AllMusic 2016 Year in Review
AllMusic Best of 2016
Spanning the breadth of the music covered in 2016, this list features our editors' picks for the best albums of the year. Over the next three weeks we'll be sharing more genre-specific lists, but we wanted to start at the top, featuring the best of the best.
We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
On their first record in 18 years, the group capture what made them great while giving their sound a modern update.
The beguiling Berlin-based Dane's third album is her most ambitious to date.
Celebrated Texas singer/songwriter teams up with R.E.M. and Young Fresh Fellows members to cut a strong, adventurous album.
The singer/songwriter's first completely self-produced album finds him balancing his earthy folk sound with a contemporary R&B and '70s soul vibe.
High and hard times resonate deeply on the stellar second LP from the multidimensional madcap.
The Mancunian's rhythms are sludgy as ever, but synthetic choral elements and bright keyboard melodies add some color to his fourth proper album.
The indie crooner premieres synths and a five-piece backing band on parts of LP four, which follows the emotional stages of an ill-fated relationship.
Powerfully cathartic debut from the genre-defying Massachusetts band that combines black metal, thrash, shoegaze, and dream pop into a dizzying blend.
Soulful, smart, unpredictable "garage country" debut from the singer/songwriter.
On her fearless sixth album, Mrs. Knowles Carter confronts adultery, and grieves and works her way toward healing with a dizzying array of collaborators.
On her major-label debut, Brandy Clark's finely rendered intimate songs get a big, bold production.
The 70-minute song cycle about one confused teenager is a bold, witty, affecting step forward for songwriter/frontman Will Toledo.
Triumphant and uplifting third mixtape from the charismatic Chancelor Bennett, operating at the top of his game.
Retro-soul vocalist is in great, powerful form on this third album, which finds him covering Black Sabbath on the title track.
The Detroit rapper, assisted by producer Paul White on ten tracks, is in top grim form on his first Warp release.
Bowie continues his 21st century comeback with this restless, explorative collection of jazzy art-pop.
The saxophonist's quartet delivers a fitting tribute to David Bowie, inspired by their experience working with him on Blackstar.
The thoughtful Southern rockers deliver an impassioned and troubled State of the Union message on their 11th studio album.
The Grammy-winning bassist/vocalist's ambitious, poetic, prog rock-infused concept album.
The proto-punk icon teams up with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age for a set of bold, intelligent rock & roll.
Combining vampire and menstrual imagery with avant synth-pop, Hval's fourth album is equally scary, sexy, raw, and sophisticated.
Rollicking, animated fun that skips across four decades of electronic post-disco, ranging from boogie to juke.
The composer's first album in six years builds on the Orpheus myth, exploring death, rebirth, and creativity with affecting nuance and beauty.
Playful, organic-sounding electronic music composed on Buchla synthesizers along with warped vocals and fluttering woodwinds.
Dazzling XL debut from a producer who has impressed Janet Jackson, opened for Madonna, and produced the Internet and Katy B.
A vital assemblage of what its maker referred to as demos, most of which were recorded during the To Pimp a Butterfly sessions.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
The ever-evolving psychedelic tricksters deliver their fiercest album yet, influenced by early heavy metal and made to be played continuously.
For their third LP, Kvelertak flex their greasepaint-lined NWOBHM muscles via a savage, nine-track set of Valhallic party anthems
![Stranger Things, Vol. 1 [Original Television Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004603494/front/400/NnOGAeEsVoND1ZgP0jKjQ5hUoDg0hsvx4F4sL4oO-nA=.jpg)
Stranger Things, Vol. 1 [Original Television Soundtrack]
Members of atmospheric synth group S U R V I V E deliver a score that transcends its roots in vintage electronic sounds.
La Orquesta Sinfonietta / Michael Spiro / Wayne Wallace
Led by Wayne Wallace and Michael Spiro, this large group criss-crosses the musical history and traditions of the New World with grooves galore.
On his 14th album, the 82-year-old singer/songwriter looks into the void, wrestles with himself, God, and love with unflinching honesty.
An inventive, thoroughly modern, and tremendous debut from the country singer/songwriter.
A smart, soulful retro-country debut that feels caught between the country and the city, along with the head and the heart.
A moody, muddy, and audacious double album from Miranda Lambert.
On her gutsy and affecting fourth LP and Dead Oceans debut, the indie rocker addresses a crisis of belonging.
Nick Cave / Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Largely written and recorded in the wake of the death of the artist's son, this is a powerful work concerning mourning and grief.
Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now
Channeling joyous disco and luminous synth pop -- as well as Prince and Bowie -- the duo dances its troubles away in epic, politically charged fashion.
Brainy, hooky, and energetic blend of Postcard pop, angular post-punk, and scrappy D.I.Y. punk by ex-members of Deerhunter and Carnivores.
Paul Simon faces mortality and pushes forward into the future on this adventurous album.
A silvery, shimmering collection of subtly textured sad songs that somehow feels comforting.
On his debut, the producer, percussionist, and composer blurs lines between modern jazz and ancient Indian and African musical traditions.
Potent, cathartic, and tender, the third album from the expectation-defying singer, songwriter, and producer weighs a ton and levitates.
A sprawling concept album that expands the notion of what constitutes Cosmic American Music in the 21st century.
The twin sisters' eighth album is, like Heartthrob before it, wrenchingly honest modern pop music made with heart and no silly frills.
Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
The stunning, penultimate installment in Casey Crescenzo's genre-blurring orchestral indie-prog saga.
Mick Jagger dominates the Rolling Stones' quickly recorded, wholly satisfying blues album.
Beatific electronic soul, all about plush grooves and rich harmonies, slow-cooked to perfection.
The guitarist's instrumental reflection on America is ambitious, tightly written, and expertly performed with a full band.
This South London duo smears spiritual jazz funk onto broken beat, hip-hop, and more on their startling full-length debut.