Here are a few quite honorable mentions for this year:

Fiona Apple -The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than The Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do
Andy Stott – Luxury Problems
Levek – Look a Little Closer
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
Joey Bada$$ – 1999

I’m a poor-traveled native of the Green Mountain state who’s a debt-collector by day and a starving artist by night. Well– I work with student loans and I dabble in music. I’m a recent graduate of Saint Michael’s College and proud to be living in an area where the arts–especially music–thrive. It’s sweet.