Favorite Music of 2016

20 Favorite Albums of ‘16

In all my years of music obsession I don’t think I’ve ever immersed myself in music so much as I did in 2016. I’ve never listened to so many different albums and so many different artists. The year was dominated with soundtracks for me, but thanks to some new Spotify features, I was introduced to many more bands than I had ever been before.

My year end music lists are usually dominated by early year releases. For some reason the first half of most years just seem to be filled with albums that hit me harder than the albums released later. I also tend to get much more listening time for the year’s early releases than I do for the late year ones. But this year was different. After Sturgill Simpson’s amazing not-really-country ode to his son “A Sailor’s Guide To Earth”, I figured nothing could surpass it in my mind. Then a few months later Car Seat Headrest hit me despite their questionable name. That one held my top spot for quite some time; then the new Leonard Cohen blew me off my feet, released like Bowie’s early year masterpiece, just before his death. Then A Tribe Called Quest’s triumphant return floored me, and then no one expected Run the Jewels to jump their 2017 release date the day before Christmas. The hits just kept on coming until the very end.

Anyway, the best I could whittle the list down to was 20, and there were still so many great albums I had to leave off the list. Here they are:

Run the Jewels 3

 Run the Jewels

Run the Jewels, Inc.

Dropped: December 24, 2016 (digital), January 13, 2017 (physical)

We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service

A Tribe Called Quest

Epic Records Group

Dropped: November 11, 2016 (digital), November 18, 2016 (physical)

You Want It Darker

Leonard Cohen

Columbia

Dropped: October 21, 2016

Teens of Denial

Car Seat Headrest

Matador Records

Dropped: May 20, 2016 (digital), July 8, 2016 (physical)

A Sailor’s Guide To Earth

Sturgill Simpson

Atlantic

Dropped: April 15, 2016

 “Awaken, My Love”

Childish Gambino

Glassnote

Dropped: December 2, 2016

Lightning At the Door

All Them Witches

New West Records

Dropped: January 15, 2016

Human Ceremony

Sunflower Bean

Fat Possum

Dropped: February 5, 2016

Blackstar

David Bowie

Columbia

Dropped: January 8, 2016

IV

Black Mountain

Jagjaguwar

Dropped: April 1, 2016

Young Gun Silver Fox

West End Coast

Wax Poetics

Dropped: July 15, 2016

Slow Knife

Kuedo

Planet Mu

Dropped: October 14, 2016

Lost Themes II

John Carpenter

Sacred Bones Records

Dropped: April 15, 2016

A Moon Shaped Pool

Radiohead

XL Recordings

Dropped: May 8, 2016 (digital), June 17, 2016 (physical)

untitled unmastered.

Kendrick Lamar

Interscope

Dropped: March 4, 2016 (digital), March 11, 2016 (physical)

Magma

Gojira

Roadrunner Records

Dropped: June 17, 2016

The New Breed

Jeff Parker

International Anthem Recording Co.

Dropped: June 24, 2016

My Woman

Angel Olsen

Jagjaguwar

Dropped: September 2, 2016

Until the Hunter

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions

Tendril Tales

Dropped: November 4, 2016

Acid Guru Pond

Bardo Pond w/ Acid Mothers Temple and Guru Guru

Fire Records

Dropped: April 16, 2016 (vinyl), May 12, 2016 (digital)

These are my Five Favorite EPs of 2016, if you’re into the whole brevity thing.

Confront the Truth

Tony Molina

Slumberland Records

Dropped: October 28, 2016 (digital & vinyl only)

Hoops

Hoops

Fat Possum

Dropped: August 26, 2016

Drool Sucker

No Joy

Top Shelf Records

Dropped: August 26, 2016 (digital & vinyl only)

From the Basement

Sunflower Bean

Fat Possum

Dropped: September 9, 2016 (digital only)

Blind Spot

Lush

Shellshock

Dropped: April 15, 2016 (digital), April 22, 2016 (physical)

16 Soundtrack Albums of ‘16

Soundtrack listening has become my preferred musical medium. I don’t just enjoy scores but also the way it has become more common for soundtrack album producers to recreate the running order of popular songs throughout the soundtrack albums, so you get score music, then a song, then more score, then another song, completely recreating the story of the film itself. Not all of them do this, and I also enjoy a good mix of songs before the score presentation as well. But the recreation of the music of the soundtrack seems to have become more sacred to soundtrack album producers over recent years.

This year marks the first year I’ve ever included television scores in my favorite music list. As you’ll see, they are quite dominant, making up more than a third of the entries here and dominating the top five. It proves that television is finally being seen as just as important an art form as cinema; with just as much attention to quality in the music they use to tell their stories. Although some of the television shows represented aired prior to 2016, their soundtrack albums didn’t see light of day until 2016. It is becoming an increasingly popular market.

Luke Cage

various artists

 Score: Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad

MARVEL

Dropped: October 2016 (digital) November 25, 2016 (vinyl)

Arrival

Johann Johannsson

Deutsche Grammophon

Dropped: November 11, 2016

Mr. Robot, vols. 1 & 2

Mac Quayle

Lakeshore Records

Dropped: June 3, 2016 (digital), June 24, 2016 (physical)

Stranger Things, vols. 1 & 2

Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Lakeshore Records

Dropped: August 12, 2016 (vol. 1 digital), August 19, 2016 (vol. 2 digital), October 21, 2016 (vol. 1 physical), October 28, 2016 (vol. 2 physical)

Moonlight

various artists

Score: Nicholas Britell

Lakeshore Records

Dropped: October 21, 2016 (digital), November 25, 2016 (physical)

Jackie

Mica Levi

Milan Records

Dropped: December 2, 2016 (digital), December 16, 2016 (physical)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Michael Giaccino, John Williams (original Star Wars themes)

Walt Disney Records

Dropped: December 16, 2016

Swiss Army Man

Andy Hull and Robert McDowell

Vocals: Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe

Lakeshore Records

Dropped: June 24, 2016 (digital), July 8, 2016 (physical)

Halt & Catch Fire

Paul Haslinger

Lakeshore Records

Dropped: August 19, 2016 (digital), October 14, 2016 (physical)

Manchester By the Sea

various artists

Score: Lesley Barber

Milan Records

Dropped: November 18, 2016

Rats

Pierre Takal

Death Waltz Recording Company

Dropped: October 25, 2016 (digital only)

Atomic

Mogwai

Temporary Residence

Dropped: April 1, 2016 (digital), June 17, 2016 (physical)

Jessica Jones

Sean Callery

MARVEL

Dropped: February 2016 (digital), December 23, 2016 (vinyl)

Hell or High Water

various artists

Score: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Milan Records

Dropped: August 12, 2016 (digital), August 19, 2016 (physical)

The Witch

Mark Korven

Milan Records

Dropped: February 19, 2016 (digital), March 4, 2016 (physical)

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

The Lonely Island

Republic

Dropped: June 3, 2016

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