The Top 20 Albums of 2016, according to me, who has impeccable taste but doesn’t really listen to pop or hip hop so take this list with a grain of salt I guess
Greetings, loyal readers! 2016 was a year that happened, and is in fact still happening. During said year, many musical artists released new albums, a significant portion of which I listened to in whole or in part at some point. Here is a list of the ones I liked the most.
In all seriousness, I probably listened to more new albums in 2016 than I did any other year previously. There were only a couple of records that really blew me away–fewer than last year, for instance–but a whole lot of consistently enjoyable ones. And no, neither of those classifications include the comically awful, inexplicably lauded Bon Iver record, which sounds like a dial-up modem getting a hand job from Kanye West, or the new Radiohead album, which put me to sleep, as most Radiohead albums tend to do. Nope, below is a list of 20 records from 2016 that I really dug, plus a few honorable mentions. You can read blurbs I wrote for a few of these albums on Slant Magazine’s list of the 25 Best Albums of 2016. You’ll also find full reviews of several of these over on Slant, as well as Spectrum Culture. Happy listening!
- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree
- Drive-By Truckers, American Band
- Car Seat Headrest, Teens of Denial
- Hiss Golden Messenger, Heart Like a Levee
- Michael Kiwanuka, Love & Hate
- Bob Mould, Patch the Sky
- Parquet Courts, Human Performance
- Wussy, Forever Sounds
- Lydia Loveless, Real
- Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
- Robbie Fulks, Upland Stories
- Lucinda Williams, The Ghosts of Highway 20
- Beach Slang, A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings
- William Tyler, Modern Country
- DIIV, Is the Is Are
- Margo Price, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
- Eleanor Friedberger, New View
- Lambchop, FLOTUS
- Flock of Dimes, If You See Me, Say Yes
- Against Me!, Shape Shift With Me
Honorable mentions, in no particular order:
Wheeler Walker, Jr., Redneck Shit
Freakwater, Scheherazade
David Bowie, Blackstar
Luke Winslow-King, I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always
Kelsey Waldon, I’ve Got A Way
case/lang/viers, case/lang/viers
Steve Gunn, Eyes on the Lines
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, A Man Alive
Cymbals Eat Guitars, Pretty Years
Natural Child, Okey Dokey
Sarah Jarosz, Undercurrent
Ray LaMontagne, Ouroboros
Mitski, Puberty 2
The Rolling Stones, Blue & Lonesome
Two Cow Garage, Brand New Flag
The Dexateens, Teenage Hallelujah