The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
Top 89

Top 89 of 2016: Albums

Here are the top 10 albums of 2016
Here are the top 10 albums of 2016MPR graphic

December 30, 2016

We asked, you voted! All December long, you — the music lover — voted for your favorite albums released in 2016, and the results are in!

Be sure to tune in to The Current's listener-curated Top 89 countdown on Dec. 31, 2015 starting at 5 p.m. CT with a rebroadcast on New Year's Day starting at 10 a.m. CT.

10. Beyonce, Lemonade

(Columbia)

9. The Cactus Blossoms, You're Dreaming

(Red House)

8. Frank Ocean, Blonde

(Boys Don't Cry)

7. Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Ride

(Capitol)

6. Cloud Cult, The Seeker

(Earthology)

5. Chance The Rapper, Coloring Book

(self-released)

Chance The Rapper triumphantly returned in 2016 with his third self-released mixtape with a slew of big-name collaborators including Kanye West, Justin Beiber and Ty Dolla $ign. Host Jade insists optimism is at the center of Coloring Book:

Even with the addition of guest performers and producers, the soul of Coloring Book never sways too far from Chance and his optimistic lit-hop. The smile on Chance's face is audible in the album opener "All We Got," as he sings, "Man I swear my life is perfect, I could merch it," following up with his distinctive yelps that help spread the infectious joy. But everything hasn't always been perfect; in "Summer Friends," Chance laments that summer never seems as lighthearted to him after seeing friends get killed or arrested: "Our summer don't get no shine no more / Our summer die." Following the style of his previous record, Acid Rap, there's a minute-long interlude, "D.R.A.M Sings Special," telling the listener that they mean something. And the drama of people using Chance for his newfound fame, labels owning his friends, and Chance himself missing a broken friendship, is soothed with the help of gospel music.

4. Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor's Guide to Earth

(Atlantic)

Perhaps the "Who?" of this year's GRAMMY nominations, Sturgill Simpson is wholly beloved by his loyal fans and won over a new audience with A Sailor's Guide to Earth. Host Bill DeVille on the album's cohesiveness:

A Sailor's Guide to Earth can be broken down into individual pieces for analysis and/or radio play, but it works best as a cohesive album. Simpson, working as his own producer, does a fantastic job of making the entire record flow together as a 39-minute piece, punctuated by stupendous transitions between songs that make will make you appreciate the art of album sequencing even more.

3. Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool

(XL)

Radiohead did not disappoint longtime fans with A Moon Shaped Pool, in part due to the album being made up of both old songs not found on albums. Host Jim McGuinn argues A Moon Shaped Pool is Radiohead's best album in years:

On some songs, Yorke's lyrics seem to be informed by the recent breakup with his partner of 25 years — and though it's certainly not the first Radiohead album to be filled with a sense of forbidding technological unease (hello, OK Computer!) — so many of these songs pile on an aching sadness and regret, the analog human emotions join with the increased use of acoustic instrumentation to achieve a new depth for Radiohead. Instead of wallowing in navel-gazing pity, the album is alive; combined with the production dexterity allowing every song to unwrap in unexpected sonics, A Moon Shaped Pool surpasses Radiohead's last few records.

2. David Bowie, Blackstar

(Columbia)

When Blackstar was released two days before David Bowie's death, fans didn't know it would be his last living release. David Safar notices Bowie's attention to detail on Blackstar:

The album leads with the 10-minute title track that was released last year. It is a misleading preview of what you'll hear on the rest of Blackstar, because the sequence of the album is somewhat like a musical experiment in reverse. The long and meandering lead track is followed by six standout songs that are brilliantly focused. From the dark and ominous sounding "Lazarus" to the upbeat horn interlude on "Dollar Day," you sense Bowie's attention to each verse, chorus and lyric. He even reworked his previously released single "Sue (Or In A Season of Crime)."

1. Bon Iver, 22, A Million

(Jagjaguwar)

After teasing a new album at the inaugural Eaux Claires Music and Arts Festival more than a year ago, Bon Iver finally delivered the best album of 2016 according to The Current Top 89 voters. Host Andrea Swensson compares 22, A Million to its predecessors:

While it's fair to say that 22, A Million is experimental in nature, it is still, at its core, a Bon Iver record. There are quiet and heart-rending moments, like the acoustic guitar-driven "29," which hark back to For Emma, Forever Ago. There are epic moments, like the whirling end of "33," that remind me of the headier portions of Bon Iver, Bon Iver. And one of the album's defining characteristics is that it rewards repeat listens, which is something that I can say of most of Vernon's body of work. I never tire of it, somehow, and each playback reveals something new and complex about a song's arrangement, a particular lyrical passage, or a subtle sample that adds depth to the work.