The best albums of 2019 so far + some ranting.

Hey guys, just thought I'd bust out my annual mid-year albums list. Not gonna be too eloquent about it. I have other music things to bicker about here.

MY TOP 5 (or 13) FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2019 (so far)

#5 Sunn O))) Life Metal

#4 Ariana Grande thank u, next
Big Thief  U.F.O.F.
Bill Callahan Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest
Sharon Van Etten Remind Me Tomorrow

#3 Denzel Curry ZUU
Mannequin Pussy Patience
slowthai Nothing Great About Britain
Tyler, the Creator IGOR
Xiu Xiu Girl with Basket Of Fruit

#2 black midi Schlagenheim
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Bandana

#1 Weyes Blood Titanic Rising

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about another one of my list-making crises...
I plan on releasing a big fat "end-of-decade" albums list in December. The more I think about it, it's brought me to a couple ruts. My music taste changes year-after-year! This list has of stuff my 22yr-old self loved in 2013 mixed in with what my 27yr-old self loved in 2018. It's a freaking mess! If I was 22 and went forward into the music world, would I like the same stuff? If I was 27 and went back in time, would I be cringing at my favorites? Is the guy who gave Vampire Weekend the best album of 2013 the same guy who gave SOPHIE the best album of 2018? I don't know man. Actual dilemma.
Oh yeah, and also: Rap. Rap has changed a lot over the decade. My opinions on rap have kinda changed. Everything changed. How to critique rap with this kinda hindsight? Examples...
The popularization of trap music is the undying story of the decade. So does this mean we need to laud early albums from the likes of Future, Young Thug, and Cheef Keef? Is that Big Boi album from 2010 officially overshadowed by that 2010 album by Wakka Flocka Flame? I mean, Big Boi really went all out with the classy production on Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. But Flocka's Flockaveli is stupidly simplistic and is now seen as one of the most influential rap albums in recent years. How much does Kanye West's releases matter? Is Drake underrated by music snobs?
Anyways, 2019 hasn't exactly been my favorite year for new music at this point. Hopefully releases improve from hereon out. Hopefully I stop caring so much about this stuff and start making more music of my own.

The 30 Greatest NBA Players of the Decade

This blog post is...exactly what the title says!
This is a list aggregate accumulated from 7 or 8 different lists. Some of the voters were related to me, some of the voters were actually just me. Some of the voters were my roommates, some of the voters were "under the influence" when they made their list. Some of the voters were actors, some were gamblers, and lo, some of them are actually good at basketball.
So...from DeMarcus to LaMarcus...from Kevin Love to Kevin Durant....here's the list! Best players of the decade! 2010-2019!

30 John Wall                             
5x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 3rd team
1x All-Defense 2nd team







29 Marc Gasol 
3x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 1st team // 1x 2nd team 
1x All-Defense 2nd team
1-0 Finals
2013 DPOY



28 Jimmy Butler 
4x All-Star
2x All-NBA 3rd team
4x All-Defense 2nd team







27 DeMarcus Cousins 
4x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 2nd team
0-1 Finals







26 Chris Bosh 
7x All-Star 
2-2 Finals 







25 Dirk Nowitzki 
5x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 2nd team // 1x 3rd team 
1-0 Finals
2011 Finals MVP






24 Kevin Love 
5x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 2nd team 
1-3 Finals (technically 1-2, due to injury)
2011 Rebounds Leader 




23 Draymond Green 
3x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 2nd team // 1x 3rd team 
3x All-Defense 1st team // 2x 2nd team
3-2 Finals 
2017 DPOY
2017 Steals Leader 


22 Pau Gasol 
4x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 2nd team // 1x 3rd team 
1-0 Finals





21 Dwight Howard 
5x All-Star 
3x All-NBA 1st team // 1x 2nd team // 1x 3rd team 
3x All-Defense 1st Team
2X DPOY
2010 Blocks Leader
3X Rebounds Leader


Notice that all these stats are specific for within the decade. As far as the ranking process goes, the bottom half of this only got 1 vote from the board. Looking at these stats remind me that Dwight Howard used to be a god. But alas, there are more gods to come.

20 Giannis Antetokounmpo 
3x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 1st team // 2x 2nd team
1x All-Defense 1st team // 1x 2nd team 
2019 MVP






19 Tim Duncan 
4x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 1st team // 2x 3rd team
3x All-Defense 2nd team
1-1 Finals




18 Kobe Bryant 

7x All-Star (only deserved 5 of them)
4x All-NBA 1st team
2x All-Defense 1st team // 1x 2nd team
1-0 Finals 
2010 Finals MVP 




17 Tony Parker 
3x All-Star 
3x All-NBA 2nd team
1-1 Finals







16 Carmelo Anthony 
8x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 2nd team // 1x 3rd team 
2013 Scoring Leader





15 LaMarcus Aldridge 
7x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 2nd team // 3x 3rd team 






14 Klay Thompson 
5x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 3rd team 
1x All-Defense 2nd team
3-2 Finals




13 Damian Lillard 
4x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 1st team // 2x 2nd team // 1x 3rd team







12 Paul George 
6x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 1st team // 4x 3rd team
2x All-Defense 1st team // 2x 2nd team 
2019 Steals Leader






11 Kyrie Irving 
6x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 2nd team // 1x 3rd team
1-3 Finals (technically 1-2, due to injury)





Ya know... I look at those last few players, and their stat lines don't do them justice. Anybody who's watched these guys play knows that they're some of the most memorable players of this generation. Also, it's funny to see Kobe + Duncan next to each other here. They were actually really freaking good in their old age!

10 Blake Griffin 
6x All-Star 
3x All-NBA 2nd team // 2x 3rd team






9 Dwyane Wade 
7x All-Star 
1x All-NBA 1st team // 1x 2nd team // 2x 3rd team
1x All-Defense 2nd team
2-2 Finals







8 Anthony Davis 
6x All-Star 
3x All-NBA 1st team 
1x All-Defense 1st team // 3x 2nd team
3X Blocks Leader




Hmmm...I'm not sure how Blake Griffin got ranked so high, but looking back at the lists, I was part of the problem...Anyways, just thought I'd mention something about this top 7. Not only did these guys get voted in every list, but they were top 10 in every list! Let's see if this is as obvious to you as it was for us voters.

7 Russell Westbrook 
8x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 1st team // 5x 2nd team // 1x 3rd team
0-1 Finals 
2X Assists Leader
2X Scoring Leader
2017 MVP 


6 Chris Paul 
7x All-Star 
3x All-NBA 1st team // 2x 2nd team // 1x 3rd team
6x All-Defense 1st team // 1x 2nd team 
2X Assists Leader 
4X Steals Leader





5 James Harden 
7x All-Star 
5x All-NBA 1st team // 1x 3rd team 
0-1 Finals
2017 Assists Leader
2X Scoring Leader 
2018 MVP




4 Kawhi Leonard 
3x All-Star 
2x All-NBA 1st team // 1x 2nd team
3x All-Defense 1st team // 2x 2nd team 
2-1 Finals
2015 Steals Leader
2X DPOY 
2X Finals MVP


3 Stephen Curry 
6x All-Star 
3x All-NBA 1st team // 2x 2nd team // 1x 3rd team
3-2 Finals
2016 Steals Leader 
2016 Scoring Leader 
2X MVP





2 Kevin Durant 
10x All-Star 
6x All-NBA 1st team // 3x 2nd team 
2-2 Finals (technically 2-1, due to injury)
4X Scoring Leader
2014 MVP
2X Finals MVP 


1 LeBron James 
10x All-Star
9x All-NBA 1st team // 1x 3rd team 
4x All-Defense 1st team // 1x 2nd team
3-5 Finals 
3X Finals MVP 
3X MVP




Yeah, so that #1 shouldn't be much of a surprise. There are a lot of other cool stats I could add to these guys. Averaging triple-double's per season. League 3-pt leader per season. 50-40-90 club. AP Athlete of the year. Annual appearances in MVP voting. These guys have their fingerprints all over the decade.
But what do YOU think? Did I miss anybody? Who looks overrated/underrated here? I'd love to spark some conversation! Thank you for reading.