And Then Alex Said...

10. The Dream Is Over - PUP

PUP’s The Dream Is Over is less an album and more a series of flaming boxcars careening downhill into you at breakneck speed. Their kamikaze approach to punk music makes their second full-length a rambunctious, hyperactive listen that doesn’t afford itself the luxury of being boring. With plenty of heroic choruses and the rapier-sharp wit to match, this has rushed out of nowhere to become on of the albums of the year.

9. Konnichiwa - Skepta

By no means Skepta’s best work or the best grime album to come out this year, but Konnichiwa represents a landmark in the scene he worked tirelessly to legitimise for the last 10 years. The archetypal record in the new wave of the genre it remains his most polished, most focused studio album to date. With each cut as dark and infectious as the last, it will forever stand as a benchmark for the scores of up-and-coming MCs in grime’s burgeoning international movement.

8. Nothing I Write You Will Change What You’ve Been Through - Trash Boat

In what’s been a great year for the ever snowballing UK alternative scene, Trash Boat stood on top of the pile when it came to pop-punk. Nothing I Write You… combines soaring melody and penetrative emotional resonance with a touch of hardcore bite. Guided by a legend of the genre in The Wonder Years’ Dan Campbell, the growth in songwriting maturity between Trash Boat’s early EPs and their debut full-length is remarkable and they deserve their praise.  

7. Landlord - Giggs

The Dark Knight of the UK hip-hop scene stepped out of the shadows and produced a record with a sleek, commercial veneer but all the explosive hood energy with which Giggs has become synonymous. Giggs is a master of the mechanics of rap; his command of flow is unrivalled and he’s always known how to use words to crushing effect. Landlord just proves that given the right ingredients and environment, the Peckham rapper can be a world-beater.

6. Awaken, My Love! - Childish Gambino

After coming away one of the biggest winners of 2016, Donald Glover puts an end to his polarizing rap career and goes full funk on Awaken, My Love!.The hands of Redbone, Bootsy Collins, Parliament and Funkadelic definitely helped mold this record but their groundwork is given a perverse, modern sound that Gambino fans will be familiar with from Because The Internet. By far the most interesting record of 2016 from a vocal perspective where Glover shows exceptional talent and willingness to experiment.

5. Made In The Manor - Kano

Few people have talked about Kano’s position as the true king of grime but Made In The Manor absolutely cemented that assertion. The record is a masterclass in how to perform urban music with variety, sentiment and an expressive punch, often straddling hip-hop and pure grime. With lush instrumentation and Kano’s phenomenal lyrical acrobatics, it’s a must-listen album for the discerning grime fan.

4. Blackstar - David Bowie

What can you say that hasn’t already been said about David Bowie’s last masterpiece? It’s passage to the world and posthumous deification is one thing, but the content also, frankly, astounding. The loss of the Thin White Duke was huge blow to music fans worldwide, and Blackstar’s unflinching exploration of death through the eyes of the icon does nothing to soothe that loss. We can however find solace in the fact that, with Blackstar’s stark lyricism, bonkers experimentation and incredible vocal performances, Bowie left us at his creative best.

3. Blonde - Frank Ocean

When it finally came, Blonde landed like a UFO - vast, eerily beautiful and unlike anything we’d ever seen before. Frank’s bold decision to embrace his reputation as our generation’s greatest mystery - and to make an album that reflects that - is admirable. Another Channel Orange would have surely made him the biggest male star in the world. Instead, Blonde is 18 doses of sweet avant-garde, psychedelic R&B with a bitter aftertaste that adds character like the sour smell in perfume. Yet more proof that Frank is an international treasure.

2. Stage Four - Touché Amoré

It’s difficult to find an album that’s more of an emotional gut-punch than David Bowie’s Blackstar. Difficult, but not impossible. Touché Amoré’s Stage Four sees frontman Jeremy Bolm grapple with the loss of his mother to cancer. What follows is a comprehensive exploration of grief of which the listener feels the full weight. From the absurdity of death, to the perceived presence of a lost loved one, to the remorse of taking time for granted, the narrative is as relatable as the accompanying music is punishingly executed by the band. A perfect storm of amazing punk.

1. The Life of Pablo - Kanye West

30. Gore - Deftones

Deftones’ heavy yet beautiful music is a treasure and they’ve proven it yet again on Gore. The album hangs its hat on singles ‘Prayers / Triangles’ and ‘Doomed User’ but the deeper cuts are brutal and atmospheric in their own right, giving the impression of a band expanding in all directions.

29. Simplicity - JAWS

I went to university in Birmingham so the shame I feel for having slept on JAWS for so long is absolute. One of the best young bands in Britain making pensive and cool rock music right under my very nose. Simplicity is a must for everyone who likes their guitar music moody and clasutrophobic.

28. Hopelessness - Anohni

Bleak, unsettling and experimental as all hell, Anohni’s Hopelessness goes for the jugular on environmentalism, drone warfare and power of suveillance. The avant-pop overtones on this thing can be as beautiful as they are deeply disturbing - check out the druidic chanting of ‘Obama’ for proof of that. A worthy Mercury Prize nominee who maybe even deserved to win.

27. Atrocity Exhibition - Danny Brown

On this week’s episode of ‘Danny Brown Will Rap Over Anything’, a brass band on fire and a cabaret drowning in a pool. All this and more is delivered on Atrocity Exhibition which sets up a lot of completely outlandish production for Danny Brown to bounce off of. Naturally, at no point does that make for a boing listen.

26. Starboy - The Weeknd

Abel Tesfaye finally reveals a complete picture of himself on this album, instead of relying on his coke-fuelled, sex-loving alter ego. At 18 tracks it seems long, but with a pop banger every 2.5 tracks on average, there’s a lot of fun to be had in that time. Starboy will definitely be a kingmaker for The Weeknd.

25. Death of a Bachelor - Panic! At The Disco

Brendon Urie finally completely takes the reins of Panic! At The Disco and makes the album he’s always wanted to make. It’s come off pretty well too. With Sinatra-inspired grooves all over shop spit-shined with alt-pop veneer, this is one of the most creative pop-rock album to come out this year for sure. Time to start giving the Vegas native the mainstream credit he deserves.

24. Six Paths - Dave

Arguably no-one has had more of a monster year than Dave. The 18-year-old rapper has had his name on the BBC Sound of 2017 list and has been anointed with the Drake feature that has become essential for worldwide success in this day and age. Mostly self-produced and packed with wisdom far beyond his youth, his Six Paths EP thoroughly deserved its high praise and success.

23. Promise Everything - Basement

With a grungey, alternative sound which also feels euphoric, Basement have made a pedastal for themselves in British rock. There wasn’t a record with better sounding guitars released this year. That’s a fact. With that and their natural talent for songwriting, expect things to get even bigger for the Ipswich band. 

22. Blank Face LP - ScHoolboy Q

If Oxymoron was at all cold and cynical for a major-label debut, Blank Face is just the tonic. Q’s playboy gangsta personality shines through definitively on this record with some of his bst ever verses and collaborations on gloriously expansive production. TDE may soon have two stars on their hands.

21. I like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it - The 1975

40. untitled unmastered. - Kendrick Lamar

The fact that Kendrick Lamar can drop a mish-mash collection of half-recordings and scrapped songs and still have it be much better than Drake and Cole’s new studio albums speaks volumes.  

From the strange, to the explosive, to the downright whacky, these 8 songs give the impression of an artist at peak creativity having the time of his life.

39. If I’m The Devil... - letlive.

Savage Los Angeles punks letlive. try something different on this album and I never thought a new record from these guys would be so far from my top 10. Yet, here it is. 

Their snarling leftist politics will go down sweeter for many with a spoonful of pop-rock sugar, but I for one miss the gutteral rhythms and nasty riff wok that made me fall in love with this band in the first place.

38. Freetown Sound - Blood Orange

I actually listened to Freetown Sound for the first time in Freetown. I’d like to say the two synced up. They didn’t. Plenty of pretty chord progessions and harmonies on this neo-soul odyssey, but not much intent in the concept that seemed promised in the title. As scenic routes go though, this one isn’t bad.

37. The Stranger - Creeper

Southampton’s Creeper have made quite the splash among the new generation of scene kids with their macabre sound and their ghost-baiting lyrics. This EP is a fun blast of the gothic for those who like their pop-punk with a slice of My Chemical Romance-esque showmanship.

36. Cody - Joyce Manor

Joyce Manor do an album about all the minor catastrophes that come with being a young person better than most. Cody is a short, punchy record that’s as funny, moving and relatable as anything else on the market right now.

35. Working Under Pressure - Bonkaz

Pressure makes diamonds and the final appearance from Bonkaz on this list is the best thing he put out this year. Even more impressive that is he made the whole thing - mixing included - in just 4 hours. Some great production which borrows from contemporary R&B and lyrical mastery to boot make this one of the most inventive grime releases of the year.

34. Holy Ghost - Modern Baseball

In what’s been a big year for punk bands growing up, Modern Baseball release their most docile album to date. The sweary lyrics about Facebook statuses and life at college are left at home in favour of a newer, more expansive sound inspired by U2 and The Killers. Results varied but all in all it was a solid record in what I imagine will be a period of transition for the band.

33. Durt - RAY BLK

24 years after Andre Harrell dubbed Mary J Blige ‘The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul’, RAY BLK is making a name for herself as The Queen of Grime Soul. Durt takes the classic soul-inspired R&B sound that penetrated 90s America and applies it to growing up in the ends of South London, to devastating effect.

32. A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead

It’s a good thing Radiohead are the biggest band in the world, because you’d hardly notice listening to their album if you weren’t paying attention. So heart-rendingly ethereal that it’s barely even there, the contrite emotion of  A Moon Shaped Pool is a rewarding listen for the patient music fan. But I love Radiohead when they’re being immediate and they weren’t here.

31. Light We Made - Balance And Composure

50. Hymns - Bloc Party

Things don’t often go well after a line-up change as major as the one Bloc Party had. Nevertheless, Kele and the gang managed to come though with some compelling music, though you have to wade though a fair amount of cheese and bore to get there.

49. Weezer - Weezer

People have been overusing the phrase ‘return to form’ so much with Weezer you’d think between Make Believe and now they’d been reptilian shapeshifters as opposed to humans. 

Affectionately dubbed ‘The White Album’, it embraced all the popular hallmarks of previous work, even getting a little weird a la Pinkerton in places. Let’s just face up to the truth guys. Weezer are great and they have been for a while now.

48. 99.9% - Kaytranada

Canadian producer Kaytranada made everyone swoon with this swish combination of house, hip-hop and soul. Aside from that, his plethora of special guests - everyone from Craig David to Syd to Anderson .Paak put in a great shift on his fresh compositions to make a stunning record.

47. California - Blink-182

Speaking of line-up changes, who knew that a Blink-182 album in 2016 without self-professed alien bounty hunter Tom Delonge would be the best thing they’s released in years. California left a lot of esteemed music critics looking incredibly stupid as Matt Skiba more than rose to the occasion and the three showed unmistakable chemistry as if they’d been playing together for years.

46  Still Brazy - YG

Another great album completely out of left-field. YG’s monument to West-Coast G-funk with a modern twist was a ton of fun to listen to, and I’d be lying if I said that ‘FDT’ didn’t sum up how we’ve all felt this year.

45. Goodness - The Hotelier

You can argue that The Hotelier jumped the shark on this one, drunk with critical acclaim from 2014′s Home, Like Noplace Is There. The album goes long with plenty of weird interludes, but the rock music that intercedes is some of their best yet.

44. Dissociation - The Dillinger Escape Plan

What’s touted to be the last outing for the destructive mathcore band, Dissociation kept up TDEP’s penchant for making virtuosic, schizophrenic, inpenetrable but sensational music. They will be missed for sure. 

43. Mixtape of The Year - Bonkaz

Back on the list for a second time, Bonkaz made a defiant statement to his peers by dropping a release titled Mixtape of The Year... in January. In fairness, it took a long time for anyone to better this well-excuted collection of stories about growing up in the ends.

42. Wildflower - The Avalanches

The Avalanches’ sample game is 💯💯👌🏾👌🏾, that much is clear. On their first album since they left us after 2000′s Since I Left You, they don’t sound rusty at all. They’ve also wisely learnt in their time off that the addition of Danny Brown to anything instantly makes that thing better.

41. Stillness In Wonderland - Little Simz

Little Simz is one of the most creative souls in hip-hop right now, and she can spin your favourite rapper to boot. With Stillness In Wonderland, she creates her own universe in which to escape only to be trapped by love, responsibility and fame. Lush production and lyrical excellence abound

60. I Remember - AlunaGeorge

AlunaGeorge have been very busy blowing up in America and trying convince people they’re a solo act (where the fuck is George?) but they did stop to drop off an album full of bangers. Though they’ve eschewed their slick, futuristic take on New Jack Swing in favour of the tropical pop-house everyone’s doing right now, they do it much better than most.

59. Lil Tracey - AJ Tracey

With Lil Tracey, AJ Tracey doesn’t tread any virgin ground in the already over saturated market for grime, but he does the basics extremely well. The EP’s standout track ‘Buster Cannon’ is a moshpit in the making with a strangely melodic feel which lends itself to radio play.

58. Telefone - Noname

Noname is a shy Chi-town rapper whose verse on Chance The Rapper’s ‘Lost’ was my personal highlight of his genius Acid Rap mixtape. There’s a lot to like about her debut solo mixtape from the sweet low delivery, dreamy production and her very obvious talent for wordplay. One to watch? For sure.

57. Misadventures - Pierce The Veil

The Texas post-hardcore outfit seem to get grow aggresively as time goes by like the nicest tumour you’ve ever had. Misadventures saw that trend continue in a move that saw them include more pop-punk and melodic elements than ever before. Looking at where they are now, it’s definitely paid off.

56. ANTI - Rihanna

The Barbadian songtress seemed poised to dominate 2016 when ‘Work’ dropped but went strangely quiet around the time Lemonade came out. That said, ANTI is her most complete sounding, perhaps her strongest album yet, and employed lots of textures not usually found in pop music to devastating effect.

55. Fuck Fame - Bonkaz

The first release on this list in what was a busy year for the South London MC. Fuck Fame sees Bonkaz at his most confident and celebrates his numerous achievements in the year 2016, ironically setting him up to be a star iin the future.

54. The Colour In Anything - James Blake

Smooth electronic sounds are the name of the game here on another understated but enjoyable record from James Blake. The length certainly presents a problem but the stronger tracks persist to make up for the mistakes of the weaker ones.

53. System Killer - Frisco

Long live Frisco’s competitive spirit. Every time he featured on a Boy Better Know song, he came away with the best verse and he more than delivered on his new solo project. Nothing fancy here, just hard-hitting production and explosive production. Grime in its purest, most potent form.

52. Hardwired... To Self Dectruct - Metallica

The long vaunted return of Metallica went surprisingly according to plan after lukewarm and hostile receptions to their last two projects. Hardwired... sees them attempt to recapture their old magic with little in the way of self-awareness or wasted motion. The best they’ve sounded in a long time.

51. Be Nothing - Boston Manor

Pop punk workhorses Boston Manor have the potential to go far in the UK rock scene and definitely gave their contemporaries a run for their money on this record. Be Nothing combines dark, emotional themes and combines them with soaring melody to pack one hell of a punch.

70. Prima Donna - Vince Staples

Vince Staples’ win streak continues with this chilling EP tackling depression stemming from the trappings of fame and blackness in America. On Prima Donna, the LA rapper continues to come on leaps and bounds. Not as memorable as the incredible Summertime ‘06, but much more concise.

69. Integrity Blues - Jimmy Eat World

The Arizona rock heroes show no signs of slowing down on their ninth studio album. Integrity Blues features all the classic hallmarks of a Jimmy Eat World record with modern sensibilities, adding a fresh sheen that was missing on the folky, stripped back Damage released in 2013.

68. The Home Inside My Head - Real Friends

The transition from youth to experience swings at you like a wrecking ball on Illinois pop-punkers Real Friends’ second album. They attack many of the same subjects as before but there’s a world weariness that wasn’t there on 2014′s Maybe This Place Is The Same And We’re Just Changing. This gives it somewhat more of an edge compared other albums from the scene this year.

67. Magma - Gojira

Grammy-nominated French metallers Gojira come through in a big way on what they promised on their last record. A clear progression on L’Enfant Sauvage, the band’s composition and riff work is more brutal than ever before. Trying to keep your head still during songs like ‘Stranded’ and ‘Only Pain’ is a challenge.

66. Ellipsis - Biffy Clyro

I’m against double albums in principle (just make two albums ffs) so 2013′s Opposites didn’t hit big with me. On Ellipsis, madcap Scot rockers Biffy Clyro go back to what got them to the dance, getting as much musical experimentation done as they can over the album’s 13 tracks. And it works tbh, they sounds as cheeky and impenetrable.

65. Facing Time - Bugzy Malone

2016′s been a rough year for the Bugzy Malone. From the UK urban scene, only Skepta and Giggs charted higher than Facing Time, yet the Manchester MC has been maligned and overlooked constantly. There isn’t too much on this EP one can use to argue his case, but ‘Gone Clear’ and ‘Late Night In The 0161′ are among the best grime songs to be released this year.

64. Tired Eyes - Pretend Happy

Pretend Happy roared onto the UK rock scene this year with an album that would suggest years of experience. This is a record where every song sounds wounded; there’s no air of complacency or apathy here. Tracks like ‘Hellp’ and ‘Arsonist’ prove that Tired Eyes is the album every young person trapped in a small town needs.

63. Views - Drake

It really doesn’t matter how good they are, 8 amazing songs on a 20-track record does not make for a good record. 

Of course, the shit-eating nonchalance shown by Drake on Views means he doesn’t care about its critical reception, but I wonder if the fact that what’s potentially his worst album is also his most popular eats away at Drake at night. But this is 2016, where the bad guys win, so it STILL went platinum in its first week.

62. 4 Your Eyez Only - J. Cole

North Carolina rapper Jay Dot Cole announced his surprise return just a few short weeks ago and dropped two very interesting comments on hip-hop in 2016 in the form of ‘False Prophets’ and ‘Everybody Dies’. Unfortunately, neither of these made it in on to 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole’s first attempt at a concept album. 

As well as the ideas not being too fresh here, there’s little musical progression from 2014 Forest Hills Drive and it’s lyrically stale. It’s hard to defend Cole against the ‘boring’ accusation that has plagued him his whole career when there’s literally a song about folding clothes on this album.

61. Malibu - Anderson .Paak

Anderson .Paak rightly deserved to pop up pretty much everywhere this year. He’s one of the most talented rappers in the game right now and has huge upside potential. 

Malibu sees .Paak trying to create a signature sound based on vintage R&B and funk which has already been appropriated by a lot of his comtemporaries. That’s something which makes him seem like a Johnny Come Lately rather than an innovator.

More info on what this project’s all about here.

Here’s the bottom end of the list. Technically, these are ‘the worst albums I listened too this year’ but I wouldn’t call them that. I enjoyed them all - some disappointed me, some while good were simply not as good as others.

81.  Skin - Flume

Purely by virtue of it not really being for me, Austrailian producer Flume ends up going first. There was still a lot to like about this album though; in parts it was very commercial with some great features (’Say It’ with Tove Lo is a showstopper, ‘Smoke and Retribution’ with Vince Staples also very good). Otherwise, plenty of off-the-wall moments and zany instrumental sections that didn’t grab me. Still one of the few people I think deserves his Grammy nod.

80. Zero Worship - Young Legionnaire

Young Legionnaire is a post-hardcore supergroup consisting of the guitarist from The Automatic, the former Bloc Party bassist, and a guy who used to drum for La Roux. I forgive you for not knowing that. 

They did, however, drop an good album and a blistering EP in 2011 and 2012 respectively, which had me looking forward to their next full-length. Sadly, the mathsy face-shredding riffs were traded in for downtempo middle-of-the-road alt-rock on this effort, which made for an uninspiring listen.

79. Major Key - DJ Khaled

2016 was a big year for the DJ Khaled brand, solidifying himself as the unchallenged King of ‘The Snap’. His renaissance as a public figure also carried over somewhat to his music. 

With some superb singles (’Nas Album Done’, ‘I Got The Keys’), Major Key is the most focussed Khaled has ever sounded, but this clusterfuck of bombast beats and even bigger features still feels more of a compilation than an album.

78. Genesis - Domo Genesis

The former Odd Future standout went to great lengths to mature on this record, but in doing so became persistently boring for the most part. 

Promising singles, including the amazing ‘Dapper’ which featured Anderson .Paak, couldn’t save the record which remains the best thing he’s ever done, but still... meh.

77. Bad Vibrations - A Day To Remember

The Florida popcore giants seem to try and make the heavy songs heavier and the lighter songs lighter with every passing album. On Bad Vibrations, that disconnect is huge, sometimes irreconcilable. 

Brooding metal ruminations on love and betrayal stand side-by-side with cutesy rock songs about growing up a teenage idiot. Not a disaster but definitely a misstep.

76. There’s Alot Going On - Vic Mensa

Vic Mensa loves to show off and why not? He has proven himself time and again to be one of the most versatile hip-hop artists of his generation. 

His new EP didn’t provide him with the space to do that and the promise of record that addressed racial tensions in American from a young, black perspective went wanting. That said, obvious Dussé advert ‘New Bae’ deserved to break out bigger as a hit.

75. HEAVN - Jamila Woods

Frequent Chance The Rapper collaborator Jamila Woods has an angel’s voice and a beautiful mind. 

Inspiration seemed to wear thin as the end of this project got closer but the artistic direction was well executed for the most part and songs like ‘VRY BLK’ will bring happy tears to the eyes of anyone who has lived the black experience.

74. American Football (2016) - American Football

Beloved emo outfit American Football returned to their old house with a sequel to their beloved 1999 self-titled, which definitely sated my craving for new music from them. There is a noticeable dip in energy levels, but after 17 years stewing, that’s to be expected. 

73. Chemical Miracle - Trophy Eyes

On Chemical Miracle, Trophy Eyes make wistful and sharp pop-punk, that’s really enjoyable. Whether breakneck or cruising, the Austrailian band sound comfortable at any speed and prove they can do both well, often mixing dreamy riff work with gutteral angst.

72. Growing Over Life - Wretch 32

The Tottenham rapper commands a ton of respect in the UK scene and on Growing Over Life, it’s easy to see why. 

Wretch can occasionally resort to the corny (and the Emeli Sande) but when he gets the kind of tunnel vision he gets on this record, he can be hard to beat. His Young Fire, Old Flame mixtape with Avelino was a better outing in my view, but this makes a good companion piece.

71. The Stage - Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged get spacey on this new record, and not a moment too soon. Though they increased their audience with 2013′s Hail To The King, they sounded utterly bereft of ideas. 

One of my friends at work passed along a quote that stuck with me: ‘2016 has been a shitty movie with an awesome soundtrack.’

I always wanted to do an album year-end list and now seems like the perfect time - time off, no essay deadlines, no sleep debt from raving too much at uni. I want mine to be different though, cause there are a hundred of these out there from people who actually get paid to do this. How do I solve this?

Well, it’s Christmas. So the answer is excess. Sheer volume. Fuck a Top 10. I listened to 81 albums this year. I’m going to rank them all. I figure this is a great chance to get this article I’ve always wanted to do out, provoke some debate and test my stamina as a writer.

DISCLAIMER

You are DEFINITELY not going to agree with this list. The things I usually consider when reviewing: cultural impact, critical and commercial acclaim, musical brilliance, relative strength against previous work were all important this time. But crucially, I’m ranking the feelings each of these records gave me this year. This is the tome of my 2016 in music. Because of that, I’ve got tiny mixtapes ranked above universally adored albums. Pitchfork Top 10s that didn’t make my Top 20. If you feel some type of way about that, that’s okay. Come to my Twitter and let’s discuss it.

THE PLAN

Here’s how it’s gonna run (I hope)

Boxing Day: 81-60 (11 in the afternoon, 10 in the evening)

27th Dec: 60-40 (10 in the afternoon, 10 in the evening)

28th Dec: 40-20 (same deal)

29th Dec: 20-10

30th Dec: 10-1

That’s basically it. Hope you feel it. #OneMan81Albums #RankAllTheRecords