The album has never seemed stronger. Artists have never had more ways to express themselves, from one off Soundcloud singles to social media posts to live streams of video. Yet in this world of plenty, they have continued to keep the album in an exalted place, one where they make a bid for serious amounts of their audiences fractured time. From Radiohead to Frank Ocean to Anerson .Paak to Leonard Cohen.
2016 was an embarrassment of riches from major artists. Highly personal and flowing concept records like A Seat at the Table landed alongside tightly sequenced song-cycles like Singing Saw, genre-hopping experiments like Emilys D+Evolution, and drifting slabs of ambient music like For Those Of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have). These are just the top 50 best albums of 2016. A year with a lot to offer.

2016 was an embarrassment of riches from major artists. Highly personal and flowing concept records like A Seat at the Table landed alongside tightly sequenced song-cycles like Singing Saw, genre-hopping experiments like Emily’s D+Evolution, and drifting slabs of ambient music like For Those Of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have). These are just the top 50 best albums of 2016. A year with a lot to offer.