Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly rightfully won 2015. Let's see who wins 2016. Insane year. Three of my favorites of the decade. Billboard chart-topping albums of 2016: Adelle - 25 (cont. from 2015) David Bowie - Blackstar Panic at the Disco - Death of a Bachelor Rihanna - Anti Future - Evol The 1975 - I'm not writing that shit out Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Umastered Gwen Stefani - This is What the Truth Feels Like Zayn - Mind of Mine Kanye West - The Life of Pablo The Lumineers - Cleopatra Prince - The Very Best of Prince Beyonce - Lemonade Drake - Views Blink-182 - California DJ Khaled - Major Key Soundtrack - Suicide Squad Frank Ocean - Blonde Barbara Streisand - Encore Travis Scott - Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight Jason Aldean - They Don't Know Shawn Mendes - Illuminate Solange - A Seat at the Table Green Day - Revolution Radio Kings of Leon - Walls Lady Gaga - Joanne Jeezy - Trap or Die 3 Bon Jovi - This House is Not for Sale A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here ... Thank You 4 Your Service The Weekend - Starboy Cast - Hamilton J. Cole - 4 Your Eyez Only Billboard chart-topping singles of 2016: Adelle - Hello (cont. from 2015) Justin Bieber - Sorry (cont. from 2015) Justin Bieber - Love Yourself (cont. from 2015) Zayn - Pillowtalk Rihanna - Work Desiigner - Panda Drake - One Dance Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop the Feeling Sia - Cheap Thrills The Chainsmokers - Closer Rae Sremmurd - Black Beatles What are your top three albums for 2016? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be: 1. David Bowie - Blackstar 2. Frank Ocean - Blonde 3. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later? YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm
1. Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman 2. Perfume - Cosmic Explorer 3. Daughter - Not to Disappear S U R V I V E - RR7349 Foxes - All I Need School of Seven Bells - SVIIB Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation Tycho - Epoch Navvi - Omni LITE - Cubic Chairlift - Moth Bon Iver - 22, a million Thrice - To Be Everywhere
1. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It 2. Busted - Night Driver 3. The Hotelier - Goodness 4. Relient K - Air for Free 5. Babymetal - Metal Resistance 6. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo 7. Noname - Telephone 8. Chairlift - Moth 9. Carly Rae Jepson - Emotion: Side B 10. Rihanna - Anti 11. Pinegrove - Cardinal 12. Bon Iver - 22, A Million 13. Lydia Loveless - Real 14. Mannequin Pussy - Romantic 15. Tegan and Sara - Love You to Death 16. Regina Spektor - Remember Us to Life 17. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool 18. Saosin - Along the Shadow 19. Frightened Rabbit - Painting of a Panic Attack 20. Panic! at the Disco - Death of a Bachelor Fun year.
1. Flatland Cavalry - Humble Folks 2. JEW - Integrity blues 3. Brian Fallon - Pain killers 4. Butch Walker - Stay Gold 5. Jon Pardi - California Sunrise
1. Jeff Rosenstock - WORRY. 2. Frank Ocean - BLONDE 3. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues ALSO.... (absurd year) A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service Yellowcard - Yellowcard David Bowie - Blackstar Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity Bon Iver - 22, A Million The Hotelier - Goodness Kendrick Lamar - untitled, unmastered Kanye West - The Life of Pablo Touche Amore - Stage Four Kid Cudi - Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool PUP - The Dream Is Over Young Thug - Slime Season 3 Angel Olsen - MY WOMAN Taking Back Sunday - Tidal Wave Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial Blood Orange - Freetown Sound Drake - Views Death Grips - Bottomless Pit Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost Pinegrove - Cardinal The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissocation Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!" The Weeknd - Starboy Whitney - Light Upon the Lake Travis Scott - birds in the trap sing McKnight Young Thug - JEFFREY Joyce Manor - Cody The 1975 - i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful and yet unaware of it Isaiah Rashad - The Sun's Tirade Parquet Courts - Human Performance blink-182 - California James Blake - The Colour in Anything Lil Peep - crybaby Future - Purple Reign Green Day - Revolution Radio 21 Savage & Metro Boomin - SAVAGE MODE Lil Uzi Vert - Lil Uzi Vert Vs the World Future - EVOL KAYTRANDA - 99.9% Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3 Solange - A Seat at the Table
Possibly the most important music year for me ever? This is when streaming and I really clicked. Also lol @ "I Ain't Writing That Shit Out." 1. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep... One of my favorite albums of all time. I honestly don't revisit it too often because I listened to it so much the first few years it was out, but I used to fall asleep to it. This album soundtracked some of the most formative years of my life. 2. Relient K - Air For Free I don't think anyone, myself included, expected Relient K to bounce back from their worst album with one of their best. I especially didn't expect them to push their sound in new directions and deliver a cohesive 16 tracks. I don't love every song here, but I love the album as a whole and am glad we have it. 3. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues One of my top JEW albums for sure. I love the nighttime sound, I love the experimentation, and I got to see them twice on this tour. Definitely the band firing on all cylinders and delivering their most consistent release in years. Honorable Mentions Joyce Manor - Cody My favorite Joyce Manor album by a pretty good margin. I think they successfully pushed at the margins of their sound and also put on a great show. Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book Loved this when it came out. Like about half of it now. But this album was pretty inescapable at the time. I do wish more rap considered melody this much. Panic! At the Disco - Death of a Bachelor Possibly my least favorite Panic! release, but there are still some great songs here. Bad Suns - Disappear Here I think this is my favorite Bad Suns album. It really just takes everything from the debut and does it more succinctly. PUP - The Dream Is Over See above (although my favorite PUP is Morbid Stuff). Bowling For Soup - Drunk Dynasty Bowling For Soup releases yet another album. 4-5 songs here are worthy additions to their canon! NOFX - First Ditch Effort See above, although I think this is the most consistent NOFX album in a ver4y long time. The Hotelier - Goodness My favorite Hotelier album. I don't listen much to this album anymore because it is so dense, but I got to see them twice on this tour and meet Christian, who was very nice for having to play a dinky bar in Missoula, MT. Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate Descendents return with a well-produced batch of "chainsaw pop" and show why they're some of the best to ever do it. First half of this album bangs hard and they absolutely destroyed at the show I saw them play. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo My first Kanye album as a "fan," and probably my favorite for that reason. I downloaded the leak and somehow escaped getting a computer virus. "Ultralight Beam" probably is my favorite Kanye song most days. Beyonce - Lemonade I don't need to say much about this album. It's great. The visual album is great. Excited for whatever Beyonce does next (Lion King doesn't count as a solo album). Brian Fallon - Painkillers I like this album more than most Gaslight albums. I think the more Americana sound fits his voice very well. The Lonely Island - Popstar Yet another excellent addition into the comedy music canon. Some of these songs hold up excellently as just songs and it definitely helps the whole project that the movie is great too. Wheeler Walker Jr. - Redneck Shit The most well-observed and pointed Wheeler Walker album. The Weeknd - Starboy The Weeknd makes another excellent pop record that is way too long. Butch Walker - Stay Gold One of my favorite Butch albums for sure. Among his most consistent and vulnerable. Weezer - The White Album My 3rd favorite Weezer album dares to look backward and forward at the same time and is all the better for it. Yellowcard - Yellowcard The final Yellowcard album (so far) is a great thesis statement for their career and where they might have ended up going. Others Crying - Beyond the Fleeting Gales Video game prog pop punk 80s band does good music. DRAM - Big Baby DRAM I really only like a few songs from this album, but when they hit, they hit! That track with Young Thug is way underrated. Frank Ocean - Blonde A difficult album that rewards repeat listens, I unfortunately never got into this much outside of a few tracks. Blink-182 - California I listened to this album SO much when it came out. I think a lot of it doesn't work now, but honestly the band is at their best here when they aren't trying to be funny. House of Heroes - Colors The last HoH album (so far). I've never loved this because I think both the songwriting and production kinda take a hit, but I am glad it exists. Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway The most underrated RHCP album, IMO. Metallica - Hardwired... To Self-Destruct Metallica crafts a few more good songs to add to the setlist. Tegan and Sara - Love You To Death A largely uninteresting album with some perfect pop songs. A Giant Dog - Pile Dirty glam rock from Austin! Green Day - Revolution Radio Not the late-period career-saving album that some folks consider it to be, there are nonetheless some great songs here and it's really too bad the band doesn't go in the direction of songs like "Still Breathing." Against Me! - Shape Shift With Me A very strange little album with some excellent songs on it! Sia - This Is Acting Some damn good songs on here, but some of them you can clearly hear who they were written for originally. Bayside - Vacancy One of the lesser Bayside albums, but I've come around to it the last couple of years.
Gotta shout out my favorite song of the year. This song is such a fucking delight. Such a bummer what happened with the band.
2016 was stacked, holy shit. Probably missing some stuff but this is where I'm at atm: Isaiah Rashad - The Sun's Tirade From Indian Lakes - Everything Feels Better Now Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow Basement - Promise Everything Balance & Composure - Light We Made DIIV - Is The Is Are JAWS - Simplicity Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition Somos - First Day Back The Hotelier - Goodness Happy Driving - Electric Soul Unity Jeff Rosenstock - Worry. Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost Slaughter Beach, Dog - Welcome Pup - The Dream Is Over Dikembe - Hail Something Microwave - Much Love Narrow Head - Satisfaction
For whatever reason, the summer of 2016 has been memed to death as "the best summer of our lives" but like... I remember living through 2016 (we all do it wasnt that long ago) and at the time, it was seen as "the worst year ever"
rest of the top 15: 4. LVL Up - Return to Love 5. Solange - A Seat at the Table 6. Bon Iver - 22, A Million 7. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool 8. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Pretty Years 9. Beyonce - Lemonade 10. Anderson Paak - Malibu 11. Joyce Manor - Cody 12. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition 13. Angel Olsen - My Woman 14. Drive By Truckers - American Band 15. Big Thief - Masterpiece honorable mentions: A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It from Here … Thank You For Your Service Andy Shauf - The Party ASAP Ferg - Always Strive and Prosper Band of Horses - Why Are You OK Bob Mould - Patch the Sky The Body/Full of Hell - One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache Bossk - Audio Noir Brian Fallon - Painkillers Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial The Claypool Lennon Delirium - Monolith of Phobos Conor Oberst - Ruminations Daughter - Not to Disappear Dawes - We’re All Gonna Die Deftones - Gore Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate Diiv - Is the Is Are The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation Dinosaur Jr. - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not Every Time I Die - Low Teens Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness Frameworks - Smother Future - Evol Gojira - Magma Hamilton Leithauser - I Had a Dream That You Were Mine Hinds - Leave Me Alone Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression Isaiah Rashad - The Sun’s Tirade John K. Samson - Winter Wheat Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Umastered Kevin Morby - Singing Saw Kvelertak - Nattesferd The Last Shadow Puppets - Everything You’ve Come to Expect Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker Margo Price - Midwest Farmer’s Daughter Metallica - Hardwired to Self-Destruct Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost Mogwai - Atomic Neurosis - Fires Within Fires Nick Cave - Skeleton Tree NxWorries - Yes Lawd! O’Brother - Endless Light Okkervil River - Away Parquet Courts - Human Performance Pinegrove - Cardinal (fuck em) Primal Scream - Chaosmosis Pup - The Dream is Over Run the Jewels - 3 Russian Circles - Guidance Schoolboy Q - Blank Face LP Thrice - To Be Everywhere is to be Nowhere Touche Amore - Stage Four True Widow - Avvolgere Ty Segall - Emotional Mugger Warpaint - Heads Up The Weeknd - Starboy Weezer - Weezer (The White Album) Whitney - Light Upon the Lake Wilco - Schmilco YG - Still Brazy Young Thug - Jeffery stuff to check out: Animals as Leaders - The Madness of Many Blood Orange - Freetown Sound Dance Gavin Dance - Mothership Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder Dream Theater - The Astonishing Entombed AD - Dead Dawn Grouplove - Big Mes James Vincent McMorrow - We Move Jeezy - Trap or Die 3 Jeff Rosenstock - Worry. Lady Gaga - Joanne Lisa Hannigan - At Swim Lucinda Williams - The Ghosts of Highway 20 Maren Morris - Hero Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason Mick Jenkins - The Healing Component Miranda Lambert - The Weight of These Wings Mitski - Puberty 2 Oathbreaker - Rheia Opeth - Sorceress Rihanna - Anti Skepta - Konnichiwa
Incredibly difficult to pick a top 3 out of this year. Stacked. 1. Microwave - Much Love 2. Pup - The Dream is Over 3. Every Time I Die - Low Teens HM: Bon Iver - 22, A Million All Get Out - Nobody Likes a Quitter Taking Back Sunday - Tidal Wave Angel Dust - Rock the Fuck on Forever Brian Fallon - Painkillers Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book Direct Hit! - Wasted Mind The Hotelier - Goodness Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost RTJ - 3 Saosin - Along The Shadow Tiny Moving Parts - Celebrate Yellowcard - Yellowcard
1. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues 2. The 1975 - i like it when you sleep... 3. Bon Iver - 22, A Million 4. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool 5. Anderson Paak - Malibu 6. Weezer - The White Album 7. Beyonce - Lemonade 8. Childish Gambino - Awaken My Love 9. Metallica - Hardwired...to Self Destruct 10. Kendrick Lamar - untitled, unmastered 11. Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book 12. Ingrid Michaelson - It Doesn't Have to Make Sense 13. Young The Giant - Home of the Strange 14. Run The Jewels - RTJ3 15. Taking Back Sunday - Tidal Wave 16. Blink 182 - California 17. David Bowie - Blackstar 18. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here...Thank You for Your Service 19. Frank Ocean - Blonde 20. Basement - Promise Everything
1. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo 2. Relient K - Air For Free 3. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues 4. Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman 5. Flume - Skin 6. Beyoncé - Lemonade 7. Bon Iver - 22, A Million 8. The Naked and Famous - Simple Forms 9. Lissie - My Wild West 10. Weezer - Weezer 11. Sleigh Bells - Jessica Rabbit 12. Taking Back Sunday - Tidal Wave 13. Butch Walker - Stay Gold 14. Maren Morris - Hero 15. Shura - Nothing's Real 16. Rihanna - Anti 17. AlunaGeorge - I Remember 18. Anderson .Paak - Malibu 19. PUP - The Dream Is Over 20. Saosin - Along The Shadow
1. Avalanches - Wildflower Unbelievable comeback imo. This is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard in my life. 2. Lina Tullgren - Wishlist I don't care that it's an EP, people need to hear it. 3. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool HM: Frank Ocean - Blonde Kanye - Life of Pablo There's an unbelievably good album in the best 10-12 songs here. Notebook tracklist is damn close. Sad that this was really the end. Weezer - White Kendrick Lamar - Untitled/Unmastered Whitney - Light Upon the Lake Cymbals - Pretty Years Big Thief - Masterpiece Unreal year for singles too: Hamilton and Rostam 1000 Times, Blood Orange - Best To You, literally every single on ANTI, the good Chance songs lol, Starboy
2016 was an incredibly stacked year for me 1. The Hotelier - Goodness 2. Microwave - Much Love 3. Future of Forestry - Awakened to the Sound 4. Daughter - Not To Disappear 5. Jeff Rosenstock - WORRY. 6. Radical Face - Leaves 7. Gates - Parallel Lives 8. PUP - The Dream Is Over 9. My Epic - Vicera 10. Civilian- You Wouldn’t Believe What Privilege Costs 11. so long forgotten - S/T 12. Touché Amoré - Stage Four 13. Lucy Dacus - No Burden 14. Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost 15. Klangstof - Close Eyes to Exit 16. Everything In Slow Motion - Laid Low 17. Big Thief - Masterpiece 18. Bon Iver - 22, A Million 19. Owel - Dear Me 20. Thrice - To Be Everywhere is to be Nowhere 21. Florist - The Birds Outside Sang 22. Jimmy Eat World - Integrity 23. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor’s Guide To Earth
Really good year for music. dné - These Semi Feelings, They Are Everywhere The Hotelier - Goodness David Bowie - Blackstar That dné album feels so profoundly content; in that sense, it's unlike a lot of what I listen to but from the first piano notes on the opener I'm locked in. Such a graceful record. Honourable Mentions: Gojira - Magma Bon Iver - 22, A Million Black Peaks - Statues Raime - Tooth Daughter - Not To Disappear Shura - Nothing's Real CFCF - On Vacation Weezer - The White Album Weval - Weval Overhead, The Albatross - Learning To Growl Creeper - The Stranger (EP) Deftones - Gore
1. Jeff Rosenstock -WORRY 2. The Hotelier - Goodness 3. PUP - the dream is over 4. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It 5. Cymbals eat guitars - pretty years
No love for Angelic 2 The Core? I kid. Stacked year though. 1. Touche Amore - Stage Four 2. Balance & Composure - Light We Made 3. Weezer - The White Album ——— Bon Iver - 22, a million Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!" Deftones - Gore Glass Animals - How to be a Human Being Joyce Manor - Cody Kanye West - The Life of Pablo The Lonely Island - Popstar Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3 Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor’s Guide To Earth Thrice - To Be Everywhere is to be Nowhere Whitney - Light Upon the Lake
Looking back to this music year is fucking bizarre in retrospect. I was so deep into country music at the time, basically to the exclusion of everything else. Still love a lot of those records, but that's totally not where my listening is mostly concentrated these days. That, combined with pre-Trump election, makes 2016 feel like a different lifetime. Anyway: 1. Butch Walker – Stay Gold 2. Maren Morris – Hero 3. Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth Tough cuts: Jimmy Eat World – Integrity Blues Brian Fallon – Painkillers Dawes – We’re All Gonna Die Miranda Lambert – The Weight of These Wings Lori McKenna – The Bird and the Rifle Brothers Osborne – Pawn Shop Parker Millsap – The Very Last Day Also love: Yellowcard – Yellowcard Vince Gill – Down to My Last Bad Habit Weezer – The White Album Donovan Woods – Hard Settle, Ain’t Troubled The Hotelier – Goodness Brandy Clark – Big Day in a Small Town Sister Hazel – Lighter in the Dark The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep… Honorables: Bon Iver – 22 A Million David Nail – Fighter Green Day – Revolution Radio Drive-By Truckers – American Band Frankie Ballard – El Rio Ingrid Michaelson – It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense John Paul White – Beulah Josh Kelley – New Lane Road Ken Yates – Huntsville Mandolin Orange – Blindfaller Ryan Beaver – Rx Sarah Jarosz – Undercurrent Courtney Marie Andrews – Honest Life Good Charlotte – Youth Authority Hailey, It Happens – self-titled Lydia Loveless – Real Margo Price – Midwest Farmer’s Daughter Nada Surf – You Know Who You Are Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Getaway