john pareles:
1. kendrick lamar: to pimp a butterfly
2. joanna newsom: divers
3. grimes: art angels
4. sleater-kinney: no cities to love
5. björk: vulnicura
6. adele: 25
7. alabama shakes: sound & color
8. sufjan stevens: carrie and lowell
9. mbongwana star: from kinshasa
10. miguel: wildheart
ben ratliff:
1. kamasi washington: epic
2. kendrick lamar: to pimp a butterfly
3. jen shyu: sounds and cries of the world
4. ava rocha: ava patrya yndia yracema
5. tenement: predatory headlights
6. joanna newsom: divers
7. helen: the original faces
8. big | brave: au de la
9. marta sánchez quintet: partenika
10. royal headache: high
nate chinen:
1. steve coleman and the council of balance: synovial joints
2. kendrick lamar: to pimp a butterfly
3. maria schneider orchestra: the thompson fields
4. vijay iyer trio: break stuff
5. joanna newsom: divers
6. rudresh mahanthappa: bird calls
7. ben wendel: the seasons
8. chris lightcap’s bigmouth: epicenter
9. d’angelo and the vanguard: black messiah
10. nicole mitchell / tomeka reid / mike reed: artifacts
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