I’ve been making these album lists for the last five years or so. What started as an attempt to be a hack critic is now an individual exercise of reflection through another year of great music. As I scramble to scoop up and sift through everything I listened to in 2016, I never fail to appreciate how much music, or life for that matter, can be forgotten in even a small amount of time. Each album is a nice personal benchmark of where I was or what I was doing. So, no reviews here (many of them were discussed throughout the year already). This list is simply a ranking of stuff I liked for the last 12 months. Playlist attached. Check them out yourself if you’re curious. Enjoy.
50. From Caplan To Belsize – Muncie Girls
49. Drive North – SWMRS
48. No One Deserves Happiness – The Body
47. Welcome The Worms – Bleached
46. Chaosmosis – Primal Scream
45. Congrats – Holy Fuck
44. Adore Life – Savages
43. Junk – M83
42. Breakin’ Point – Peter Bjorn And John
41. I’m Not Well – Black Foxxes
40. Pillars Of Ash – Black Tusk
39. Hit Reset – The Julie Ruin
38. Mono No Aware – Johnny Foreigner
37. Alas Salvation – Yak
36. Schmilco – Wilco
35. Outer Heaven – Greys
34. RR7349 – Survive
33. Whatever Forever – Oozing Wound
32. Babes Never Die – Honeyblood
31. Good Luck And Do Your Best – Gold Panda
30. Pennied Days – Night Moves
29. Life Of Pause – Wild Nothing
28. Heads Up – Warpaint
27. Fading Lines – Amber Arcades
26. The Violent Sleep Of Reason – Meshuggah
25. Nice As Fuck – Nice As Fuck
24. Woman – Justice
23. Strange Diary – Psychic Twin
22. Pretty Years – Cymbals Eat Guitars
21. Patch The Sky – Bob Mould
20. Running Out Of Love – The Radio Dept.
19. Cody – Joyce Manor
18. Pool – Porches
17. Stranger Things – Yuck
16. Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not – Dinosaur Jr.
15. Hypercaffum Spazzinate – Descendents
14. Nothing’s Real – Shura
13. The Party – Andy Shauf
12. Preoccupations – Preoccupations
11. Blonde – Frank Ocean
10. Hopelessness – Anohni
09. Human Performance – Parquet Courts
08. The Life Of Pablo – Kanye West
07. 22, A Million – Bon Iver
06. Light Upon The Lake – Whitney
05. Vile Child – Milk Teeth
04. Sweatbox Dynasty – Tobacco
03. Goodness – The Hotelier
02. Up To Anything – The Goon Sax
01. Teens Of Denial – Car Seat Headrest
