Thank you for reading so far, even if you’re just skimming through. We’ve seen 80 albums already that have coloured my year in their individual ways, but the following were the ones that left the deepest marks. The hardest part of putting these lists together is how difficult it is to say one album is better than another when they’re so disparate in style, mood and culture. So as you read through the following 20 albums, bear in mind that they’re in order of how much I personally enjoyed them over the year, as well as how often I went back to them. Each album has been the soundtrack to a strange year on Earth, one that would have been a lot harder without them.
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20. Ab-Soul — Do What Thou Wilt
Soulo’s last album delivered some of the best songs of his career but it didn’t flow well as an album and some experiments with his sound were unsuccessful. But the singles that preceded this end of year highlight were very promising, and DWTW is perhaps the best album in his discography — finally capturing his potential as the deepest, darkest thinker from TDE. He’s more self aware; in one breath perfectly captures himself as “Romeo mourning his Juliet…I studied theology, ancient philosophy, astronomy, astrology, the current state of the economy” It’s a rabbit hole worth diving in.
19. Gold Panda — Good Luck And Do Your Best
Chelmsford’s own Gold Panda returned this year with another wonderfully out-of-step record intended to teleport you to far off lands. Inspired by trips to Japan, the title itself (a quote from a Japanese cab driver he encountered) sums up the mood and drive of the album. It’s a soft, intricate patchwork of warm sounds that conjure pictures of other places. His first album was a genre-defining classic and with this, his 3rd, Gold Panda reached that height again. It’s clear that Gold Panda isn’t interested in mega arenas or all night parties — his brand of electronic music is meant for peace & contemplation.
18. Beyonce — Lemonade
The last, self-titled Beyoncé album had redefined her sound, teaming up with young creative powers and bearing her teeth. Lemonade gave her a new mission statement. Doing it for black women everywhere with bite and flare no one else is capable off while calling out cheating men in the process. Whether it was about Jay or just for promo is a moot point when the music was this good. She also made room for alternative powerhouses James Blake, The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar along the way, only bolstering the album’s power further. In hard times we need our stars to step up. She did.
17. The Veils — Total Depravity
The Veils are the best band you’ve never heard of. Their first 2 albums from the mid-00’s are among my favourite records of all time, so every new release is a huge event for me. But this time, they teamed up with none other than El-P (Run The Jewels) behind the decks, making this a serious proposition. The unholy noise he gave the band is a perfect backing for frontman Finn Andrew’s unforgettable howl and, as the title suggests, it’s largely a gothic journey through trouble and sin, but as always from The Veils — there’s redemption at the heart of it all. Transformative.
16. Childish Gambino — Awaken My Love
Donald Glover is the ultimate renaissance man. As well as TV & film (next up, Star Wars) this year Glover wrote, directed and starred in his own series, the fantastic Atlanta. But the real jewel in his crown this year was the return of his Childish Gambino moniker. Always more experimental than he got the credit for, his latest took a sharp left-turn into funk, soul and rock that literally howled with passion. It seems the birth of his first child inspired a lot of the content, but musically it was all Sly & The Family Stone and Prince proving the Gambino name still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
15. Oddisee — The Odd Tape
Kanye West, J. Cole, Oddisee — there’s nothing more impressive than rappers who produce themselves. But on The Odd Tape Oddisee took a break from rapping and allowed his beats to do the talking — making the best instrumental hip hop album of the year. A lot of the records I love get inextricably tied to the time when I really got into them, and for me it was the height of July summer sun. The lush palette of sounds just bounces from start to finish, like one blissful drive along the seafront. This is the kind of album I’ll go back to every time the sun comes out for years to come.
14. ScHoolboy Q — Blank Face
There’s nothing more satisfying than an artist you’ve always admired finally reaching their true potential on an album. Q had always been the firecracker on TDE’s roster but his full length’s had always just had something missing, even Oxymoron despite coming close. But this one crystallised everything he’s about into a sprawling, engulfing ride that makes no apologies for anything. Features from Kanye, Vince Staples & Anderson .Paak can’t even steal the limelight as Q’s instantly recognisable snarl owns every line, every word. Blank Face is the moment he stopped being just Kendrick’s crony.
13. Mitski — Puberty 2
The lows and highs across Mitski’s Puberty 2 were incredible to witness. Her vulnerability was magnetic and breathtaking, but sometimes later in the same song she could be pummelling your ears with a glorious rock cacophony. It’s not an album I would have seen myself placing this high in a year-end list but there was something about it that was just completely irresistible. She showed herself not only to be an individual talent, but a star in the making. With one of the most re-playable albums of the year under her belt, the sky is the limit for wherever Mitski goes next.
12. Kendrick Lamar — untitled unmastered
What more can be said about Kendrick Lamar that hasn’t already been acknowledged? Following last year’s absolute game-changer To Pimp A Butterfly he released this 8 song collection of offcuts at the request of none other than LeBron James. It’s a further exploration of Lamar’s jazzed-out sound but has him back on fighting form especially on ‘untitled 2’ (which gave us the immortal “Get Top on the phone!”) and ‘untitled 7’ which was part-produced by Swizz Beatz’ 5-year old son Egypt. It showed that even K.Dot’s b-sides were great, and further cemented him as rap royalty.
11. The Range — Potential
Let me preface by saying that this album would be superb completely free of context. It’s dark and euphoric all in equal measure and a masterful demonstration of how emotive electronic music can be. However, knowing that every voice on the album is a complete unknown sampled straight from self-uploaded YouTube videos, it all gains that much more reverence. The Range provides the yearning backing music for their aspiring vocals, shining a spotlight on them from above — much like the album’s cover. For those (like me) always wanting a new Burial album, this was a fresh branch out.
10. Lido — Everything
Back when the album came out in October I wrote a review/thinkpiece on how Lido’s Everything was the perfect break-up album. I haven’t written that extensively about one record for some time, but there was something so bare and honest about the producer’s debut that I felt moved to unpack it. Lido has said that the album is a journey from the moment his heart was broken through the confusion, indignation, resolve and finally hope in finding something better. Of course, added drama came from the fact his ex is platinum-selling Halsey whose album Lido executively produced. But it goes deeper than spectacle and I’m sure every listener can find something of themselves in his pain. The best singer/producer since James Blake.
9. Young Thug — JEFFERY / Slime Season 3
2016 was the year that Young Thug ceased to become a love-him or hate-him character and secured his status as a star. If you’d been paying attention you’d have seen it coming, but if not, the cover of JEFFREY with him wearing a dress by Italian designer Alessandro Trincone would have woken you up. All of the 9 songs across the album are named after Thug’s heroes and he embodies many of them throughout — Mayweather’s strength, Kanye’s ambition, RiRi’s sex appeal. Not sure about ‘Harambe’ though, but he certainly goes apeshit. A joyous display of an artist unbound by genre taking vocal summersaults over everything. I included SS3 too because it was the tape that introduced us to Thug 2.0 that would be here had it come after.
8. Kaytranada — 99.9%
It’s rare the a producer who made his name from Soundcloud remixes can break successfully into the album format but this year Canada’s Kaytranada set the high watermark. The perfect summer album, his off kilter drum patterns and multiple textures presented something far smarter and immersive than a record of straight bangers. Each of his guests fit seamlessly into his world and every experiment he made paid off. Its hour run-time passes in the flash of an eye and has immense replayability. The producer is a quiet, thoughtful type whose main concern was injecting some traditional Haitian sounds into his music to please his Dad. He only found the courage to come out after the album dropped — and what a celebration.
7. Radiohead — A Moon Shaped Pool
Radiohead are a band that, 25 years on still have us asking “What will they do next?” with every new record. In the case of AMSP the answer to that was a hauntingly fragile lamentation. Presumably as a result of Yorke’s recent divorce and the ever-approaching societal doom which Radiohead have long-warned us about — it was a heavy listen. Lead single ‘Burn The Witch’ let us know Greenwood would be bringing the apocalyptic orchestral arrangements while ‘Daydreaming’ fit its title perfectly, with an incredibly heady atmosphere. Highlight was closer ‘True Love Waits’ which had taken the band literally decades to complete. Its repeated “Please don’t leave” mantra forces you to wonder if Yorke’s personal life helped him finish it.
6. Anderson .Paak — Malibu
In cold mid-January, one week after we lost David Bowie, Anderson .Paak released the warmest, sunniest album of the year. It’s testament to its greatness that, despite the bleak year that followed, its magnetism overcame and stayed in regular rotation for the full 12 months. Channeling James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding he gave us the kind of star we didn’t deserve. He featured on countless singles and EPs throughout the year, as well as releasing an album with Knxwledge and NxWorries but Malibu was the jewel in his crown. It was like a constant beach party full of girls, drugs and the fight. It felt gloriously out of time, but simultaneously vital to this year. Without .Paak, 2016 would have been a lot colder and a lot greyer.
5. James Blake — The Colour In Anything
After 2013’s excellent RZA and Eno featuring Overgrown it was unclear where London’s post-dubstep wunderkind would go next. What we got was a 75 minute opus of dark-night-of-the-soul proportions. Blake laid himself bare on his 3rd album and it was our pleasure to witness. Tracks like ‘f.o.r.e.v.e.r’ and ‘Meet You In The Maze’ showed him at his most vulnerable while ‘Timeless’ and ‘Radio Silence’ found him at his most raucously experimental. It was a record that accentuated everything he’d attempted until now, but the aspect where he’d most improved was lyrically. Album highlight ‘Choose Me’ found him pleading “I looked into myself like a case with you” and it’s clear that the music is the fruit of his findings.
4. Chance The Rapper — Coloring Book
By the time Coloring Book arrived, it didn’t feel like the first Chance project for 3 years. The young rapper had dominated hip hop in the years and months leading up to his 3rd mixtape, largely down to his singularly contagious positivity. When they shot the album art, Chance was holding his newborn baby as he wanted that facial expression to be the one shown on the cover. This tells you most of what you need to know about the record — an exercise in accepting redemption into your life and having fun with it. He made Jay Electronica and Future sound like they were having fun, made Jeremih and Young Thug into good guys and somehow made Bieber and Lil Yachty likeable. Such is the restorative energy exuded by 2016’s biggest hero.
3. Bon Iver — 22, A Million
Despite his fame, Justin Vernon’s latest was perhaps the most overlooked of the year. Written off after 1 listen by many as ‘weird’ or ‘difficult’ 22, A Million was most regularly compared to Radiohead’s Kid A. But this doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the sheer emotional unfurling on display here. It is said that Vernon had something of a breakdown in the build-up to the album’s formation and you can actually hear him stretching himself moment to moment. Dig just a little deeper and the record immediately starts to blossom, revealing itself to be the best Bon Iver project since his seminal debut. Incorporating samples for the first time and absolutely mastering autotune — this is an album of unparalleled divinity.
2. Kanye West — The Life Of Pablo
Could any other album truly embody the tumult of 2016 better than the latest from Mr. West? Equal parts salvation and damnation, it was the glorious midpoint between the luxury of MBDTF and chaos of Yeezus, TLOP was the perfect sketch of Kanye’s mind in the moment. Our first tastes ‘Real Friends’ and ‘No More Parties’ saw Ye back to rapping at the peak of his powers, but showing serious chinks in his armour. But the rest of the record showed a technicolour patchwork of religion, self-hatred, psychosis and of course, ego — anyone decrying Yeezy as a “nutjob” this year clearly hadn’t encountered his latest masterpiece. The run from ‘FML’ through ‘Wolves’ was perhaps the highpoint of his career. Be well, Kanye — we need your art.
1. Frank Ocean — Blonde / Endless
I’ll save column inches by not engaging in commentary about how long this took to emerge. For now, let’s focus on why this was the album I enjoyed most in 2016. Ocean’s 3rd full length project was the perfect evolution of everything that’s made him such a unique talent to watch, whilst confounding all expectations. I’ve included Endless here too because — had it not been the entrée but the main event — would be at number 1 too for its experimentation and unrivalled flare. But we got even more. Frank could have made the biggest album of the decade with Blonde — it’s what I was hoping for when I first pressed play. But instead he delivered a sonic transmission from his dreams into ours; never once playing up, showing off or messing round. It demands repeat listens, and in return rewards you with more than just music but a way of being. I first heard it on headphone splitters on a train back down south with my partner this year. Perhaps that has something to do with the heady, too-good-to-be-true feeling that it gives me every time I come back to it. But for those whose minds are open to the thoughtful, the subtle and the precious will agree that this was the record we needed most this year, to remind us that sometimes the smallest nuances can change the world.
