KPop:
f(x)'s album surprised me, considering how terrible their first one was. Shadow should've been promoted instead of Rum Pum Pum Pum.
IU did the old-timey jazz really well, and she should definitely compose more, because Voice-mail and Friday are excellent.
All of LADIES' CODE's releases have been great, lol. Lee Hi has to work on stage presence, but I love the tone of her voice.
Zion.T's album was particularly good, I could listen to that guy sing all day. Younha's latest mini is full of ballads, but she does them so well.
JPop:
Of course I added C-ute in here! The singles were great, I even liked the album tracks. Not to mention that awesome cover.
MEG really knocked it out of the park with this album, which I didn't think was possible after how good WEAR I AM was.
Namie's album was very western sounding, especially with most of the songs being in English, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
LEVEL3 was a big improvement over JPN. Clockwork should've been a single just so there would've been an instrumental.
Shishido Kavka's debut was great, I just really hope she can keep up the quality with future releases.
At this point, I'm sure I'll like anything Andrew Bird does. How does one person do so many things with a violin? The mind, it boggles! He puts on a great show.
I almost felt silly putting Ariana Grande's album up there, but it was actually really good. Now if only they'd stop styling her like she's 12.
I kept reading so many good things about the CHVRCHES album, and I'm glad I listened to it. Lauren Mayberry's voice takes a little getting used to, but the compositions are pretty great.
I shouldn't have to explain Daft Punk, that one pretty much speaks for itself. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros sounds like old '60s psychedelic rock.
Ellie's re-release was full of catchy stuff, and seeing her live was really awesome. I can't even count the number of times I've listened to that Fitz and the Tantrums album.
Janelle's album was well worth that three year wait, she definitely came back in top form. Jonny Lang's album is more mainstream than a lot of his stuff, but still enjoyable. Another great performer.
Little Mix's album is pretty standard pop music, but their harmonies pull me in every damn time. Local Natives have some nice tunes, and I think the lead singer's voice is fantastic.