The Needle Drop's Top 50 Albums of 2016

The Needle Drop's Top 50 Albums of 2016

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50.

October 21, 2016
Critic Score
75
14 reviews
VA rapper-singer D.R.A.M. backs some of the best singles of the year up with a solid album.

49.

March 4, 2016
Critic Score
74
14 reviews
NY post-hardcore outfit Big Ups return with a slightly more abstract--and Slint-influenced--approach on their latest album here.

48.

June 17, 2016
Critic Score
80
3 reviews
New York's Show Me The Body deliver one of the most riotous and creative albums of 2016.

47.

Various Artists - Southern Family
March 18, 2016
Critic Score
83
3 reviews
Masterminded by producer Dave Cobb, this compilation brings together some of the best and brightest voices contemporary alternative country has to offer.

46.

Pop. 1280 - Paradise
January 22, 2016
Critic Score
73
6 reviews
Pop. 1280 delivers a nightmare of a record, fusing goth rock, noise, and ambient music on their third LP for Sacred Bones.

45.

July 31, 2016
Critic Score
80
9 reviews
Chicago's Noname delivers one of this year's most heartwarming and positive mixtapes, backing her earnest rap style with beautifully jazzy instrumentals.

44.

April 1, 2016
Critic Score
80
3 reviews
Moonsorrow deliver another installment of triumphant, grand, epic folk metal with their latest album.

43.

August 13, 2016
Critic Score
82
4 reviews
Brownsville's own Ka does it again with a tragic set of the most chilling hip hop songs you'll hear this year. Bars abound!

42.

May 6, 2016
Critic Score
83
9 reviews
The latest effort from thrash metal innovators, Vektor, is an epic sci-fi story album.

41.

September 16, 2016
Critic Score
78
26 reviews
Preoccupations--formerly Viet Cong--return with a new album and a darker sound.

40.

September 30, 2016
Critic Score
88
30 reviews
Solange doesn't disappoint on this elegant set of neo-soul track that mix the personal with the political.

39.

April 15, 2016
Critic Score
85
23 reviews
Singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson comes through with the classiest country album I've heard in a while.

38.

September 23, 2016
Critic Score
80
11 reviews
One of sludge metal's most legendary bands drops another solid release.

37.

August 12, 2016
Critic Score
78
22 reviews
Prolific garage rock outfit Thee Oh Sees drop one of their best records in years.

36.

March 9, 2016
Critic Score
79
4 reviews

Florida rapper Denzel Curry comes through with some of his most introspective and savage tracks yet on Imperial.

35.

The I.L.Y.'s - Scum with Boundaries
July 16, 2016
Critic Score
80
1 review
The Zach Hill and Andy Morin passion project returns for another album.

34.

October 14, 2016
Critic Score
74
31 reviews
Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst benefits from going back to basics here on his latest solo album.

33.

June 3, 2016
Critic Score
77
6 reviews
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Xenia Rubinos backs her tracks with an exciting fusion of art pop, funk, soul, hip hop, and R&B.

32.

March 18, 2016
Critic Score
75
7 reviews
Australia's the Drones are back with their most instrumentally and lyrically dense album yet.

31.

Lemon Demon - Spirit Phone
February 29, 2016
Critic Score
80
1 review
Neil Cicierega returns with a new Lemon Demon album, featuring the project's catchiest and most eccentric set of songs yet. Very nerdy, very catchy.

30.

April 29, 2016
Critic Score
78
13 reviews
There's a song on here where he raps about his pet cat, Kirby. What more do you need to know?

29.

September 9, 2016
Critic Score
91
40 reviews
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds return with one of the most despondent albums in their discography.

28.

September 9, 2016
Critic Score
72
15 reviews
The experimental hip hop trio clipping. returns with an intriguing concept album.

27.

April 23, 2016
Critic Score
90
38 reviews
Beyoncé drops her most conceptual and mature album yet--as well as what's likely to be the best pop record of the year.

26.

January 22, 2016
Critic Score
76
32 reviews
Garage rock titan Ty Segall is back with what's probably his most twisted album yet.

25.

May 20, 2016
Critic Score
77
22 reviews

Singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler delivers her strongest set of songs yet on Strangers.

24.

Street Sects - End Position
September 16, 2016
Critic Score
70
3 reviews
HOLY ṠHIT! THIS ṠHIT IS THE ṠHIT!

23.

Injury Reserve - Floss
December 15, 2016
Critic Score
80
1 review
Arizona's Injury Reserve threatens the rap establishment with one of the most exciting tapes in the underground right now.

22.

April 29, 2016
Critic Score
82
18 reviews
The new King Gizzard album is an intense, noisy psych rock experience that loops into infinity.

21.

February 19, 2016
Critic Score
75
18 reviews
Matmos samples a wash cycle, and creates beautiful music with said samples.

20.

October 14, 2016
Critic Score
78
5 reviews
Crying delivers one of the most triumphant, diverse, and instrumentally intricate rock records I've heard this year.

19.

October 14, 2016
Critic Score
80
6 reviews
Jeff Rosenstock drops a pretty ambitious and conceptual follow-up to last year's 'We Cool?'.

18.

April 1, 2016
Critic Score
75
28 reviews

Damn, Weezer! Back at it again with the White Album!

17.

Swain - The Long Dark Blue
September 9, 2016
Critic Score
80
1 review

On The Long Dark Blue, Swain (f.k.a. This Routine Is Hell) channel the angst and energy of 90s rock music, while putting their own spin on the various styles.

16.

September 2, 2016
Critic Score
86
39 reviews
Singer-songwriter Angel Olsen drops the solid, expressive record I've been waiting for since I heard her music back in 2012.

15.

March 4, 2016
Critic Score
84
32 reviews

kendrick lamar. new album. untitled. unmastered.

14.

September 16, 2016
Critic Score
83
15 reviews
Touché Amoré returns with an incredible, emotionally potent concept on their fourth album.

13.

October 21, 2016
Critic Score
82
10 reviews
Kero Kero Bonito comes through with a set of creative, focused, and super sweet pieces of pop music on their debut album.

12.

June 17, 2016
Critic Score
81
13 reviews
Bompton's own returns with an album that relives the glory days of Cali g-funk.

11.

May 8, 2016
Critic Score
87
49 reviews
Radiohead's new album is easy on the ears, but heavy on the heart.

10.

June 17, 2016
Critic Score
85
15 reviews
One of the most savage bands on the planet returns for a third album.

9.

September 30, 2016
Critic Score
71
20 reviews
Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor returns with her best set of songs in a while.

8.

May 20, 2016
Critic Score
82
30 reviews
Singer-songwriter Will Toledo pushes bedroom pop and lo-fi rock to the next level on the new Car Seat Headrest album.

7.

August 20, 2016
Critic Score
86
42 reviews

Frank Ocean doesn't disappoint on this highly-anticipated followup to his breakout album Channel Orange.

6.

April 16, 2016
Critic Score
76
6 reviews
On their latest album, experimental rock outfit Xiu Xiu plays the music of Twin Peaks!

5.

November 11, 2016
Critic Score
87
32 reviews
After nearly two decades, A Tribe Called Quest returns to rap one last time without skipping a beat.

4.

June 17, 2016
Critic Score
80
25 reviews

Legendary experimental rock outfit Swans returns with one of the most transcendental releases in their discography: The Glowing Man.

3.

May 6, 2016
Critic Score
80
12 reviews

Death Grips perfects the art of abrasive ear candy on their latest record.

2.

January 8, 2016
Critic Score
86
45 reviews
Entertainment icon David Bowie turns his death into an awe-inspiring concept album.

1.

September 27, 2016
Critic Score
84
36 reviews
Danny Brown returns with one of the wildest hip hop albums ever recorded.
Original Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkDH0RquNYo
Comments
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1y
Love to see Aes on here, should've been higher though
1y
wild how there were three strong 9's this year, and none of them were number 1
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