In order, more or less:
1. Ghost - Infestissumam
2. Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
3 (tie). Gary Numan - Splinter
3 (tie). Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork
4. How to Destroy Angels - Welcome Oblivion
5. Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience (Parts 1 & 2)
6 (tie). Marnie - Crystal World
6 (tie). The Neighbourhood - I Love You
7. Skinny Puppy - Weapon
8. David Bowie - The Next Day
9. Depeche Mode - Delta Machine
Albums like 'I Love You' and 'Weapon' tend to fall lower on this list as time goes by. 'Crystal World' might suffer the same fate. Nothing wrong with any of them, but there are definitely a few skippable songs or tracks that quickly lose their luster. Oddly enough Justin Timberlake is able to hold my attention longer than those albums do, gotta give the man credit.
As much as I love NIN, Ghost's Infestissumam is my top album of the year purely because the whole thing works as a single unit so very well. Best songs they've put out IMO and I love how they've added more concept and variety since their first LP. It blew me away from the first listen and convinced me that this is a band worth keeping an eye on. I'm a sucker for albums that feel more like a complete package (melding the cover/pamphlet art, sound, and song order into a unified experience).
Also want to mention that I was very impressed with the new Gary Numan album, but some tracks on it either dragged on for too long or had sections that felt over-layered. As someone who makes his own electronic music, a lot of those felt like mistakes I would make and then obsess over correcting. They just bug me when listening to them. I dig the more sophisticated, varied sound though and am looking forward to his next release.
Lastly, as for Bowie and Depeche Mode... I love these guys, but their new albums are merely good. Not great, just predictably good. Their best days are behind them.
