. On “Firearm,” the song unexpectedly speeds up with an electric guitar and heavy drums. 

“Five Seconds Flat” tells a story, one with sharp twists and turns and told with a group of exceptional collaborators including singer-songwriters FINNEAS and Jacob Collier. 

It reflects the darker sides of life and how sometimes the more negative emotions of anger might be fun to indulge in occasionally. 

She ends the album on a hopeful note with “Orange Show Speedway,” introducing listeners to her younger, more joyful self. It’s nostalgic and the perfect way to end an album that started with a morbid song titled “Doomsday.” 

Life comes full circle and in the midst of indulging your darker emotions, hope makes its return. 

No. 5: Crushed – Thomston 

New Zealand singer-songwriter Thomston’s latest album “Crushed” is an atmospherically lush album, featuring steady synths and layered vocals. 

His lyricism paints a picture of an idyllic summer, filled with late night drives and yearning for lost and new loves.

The first song, “JPA989” ends with layers of his gentle vocals creating an angelic chorus. It’s a perfect introduction to the album that places listeners in the middle of summer as life slows down.

Thomston plays with his vocals on every track, sometimes autotuning them, harmonizing with himself or sometimes using them as background instrumentation. 

As the main producer and songwriter, his musicianship is apparent and it takes exceptional skill to manipulate one’s vocals to imitate guitars and have them go from weightless to heavy. 

On “April,” he takes us through the stages of his relationship from January-April. 

At the end of every word on the pre-chorus, he stacks his vocals once again and reintroduced the angelic choir on the chorus. 

Instead of stacking his vocals on the next pre-chorus, he shouts the last word, stretching his voice to describe the frustration of an ending relationship. 

The next track, “Magnolia” is the only feature on the album with singer-songwriter and producer Zeph. 

“Magnolia” sounds like the perfect summer night song but the lyrics describe the opposite as Thomston sings about being home for the summer but feeling distant from friends and from his loved one. 

Toward the end, the tracks become more mellow as he reflects on his own failure in his romantic relationships. 

In the ballad “Sooner,” he croons, “But baby, I’m gonna let you down, later or sooner.” The track is stripped down, placing the focus entirely on his heavy voice, brimming with emotion. 

The pain in Thomston’s vocals is visceral and at times it sounds as though he’s singing through tears. He emotes beautifully and the ache cuts through listeners’ hearts. 

Synth waves introduced the next song “Crushed” as his deep vocals sing about crashing his car. 

Thomston’s album revolves around the unbearable burden of our emotions and the way we can get “crushed” by their sheer weight. His vocals and spacey instrumentations transport you to an endless summer night where every moment feels straight out of a film.