6) Arty – Glorious
It doesn’t matter how tired of main stage anthems you might be – if you can’t appreciate the production mastery that Arty demonstrated on Glorious, you’re doing yourself a disservice as a music fan. Arty’s signature production style makes for a brilliant iteration of modern progressive house – not to mention that the tracks’ arrangement on the album made for a journey in and of itself.
As good as the rest of the album was, though, nobody’s disputing that “Stronger” was the best track of the entire effort. It’s the kind of song that can’t be easily categorized, yet resonates with everyone who hears it. What defines an artist is the ability to draw upon influences to create something unique, and Arty managed to do so with “Stronger.”
5) Justin Bieber – Purpose
After spending the better part of the year bashing on Justin Bieber and Skrillex, it feels a little awkward having to admit that Purpose is actually a solid album. Not only was it sonically pristine, but the lyrical content somehow managed to make the listener identify with the typically un-relatable Bieber as a young person struggling to find himself.
Of course, as deadmau5 harshly pointed out in a recent video, as with any pop album, Bieber owed a significant amount of credit to a lengthy list of collaborators. Nonetheless, the disc still shines as a landmark of the young singer/songwriter turning over a new leaf that all of his fans can celebrate.
Pop music is always more of a collaborative effort, but when it comes down to it, Purpose wouldn’t have been what it was if it was the album of any artist other than Justin Bieber.
