Best Albums of 2016: Critics Rank Beyonce, David Bowie, Kanye West Amid Top 10
Music from all different genres topped critic lists for the best albums of 2016 - here's the full top 10.
It's that time of the year where critics in all mediums release their top 10 lists of the year. Music is no different, with hundreds of music critics revealing their own year-end lists all throughout the past two months.
Metacritic has compiled lists from all the major critics to create the aggregated top 25 best albums of the year, but for our purposes, let's count down the 10 best albums of the year, according to critics.
10. Angel Olsen - My Woman
Singer-songwriter Angel Olsen received the best reviews of her career yet with her third studio album, My Woman, a synth-folk blend. As American Songwriter (which ranked the album at no. 1) puts it, "No one pushed boundaries like Olsen did with 'My Woman', all while keeping herself perfectly intact."
9. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds came back in a major way with their grief-stricken, raw album Skeleton Tree. Cave's son fell off a cliff and died during recording of this deeply personal album, giving it special resonance.
8. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
Speaking of comebacks, rap group A Tribe Called Quest returned with their first album in 18 years, and it just happened to be one of the year's best. The album addressed politics and life in the modern era, and as Pitchfork noted, "It can't be said enough how simply good this record sounds and feels."
7. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo
Kanye West has been no stranger to critically acclaimed albums in the past, and his ambitious Life of Pablo album is no different. This album featured a few hits, like "Ultralight Beam", "Fade" and the controversial "Famous", where the rapper states that he made Taylor Swift famous.
6. Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book
Chance the Rapper blended rap and gospel for his ambitious third mixtape, Coloring Book. The A.V. Club writes: "'Coloring Book' delivers one celebratory hymnal after another, emphasizing the natural high that comes with feeling loved and watched over."
5. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
Radiohead came back with their first studio album in five years, A Moon Shaped Pool, in May. The album, featuring such songs as "Burn the Witch", "Daydreaming" and the iconic "True Love Waits", "was well worth the wait," according to USA Today.
4. Solange - A Seat at the Table
Beyoncé isn't the only talented artist in the Knowles family. Solange broke out with her hugely acclaimed A Seat at the Table album, an opus for Black female empowerment, with Clash Music raving, "'A Seat At The Table' is an expertly-curated, a near-perfect record that serves as a timely, musical manifesto on how to be black and proud."
3. Frank Ocean - Blonde
Frank Ocean's highly anticipated second studio album did not disappoint. Blonde explored Ocean's melancholic style further, blending genres and providing yet another emotional experience for the listener.
2. Beyoncé - Lemonade
Beyoncé's Lemonade was the biggest cultural music event of the year, released in the midst of rumors of problems between the singer and husband Jay Z. The instantly iconic album spanned all kinds of genres and resulted in a number of catchy anthems, including "Hold Up", "Formation" and "Daddy Lessons".
1. David Bowie - Blackstar
2016 began in an unfortunate fashion, with the death of music icon David Bowie. Two days before, he had just released Blackstar, one of the best reviewed albums of his career, which now ranks as the top album of 2016. The album provides a fitting conclusion to the eccentric icon's incredible career, which "proves Bowie was always one step ahead-where he'll now remain in perpetuity," says The A.V. Club.
