Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 by benpaco

This semester of college has been insane. To say I'm behind on 2016 is a massive understatement, but I'll try and remember to update this from time to time.

The "it's not long enough but is great" list:

Demo - Rene Descartes
It Kindly Stopped for Me - Sorority Noise

Still waiting for a new Lupe or Dec. 99. or DOOMSTARKS but I think those are coming next year if ever.

• Chart updated: 01/22/2017 21:45
• (Created: 01/12/2016 00:53).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There is 1 comment for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 has an average rating of 83 out of 100 (from 3 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

The Waiting Room 

 Tindersticks

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Let me start with a caviot - yes, I have heard their self titled albums. I think they're alright, but it's less my style. I will probably go revisit them after having this experience.

And yes, this did rocket up. Quickly.

I listened once and was completely blown away. Like overall chart blown away.

And so I've revisited it. Several times. It's not losing that.

It's like everything I love about San Fermin's self-titled mixed with the most sane moments that Einstuerzende Neubauten has ever had (think Meyou and Youme). I wish there was a little less of a focus on instrumentals - that's the only real reason that this is a 95 and not a 100. I've noticed little things I appreciate more on each listen.

I can respect why this isn't as beloved as their early material, or why perhaps those that like the self titled records might not enjoy this one.

But this is going to be damn hard to dethrone at the top of the year. In the end, I was surprised by enough great albums to not even make this my most listened to album of the year, and any of the top 8 or so could easily flop into this position at some point, but I still do think that this was the release I most enjoyed listening to and most respect from this year. [First added to this chart: 01/25/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

39 charts

Rank Score:

104

Rank in 2016:

211

Rank in 2010s:

2,310

Overall Rank:

11,182

Average Rating:

 69 (79 votes)

Comments:

6

2. (=)

Friends 

 White Lies

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A return to grace. Not that Big TV was bad, but every progressive release from White Lies got my ear less. Oh my god did they knock it out of the park here, though. Poppier than To Lose My Life ... but more introspective than they've been in some while at the same time. Great release. Several tracks hit really close to home. This has had a surprising amount of replay value for me given some of the "hits home" tracks, which is why it moved up some. [First added to this chart: 12/02/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

54

Rank in 2016:

444

Rank in 2010s:

4,340

Overall Rank:

19,272

Average Rating:

 73 (15 votes)

Comments:

0

3. (=)

Cardinal 

 Pinegrove

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Had been told about these guys by a couple people and Corey Purvis (founder of Near Mint) had been hyping them up, but I had no idea the album had actually come out til Mecca told me. A really cool blend of some alt-country ideas into the emo format I'm such a fan of. There's moments the album seems a little confused on how to balance those moments, but as a whole it's a great project.

So I saw them live and oh boy did this click now. Way better than first listen, if you ever get the chance to see them, take it. Got tickets to see them again in a few weeks. I'm pumped.

Saw them again. Hugged friends during "Old Friends". Roadtripped home with this soundtracking the drive. Last song I heard in 2016 was "Old Friends" as the album had started to loop. First song I head in 2017 was "New Friends" off a playlist on shuffle. This was the biggest grower of 2016 for sure. [First added to this chart: 02/14/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

118 charts

Rank Score:

788

Rank in 2016:

30

Rank in 2010s:

340

Overall Rank:

2,096

Average Rating:

 77 (168 votes)

Comments:

8

4. (=)

Untitled Unmastered. 

 Kendrick Lamar

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I mean, this really doesn't feel like a 2016 album, but Leaked Demos didn't feel like a 2015 album and it didn't stop me then so it won't stop me now *shrugs* This moved down some mostly as I revisited in Lamar's other albums and this is probably my 3rd favorite of his, so I think it fell a little into "yeah but why listen to all of this when I could be listening to TPAB". That being said, Kendrick's worst tracks ever are still better than the vast majority of tracks in the world, and I still really respect him. [First added to this chart: 12/02/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

407 charts

Rank Score:

2,379

Rank in 2016:

14

Rank in 2010s:

113

Overall Rank:

751

Average Rating:

 80 (839 votes)

Comments:

52

5. (=)

Slow Burn 

 Old Gray

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I love Cam. Oh my god. Even when I don't like the things he does, I adore him. I don't think "like blood from a stone" works here, and I don't care, because it's still important and perfect in some ways. To think that this is the same guy behind "Using", behind "Fource", behind "dex", behind "Blissth", behind "livingston park", behind "we belong here", he's able to channel so much into so many avenues and do so much for so many people. There's no way for me to objectively review his music, because he's everything I want to grow up to achieve and know I won't. He is to me what Bowie was to another generation, constantly reinventing and reinventing and somehow improving and just taking your breath away.

I love this. [First added to this chart: 12/12/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

16

Rank in 2016:

1,097

Rank in 2010s:

10,887

Overall Rank:

42,199

Average Rating:

 73 (5 votes)

Comments:

0

6. (=)

Painting Of A Panic Attack 

 Frightened Rabbit

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Even though Bloc Party's release was so offensivly bad to me, this was actually a great year for post-punky indie rock. This was a spectacular project that really hit home as much as Midnight Organ Fight at times but in a very different tone. Something about this makes me smile, though, more than feel down, and I can't say why. It's that confusion that pushes this a slight bit below White Lies. [First added to this chart: 12/06/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

40 charts

Rank Score:

296

Rank in 2016:

75

Rank in 2010s:

863

Overall Rank:

4,673

Average Rating:

 74 (43 votes)

Comments:

2

7. (=)

22, A Million 

 Bon Iver

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It's no For Emma, but it's not trying to be. It's something special, and I'm interested to see how this changes music, because I genuinely think if anyone out there will, it may be Justin Vernon. [First added to this chart: 12/02/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

523 charts

Rank Score:

4,807

Rank in 2016:

6

Rank in 2010s:

49

Overall Rank:

372

Average Rating:

 78 (700 votes)

Comments:

68

8. (=)

Summer Slam EP 

 Cloud District

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Barely long enough to count, and this may well be recency bias as I just found this project, but jeez it's close to perfect. It's really only this low for a couple vocal annoyances and its length. It's the emotion of Pinegrove with the presentation of Modern Baseball in a more reserved way than you'd expect. This whole album, to my ears at the least, is about the decay of a long distance relationship, which is pretty close to home this year but also beautiful in its own right. [First added to this chart: 12/02/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

1 chart

Rank Score:

5

Rank in 2016:

1,993

Rank in 2010s:

19,770

Overall Rank:

74,740

Average Rating:

 73 (2 votes)

Comments:

0

9. (=)

Konnichiwa 

 Skepta

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Dunno why this wasn't on my list, found it some time back and "That's Not Me" was the soundtrack of my summer. Spectacular rap project, fun and deep and grimey and just spectacular. [First added to this chart: 12/02/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

100 charts

Rank Score:

326

Rank in 2016:

66

Rank in 2010s:

787

Overall Rank:

4,317

Average Rating:

 73 (114 votes)

Comments:

6

10. (=)

We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service 

 A Tribe Called Quest

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I'd like to pretend I could've seen this coming. I shared that picture of the guys in the studio with an "ALBUM PLS?" caption or something else dumb, but that was wishful thinking. When I heard this released, I kinda went "oh. alright. it'll be ok i guess". I really only listened to it to hear how they handled Phife, if they handled his passing on the album, and was absolutely blown away. Please note how much I adored Field Music and this bumped that down. There's moments it seems to drag on a little long for my taste, which is the only reason it's this low. [First added to this chart: 12/02/2016]

Year of Release:

2016

Appears in:

481 charts

Rank Score:

3,503

Rank in 2016:

10

Rank in 2010s:

70

Overall Rank:

515

Average Rating:

 82 (560 votes)

Comments:

27

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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

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Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 composition

Artist	Albums	%
Dr. Dog	2	2%
Sturgill Simpson	1	1%
David Bowie	1	1%
Mat Kerekes	1	1%
Flowers Taped To Pens	1	1%
Sports.	1	1%
Pendejo	1	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	70	70%
	19	19%
	4	4%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	1	1%
	1	1%

Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 chart changes

Biggest fallers
Down 10 from 74th to 84th Preoccupations by Preoccupations
Down 10 from 75th to 85th You Will Never Be One Of Us by Nails
Down 10 from 76th to 86th Teens Of Denial by Car Seat Headrest

New entries
Black America Again by Common
Camp Cope by Camp Cope
Not The Actual Events by Nine Inch Nails
Human Performance by Parquet Courts
Goodbye Terrible Youth by American Wrestlers
American Band by Drive-By Truckers
WORRY. by Jeff Rosenstock
Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not by Dinosaur Jr.
Astronaut Meets Appleman by King Creosote
The Hamilton Mixtape by Various Artists

Leavers
Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco
Hymns by Bloc Party

Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 similarity to your chart(s)

Other year charts (from the 2010s) by benpaco

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Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 ratings

Showing all 3 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
70/100	09/03/2022 02:25	MadhattanJack	161	84/100
75/100	07/14/2018 09:00	Jaymantheman	31	86/100
75/100	11/21/2016 11:30	STesic	3	80/100

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Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 comments

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From cestuneblague 07/03/2016 00:28

I liked Hebrews too so you're not alone.

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