These music lists are always the hardest to write an intro for, because there are so many genres and narratives, it's hard to sum it all up into one cohesive statement. 2019, at least for me, was a continuation of trends already known to be true, particularly in the rise of poptimism and the diminishing of traditional indie rock. This year, rap and pop music take up a whole 50% of my top 20 list, which is higher than it's been since I've started making lists. Unfortunately, that still doesn't mean there is any Billie Eilish on here. I apologize to the zero teens reading this.
The rules: Everything is the same as usual. The window of eligibility for this list is anything released between January 1, 2019 and now. This list can include albums, mixtapes, EPs, and anything in between. I'm praying that nothing substantial comes out in the twilight hours of the year. You never know with surprise releases these days...
