The year end is “list-mas” season — a time to make “best-of” lists — and as you may know, aside from politics I’m a music nerd. I’ve been counting down the best music of the decade, we’ve already talked albums, songs, videos, but it’s not just a decade ending, it’s also a year, with its own special charms.

So here are the five biggest music stories of 2019. We’ll start with the sadder ones.

5. The Day the Music Burned

We start with what the New York Times called "the day the music burned." A 2008 fire at the universal lot received a New York Times expose this year with new insight into the losses that allegedly are catastrophic in extent, with irreplaceable master recordings incinerated from our most beloved recording artists — Chuck Berry, Nirvana, Janet Jackson — no genre or generation escaped. Masters are the core ingredients to a recording; without them, future formats will sound diluted. There are lawsuits pending, but no damage calculations will ever get at the true nature of this loss.

4. The Death of Nipsey Hussle

The shooting death of Nipsey Hussle rocked the hip hop and L.A. music communities. In the wake of the South L.A. rapper’s death we heard a lot about “Neighborhood Nip” being more than a rapper, with his “marathon continues” mantra becoming a hashtag which typified his commitment to reinvestment in his community. But also, Hussle was truly a great rapper, and a man grappling with gang life and showing a brighter way. His loss saw comment by everyone from Diddy to Obama, a moment that is now etched in hip hop and American lore.

3. Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" Takes Crossover to New Heights

In a word, the journey of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” was unbelievable. This story has everything: a beat purchased by Lil Nas for $30, a sample of a banjo from a Nine Inch Nails song, trap-rap production thanks to a Roland 808, and Nas’s creating a “country rap” track in one day, which became the longest-running No. 1 song in Billboard history. This one put genre purists on both sides of the aisle on high alert, but the charts don’t lie: Lil Nas X’s country rap confection is now legend.

2. The Year of Lizzo

2019 was the year of Lizzo. The ubiquitous self-love glow-up of Lizzo was eight years of touring in the making, but in 2019 society finally caught up to the spirit of this now iconic performer: body-positive, full of self-love and meme-worthy dna tests, all thanks in part to social media and Tik-Tok and a culture that is realizing that what’s lacking right now is self-love, acceptance and a bit of sass. Lizzo was No. 1 for seven non-consecutive weeks, has eight Grammy noms, and is 100 percent that wonderful person we are celebrating right now.

1. Billie Eilish Spearheads Alt Revival

Topping the list is a SoCal sensation and the generational shift ushered in by the artist of the year, Highland Park’s own Billie Eilish. This is a perfect SoCal story. Eilish and her brother (and producer/collaborator) Finneas, who are 18 and 22 respectively, are home-schooled in Highland Park by their actor-parents and the lyrically intimate, sonically adventurous world they create together is possibly the biggest export the Hollywood region has had all year. She’s the visionary behind this thing, strong opinions and a stronger voice, up for six Grammys, with one song getting over a billion streams on Spotify, a few others over half billion, all while reviving the idea of “alternative music” and, while still a teen, becoming America’s new, alt-queen. And, we welcome her reign . . . With open arms.

2020 is going to be a good year for music here at Spectrum News 1, we're excited to share some new music projects with you. For now we welcome the new year and all the legends in the making.