50. Frightened Rabbit – Painting of a Panic Attack
Frightened Rabbit has been putting out some of the most reliably strong albums of the last few years and it still feels as if they’re underrated. With the same smooth, gorgeous vocals as has come to be expected, Painting of a Panic Attack demonstrated an effort of recapturing their more somber efforts while also showing the group at their most experimental. A tight, terrifically produced album with an electronica vibe peppered through, Painting of a Panic Attack is a perfect album for those unaccustomed to their music. – Allyson Johnson
49. Britney Spears – Glory
Britney’s equivalent to Madonna’s Erotica: her most fully formed full-length and an excellent sex album to boot. But Spears is less interested in sex than the anticipation for it. This is an album of invitations and stripteases; wants as opposed to haves. Along with this thematic strength, Glory is also her most potent album, largely because she seems to be enjoying the hell out of singing these songs. I would too. – Matt Rice
48. White Lung – Paradise
One of the few bands that have gotten better over time by mellowing their sound out, White Lung proved why they’ve stuck around with their latest, Paradise. The album sticks true to their punk, female empowering roots while also being fearless in tackling more melodic tunes such as “Hello”. Gothic, dripping with urgency and producing one of the best songs of the year in “Hunger”, Paradise is the album for anyone who’s grown sick and tired of punk music by artists who all seem to blend together. – Allyson Johnson
47. Sia – This is Acting
The meta-pop brilliance of last year’s “Chandelier” sets the tone for Sia’s masterfully-rendered This is Acting, an extension, at least in concept, of her acclaimed solo record 1000 Forms of Fear. Reflecting on her many years as an industry veteran, writing songs for the likes of Adele, Katy Perry, and ‘Queen Bey’, it’s been fun to watch Sia grow into her own – becoming one of the most formidable pop solo acts of the decade. Much like her previous album, tracks consist of mostly shelved-away hits formerly composed for other artists, only to be later refurbished into a dazzling piece of performance art filled with all the vocal acrobatics, musical theater dramatics, and inspiring lyrics that had made the singer-songwriter a household name almost overnight. The cover art for the record, with the full comic display of Sia’s alter ego (played by dancer Maddie Ziegler) reduced to the equivalent of a squished Barbie’s head, is a noticeable throwback to her 2008 music video for “Buttons”, a playful and almost painful to watch video that shows the singer trying on an assortment of asphyxiating nude tights and random office supplies tied around her head. The artist has always engaged in such physical acts of self-mockery, ones that specifically involve the face, as perhaps a way to subvert any unnecessary feelings of diffidence. When it comes to such a record as This is Acting, shout-worthy choruses and larger-than-life beats digs straight into the pleasure points of an electro-pop doused mainstream. – Jennifer Baugh
46. Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition
Since XXX, Danny Brown has been one of hip hop’s most consistent artists, and his latest sets itself apart simply by virtue of being so dreadfully relentless. “Murder music orchestrator,” indeed. – Joey Daniewicz
45. M.I.A. – AIM
There are few stories in music as unfair as the brushing off of M.I.A. over the course of her last three albums, and perhaps we all deserve it that after this one, she appears to be quitting the game. As a result, it might not be too surprising that it occasionally sounds like she’s in her zone, the one she found herself in on those beloved first two albums. AIM sounds like she’s finally let go of trying to impress anyone but herself. What a perfect ending. – Joey Daniewicz
44. Regina Spektor – Remember Us to Life
Before sinking into a new Regina Spektor record, you mostly already know what you’re about to get into: lush, chamber pop melodies punctuated by a quirky, almost literary sense of lyricism – as heard on tracks like “Grand Hotel” and “The Trapper and the Furrier”. Following a much needed four-year break, Spektor continues to breeze through lofty expectations of admirers and critics in a way that feels and sounds effortless and consistent. Remember Us to Life is among her strongest records to date – one that mixes in old sounds with, at times, cinematic degrees of tonal variety, especially noted in tracks like the hip-hop-inspired “Small Bill$” and the album opener “Bleeding Heart”. With the same fearlessness of records past, Regina Spektor always seems to know exactly where to go next. This seventh-full length release is no exception. – Jennifer Baugh
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43. Ice Choir – Designs in Rhythm
Kurt Feldman is one of the unheralded renaissance men of modern indie music; In addition to his higher profile work as the former drummer for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, he has also released superlative records with projects such as Roman a Clef and The Depreciation Guild. Designs in Rhythm, the new album by his main project Ice Choir, is a fun tribute to late 80s synthpop and particularly the synthesizer-heavy “city pop” scene that dominated Japanese music that decade. There are other influences floating around there, too, with “Windsurf” recalling Steely Dan circa-Gaucho and “Amarous in Your Absense” borrows sophisti-pop influence from Feldman’s Roman a Clef project. The album’s layered synths, emotional lyrics and dreamy melodies result in some of the best throwback new wave in a year full of it. – Ryan Gibbs
42. The Paranoid Style – Rolling Disclosure
With experience as both lobbyists and rock critics, Elizabeth Nelson and Timothy Bracy give you the best of both worlds: dense, sarcastic, witty lyrics that reflect challenging times and a poppy-punky sound that manages to feel conservative and new at the same time. The band’s best record is still their 2015 EP Rock and Roll Just Can’t Recall, but this is close. After years of Trump, it may even seem foretelling. – Matt Rice
41. Panic! at the Disco – Death of a Bachelor
If ever you were doubtful of frontman Brendon Urie’s outrageous amount of natural talent, Panic! At the Disco’s fifth studio album Death of a Bachelor should be able to turn that tide. Finally allowing himself to let loose vocally, Urie’s skills dominate the entirety of the album, proving once and for all that despite the ever changing roster of band members, with him at the helm they’ll always be pushing out quality products. Death of a Bachelor melds radio hit hooks and crooning vocals with the theatrics we’ve come to expect from the singer, with songs such as “LA Devotee”, “Golden Days” and “Impossible Year” being particular highlights. – Allyson Johnson
50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
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