It's all over! After a long review of my favorite albums of the year, the below are the one I spent a lot of listening time on, some of the most interesting albums that were made this year, and some innovative artists that I think will shape the future of music. This is not a comprehensive list; there are many albums that I did not hear, and many albums that I liked, but did not listen to all that much. All in all, I think it's been a great year for music, I'm looking forward to what 2017 brings. Directly below, you can see a playlist of my favorite songs of the year.
INDIE AND/OR ROCK MUSIC
Sales - Sales LP
Jay Som -Turn Into
Seratones - Get Gone
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - A Man Alive
Twin Peaks - Down in Heaven
Sunflower Bean - Human Ceremony
Adia Victoria - Beyond The Bloodhounds
Esme Patterson - We Were Wild
Bueno - Illuminate Your Room
Bon Iver - 22, A Million
Woods - City Sun Eater in the River of Light
Andy Shauf - The Party
TV Girl - Who Really Cares
David Bowie - Blackstar
Deerhoof - The Magic
Harpooner - Rose Park
Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math
Lucy Dacus - No Burden
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Angel Olsen - My Woman
Big Thief - Masterpiece
Mothers - When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
Whitney - Golden Days
Japanese Breakfast - Psychopomp
Pinegrove - Cardinal
Dinosaur Jr - Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not
Toro y Moi - Live From Troma
Hoops - EP & Tapes
Diners - 3
Jim James - Eternally Even
Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial
Savoy Motel - S/T
Drugdealer - The End of Comedy
The Lemon Twigs - Do Hollywood
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
Leisure - S/T
PUNK & POST-PUNK
Preoccupations -S/T
Warehouse - Super Low
Jeff Rosenstock - WORRY
Pill - Inconvenience
Exploded View - S/T
Savages - Adore Life
And The Kids - Friends Share Lovers
Guerilla Toss- Eraser Stargazer
King Dude - Sex
Parquet Courts - Human Performance
The Gotobeds - Blood//Sugar//Secs//Traffic
Merchandise - A Corpse Wired For Sound
Omni - Deluxe
Stove - Is A Toad In The Rain
Ex-Cult - Negative Growth
Goggs - S/T
Pinkwash - Collective Sigh
The I.L.Y’s - Scum With Boundaries
Teen Suicide - It’s the Big Joyous Celebration, Let’s Stir The Honeypot
Stiu Nu Stiu - Fake End
IAN SWEET - Shapeshifter
The Amazing - Ambulance
Culture Abuse - Peach
Okkultokrati - Raspberry Dawn
Bad Sports - Living With Secrets
Hockey Dad - Boronia
HIP-HOPISH / R&B
Frank Ocean - Blonde
Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love!
KING - We Are King
Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
Topaz Jones - Arcade
The Avalanches - Wildflower
Walterwarm - Beats Without A Home (&) Reflections (&) Smoke Signals
Nonane - Telefone
JAZZISH
BadBadNotGood - IV
Shook - Continuum
Vulfpeck - The Beautiful Game
Jeff Parker - The New Breed
Sun Ra - Singles
ELECTRONICISH
Tobacco - Sweatbox Dynasty
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - EARS
Nicholas Jaar - Sirens
Animal Collective - Painting With
The Gaslamp Killer - Instrumentalepathy
Ricky Eat Acid - Talk To You Soon
Weird Inside - As We Know
David Bazan - Blanco
The Japanese House - Swim Against The Tide
Keene - Futurist
Gramatik - Epigram
RUMTUM - Mora Tuga
PSYCH
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
Chris Cohen - As If Apart
Quilt - Plaza
Holy Wave - Freaks of Nurture
levitation room - Ethos
Whyte Horse - Pop or Not
Post Animal - The Garden Series
Sam Evian - Premium
Sam Cohen - Cool It
Khun Narin - II
GOAT - Requiem
Kikagaku Moyo - House In The Tall Grass
Heron Oblivion - S/T
Pfarmers - Our Puram
Evolfo - Last of The Acid Cowboys
Allah-Lahs- Calico Review
Aan - Dada Distractions
Jackson Boone - Natural Changes
The Claypool Lennon Delirium - Monolith of Phobos
Hello Ocho - In Portuguese (&) The Slippery Tree
AMERICANA
Austin Manuel - Up The Ridge
Cool Ghouls - Animal Races
Lera Lynn - Resistor
Chris Staples - Golden Age
Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor’s Guide To Earth
Luke Temple - A Hand Through The Cellar Door
William Tyler - Modern County