by P.J. Wascher

2016 is in the books! I love this time of year. Music fans across the Internet share their favorite music. I love reading those lists and sharing my own. It seems every year I write this list, it gets later and later. In 2016, I think that’s a good thing. I’ve been trying to squeeze in as much music as possible before writing this. I try my best each year to find as much interesting music as possible, but inevitably it seems I’m always missing something. Reading through these end of year lists, it appears I missed a ton! That speaks to the depth of quality music 2016 produced. I don’t know if I have ten albums I absolutely love, but I have found at least 40 albums I’d really like to keep listening too.

To review how I judge. Throughout the year I’m listening to every album I can get my ears on. Still a fan of pens and post-its, I manually create a list throughout the year. My list looks for albums with great song depth and great staying power. Something you’ll find yourself listening to beyond 2016. If there’s a tie, this year I decided to formalize the “interesting” factor, favoring the album I find different and outside my normal listening habits. I find several albums with a strong group of songs, but very few that let me press play and let it roll all the way through. The top half my list traditionally has albums that feature this quality. In my opinion, this 2016 list features albums throughout the ten that can just be played without any skips required.

My goal is to find something new everyday, as you can see with the #SOTD tweets I post every weekday. Ranking music gives me something to go back to and reflect on what I really loved. Let’s get to the fun part! Here’s my official Top 10 Albums of 2016 and Song Of The Year:

 The Top 5

1. Love & Hate by Michael Kiwanuka

Wrapping up 2016, this feels like a perfect summary for the year overall. If you ask most people, I think they’d be justifiably fixated on that “hate” part, but 2016 personally brought me several moments of love as well. Writing a second album after initial success is arguably one of the most difficult tasks for an artist. How do you grow without alienating the sounds that fans have to come to love you through? Well, this album is one approach to that…Just grow up without fear of what you were and let yourself enter the next chapter. Michael Kiwanuka’s 2012 debut album featured a spare folksy sound that allowed his voice to carry you through. Drawing comparisons to James Taylor. His new album is big, soulful and much closure to classic blues-rock. Moving past some of the very powerful lyrics that often touch on the timely subject of race, the growth to make this album is incredible. Each song feels like it’s filling an entire empty hall instead of a small quiet room. I miss guitar solos that hit you in the gut and say everything a voice could, but better. This album was released early in 2016 and I instantly knew nothing would beat it this year.

Top Tracks:

• Cold Little Heart
• Black Man In A White World
• Love & Hate

2. 22, A Million by Bon Iver

I imagine any original fans of Bon Iver have mixed feelings about this album, but I love it. Most years I think it’d be number one on this list. I’m a huge fan of Bon Iver and personally love the direction he’s gone. I see similarities with Kanye West, a frequent collaborator of his, in the changes they’ve both made to their sound. Bon Iver has shifted from that deeply emotional folksy sound to something more opaque and processed. It’s got layers upon layers at this point and requires deep listening to truly dig through it all. I have no idea how he keeps all of this from becoming an unruly/unfollowable mess, but he’s done it. If you’ve listened to his stuff, there have been hints of this shift throughout his music. A personal favorite track of mine “Woods,” from his EP Blood Bank, was a big hint of how far he was willing to push it. I can never really tell how many more chapters Justin Vernon has left with Bon Iver. He seemed tired by the end of his tours for the last album and began working on several other projects. At this point, I’m just trying to enjoy each of these releases like it may be the last. If this is it, we’re left with quite the punctuation note. If not, I really have no idea where he goes next.

Top Tracks:

• 8 (circle)
• 10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄
• 33 “GOD”

3. Tween by Wye Oak

I consider this a bit of an odd ball to be in the top 3. It’s short, not an album that felt like a major release, but I love it. I think I listened to this album more than anything else on the list in 2016. It was my comfort food album. Not because its easy listening or simple, but because it just sucks you in. The sounds and beat are so out of step with lots of the things I listen to its my go to for any moment I’m musically bored. There are always a couple albums like this on the list. I often refer to them as “pallet cleansers,” but this is different. When I’m searching for a sound and I feel scattered, this was the album that kept unjumbling my brain. If it had more tracks, I may have felt more comfortable pushing it into the top 2, but I have to punish its cruel shortness in some way. The opening track is a personal favorite and should immediately grab your attention. It features a guitar that sounds like it’s driving down the coast as the sun is setting with a hop along drumbeat, but then it shifts and shifts again. I need more music like this.

Top Tracks:

• If You Should See
• Better (For Esther)
• No Dreaming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DeaDlG5B6k

4. Ruins by Wolf People

A super late addition to my list, but looking at how much I’ve played this over the last month I had to include it. If you’ve read my list before there’s a couple albums I think this compares well to on previous lists: Graveyard’s Hisengen Blues and Bright Light Social Hour’s Space Is Still The Place. We may be losing rock on our radio waves, but we still have plenty of bands can that really rock out thanks to ecosystems like the United Kingdom’s. The UK has become my go to place for rock music at this point. Wolf People, from the small English town Bedford, have brought back an authentic rock sound all but lost to the 60s. The guitars are the main act with this group. I love the guitar affects used in the album. The vocals connect throughout, with a folksy duo of voices interspersed. This group is at their finest when they ignore the clock and just jam along like in the track Kingfisher.

Top Tracks:

• Ninth Night
• Kingfisher
• Salts Mill

5. Changes by Charles Bradley – Admittedly this list favors the folk and rock side of music. Genres, like hip-hop and electronic music, have had strong years, but ultimately this list is a reflection of what I listen to most. Soul Music is a genre I’ve become more and more interested in over the last couple years and it was only a matter of time till it joined my list. I love the story of Charles Bradley. He’s battled to make it here and you can hear it in his voice. The easy comparison is James Brown, which he is heavily influenced by, but I hear more anguish and perseverance in his voice. Both have so much energy and a great band.

Top Tracks

• Good To Be Back Home
• Changes
• Ain’t Gonna Give It Up

The Next 5

6. Masterpiece by Big Thief– No music list would be complete without a new artist releasing their first album. Overall, my 2016 was less defined by new artists than usual for me. A lot of that was thanks to the number of artist I follow releasing albums this year. I think well into 2017 I’ll still be digging through all the artists that released music this year. Big Thief is my favorite new artist this year. I’d call it a mix of folk and garage rock ending up with songs that almost sound like drab anthems. A lot of the songs swing in a mellow tempo, but when this band opens it up they can really rock it out. Real Love is a great example of this. Little by little, they just keep building till guitars and drums are fully rocking out. It’s great.

Top Tracks:

• Real Love
• Paul
• Masterpiece

7. Singing Saw by Kevin Morby

This is the first album on the list featuring a non-new artist I didn’t know about going into the year. My first thoughts listening to him immediately went to the sounds of Timber Timbre, but listening to the lyrics he frequently touches on much more social/political subject matter. Understandably, in the current climate, that’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But I think we are getting ready to enter a phase in music where the two are going to become much more difficult to separate. This is nothing new for music, but it felt for a stretch that things had moved away from some of this to much more personal and niche topics. This album features sounds from the guitar that often drone you into a lull, like perhaps a swinging saw, but he plays with it just enough to twist you into something beautiful. A lot of the topics in this album can be heavy, but it’s worth a listen. It will give you lots to think about as you visualize that swinging saw above.

Top Tracks:

• I Have Been To The Mountain
• Singing Saw
• Black Flowers

8. Roosevelt by Roosevelt – Time to dance! This 70/80s sounding electronic album can only be described as groovy. Featuring a healthy dose of bongos and tambourines, I can’t help but bop my head or move my body in some way at every track on this album. It’s just fun without being bland. The synths in this album are absolutely fantastic. I had an electronic song by Chrome Sparks, Goddess, as my Song of The Year in 2015. That song would feel right at home in this album.

Top Tracks

• Night Moves
• Moving On
• Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruNW8MeR_tM

9. Do Hollywood by The Lemon Twigs – I love the Beatles. This is obviously not them, but it feels like this is the closest I’m going to get in this millennium sound-wise. It’s great. What I’m trying to say is you can tell they’ve had some heavy influences from the 60s and it’s done in a really fun playful way. It feels like an honest/authentic attempt to keep that decade of music going. Considering all the technology available now, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more throwbacks to these sounds yet. I really hope this is the beginning of a trend. I’m ready for more.

Top Tracks:

• I Wanna Prove To You
• These Words
• How Lucky Am I?

10. 10. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead – Let me first say, I LOVE the track Burn The Witch. It was a strong contender for my song of the year. I am no Radiohead expert by any means. In fact, this is one of the first albums I’ve really had the chance to dig into. Radiohead are legends in the music critic circles I listen to and read, but I haven’t had the chance to listen to their catalog yet. Their sonic landscape is nuanced and requires heavy listening to break through. This year’s release feels like an easy/enjoyable entry point. Beyond the opening track it never rocks out too hard, instead mixing in lots of full string orchestras.

Top Tracks:

• Burn The Witch
• Daydreaming
• Present Tense

If Only I could List 15 Albums 

I Remember by AlunaGeorge– Electronic music has almost completely taken over pop. This is one of my favorites pulling this off right now that still feels original.

Top Tracks

• Not Above Love
• I’m In Control
• Mean What I Mean

Light Upon The Lake by Whitney – The decidedly softer side of rock or lo-fi as it’s commonly referred. This group reminds me a lot of the band Real Estate. The melodic guitars and vocals are nice, but the percussion and string/brass elements really give this album depth.

Top Tracks

• No Woman
• Golden Days
• No Matter Where We Go

Ouroboros by Ray LaMontagne – I’ll admit I’m sucker for any artist that channels a classic rock sound that even hints at the same solar landscape as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon. This album features spacey lyrics and fearlessly long instrumental solos. It may lack the sound effects compared to Dark Side, but I think the rest makes this comparison unavoidable.

Top Tracks

• Homecoming
• The Changing Man
• In My Own Way

To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere by Thrice – Talk about a rock sound we’ve lost, oh man I miss this. Happy to see Thrice back from their hiatus.

Top Tracks

• Hurricane
• Blood On The Sand
• Black Honey

The Life Of Pablo by Kanye West – Every album he releases has become a fascinating new chapter. This album is decidedly less crisp album and took awhile for people to understand, but as it settled in through the year, I think people were able to find the pockets of greatness in it.

Top Tracks

• Ultralight Beam
• Famous
• Fade

Sea Of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones – It hurts me to not have this album in my top 10. I love this artist and this album. St. Paul, along with Charles Bradley, will hopefully make sure soul music is releasing great material throughout the decade.

Top Tracks

• Flow With It (You Got Me Feeling LIke)
• Midnight On The Earth
• All I Ever Wonder

Honorable Mentions

Plenty of music to get you through the upcoming year. Did the trick for me! Feel free to go through and listen to all the links below, or click here and go to an online playlist hosted by Spotify:

Phase by Jack Garratt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFP3qh1x1Zo

Matter by St. Lucia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9h5p3pYRTo

Moth by Chairlift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QfUuVyJlbg

You Know Who You Are by Nada Surf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZzmmfL6-6M

A Man Alive by Thao & The Get Down Stay Down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37yrktde6m0

I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It by The 1975 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf7NAIj0WMw

Good Grief by Lucius https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18x5E-3yA8M

All My Demons Greeting Me As My Friend by Aurora https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ht9MyJLT4

Talk/Brag by Philco Fiction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKeqj8QiDdM

Marlon Williams by Marlon Williams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua0NllsuyZw

Mind Of Mine by ZAYN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_3d6GntKbk

Everything You’ve Come To Expect by The Last Shadow Puppets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd1Xc6-6VVg

Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XzqCUbiPc4

New Monsters by Slow Runner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUrXOGAKrJI

Stiff by White Denim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhJlQTdZbKI

The Colour In Anything James Blake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTglDb7qjvQ

Curve Of The Earth by Mystery Jets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzxwujoJLNc

Delusions Of Grand Fur by Rogue Wave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-RB00FoBQ

No Burden by Lucy Dacus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88hQgxgqdo4

In The Yellow Leaf by Brass Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWqAFrHk2-w

Human Ceremony by Sunflower Bean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xykuu_pVZak

Jet Plane And Oxbow by Shearwater https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu1IOuPxZu4

Why Are You OK by Band of Horses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV99ErubyMI

Thick As Thieves by The Temper Trap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Y4b6oFbLs

The Getaway by Red Hot Chili Peppers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0oIoR9mLwc

The Dreaming Room by Laura Mvula https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7u9FpJJtEQ

Robert Ellis by Robert Ellis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF69qkvxy7g

Stranger To Stranger by Paul Simon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9UwRLfYUlo

Malibu by Anderson Paak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvPeJLcK2Lk

HERO by Maren Morris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9md97nN_SQ

Christine And The Queens by Christine And The Queens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RBzsjga73s

Warm On A Cold Night by HONNE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RBzsjga73s

Floating Harmonies by Júníus Meyvant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpgrXavJLxw

Making Time by Jamie Woon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxvsFwKR89Q

Otero War by Caveman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cib1XoIfscU

Spirit by Amos Lee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cib1XoIfscU

We Move by James Vincent McMorrow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kG6HaDm82M

Wild World by Bastille https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWCB3hpJDXM

Disappear Hear by Bad Suns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqoprsR9Fgo

Sonderlust by Kishi Bashi

We’re All Going To Die by Dawes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3_PMOwK3Zo

Heads Up by Warpaint https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3_PMOwK3Zo

I Had A Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sko_A6dU_U

Farewell, Starlite! By Francis and the Lights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wScYn10D2vo

The Altar by Banks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IeyrEUkBSk

Oh My My by OneRepublic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y56lpXvXbs0

Three by Phantogram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcS6MA9fu-I

Georgica Pond by JohnnySwim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgZER-aErJ4

Drive North by SWMRS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dMNza3W9wk

Coloring Book by Chance The Rapper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkkYlQNmbc

The Midnight Sun by C Duncan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HcH2-oD1A0

The Midnight Pine by The Midnight Pine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlYKF5U_bSY

Skip A Sinking Stone by Mutual Benefit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXnp-zGbOAI

Queen Alone by Lady Wrays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enewW8iZr-s

How To Be A Human Being by Glass Animals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZdsmLgCVdU

Long Walk Home by Scenic Route To Alaska https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0Gr8c5vrmQ

The Love That Remains by Savoir Adore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohJteMAwyAI

Psychopomp by Japanese Breakfast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3bMacoqgCg

Weaves by Weaves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IMTvbw7Uo4

Everyone Thinks I Dodged A Bullet by Greg Laswell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJneyyyZ1dQ

“Awaken, My Love!” by Childish Gambino https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7eSUU9oy8

We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service by A Tribe Called Quest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO2Su3erRIA

Woman by Justice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw3d9KTYHIE

Feed The Fire by Promise And The Monster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAF_JTNNIJs

The Party by Andy Shauf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN0RPWII7gY

Sleepwalker by Allen Tate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdWQQZ7vH4s

Phase Zero by Morgan Delt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A95QBLePeFw

Astronaut Meets Appleman by King Creosote https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCqXVTnGzgU

Orphan Offering by Yola Carter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pTExU6fhxo

Gameshow Two Door Cinema Club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqbxPbonK4I

Painting Of A Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBdsY_zsv_U

Song Of The Year America by Foxeygen

You want crazy. I’ve got crazy. It’s been a strange year and this song just feels like a proper way to wrap up the year. Beyond it’s apt timing, this song is also a lot of fun. It goes so many places. The creativity and willingness to just go for it have made something completely ridiculous and great! Featuring a little bit of everything, its not even worth trying to summarize, just click play and get ready to go for a journey!

Wow! You made it to the bottom of the list! Nice work! That’s a lot of music listed above. Hope you enjoyed some of it. Leave a comment let me know what you thought of 2016. What was your favorite album? I finally transitioned to this site in 2016. Hope to share more great music with you in 2017.