Year-End Lists

AllMusic: 48 Best Albums of 2016 (roughly alphabetical by artist)

[see also 2023 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

• We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
  A Tribe Called Quest
• Citizen of Glass
  Agnes Obel
• Burn Something Beautiful
  Alejandro Escovedo
• Spirit
  Amos Lee
• Malibu
  Anderson .Paak
• Too Many Voices
  Andy Stott
• My Woman
  Angel Olsen
• Air
  Astronoid
• New City Blues
  Aubrie Sellers
• Lemonade
  Beyoncé
• Big Day in a Small Town
  Brandy Clark
• Teens of Denial
  Car Seat Headrest
• Changes
  Charles Bradley
• Atrocity Exhibition
  Danny Brown
• Blackstar
  David Bowie
• Beyond Now
  Donny McCaslin
• American Band
  Drive-By Truckers
• Emily’s D+Evolution
  Esperanza Spalding
• Post Pop Depression
  Iggy Pop
• Blood Bitch
  Jenny Hval
• Oh No
  Jessy Lanza
• Orphée
  Jóhann Jóhannsson
• EARS
  Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
• 99.9%
  KAYTRANADA
• Untitled Unmastered
  Kendrick Lamar
• We Are King
  KING
• Nonagon Infinity
  King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
• Nattesferd
  Kvelertak
• Stranger Things OST Volumes 1 and 2
  Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
• Canto América
  Michael Spiro, Wayne Wallace & La Orquestra Sinfonietta
• You Want It Darker
  Leonard Cohen
• Hero
  Maren Morris
• Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
  Margo Price
• The Weight of These Wings
  Miranda Lambert
• Puberty 2
  Mitski
• Skeleton Tree
  Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
• Deluxe
  Omni
• Stranger to Stranger
  Paul Simon
• A Moon Shaped Pool
  Radiohead
• Day to Day
  Sarathy Korwar
• Adore Life
  Savages
• A Seat at the Table
  Solange
• A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
  Sturgill Simpson
• Love You to Death
  Tegan and Sara
• Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
  The Dear Hunter
• Blue & Lonesome
  The Rolling Stones
• Modern Country
  William Tyler
• Black Focus
  Yussef Kamaal

Slant Magazine: 25 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. A Moon Shaped Pool
   Radiohead
2. The Life of Pablo
   Kanye West
3. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
4. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
5. Blackstar
   David Bowie
6. Blond
   Frank Ocean
7. Skeleton Tree
   Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
8. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
9. You Want It Darker
   Leonard Cohen
10. Glory
    Britney Spears
11. FLOTUS
    Lambchop
12. The Ghosts of Highway 20
    Lucinda Williams
13. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
14. Strange Little Birds
    Garbage
15. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
16. Will
    Julianna Barwick
17. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
18. Lady Wood
    Tove Lo
19. American Band
    Drive-By Truckers
20. American Tunes
    Allen Toussaint
21. Trágame Tierra
    Big Black Delta
22. This Is What the Truth Feels Like
    Gwen Stefani
23. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
24. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
25. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval

NPR Music: Best 50 Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. A Seat at the Table
   Solange
2. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
3. Blackstar
   David Bowie
4. Blond
   Frank Ocean
5. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
6. H. Abrahamsen: Let Me Tell You
   Barbara Hannigan, Andris Nelsons & Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
7. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
8. Teens of Denial
   Car Seat Headrest
9. The Weight of These Wings
   Miranda Lambert
10. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
11. Black Terry Cat
    Xenia Rubinos
12. Anti
    Rihanna
13. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
14. American Band
    Drive-By Truckers
15. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
16. Lola
    Carrie Rodriguez
17. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
18. The Dreaming Room
    Laura Mvula
19. David T. Little: Dog Days
    James Bobick, Marnie Breckenridge, Cherry Duke, John Kelly, Michael Marcotte, Newspeak, Alan Pierson, Peter Tantsits & Lauren Worsham
20. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
21. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
22. Telefone
    Noname
23. Habib Galbi
    A-Wa
24. Jeffery
    Young Thug
25. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
26. Arbina
    Noura Mint Seymali
27. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
28. Emily’s D+Evolution
    Esperanza Spalding
29. Puberty 2
    Mitski
30. EARS
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
31. Masterpiece
    Big Thief
32. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
33. Shift
    Logan Richardson
34. The Bird & the Rifle
    Lori McKenna
35. Chopin: Mazurkas
    Pavel Kolesnikov
36. Hero
    Maren Morris
37. Sound of Red
    René Marie
38. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
39. Charlene
    Tweet
40. Silver Tears
    Aaron Lee Tasjan
41. Darraje
    Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy
42. Pure Disgust
    Pure Disgust
43. The Very Last Day
    Parker Millsap
44. Christopher Rouse: Odna Zhizn, Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 and Prospero’s Rooms
    New York Philharmonic & Alan Gilbert
45. Kiid
    Mal Devisa
46. Fallen
    Steven Julien
47. Ojos Del Sol
    Y La Bamba
48. Genesis
    Domo Genesis
49. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
50. Harlem on My Mind
    Catherine Russell

Kitty Empire: Top 10 Albums of 2016, as published by The Observer

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

• You Want It Darker
  Leonard Cohen
• Lemonade
  Beyoncé
• Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
  Margo Price
• Blackstar
  David Bowie
• Chaleur Humaine
  Christine and the Queens
• Not to Disappear
  Daughter
• Couch Baby
  Jamie Isaac
• 25 25
  Factory Floor
• A Seat at the Table
  Solange
• We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
  A Tribe Called Quest

Consequence: Top 50 Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
2. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
3. Blackstar
   David Bowie
4. Blond
   Frank Ocean
5. Hopelessness
   ANOHNI
6. Skeleton Tree
   Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
7. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
8. Malibu
   Anderson .Paak
9. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
10. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
11. Puberty 2
    Mitski
12. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
    A Tribe Called Quest
13. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
14. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
15. Blank Face LP
    Schoolboy Q
16. Schmilco
    Wilco
17. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
18. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
19. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
20. Stranger Things OST Volumes 1 and 2
    Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
21. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
22. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
23. One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache
    The Body & Full of Hell
24. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
25. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
26. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
27. Love You to Death
    Tegan and Sara
28. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
29. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
30. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
31. Metal Resistance
    BABYMETAL
32. The Wilderness
    Explosions in the Sky
33. Magma
    Gojira
34. Rot Forever
    Sioux Falls
35. Standards
    Into It. Over It.
36. Telefone
    Noname
37. Potential
    The Range
38. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
39. Adore Life
    Savages
40. Gore
    Deftones
41. When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired
    Mothers
42. Islah
    Kevin Gates
43. Goodness
    The Hotelier
44. FLOTUS
    Lambchop
45. Jeffery
    Young Thug
46. Blisters In the Pit of My Heart
    Martha
47. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
48. Paradise
    White Lung
49. Weaves
    Weaves
50. Post Pop Depression
    Iggy Pop

Gorilla vs. Bear: 60 Favorite Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
2. Oh No
   Jessy Lanza
3. January Sun
   Kedr Livanskiy
4. 99.9%
   KAYTRANADA
5. A Moon Shaped Pool
   Radiohead
6. Blond
   Frank Ocean
7. Familiar Touch
   DIANA
8. The Bells
   Kornél Kovács
9. Young Death / Nightmarket
   Burial
10. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
11. Front Row Seat to Earth
    Weyes Blood
12. Stranger Things OST Volumes 1 and 2
    Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
13. Untitled Unmastered
    Kendrick Lamar
14. Yoncalla
    Yumi Zouma
15. Sky Girl: Compiled by Julien Dechery and DJ Sundae
    various artists
16. Fall Forever
    Fear of Men
17. Wabi-Sabi
    Cross Record
18. The Party
    Andy Shauf
19. RR7349
    S U R V I V E
20. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
21. Body Work
    Negative Gemini
22. Hoops / Tape #2 / Tape #3
    Hoops
23. Don’t Leave Me in the Dark
    Vesuvio Solo
24. You Know What It’s Like
    Carla dal Forno
25. Black Mirror: San Junipero
    Clint Mansell
26. The Visitor
    Kadhja Bonet
27. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
28. Graphic
    Troller
29. Bonito Generation
    Kero Kero Bonito
30. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
31. Rojus (Designed to Dance)
    Leon Vynehall
32. Yes Lawd!
    NxWorries
33. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
34. Reverie
    Postiljonen
35. Bird Sound Power
    Equiknoxx
36. Amparo
    Maria Usbeck
37. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
38. EARS
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
39. Dreamboat
    Dreamboat
40. Binasu
    NV
41. Cross Your Heart
    LIZ
42. Stand Up and Speak
    DJDS
43. E•MO•TION: Side B
    Carly Rae Jepsen
44. On Vacation
    CFCF
45. Dead Blue
    Still Corners
46. Psychic Materials
    Casey Mecija
47. Autodrama
    Puro Instinct
48. Uncanny Valley
    Merely
49. Color
    Katie Gately
50. Strangers
    Marissa Nadler
51. Stiff
    White Denim
52. Parts
    Parts
53. Disco Mantras
    various artists
54. Yr Body Is Nothing
    Boy Harsher
55. Fading Lines
    Amber Arcades
56. Leave Me Alone
    Hinds
57. Liquid Cool
    Nite Jewel
58. Dangerous Woman
    Ariana Grande
59. Mangy Love
    Cass McCombs
60. Will
    Julianna Barwick

Stereogum: 50 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
2. Blond
   Frank Ocean
3. Coloring Book
   Chance The Rapper
4. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
5. Blackstar
   David Bowie
6. A Seat at the Table
   Solange
7. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
8. Puberty 2
   Mitski
9. The Life of Pablo
   Kanye West
10. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
11. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
12. Malibu
    Anderson .Paak
13. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
14. Blank Face LP
    Schoolboy Q
15. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
16. A Good Night in the Ghetto
    Kamaiyah
17. Paradise
    White Lung
18. Flood Network
    Katie Dey
19. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
20. Anti
    Rihanna
21. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
    The 1975
22. The Dream Is Over
    PUP
23. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
24. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
25. Slow Forever
    Cobalt
26. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
27. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
28. Telefone
    Noname
29. Kiid
    Mal Devisa
30. Wriggling
    Abi Reimold
31. Mangy Love
    Cass McCombs
32. Still Brazy
    YG
33. Shapeshifter
    IAN SWEET
34. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
35. Romantic
    Mannequin Pussy
36. 99.9%
    KAYTRANADA
37. HEAVN
    Jamila Woods
38. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
39. Goodness
    The Hotelier
40. Untitled Unmastered
    Kendrick Lamar
41. Beyond the Fleeting Gales
    Crying
42. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
43. Junk
    M83
44. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
45. Emotions and Math
    Margaret Glaspy
46. Stage Four
    Touché Amoré
47. Real
    Lydia Loveless
48. Love Streams
    Tim Hecker
49. Nattesferd
    Kvelertak
50. Holy Ghost
    Modern Baseball

American Songwriter: Top 50 Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
2. Love & Hate
   Michael Kiwanuka
3. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
   Margo Price
4. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
   Sturgill Simpson
5. case/lang/veirs
   case/lang/veirs
6. Blackstar
   David Bowie
7. American Band
   Drive-By Truckers
8. You Want It Darker
   Leonard Cohen
9. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
10. Dori Freeman
    Dori Freeman
11. The Very Last Day
    Parker Millsap
12. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
13. 2
    Mudcrutch
14. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
15. The Ghosts of Highway 20
    Lucinda Williams
16. This Is Where I Live
    William Bell
17. Lovers And Leavers
    Hayes Carll
18. Silver Tears
    Aaron Lee Tasjan
19. Puberty 2
    Mitski
20. Stranger to Stranger
    Paul Simon
21. Big Day in a Small Town
    Brandy Clark
22. Robert Ellis
    Robert Ellis
23. Lemonade
    Beyoncé
24. Heart Like a Levee
    Hiss Golden Messenger
25. Dig In Deep
    Bonnie Raitt
26. Real
    Lydia Loveless
27. We’re All Gonna Die
    Dawes
28. The Weight of These Wings
    Miranda Lambert
29. Painkillers
    Brian Fallon
30. Shape Shift With Me
    Against Me!
31. FLOTUS
    Lambchop
32. I’ve Got A Way
    Kelsey Waldon
33. Mangy Love
    Cass McCombs
34. Adore Life
    Savages
35. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
36. Teens of Denial
    Car Seat Headrest
37. I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
    Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
38. Honest Life
    Courtney Marie Andrews
39. Heads Up
    Warpaint
40. Hero
    Maren Morris
41. Resistor
    Lera Lynn
42. Ruminations
    Conor Oberst
43. My Piece Of Land
    Amanda Shires
44. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
45. Blond
    Frank Ocean
46. Life in the Dark
    The Felice Brothers
47. Emotions and Math
    Margaret Glaspy
48. Pawn Shop
    Brothers Osborne
49. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
50. Down In Heaven
    Twin Peaks

Paste Magazine: 50 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Blackstar
   David Bowie
2. Lemonade
   Beyoncé
3. Teens of Denial
   Car Seat Headrest
4. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
   A Tribe Called Quest
5. Puberty 2
   Mitski
6. A Moon Shaped Pool
   Radiohead
7. My Woman
   Angel Olsen
8. No Burden
   Lucy Dacus
9. 22, A Million
   Bon Iver
10. Blond
    Frank Ocean
11. The Life of Pablo
    Kanye West
12. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
    Margo Price
13. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
14. Cardinal
    Pinegrove
15. Coloring Book
    Chance The Rapper
16. Malibu
    Anderson .Paak
17. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
18. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
19. A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
    Sturgill Simpson
20. Human Performance
    Parquet Courts
21. Atrocity Exhibition
    Danny Brown
22. Good Grief
    Lucius
23. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
24. Are You Serious
    Andrew Bird
25. Wildflower
    The Avalanches
26. Schmilco
    Wilco
27. Lost Time
    Tacocat
28. Love You to Death
    Tegan and Sara
29. Next Thing
    Frankie Cosmos
30. A Man Alive
    Thao & the Get Down Stay Down
31. Psychopomp
    Japanese Breakfast
32. case/lang/veirs
    case/lang/veirs
33. Leave Me Alone
    Hinds
34. Love Letter For Fire
    Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
35. Side Pony
    Lake Street Dive
36. Untitled Unmastered
    Kendrick Lamar
37. Light Upon the Lake
    Whitney
38. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
39. Stranger to Stranger
    Paul Simon
40. Redemption
    Dawn Richard
41. Emotions and Math
    Margaret Glaspy
42. Blood Bitch
    Jenny Hval
43. Changes
    Charles Bradley
44. Nosebleed Weekend
    The Coathangers
45. Heart Like a Levee
    Hiss Golden Messenger
46. I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
    Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
47. Sea Of Noise
    St. Paul & The Broken Bones
48. American Band
    Drive-By Truckers
49. Absolute Loser
    Fruit Bats
50. Honest Life
    Courtney Marie Andrews

Les Inrockuptibles: 50 Best Albums of 2016

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Blackstar
   David Bowie
2. Mystère
   La Femme
3. Blond
   Frank Ocean
4. Do Hollywood
   The Lemon Twigs
5. Dans la légende
   PNL
6. The Life of Pablo
   Kanye West
7. You Want It Darker
   Leonard Cohen
8. Views
   Drake
9. Jumping the Shark
   Alex Cameron
10. Skeleton Tree
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project
    PJ Harvey
12. 22, A Million
    Bon Iver
13. Human Performance
    Parquet Courts
14. You & I
    ALA.NI
15. My Woman
    Angel Olsen
16. Love & Hate
    Michael Kiwanuka
17. Starboy
    The Weeknd
18. Mémoires vives
    Grand Blanc
19. Front Row Seat to Earth
    Weyes Blood
20. Soft Hair
    Soft Hair
21. Freetown Sound
    Blood Orange
22. The Colour in Anything
    James Blake
23. Carrément carrément
    The Pirouettes
24. Palermo Hollywood
    Benjamin Biolay
25. Jeffery
    Young Thug
26. Hopelessness
    ANOHNI
27. Primitives
    Bayonne
28. Orphée
    Jóhann Jóhannsson
29. Woman
    Justice
30. Dérangé
    Lescop
31. A Moon Shaped Pool
    Radiohead
32. New Misery
    Cullen Omori
33. Arbina
    Noura Mint Seymali
34. A Seat at the Table
    Solange
35. The Quirky Lost Tapes 1993-1995
    El’Blaszczyk Rock Band Himself
36. Commontime
    Field Music
37. Blank Face LP
    Schoolboy Q
38. Anti
    Rihanna
39. “Б”
    Bjarki
40. Songs for Our Mothers
    The Fat White Family
41. Moriarty & Friends Presents: Zanz in lanfér
    Wati Watia Zorey Band
42. Introducing Karl Blau
    Karl Blau
43. Sirens
    Nicolas Jaar
44. AIM
    M.I.A.
45. Is the Is Are
    DIIV
46. Recto Verso
    Paradis
47. Tropix
    Céu
48. Les Filles de Illighadad
    Fatou Seidi Ghali & Alamnou Akrouni
49. Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing
    Lost Under Heaven
50. Radiant
    DJ Pone