2019 Uproxx Music Critics Poll

Last year Uproxx decided to attempt an ambitious Pazz & Jop-type poll of music critics when it was evident that the Village Voice and of course their poll was finished. This year they did it again.

Critics Poll Top 50: https://uproxx.com/critic-polls/best-albums-of-the-year-2019-music-critics-poll/
Critics Poll 51-650: https://uproxx.com/critic-polls/best-albums-of-the-year-2019-music-critics-poll/other/
Critics List: https://uproxx.com/critic-polls/best-albums-of-the-year-2019-music-critics-poll/critics/
Essays: https://uproxx.com/topic/best-music-of-2019/

I think unlike last year the ballots are posted (third link above) though P&J purists (Joppists?) will be displeased that points are awarded by the ranking and not further ranked by the music critic (the points were 10 points for the #1 record, 9 for #2 down to 1 point for the #10 record on a ballot).

More than 200 critics participated this year, many of whom I recognize from this forum. As usual for these things, only a scant few of them rated anything on my humble list.

Thanks to Saby Reyes-Kulkarni for putting my #1 album Birth of Violence by Chelsea Wolfe on her list, and Jamie Ludwig for joining me in praise for Big|Brave's A Gaze Among Them. Additionally, TJ Kliebhan, Mark Wesley, Ariel Gordon, and Robert Ham were nice enough to join me in praising Lingua Ignota's Caligula helping push it to #66, easily the highest-charting record that made my list.

I listed mine in alphabetical order of the artists' names, visually vs. this point system (always did 10 Points each in P&J). "Visually" only if you click to see the names, turns out.

Burna Boy at 113.

The 2020 edition has been posted:

Albums: https://uproxx.com/critic-polls/the-2020-uproxx-music-critics-poll
Songs: https://uproxx.com/music/uproxx-music-critics-poll-best-songs-2020

Also the did post all the ballots this time out:
https://uproxx.com/critic-polls/the-2020-uproxx-music-critics-poll/critics

chilling stuff

as a reminder, UPROXX is a massive conflict of interest because it's owned by Warner Music Group, and people shouldn't participate in this poll.

Turn back uproxxy fules!

each participant only got to vote for one song? weird

Don't have a view on Uproxx generally but I think there's something to be said for that approach, it reminds me of how our own EOY polling stats track enthusiasm stats (i.e. the people who liked this track really liked it) rather than solely reflecting the average level of support across the entire voting pool.

i don't think there's a good reason to only allow votes for a single song instead of the 10 that pnj had, means that you only get to see what the absolute favourites are but no idea of what the consensus is beyond that, which is ultimately what that poll is good for

the uproxx poll results have also been lacking in the idk character that pnj had? pnj results often leaned in an interesting direction that was slightly different to the consensus gotten from just aggregating various EOY lists as seen on metacritic, album of the year, etc. but the uproxx results have tended to pretty much mirror that

They sent out a request for ballots again. I am no longer a music critic. Though I did purchase 100+ albums that came out this year and will probably make a personal list when the year is over, I still don't think it's appropriate for me to participate.

If you're a music critic and want to participate, email philip [dot] cosores [at] uproxx [dot] com.

or don't, because:

as a reminder, UPROXX is a massive conflict of interest because it's owned by Warner Music Group, and people shouldn't participate in this poll.

― alpine static, Tuesday, December 15, 2020 3:43 PM (eleven months ago)

Honestly, who cares? They have the disclaimer all over the site, it's not like it's a secret and it's not like they throw out ballots unless there's at least three WMG albums on them.

I care. You don't have to.

it's not like they throw out ballots unless there's at least three WMG albums on them

It would be really shitty if they did, but also awfully hilarious. Like imagine a poll where the top 100 were blatantly all WMG albums.

Last year they started making us choose from menu, with write-in instructions that I didn't trust/understand then, and ones that didn't work last night, so---list of possibles seeming more limited this year---I ended up with Archie Shepp/Jason Moran, Sons of Kemet, and Sault as first three, then a bunch of country & related that will be on my Scene ballot anyway, so this was mainly redundant, except maybe a little more exposure for a few newer artists, like Alison Russell and Emily Scott Robinson, if anybody notices. Of course, after each selection, you have to go back and scroll list from beginning; thank dog only five slots for Songs (Jennifer Hudson, "You Make Me Feel," the two by Mickey Guyton, one by Kalie Shorr, one by Jack Ingram/Miranda Lambert/that other guy).

(But I'll blog my Ideal Real Top 20, also like last year.)

Ugh. I get why they would want to do that - by making the counting process automated it would be a thousand times easier than reading ballots. (I asked in another thread why the Idolator poll lasted only two years, and it sounded like it was deemed too much work tabulating the results manually.) But it does lose a ton of charm when it shuts out "unselected" titles like that.

I care. You don't have to.

how dare anyone impugn the integrity of the UPROXX music critic's poll

Earlier this year, they ran like 10,000 words on the best Death Cab for Cutie songs. Death Cab is signed to Atlantic, which is owned by WMG.

Last year, they got the only interview Sturgill Simpson did for his new record. Simpson was signed to Elektra, which is owned by WMG.

I don't give a shit about their poll. I give a shit about the larger conflict of interests here.

Deadline for participating in this flawed outfit’s flawed poll is coming up soon I see. Back in 2019 I did my standard for me complaint about their poll results including few critics ballots with dancehall reggae or soca.

Results for this year's poll are in.

https://uproxx.com/critic-polls/uproxx-music-critics-poll-2022-albums/

I didn't mention it when ballots came in because everyone here seems to hate it/them but whatev.

Thanks! Good thing I voted for Kendrick Lamar. Just clicked on his title to see who voted for it, there I am, with all my ballots going back to---2018, didn't realize.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

An email said "hundreds" voted. I didn't have my faves ready yet when it was time to turn them in, so didn't vote.

Dow was the only vote for the Anteloper album. 6 people voted for Ari Lennox album including at least one ilxor. 26 voted for Rosalia album, 3 votes for Burna Boy album, 2 votes for Rauw Alejandro album, 3 votes for Asake album

Lucky Daye- Candydrip album got 4 votes (including 1 former ilxor Some Dude); he was one of 2 votes for the Zach Bryan , he was one of 2 votes for Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals rap album that made a few other lists

Miranda Lambert did pretty well

Still need to go through this more . Weird how they list critics individual album lists by album title but don’t include artist name

34 voters for #6 Alvvays album

click on the title in a critic's list; you'll see artist as well---now why you should have to do this, I dunno.

yep

January 1 deadline for contributing to Uproxx poll email has gone out today.

On Facebook I see that the "Village Voice Pazz & Jop Rip-Off Poll private group wants submissions by January 6 I think

time for my increasingly quaint, losing-battle-ass annual comment:

as a reminder, UPROXX is a massive conflict of interest because it's owned by Warner Music Group, and people shouldn't participate in this poll.

True. Then there's my old complaint "Back in 2019 I did my standard for me complaint about their poll results including few critics ballots with dancehall reggae or soca"

Has Uproxx given up on this?

god willing!

Strange that it hasn't happened when they published this.

lol rest in piss

guess this is the end of broad critic p&j-type polls, i guess now broad year-end consensus is to be catalogued at aoty, rym, 'acclaimedmusic' and the other pseudostatistical aggregators where fantano stans rank their favorite tyler the creator projects

Aww, nerts. I liked having a broad critics poll to check against the broad fan ratings and the broad industry consensus.

me too. Glenn's P&J stats site is the best:

https://furia.com/pjs/

wish there could be an ongoing poll connected to that.

x-post to Dyl - some guy has been doing a "Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Ripoff Poll" via Facebook group since 2010 . 302 participants for 2025 (down from 367 last year)

It's very indie-rock focused and the contributors skew older. The organizers don't seem that interested in reaching out to broaden their electorate (but if someone contacts them they will let them join )

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/14VJEdQo1hW/

Also, freelance critic Brad Luen whose taste includes indie-rock but goes beyond it has the "Expert Witness poll" which consists mainly of folks who are in a Facebook group Expert Witness that was started to discuss Christgau

https://bradluen.substack.com/p/the-14th-annual-expert-witness-poll-66f

Expert Witness poll group is smaller

i find it hard to believe that ppl can see all the publication lists that go out every year all hyping the same 10-20 albums and then feel like there needs to be a whole separate poll and ballot initiative to rank the same albums

and it basically reshuffles Christgau's own picks with a couple of idiosyncratic choices. xpost

a Facebook group Expert Witness that was started to discuss Christgau

what a cursed series of words

lol

Slightly proud that I got thrown out of that group.

Play Wussy get fucked

x-post to Dyl - some guy has been doing a "Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Ripoff Poll" via Facebook group since 2010 . 302 participants for 2025 (down from 367 last year)

I noticed a lot of people in that group posting ballots after January 1st while acknowledging they missed the deadline. I get the feeling there would be a lot more participants had he moved the deadline to, say, February 1st instead of New Year's.

find it hard to believe that ppl can see all the publication lists that go out every year all hyping the same 10-20 albums and then feel like there needs to be a whole separate poll and ballot initiative to rank the same albums

While some of it is duplicative, some of these folks write for smaller publications or do Substacks or whatever. Now in some ways these polls can be different but just because the Facebook Pazz and Jop group is way more into indie rock and is going to barely acknowledge artists from others genres that may be mentioned by those publications you refer to. Lots of folks silo’d off into a certain range of genres and not aware or interested in others.

I've been voting in Pazz And Ripoff since it was started---by Matos, I think, but then he passed it along or let it drop after the first year or so---also Expert Witness for several years, but never was in it for xgau reasons, and don't ever see his stuff now 'til it's eventually posted for free on his site---I like that I can Top Ten whatever on those, unlike Uproxx and increasingly others, althogh yes I get why it's too much work if you have a lot of ballots---and would still vote on Uproxx.

My P&J Ripoff ballot---

Ten points each:

1.Damon Locks: List of Demands
2.Donny McCaslin: Lullaby For The Lost
3.Gina Birch: Trouble
4.James Brandon Lewis: Apple Cores
5. MC5: Heavy Lifting
6.Neko Case: Neon Grey Midnight Green
7.Noura Mint Seymali: Yenbett
8.Samora Pinderhughes: Black Spring Mixtape
9.Six Finger Satellite: Severe Exposure (Deluxe Edition)
10,YHWH Nailgun: 45 Pounds

Expert Witness
Albums
10 points each, just in the order they come to mind:

Willie Nelson: Oh What A Beautiful World
Noura Mint Seymali: Yenbett
Mulatu Astatke: Mulatu Plays Mulatu
Omaha Diner: s/t
Folk Bitch Trio: Now Would Be A Good Time
James McMurtry: The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
Jesse Sykes And The Sweet Hereafter: Forever, I’ve Been Being Born
Los Originarios del Plan: ¡Puritito Michoacán!
Peter Stampfel: Song Shards
James Brandon Lewis: Apple Cores

EP
Summer Dean: Live AF Session

Yeah, I liked the new Neko Case album quite a bit (and posted about it) - I was surprised how many people here were so blasé about it! There's only one track that I wasn't sure about, and I can see that growing on me.

i find it hard to believe that ppl can see all the publication lists that go out every year all hyping the same 10-20 albums and then feel like there needs to be a whole separate poll and ballot initiative to rank the same albums

― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Friday, March 6, 2026 11:57 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Speaking personally: I liked it because it saved me the trouble of going through all of the publication lists. And also for sentimental reasons: I started following P&J in the pre-internet era, when one could *not* easily see all of the publications listing their top tens.

I cared about the P&J essays and comments, never about the list. Now that they're all gone I've wiped from memory tbh

*wiped them

the p&j results did not usually look exactly the same as all the publication lists aggregated, for better or worse

Who votes makes a huge difference. Outside of music I definitely notice this in Film Comment’s polls vs. IndieWire and generally prefer Film Comment’s results which tend to be more adventurous with simply better and much more interesting films in the top 20 than IndieWire’s.

I didn’t read P&J until Christgau’s final years writing the essay in the mid-‘00s and honestly I thought they were pretty bad essays at the time. I thought he wrote better ones in the first decade or so of the poll’s existence, and they’re especially interesting to read now to get a sense of the pop landscape at the time.

The comments during the ‘80s were awesome - I posted about this back when the Village Voice reprinted all of them during the pandemic but sadly they all got taken down after a short while.