Primavera Sound was the best festival that I went to this year and this next collective's performance was one of the most memorable of the weekend. In at lucky number 7 is The Internet with Hive Mind.

It took me far too long to get around to listening to this album after it came out but after listening just once, I knew it'd feature somewhere on this list. In at number 22 is Kali Uchis with her debut album Isolation.

Before this year I'd only really listened to "Divine" and "Tyrant" and so knew the sound of Kali Uchis' voice but I wouldn't say that I was her biggest fan at this point. It wasn't until I heard "After The Storm (feat. Tyler, The Creator and Bootsy Collins)" earlier this year that I actually kept her fixed on my radar. This track has featured on a large number of my playlists this year - so silky, and so catchy. I can't tell you the amount of days I woke up with it already stuck in my head.

My favourites right now are ever-changing - "Miami (feat. BIA)", "Just A Stranger (feat. Steve Lacy)", "Your Teeth In My Neck" and "After The Storm". The ongoing theme of Kali's dealings with coming to America to "make it", and exploring her feelings of homesickness come through strongly and create a really captivating narrative across the whole album - something that I was worried it wouldn't be able to do given the length of the overall record.  However, my one criticism would be that despite how good her voice sounds, it's not the most memorable vocal I've heard recently. Easily recognisable but doesn't quite stick in my head like Ravyn Lenae's voice does for example. With that said, Kali Uchis does have a sort of soft nostalgia to her voice that can have the listener swept up even before the chorus and whilst I do seem to prefer her songs with feature artists/collaborators, she does know how to carry a song solo.

I often say that sometimes "the more cooks, the merrier" applies when it comes to music and in this case it hits the nail on the head. Collaborative work comes from Damon Albarn, BADBADNOTGOOD, Kevin Parker and Thundercat to name just a few of the people who contributed to this debut; with this line-up the album was almost fool-proof. Isolation is an amazing building block in Kali's music career - I'm just hoping it's onwards and upwards from here.

Check out the album that dropped in at number 22 last year here.

Pushing forward with our top ten is Tyler, The Creator in at number 9 with Flower Boy. Absolutely loved having this album in my life over these past few months. A tune for most moods on here.

My favourites right now are "Who Dat Boy (feat. A$AP Rocky)", "Pothole (feat. Jaden Smith & Roy Ayers)", "Boredom (feat. Rex Orange County, Anna of the North & Corinne Bailey Rae)", and "911/Mr. Lonely (feat. Frank Ocean & Steve Lacy)". First things first, his flow on Who Dat Boy reminded me of Andre 3000 a little bit, which can never be a bad thing. Also, that line "find some time, find some time to do something" is possibly the catchiest line in music this year. When this played in the Insecure season 2 finale this year as well that just refreshed my loved for this track. Such a quality piece of music and the perfect collaboration. This is the track that actually put me on to Rex Orange County's material.

I know that the majority of this album is just Tyler's thoughts spilled out on tape but you could listen to the entire thing twice over and still not have a clear idea of how Tyler's mind was working whilst he wrote a few sections of this record - the phrase 'the magic's in the mystery' comes to mind here. Although it's the most vulnerable and open he's been over the past few years, I feel like there's still more to come following this up. This record alongside Cherry Bomb are actually the only two Tyler albums that I've listened through in full as of now, and between the two of those, artistically Tyler's clearly levelled up.

Check out what record I picked for the number 9 spot last year here.

We've made it to the top ten and ushering us in is At What Cost by Goldlink - giving listeners a little look into pockets of the music scene in DC.

This album actually really crept up on me this year. I listened to almost as soon as it dropped and liked it but didn't love it. Nothing stuck out at me much right away. I mean there were a couple of songs that I jammed to on repeat but as more albums started dropping this one just kind of fell off the list for me.

It wasn't until late summer this year when I listed to the whole album through again and it was like I was listening to it with fresh ears. Goldlink has always had fire beats, one thing you can never fault his music on is instrumentals but I think I've only just recently caught on to how his witty lyricism shone through on the record. Being his "major label debut record", I feel like he's come out of the blocks really strong, however there may still be things about his sound that will be improved on in his next few records. Don't get me wrong this is not a major criticism this more just acted as a reminder that although Goldlink's been around for quite a few years, it's only just the beginning for his music.

The tracks that have been getting the most plays these past few months are "Some Girl (feat. Steve Lacy)", "Pray Everyday (Survivor's Guilt)", "Roll Call (feat. Mya)", and "We Will Never Die (feat. Lil Dude)". There were so many highlights throughout to be honest, and the features on this album were pretty much spot on. Nobody that was featured sounded like they didn't belong there. It's album for you to listen to on a sunny day, walking around your neighbourhood with not much to do, or even an album to listen to on an evening commute walking in the dark. It has pockets of each of these moods with an overall satisfying feeling. It can only be onwards and upwards from here really.

Have a look at what I thought about last year's number ten pick here.

One of my biggest upsets this festival season was not being able to attend this year's Afropunk - the line up was phenomenal, and after going last year, although there were things to improve on, I knew that this year would never disappoint. Luckily I had eyes and ears on the inside and so here's a recap and review of Day One written by Black Girl Ready To Rumble...  

It was the crowd’s energy that first called to me. Walking in halfway through the set of a band I had never heard of, it became immediately clear that this was a band I needed to get to know. The Heavy: a British rock band from Bath took to the Green Stage and had the crowd completely in their thrall. Within seconds of joining the energized crowds, I and my companions were dancing like long-term fans even singing along at parts. Kelvin Swaby, the lead vocalist of the band has a stage presence of a true rock star – voice like silk and the ability to make his audience feel like part of the band. The band worked so well together, clearly feeding off each other’s energy so that as an audience member you were compelled to believe in their message. At moments, Swaby had the crowd screaming like wolves during their set of “How You Like Me Now”. This was a well-oiled machine that managed to feel authentic, raw and not overly rehearsed.