Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2016 (So Far)

Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2016 (So Far)

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25.

Fruit Bats - Absolute Loser
May 13, 2016
Critic Score
75
5 reviews

Absolute Loser restores the Fruit Bats name, and thankfully this new start doesn’t come with attempts to concoct new tricks, but instead unfolds as a rock-solid example of what Johnson has done best for more than 15 years.

24.

Tim Hecker - Love Streams
April 8, 2016
Critic Score
80
28 reviews

23.

Lucy Dacus - No Burden
February 26, 2016
Critic Score
75
10 reviews

With No Burden, Lucy Dacus challenges the little boxes everyone seems forced into at one time or another, exposing them for the weak material they’re built from. In the process, she’s created a debut record with an abundance of heart that should speak to anyone with a pulse of their own.

22.

ANOHNI - Hopelessness
May 6, 2016
Critic Score
81
38 reviews

21.

Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter
March 25, 2016
Critic Score
83
13 reviews
Her voice is equally as engaging as her writing, going from mournful to exclamatory, oftentimes in the same song. There have been comparisons to Loretta Lynn, which must be flattering to the up-and-coming singer. To write, sing and relate to your listeners as she does is a rare trio of traits.

20.

May 27, 2016
Critic Score
82
13 reviews

18.

Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math
June 17, 2016
Critic Score
76
8 reviews

17.

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.
March 4, 2016
Critic Score
84
32 reviews

This isn’t just a collection of b-sides: this is Kendrick’s What If version of his own mythology, flaws as alternate histories, unrealized retcons.

16.

White Lung - Paradise
May 6, 2016
Critic Score
76
31 reviews

15.

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down - A Man Alive
March 4, 2016
Critic Score
74
13 reviews

A Man Alive is an endearing listen and has all of the elements of a complete work—even pop-centric singles in “Astonished Man” and “Nobody Dies.”

13.

Lucius - Good Grief
March 11, 2016
Critic Score
69
15 reviews

12.

Pinegrove - Cardinal
February 12, 2016
Critic Score
78
9 reviews

11.

Frankie Cosmos - Next Thing
April 1, 2016
Critic Score
74
19 reviews

10.

Rihanna - ANTI
January 27, 2016
Critic Score
70
38 reviews

9.

Anderson .Paak - Malibu
January 15, 2016
Critic Score
81
19 reviews

8.

February 14, 2016
Critic Score
77
36 reviews

The Life of Pablo is a fucking mess—the scattered, contradictory work of an icon straining to keep up with his own brilliant pace.

7.

Parquet Courts - Human Performance
April 8, 2016
Critic Score
81
37 reviews
For all their obvious musical ability, the band’s real skill here is blending so many unexpected elements into a coherent whole that is at once adventurous and accessible, even if—or maybe because—you have to hustle a little to keep up.

6.

Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth
April 15, 2016
Critic Score
85
23 reviews

As a whole, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth is simultaneously eclectic and of a piece: It’s big and bold and sometimes messy, but never unfocused.

5.

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
May 8, 2016
Critic Score
87
49 reviews

With A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead have resumed the greatest winning streak in modern popular music. Not by flaunting any new tricks—just by delivering their normal quota of catharsis.

4.

Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book
May 13, 2016
Critic Score
86
27 reviews
This varied soundscape keeps Chance on his toes, giving him infinite ways to twist his thoughts and his voice into the reverent praises he’s so devoted to.

3.

Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial
May 20, 2016
Critic Score
82
30 reviews

With Teens of Denial, Toledo has practically guaranteed himself a viable career for years to come. The fact he did it while still in his early twenties after laying a foundation of solid self-released records proves even further that his most creative days are probably still ahead of him.

2.

David Bowie - ★ [Blackstar]
January 8, 2016
Critic Score
86
45 reviews

True to the tone of the record, Bowie is almost a spectre throughout ★. His vocals are often doubled in tight harmonies, or given an alien-like echo that might as well be broadcasts from the beyond. He never sounds less than marvelous, through.

1.

Beyoncé - Lemonade
April 23, 2016
Critic Score
90
38 reviews
Original Source: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/06/25-best-albums-of-2016-so-far.html
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