Ryan Gibbs’ Top 10 Albums
It still feels weird to me that my top album of 2016 is one of the first I listened to this year, but I’ve had Blackstar in the back of my mind all year. Even with worthy competition from The 1975 and A Tribe Called Quest, there was no dislodging it from my top spot. It’s one of the greatest final albums ever released and a brilliant artistic statement. This year was a great one for songs as well, and “Somebody Else” also rose to the top fairly early. That song is perhaps the best example of everything that was great about The 1975’s new throwback new wave sound. I’m guessing the Automat song is the most obscure thing I have on here; While I don’t know very much about them myself, “Turn the Music Up” was a love-at-first-listen song for me after Maura Johnston played it on her WZBC radio show earlier this year. If you’re into early ’80s power pop, and Squeeze in particular, you’ll find a lot to love in their latest album.
- David Bowie – Blackstar
- The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
- A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here…. Thank You 4 Your Service
- Beyoncé – Lemonade
- Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial
- Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
- School of Seven Bells – SVIIB
- The Monkees – Good Times!
- Chance the Rapper – Coloring Book
- case/lang/veirs – case/lang/veirs
Top 10 Songs
- The 1975 – “Somebody Else”
- Against Me! – “Crash”
- Automat – “Turn the Music Up”
- Car Seat Headrest – “Vincent”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Untitled 8 (Blue Faces)”
- Carly Rae Jepsen – “Cry”
- David Bowie – “Lazarus”
- KING – “The Greatest”
- Japandroids – “Near to the Wild Heart of Life”
- Tacocat – “Talk”
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