Women rocked the music world in 2015.

The face of alternative rock in 2015 isn’t macho or brooding behind a beard.

It didn’t tell the narrative of a misunderstood man on an uphill trek consumed with rejecting his father’s values.

Nor does it belong to some neo-folk hero with long hair and an allergy to T-shirts.

Instead, the face was feminine – and sharp-tongued, educated, observant and weary of superficiality, without pandering to expectations to act victimized by it.

Most of the female artists on this list are millennials, with the exception of riot grrrl legends Sleater-Kinney. As a millennial woman myself, I am hopeful men and women of my generation in particular will watch these artists’ careers thrive and see their messages evolve with their life narratives.

The following albums aren’t my favorites by gender categorization. They stand alone as my top five for the year.

Sleater-Kinney

No Cities to Love

Sleater-Kinney already earned their place as one of the most respected bands that debuted on college radio in the 1990s and are veritable riot grrrl royalty.

After releasing The Woods in 2004, their bravest, most diverse and best album to that date, they retired as a band on that aerial note.

They cultivated new lives. Vocalist Corin Tucker became a mother and Janet Weiss got a gig playing drums with Steven Malkmus and the Jicks. The direction Carrie Brownstein took was most public – she created and stars in Portlandia.

Sleater-Kinney announced their reunion in 2014, promising a new album in 2015. They gave us a tiny taste of what would come with the stellar single “Bury Our Friends,” which was accompanied by a creepy music video starring Miranda July. Sleater-Kinney dropped No Cities to Love in January 2015.

It surpassed The Woods in critical acclaim and delivered razor-sharp lyrics and impeccable guitar hooks. “Hey Darling” is tangy and irresistible – enough to lip-sync in privacy. (OK, it’s not private anymore.) Corin Tucker slaughters the hook with her almighty belt, “It seems to me that only thing that comes with fame is mediocrity.” That refrain delivered flawlessly by Tucker and Brownstein would make Chrissy Hines, Pat Benatar and Patti Smith proud.

Courtney Barnett

Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit

It’s impossible not to include Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit in any list counting the best albums of 2015.

The album was a breakthrough for the Aussie. “Depreston” poignantly touches an entirely relatable chord. A dreamy melody underscores Barnett’s account of touring a home for sale in the middle-class Melbourne suburb Preston.

She is distracted by clues to who the previous owner might be. “I see the handrail in the shower/ a collection of those canisters for coffee, tea and flour/ and a photo of a young man in a van in Vietnam,” she contemplates.

Speedy Ortiz

Foil Deer

It won’t surprise anyone who has heard Speedy Ortiz that lead singer and songwriter Sadie Dupruis graduated from University of Massachusetts with a masters in poetry this year, but the fact she did it between touring coast to coast and recording the band’s 2015 release Foil Deer should put a nail through the mouth of anyone with gender bias.

Dupruis would have it that way. She has a proclivity for savage imagery, evident in the second verse of “Dead Girl”: “I got smoke in my iris/ Backwater acid bath for riddle-rousing cowards.” Think Pavement meets Helium plus a tongue (and guitar licks) that will slice you unexpectedly like a paper cut.

Bully

Feels Like

Bully’s Feels Like is a 30-minute sonic twister caused by the furious collision of grunge and snot punk.

AliciaBognanno’s songwriting chops have been compared to Thurston Moore and J Mascis. She interned at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studios, but she toldSpin that any nostalgic grunge influence is “subconscious at best.”

Yes, she sings about her period on the single “Trying” as she frets: “Been praying for my period all week/ and relief I just can’t see.”

But the focus of the song isn’t exclusively about her role as woman – her gender is merely part of her reality. She reflects upon what’s valuable to her: “There’s no flawless education/ just a stupid degree.” She plainly states: “I question everything.”

Waxahatchee

Ivy Tripp

Waxahatchee, led by doll-faced bottle rocket Katie Crutchfield, effortlessly captures post-adolescent angst with astute and tight songwriting on Ivy Tripp.

The infectious single “La La Loose” delivers sweet, twee pop vocals and lyrics about scathing resentment. “And when the sun burns I’ll turn red/ But I will feel so close to dead/ I will visualize a tragedy and blame you for it,” Crutchfield sings. The instrumental tone of “La La Loose” is buoyant compared with the overall subdued tone of the album.