Top 10 Albums of 2016: Part I (of III)
My completely arbitrary, but also completely sincere, ranking of my favorite music from this year.
Several of my favorite bands and musicians released albums this year, as well as some new artists that I wasn’t formerly aware of. Here’s the beginning of my top-10 list, starting with three honorable mentions, and albums 10–8.
Honorable Mentions (in no order):
There are three albums that fell just outside of this list. They weren’t far off, but ultimately got edged out by even better music.
Ariana Grande—Dangerous Woman
I very rarely listen to pop music, but I (like almost everyone else) have always been familiar with Ariana Grande’s work. I turned on this album one day while studying, and was impressed by the strength of the songwriting within it. Some of the songs here (“Into You,” “Touch It”) are fantastic, but the album falls outside of the top-10 because there are too many filler songs that don’t add much.
The Hotelier — Goodness
I first listened to this band in 2014 when they released their sophomore album, Home, Like Noplace is There, and I waited eagerly to hear the follow-up. Despite lacking a little of the emotional punch and passion of its predecessor, Goodness is still a worthy successor. It misses the top-10 by being just a little too similar to what came before it.
Run the Jewels—Run the Jewels 3
I don’t listen to rap much (if at all). That’s started to change over the last year or so, but this is one of the first albums in this genre that I have truly enjoyed from start to finish. I also welcome the opportunity to engage with some of the best musicians out of my hometown (Atlanta). Maybe next year I’ll have more rap albums to choose from to make this list.
10. Jimmy Eat World—Integrity Blues
Jimmy Eat World seem like they’ve been around forever. Their most popular song, “The Middle,” was released in 2001, and the band has maintained a steady level of popularity since then. The immediate predecessor to this album, Damage, fell below the band’s normal levels of quality or consistency, and (largely because of that) I wasn’t aware of Integrity Blues until well after its release.
All of the normal hallmarks of a Jimmy Eat World album are here. There are smooth vocals, emotional lyrics, and an overall radio-friendly sound. Most surprisingly, though, this band performs the odd and difficult feat of singing about the same subjects for year after year, and still sounding fresh each time. Through 11 songs about both love and loss, Jimmy Eat World has created yet another solid album to fit in their catalog.
9. Taking Back Sunday—Tidal Wave
Taking Back Sunday is a band that I’ve never really listened to or fully appreciated. Their music is fine, if not fantastic, but the only reason I even gave Tidal Wave a listen is because I read several favorable reviews for it. I’m glad I did, because this is one of the best rock albums of the year. Partially because TBS is another band with a great deal of experience, every song exudes confidence and poise.
The title track is one of the best examples of the album’s strengths: it’s fast, loud, and carried from start to finish by a solid vocal delivery. There are more than rock anthems too, though. The closer, “I’ll Find A Way To Make It What You Want” is heartfelt, poignant, and a welcome change of pace after the rest of the music. There are no visible flaws here, just a good album.
8. Brian Fallon—Painkillers
As a loyal fan of Fallon’s band — The Gaslight Anthem — there was no chance that I’d miss this album. The influence from Fallon’s other musical endeavors is here, but Painkillers also has a distinctive taste of its own. Reportedly written after some personal heartbreaks, this project is full of beautifully poignant songs, many of which are nearly heartbreaking. However, the emotional power of these songs go beyond just the words inside them:
And we want love like it was a drug
Yeah all we wanted was a little relief
And every heart I held in between
They were painkillers to me
These words could come across as either powerful or cheesy, depending purely on the delivery, and Fallon absolutely nails it here. He sounds tired, sad, angry, and world-weary at differing times throughout the album, giving it an emotional resonance that would be lacking with almost any other singer. While I hope that The Gaslight Anthem returns soon, Fallon is more than capable of producing fantastic music on his own.
