Top Music of 2016: A Subjective List
favorite albums
Here are 10 of my favorite albums this year, in no super specific order. If you stick around to the bottom of the list I also shared a few of my favorite pop songs.
Want to listen to the songs I list for each album? Here’s a Spotify playlist.
mitski — puberty 2—crack baby, fireworks, happy
After a year crammed full of listening to this album and Bury Me at Makeout Creek, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of Mitski before 2016. Her songs and videos are excellent, but Puberty 2 hopped to the top of my list only after I saw one of her amazing live performances backed by her incredibly grounded and friendly personality (honestly, check out her various social feeds).
solange — a seat at the table — don’t touch my hair, where do we go, F.U.B.U.
Solange took her time after releasing the Blood Orange-produced dance record True EP, but A Seat at the Table was well worth the wait. Solange’s voice is what I imagine God must sound like.
tinashe — nightride — soul glitch, spacetime, touch pass
Aquarius was one of my favorite albums of 2014, and this mixtape grew on me exponentially with each listen. Even the singles I wasn’t crazy about that she released ahead of time (Party Favors, Company) work perfectly in the flow and context of the album. Plus, the album cover looks really good against a white background like on this page.
frank ocean — blonde/endless —pink + white, rushes to, nights
Though it’s at least as heartfelt and personal as Channel Orange, many of my friends skipped over these albums this year because they’re impressively (and probably intentionally?) inaccessible. Endless is definitely a little less structured and radio-ready than Blonde and his past albums, but the wealth of emotion that comes through makes it rewarding to try and decipher for yourself.
yumi zouma — yoncalla — remember you at all, haji awali, short truth
Every year something comes along to fulfill my craving for dreamy, relaxed vocals. I had been very into Yumi Zouma’s EP, which reminded me of an upbeat, synthier Beach House, and their full release didn’t disappoint at all.
blood orange — freetown sound—love ya, i know, thank you
For whatever reason, Freetown Sound stuck out to me as the most soothing album I heard all year. This is one of those albums where I pick a different favorite three tracks every time I listen to it. Dev Hyne’s vocals and more downbeat, low-fi production ended up being exactly what I needed to soothe me during some of the rougher patches of 2016.
shura — nothing’s real — indecision, white light, 2shy
As far as ’80s-tinged pop music goes, this album slides right into the spot occupied by Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion last year, except, you know, gayer. The fantastic video for What’s It Gonna Be? captures the feel of the album perfectly.
santigold — 99¢ — can’t get enough of myself, before the fire, banshee
This is the year’s most joyous album that earned its place on this list with Can’t Get Enough of Myself and a live performance featuring shopping cart choreography and floating supermarket iconography. The songs on 99¢ are easy to dance to, uniquely produced, and uniformly interesting — even the few tracks that don’t quite hit the mark.
rihanna — ANTI — consideration, james joint, kiss it better
Rihanna had my attention within the first minute of ANTI, and had me won over by the end of the absolutely stellar opening three tracks. ANTI is the first great album I heard this year and the best album Rihanna’s ever put out, benefiting from her leaning into her R&B influences harder than ever.
poliça — united crushers — top coat, baby sucks, lose you
The lyrics throughout this album are about as easy to make out as your average Animal Collective song, but United Crushers features some of my favorite melodies and song transitions all year, so it makes it onto my list anyway.
favorite pop songs
Fitting with the theme, my arbitrary criteria for the songs in this bonus section are that they’re either songs off a pop album or singles off a non-pop album.
ariana grande — knew better / forever boy
When this song transitions from Knew Better into Forever Boy it drops the most triumphant staccato synths alongside Ariana Grande’s extremely talented and seemingly endless supply of vocal runs.
banks — gemini feed
Though many of the songs off her new album are kind of hit-or-miss, Banks’ hits are some of the strongest of the year. Gemini Feed is probably the most radio and karaoke-ready song Banks has released, benefiting from her cutting loose and taking herself just a little less seriously than usual.
phantogram — you don’t get me high anymore
You Don’t Get Me High Anymore is so cathartic in the exact opposite way that Knew Better / Forever Boy is, even if you have no resonating emotions to channel. It’s just on the line of too over-the-top and edgy, but for me it succeeds in toeing the line and was one of the few songs that could get me motivated to run when I took up that pastime for a week this summer.
tove lo — cool girl
Since Hips Don’t Lie can’t be the song of the summer every summer, this summer belonged to Cool Girl. On this song, Tove Lo (still don’t know how to pronounce that) crafts the perfect, ironic persona and lyrics that resonate with how almost everyone likes to see themselves while hiding more universal emotions just below the surface of the lyrics.
santigold — can’t get enough of myself
Santigold’s lead single is the perfect narcissistic anthem that is earnest, celebratory, and charming rather than scathing with critique like so many others. Plus, you can toss yourself into the music video.
carly rae jepsen — cry
The absolute stand-out track off of Carly Rae’s EP of b-sides from an album full of other stand-out tracks. As formulaic as they come, but also just about as good as pop songs get.
