The Fashionably Late Top 125 of 2019: Better Oblivion Community Center

Another rough year corresponded to another bumper crop of excellent music. Once again, my list is huge, because I fell in love with each of these 125 records and found it impossible to not include all of them in my fashionably late list.

I'm choosing to post my favorites in alpha order from A-Z again this year. You'll probably find some records that everyone and their fifth cousin raved about, but I hope you'll also find a few records that might be new to you, and that you'll fall in love with them as much as I have.

My thanks, as always, to the artists who created these records.

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Who: Better Oblivion Community Center

What: Better Oblivion Community Center

When: January 2019

Where: Dead Oceans

Why: With a release that felt almost spur-of-the-moment and songs that feel anything but, the musical partnership of Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst stole hearts all over the place last year. And deservedly so. Their Better Oblivion Community Center intertwines Oberst's introspection and the irresistible Bridgers emotions, and my oh my, don't they sound just about perfect together? Sometimes playful, sometimes plaintive, this self-titled album might have caught many folks by surprise, but with two talents like these it's not a surprise at all how good this record is. 

[posted 2.7.20]