Best Albums of 2016

By: Frank Arigo

The musical year of 2016 may very well be summed up as the year of Knowles. The reemergence of Solange with A Seat at the Table and the artistic out of the box Lemonade from Queen Bey would certainly suggest so. Aside from Beyonce, this past year has seen albums from other previous Grammy winners, Kanye West, Rihanna, Drake, David Bowie, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Bon Iver, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Paul Simon, Esperanza Spalding, Radiohead, and even the Rolling Stones. We were also lucky to get albums from Tegan and Sara, Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino, Jake Bugg, and Regina Spektor. In addition, 2016 brought with it the sophomore albums from The Lumineers and The 1975. Kid Cudi is back and A Tribe Called Quest is back for one last great album. It really was an excellent year for new music from both established and up and coming artists. ARIGO Music founder, Frank Arigo, counts down his top 35 albums of 2016.

35. Imperial - Denzel Curry

34. Ology - Gallant

33. 24K Magic - Bruno Mars

32. My Woman, Angel Olsen

31. I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it - The 1975

30. Beautiful Lies - Birdy

29. Junk - M83

28. Day Breaks - Norah Jones

27. How To Be A Human Being - Glass Animals

26. Starboy - The Weeknd

25. Do Hollywood - The Lemon Twigs

24. Here - Alicia Keys

23. Blue & Lonesome - The Rolling Stones

22. Singing Saw - Kevin Morby

21. Farewell, Starlite! - Francis and the Lights

20. Hotel Allan - Allan Rayman

19. The Life of Pablo - Kanye West

18. Blonde - Frank Ocean

17. The Colour in Anything - James Blake

16. Malibu - Anderson .Paak

15. ANTI - Rihanna

14. Teens of Denial - Car Seat Headrest

13. untitled unmastered. - Kendrick Lamar

12. A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead

11. Cleopatra - The Lumineers

10. Puberty - Mitski

9. "Awaken, My Love!" - Childish Gambino

8. Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' - Kid Cudi

7. We got it from Here...Thank You 4 Your service - A Tribe Called Quest

6. A Seat at the Table - Solange

5. 22, A Million - Bon Iver

4. Light Upon the Lake - Whitney

3. Coloring Book - Chance the Rapper

2. Lemonade - Beyonce

1. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine - Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam

Honorable Mention:

Blackstar - David Bowie

Joanne - Lady Gaga

Big Baby D.R.A.M. - D.R.A.M.

SremmLife 2 - Rae Sremmurd

Skin - Flume