Julien Baker – Sprained Ankle (LP Vinyl)

Recorded in a church in Memphis when Baker was just 19, *Sprained Ankle* introduced a songwriter whose raw, confessional approach to pain, faith, and addiction felt genuinely unlike anything else circulating in indie folk at the time. The 2015 debut built its following almost entirely by word of mouth, spreading through exactly the kind of devoted, community-driven listening that tends to outlast any algorithm.