Best Albums of 2016

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1.

A Moon Shaped Pool 

 Radiohead

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"I will give it a week or so before giving it a score, because I don't want to jump to any conclusions first listen... that said, this is the first Radiohead release I've been apart of, and I've been blindsided. It's better than OK Computer, Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows. Only album I might li...""I will give it a week or so before giving it a score, because I don't want to jump to any conclusions first listen... that said, this is the first Radiohead release I've been apart of, and I've been blindsided. It's better than OK Computer, Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows. Only album I might like more than it is Kid A, and that's some high praise. Burn the Witch - The moment I listened to this I felt opening track vibes. It's like an orchestrated 2 + 2 = 5. It's gonna get you hyped for sure. Daydreaming - When I first heard this track, I thought it was one of the best things they've ever done. The way the synths and orchestration mix is beauty. Decks Dark - So when this song comes along and is just as good, if not better? Yeah, I was blown away. The build-up of this track, along with the choir and vocals is amazing. It feels like a perfected Drunken Punch Up. Just an unbelievable track. Desert Island Disk - My favorite of the two Thom played live with the acoustic. I'm happy that they didn't take out the acoustic and replace it with something else. Instead the rest of the track builds a soundscape around it that elevates it to a whole other level. Then the drums kick in and, yes Thom, I know what you mean. Ful Stop - Radiohead turns it up here. The opening part of the song where the instruments and synths slowly tune in gets me so hyped it's unbelievable. Another soundscape is made by this song, but here it feels like I'm running as fast as I can. Why? Who knows. Yorke's lyrics kick in and the whole piece comes together. Then the instruments take center stage, and it gives me a Jigsaws sense of euphoria. I could spend hours describing this track. Unbelievable. Glass Eyes - Feels like a Faust Arp, since it's the only track under 3 minutes and divides two epics (Ful Stop and Identikit.) That said, I love Faust Arp and that same love is found here with Glass Eyes. The piano starts it off with the instruments coming in with his lyrics makes me feel as if I'm looking into his head. It's worth saying, this track would be impossible without Jonny Greenwood. Thanks our lucky stars for his orchestration. Identikit - One if the most anticipated tracks of the album makes an appearance. I spent years avoiding this one just because I wanted to hear the studio release first. This track, more than the rest, is built off rhythm. That said, it is still an excellent methodical piece. When the song makes that sudden change around 2 minutes in, it explodes in the best way possible. Once it comes back to Earth, you just have to appreciate what they've done with it. One of the best tracks on the album to this point. The Numbers - Silent Spring, I didn't like as much. So maybe Yorke somehow read my mind and changed it from Silent Spring to The Numbers. The acoustic guitar is still there, but hearing it along with the Climbing Up the Walls esque orchestration and chorus changes it from a good acoustic track into one of the greatest tracks this band has ever put out. An epic that blows the rest out of the water. Present Tense - This is a track I struggled to describe. I love the opening bit, reminiscent of Nude. A lot of build up on this one. The choir is great here, and the instruments back them up so perfectly. Jonny Greenwood does an amazing job with this track. He and Yorke drive this track as a prelude to... Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief - What a mouth full. Broken up synths remind me a bit of The Gloaming. Yorke's vocals seem to fly through the song. The instruments give an Amnesiac vibe. You and Whose Army? more so than others. The orchestration is once again done perfectly. Radiohead always does an amazing job with the penultimate track and this one is no exception. True Love Waits - We've waited, alright. I'd only heard this track a couple times so I wouldn't dilute it if I heard it on an album. What we get is a Videotape esque edition. I like his vocals so much more here. He sing it like a dream. The piano is just melancholic enough for this song, which has gone from a nice love song into one of the saddest songs this band has ever released. The orchestration is still there, but mostly steps aside to give Thom his song filled with a beauty and emptiness that I haven't felt since Kid A. One of the only songs to ever make me cry and an amazing closer to the album. Overall - Radiohead is playing like a band in their prime 31 years in. Through this time they've gone from the rock ballad of OK Computer and has released its equivalent here. I don't see them ending here, Thom and Jonny are working together more than ever. If they do, however, then this is a perfect album to leave us with. Initial Impression - 10/10. This album takes me on an unbelievable journey from its hard pressed opener to its desolate conclusion. Radiohead faithful will love this album to death."  [More]  Reply  
- BeeboBaggins | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +24 votes (25 helpful | 1 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

1,403 charts

Rank Score:

14,818

Rank in 2016:

1

Rank in 2010s:

6

Overall Rank:

78

Average Rating:

 87 (2,178 votes)

Comments:

274

2.

★ [Blackstar] 

 David Bowie

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"Whilst listening to Blackstar for a second time, I realised something: this is the only Bowie album to not have his face on the cover. That left me feeling that not only was this really the end, but that he was fully aware his end was coming. And if this was his final dance, then he's certainly p...""Whilst listening to Blackstar for a second time, I realised something: this is the only Bowie album to not have his face on the cover. That left me feeling that not only was this really the end, but that he was fully aware his end was coming. And if this was his final dance, then he's certainly pulled it off with the same confidence and conviction that he's always had. But, just like his passing, the album cover only helps to bring the album into context. This is the last goodbye, and it is constructed with wondrous precision, care and quality. Musically, it's diverse and most certainly new. Plenty of influences here from a broad range of genres and styles, but it's synthesised in such a way that the resultant sound feels original, crisp and interesting. It's what he's always done best. The themes in the album now, sadly, make a lot more sense. The lyrics are personal and revealing, sometimes saddening but filled with a sense that he was ready to go. It's certainly gloomy, but by no means dark, definitely enjoyable, with plenty to read into further. What's more, the overall structure and composition is fantastic. Tony Visconti has once again done an amazing job, and I thoroughly recommend you listen to all the songs on a good pair of headphones at some point. Order wise, the songs flow from one to the other without a hitch, and I'm seriously glad that "I Can't Give Everything Away" is at the end; it's a final twist in the tale, and it's brilliant. I don't want to let his death get in the way of my verdict for Blackstar, but this is without a doubt the best album since Scary Monsters, and as far as parting gifts go, this is a very good one. Even so long after he began his career, and with his death on the horizon, he managed to reinvent himself just one more time. Whatever this persona comes to be known as, it's certainly the closest we're ever going to get to the man himself. So long, Thin White Duke. And thank you."  [More]  Reply  
- DeusExMackia | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +23 votes (23 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

1,274 charts

Rank Score:

12,385

Rank in 2016:

2

Rank in 2010s:

8

Overall Rank:

94

Average Rating:

 86 (1,676 votes)

Comments:

153

3.

Blond 

 Frank Ocean

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"Blonde is brilliant. That might even be the extent to which I can give my thoughts on this album. That is all. It is just a brilliant album. Ocean takes us on an emotional, dreamy adventure into his own world, and introduces us to a new class of music. The sound of Blonde is experimental without ...""Blonde is brilliant. That might even be the extent to which I can give my thoughts on this album. That is all. It is just a brilliant album. Ocean takes us on an emotional, dreamy adventure into his own world, and introduces us to a new class of music. The sound of Blonde is experimental without being too experimental, a sonorous and vivid sound scape that molds around his distinctive voice, the focal point of the album. That soundscape is also carefully built by the songs as the album progresses. Little details, like the odd line or sound, construct the feeling of Blonde with supreme delicacy. And it pays off; interlude tracks like 'Be Yourself' and 'Facebook Story' help to set you up for the real stand-out tracks like 'Solo' and 'Nights'. Once you manage to crack into the mindset of Blonde, this album will make sense, and you'll see the level of quality and genius on show here. Some have complained that it's too slow and that there isn't enough distinction here - they're missing the point. This album is a journey, and it's able to flow from track to track with sublime ease. This is an incredibly easy album to listen to, yet it has a deep complexity that I haven't witnessed for a long time. It also obliges you to listen to it multiple times. And you absolutely should - you'll be able to see its strongest points for what they are: some of the best music of this decade, perhaps even ever. I have no doubt that Blonde is going to be a companion to me for many years to come. It amazes me how much music can captivate you, but it seems to be Frank Ocean's main talent. Despite it being his second full release, he is flaunting talent that we haven't seen in a long time. And even with how brilliant Blonde is, I still think there's so much more to come. Watch this space; it's only going to get more amazing from here. 92/100"  [More]  Reply  
- DeusExMackia | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

915 charts

Rank Score:

12,372

Rank in 2016:

3

Rank in 2010s:

9

Overall Rank:

95

Average Rating:

 83 (1,124 votes)

Comments:

92

4.

Teens Of Denial 

 Car Seat Headrest

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"In a year when most of the hugely acclaimed releases sprang from the electronic genre (The Avalanches' "The Wildflowers", Blood Orange's "Freetown Sound" or ANOHNI's "Hopelessness", just to name a few) and the rest were experimental in some way (Frank Ocean's "Blond", Radiohead's "A moon shaped p...""In a year when most of the hugely acclaimed releases sprang from the electronic genre (The Avalanches' "The Wildflowers", Blood Orange's "Freetown Sound" or ANOHNI's "Hopelessness", just to name a few) and the rest were experimental in some way (Frank Ocean's "Blond", Radiohead's "A moon shaped pool", Kanye's "The life of Pablo", Bowie's "Blackstar" or even Beyoncé's "Lemonade"), a nerdy guy from Virginia came into the scene and, heavily borrowing from the best that bands like Television, Modest Mouse, Pixies and Weezer have to offer, reminded us why "old school music" will never really get old. "Teens of denial" is not innovative, but that doesn't mean it's not creative. It does what "This is it" did 15 years ago, but with better lyricism and way more ambitious musicianship. My favourite record of 2016 so far, hands down."  [More]  Reply  
- 9999 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

721 charts

Rank Score:

6,919

Rank in 2016:

4

Rank in 2010s:

26

Overall Rank:

227

Average Rating:

 83 (851 votes)

Comments:

58

5.

Atrocity Exhibition 

 Danny Brown

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"It's great how rappers can rap over anything these days; no more need being restricted to boom bap drum loops. Atrocity Exhibition might be the best demonstration of this I've heard yet"  Reply  
- Perring | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

620 charts

Rank Score:

5,552

Rank in 2016:

5

Rank in 2010s:

38

Overall Rank:

297

Average Rating:

 83 (721 votes)

Comments:

54

6.

Skeleton Tree 

 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

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"It really warms my heart to see how quickly this album has risen on the 2016 list. This is my first "new" Nick Cave album as I'm still not two years into him. I bought as soon as it came out last Friday, have listened to it at least a dozen times and I still have barely any words. When Nick Cave ...""It really warms my heart to see how quickly this album has risen on the 2016 list. This is my first "new" Nick Cave album as I'm still not two years into him. I bought as soon as it came out last Friday, have listened to it at least a dozen times and I still have barely any words. When Nick Cave lost his son I knew the next album would be the most heartbreaking yet. While it most certainly is that, it is also the most devastatingly beautiful album of the year. And while I think its somber tone and personal lyrics may not turn on a non-fan, people like me who think this is the greatest band of all time know that Saint Nick has churned out another masterpiece. Album of the year. "  [More]  Reply  
- badseed | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

636 charts

Rank Score:

4,408

Rank in 2016:

6

Rank in 2010s:

46

Overall Rank:

380

Average Rating:

 82 (706 votes)

Comments:

47

7.

22, A Million 

 Bon Iver

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"Some wonderful moments, some not so. The more melodic and accessible the songs, the better. Still, it is a brave record and it doesn't out stay it's welcome and I'm sure it has yet to fully hit me yet. A challenging album, which I hope will reward me with a great record, but I'm not quite there y...""Some wonderful moments, some not so. The more melodic and accessible the songs, the better. Still, it is a brave record and it doesn't out stay it's welcome and I'm sure it has yet to fully hit me yet. A challenging album, which I hope will reward me with a great record, but I'm not quite there yet. A few more listens maybe? "  [More]  Reply  
- garycottier | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

546 charts

Rank Score:

4,245

Rank in 2016:

7

Rank in 2010s:

51

Overall Rank:

393

Average Rating:

 78 (725 votes)

Comments:

68

8.

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The Life Of Pablo 

 Kanye West

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"How can you rate this before it comes out? The version yesterday wasn't complete and even if it was, it was a livestream of music being played over an arena sound system, not exactly the best audio quality."  Reply  
- redsox6 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +19 votes (20 helpful | 1 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

545 charts

Rank Score:

3,943

Rank in 2016:

8

Rank in 2010s:

56

Overall Rank:

424

Average Rating:

 76 (1,036 votes)

Comments:

112

9.

Lemonade 

 Beyoncé

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"People on this site love dumping all over pop albums for no reason. If you given this album a 5/100 you clearly haven't listened to it open mindedly or at all."  Reply  
- andy_hunter | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +29 votes (32 helpful | 3 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

512 charts

Rank Score:

3,748

Rank in 2016:

9

Rank in 2010s:

61

Overall Rank:

451

Average Rating:

 77 (665 votes)

Comments:

49

10.

We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service 

 A Tribe Called Quest

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"One could argue that this is A Tribe's best record. I'd still put The Low End Theory first but this is undoubtedly a powerful, emotional, and worthy final outing from one of the greatest rap groups of all time. Highlights for me are Whateva Will Be, Space Program, We The People..., and Dis Genera...""One could argue that this is A Tribe's best record. I'd still put The Low End Theory first but this is undoubtedly a powerful, emotional, and worthy final outing from one of the greatest rap groups of all time. Highlights for me are Whateva Will Be, Space Program, We The People..., and Dis Generation. There isn't a bad track on this album. The fact that this is ranked at number 9 for 2016 is crazy and really just goes to show what an amazing year 2016 was for music. "  [More]  Reply  
- mjp11 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

524 charts

Rank Score:

3,407

Rank in 2016:

10

Rank in 2010s:

70

Overall Rank:

504

Average Rating:

 82 (574 votes)

Comments:

27

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 2016 composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	10	1%
The Rolling Stones	3	0%
David Bowie	3	0%
Nicolas Jaar	2	0%
Thee Oh Sees	2	0%
Marillion	2	0%
Bob Dylan	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	452	45%
	176	18%
	54	5%
	49	5%
	37	4%
	29	3%
	25	3%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	10	1%