Surf

With Chance The Rapper technically taking the year off from releasing a solo album, Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment picked up the slack with Surf, the album we've placed atop our favorite projects of 2015. It probably doesn't come as a surprise to most, but there are very good reasons for holding this album in such high regard. For one, Surf focuses on the live instrumentation that has become so important in the music that this team makes. Stretching the boundary's of any one particular genre, Surf's sonic attributes steal the show. This album could feature absolutely no vocals and it would still probably be my favorite of the year. We don't have to worry about that though because this record has countless guest features. From Erykah Badu to Quavo (of the Migos), Surf called in favors from the music industry's leading voices and everyone was perfectly fine with releasing the album for free on iTunes, something that had never been done before. Surf wasn't at all what I expected when it dropped, but it's one of the few albums today that I enjoy listening to all the way through. It's a journey you definitely have to take for yourself if you haven't already.

- Brent Butcher