This was the year of the comeback album, topped by Adele. In 2015, Justin Bieber, Dr. Dre, Enya, Sleater-Kinney, Janet Jackson, and Will Smith also returned. Taylor Swift’s long run of chart success for “1989,” fueled by more multi-million videos, started to stall as Adele’s “25” replaced it.It was also the year that Kanye West headlined Glastonbury with a solo show, and caused a stir by declaring that he was the greatest living rock star on the planet. Separately, at the Video Music Awards, West hinted at a US presidential run. And 2015 was the year that he worked with Paul McCartney — producing absurd comments on Twitter from some West fans who apparently had no idea who the former Beatle was.It was the year that Ed Sheeran played major stadiums with just a guitar and no backing band. Meanwhile, One Direction decided on a hiatus after releasing one more album for the road.How to boil down an eventful year in popular music into a handful of albums?Out of more than 1,000 new ones listened to this year — roughly three a day — here are five top picks. The choices aren’t always so obvious.Click on the slideshow to find out more on why they are recommended, and also to see some runners-up in each musical category.BEST GROUP ALBUM: Wolf Alice, “My Love Is Cool.”BEST MALE ALBUM: Jamie xx, “In Colour.”BEST RAP ALBUM: Kendrick Lamar, “To Pimp a Butterfly.”BEST FEMALE ALBUM: Lana Del Rey, “Honeymoon.”BEST “YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD OF THIS BUT YOU SHOULD”: Jon Regen, “Stop Time.”
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