This is a true genre-defying EP from Los Angeles producer DEVAULT. Ranging from gritty and raw instrumentals to emotional R&B ballads and unique sound design, Stay is in a category of its own.

While our tastes are a tad different, we respect their list as one of the picks for album reviews of the year, and hope our list can equal their praise! Our selections are NOT in any particular order, just a number listing! We hope you enjoy our picks and discover some new music or artists while you’re at it. This piece was inspired by our friends over at Pitchfork. And since we dabble mostly in the electronic spectrum, would it really be considered a great list if EPs weren’t listed? We don’t think so. From rap and hip-hop, indie-pop, techno, house, weird bass, pop-punk, and even indie-rock, we cover it all. Our list spans a large spectrum of genres and styles of music.

So, this is exactly what the River Beats top 50 albums/EPs represent: our staff members collectively sharing their favorite albums from the year. And while we don’t think our opinion is better than the average reader, we think we’ve heard a lot of music collectively as a group. Is there really any way to pick the top album of the year? How can one genre of music be compared to another? In the world of streaming, it’s possible to categorize the top album as the one with the most streams but, we all know that the most popular album doesn’t necessarily mean the best.Īt the end of the day, any piece listed as the “top” album of the year can really only be considered opinion.

Rl grime nova genius