Music Year End Review II: My Favorite Albums of 2016

So 2016 was a terrible year for the pop music charts (in my opinion at least). I was gonna make a list of my favorite pop songs, but honestly there weren't really enough to list from the Hot 100 Year End list. A lot of the pop songs I liked didn't make it to that list. So in short my favorite pop songs this year were probably "Hymn For The Weekend", "24K Magic", "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" and "Water Under the Bridge". Instead of focusing on the pop charts, I decided to just name albums that I really enjoyed throughout the year. Outside of the Pop Charts 2016 was a really great year for music (especially Rock) with many many many good albums and even lots of great ones. There's a lot that I missed and will eventually go back to, but here are some that really stuck with me all the way through the year.

Honorable Mentions:

BABYMETAL - Metal Resistance

This album really came of nowhere for me earlier this year. I've heard of this band a lot, but I never took them seriously enough to listen to them. I gave this new album a chance since I really enjoyed the first single "Karate". To my surprise I ended up really liking the album as a whole. The lead vocals by Suzuka Nakamoto are great, and the other cute vocals didn't ever really get annoying as I feared they would. The music is also good, with every song covering a different style of the metal genre. None of it is groundbreaking, but it plays as a good homage to the genre. It's not an album I can listen to easily, since the vocals are in Japanese and the music isn't something I really crave to hear all the time. Still it was a good surprise and worth a listen if you like metal or Japanese pop or rock or just want something really fun.

Sing Street Soundtrack

I loved this movie and the soundtrack was just as good. A perfect tribute to some of the most memorable New Wave bands of the 80's. The songs written for the film are so catchy and they really do feel like they came straight out of that crazy unique 80's time period of music. It's worth a listen... unless the 80's aren't your thing. But....no... everyone loves the 80's....right?

Weezer - White Album

 One of the best Weezer albums I've heard in a very long time. Sadly I haven't played it much in the last few months, not because it's bad BUT because there is so much music coming out and sadly, a lot of it is better than this album. Still that's not to take away from how much fun this album is, it's a really good summer time album with the Beach Boy vibes and great listening for those hot summer days. I'll definitely be putting this in my car next year for those hot sunny day drives.

Descendents - Hyppercaffium Spazzinate

The first full length released by these guys in over a decade, and they haven't lost anything. Still the same great punk sounds from these veterans in the genre. Great energy, fun music, some of the best punk songs you can find in 2016. It's amazing when a band that's been around for this long can still release an album this solid, it seems age hasn't affected the energy of this band at all, and that's just amazing. Just like that old school punk, no song overstays it's welcome and are nice and short. For the amount of songs there are (21 tracks), all of them feel like they belong here.

                                                    Blink 182 - California

Who knew the best thing Blink-182 could do was to get rid of Tom? Blink-182 returned to their old ways with more fun, energetic and catchy songs. With the addition of Matt Skiba (of Alkaline Trio), they were able to deliver the Blink-182 album I've been waiting years for. The only thing about the album that felt weak was the overused "ooohs" and "nanana's" which felt kinda lazy at times. BUT it's not enough to keep this from being a really fun and great listen. It's a great comeback in a year of great comebacks, and amazingly this one wasn't the best of those comebacks (but another three piece band maybe?).

Bastille - Wild World

I was very excited to hear more from Bastille after the great debut album they released in "Bad Blood".  This was another great album, although maybe a bit too long, but most of the songs are at least good and even some great ones. "Good Grief" was a tough one to get out of my head, but it wasn't a bad thing since it's a really great catchy song. It was sad to see this album didn't get much love on the pop charts like the last one they released. None of the songs even made the hot 100 this year, which is pretty sad considering how much better than most pop music the singles they released from this album were. Still that's the world we live in I suppose... One might say it's a wild world. Sorry.

Panic! at the Disco - Death of a Bachelor

 I've never been a huge fan of this band, but there have great songs in their past albums that I still listen to now and again. I wasn't expecting much from this album, but it really took me by surprise. This album was exactly what the pop charts needed this year, but still somehow ignored. Lots of great energy and a different sound than any other mainstream hit on the charts this year. Still, even with it's huge success, this album still got overshadowed by all the other predictable bored music this year had to offer. When the music industry finally offers something interesting, the world still picks the obvious choices and ignores the good stuff. Maybe i'm just being too negative, but maybe I just like being negative.

THE TOP 10

This list will probably change over time, as I listen to all the albums I missed this year. There's always great albums out there that I miss and I hope to get to them soon.

10. Ladyhawke - Wild Things

Favorite Track: Wild Things

This album is so much fun and also relaxing to listen to, every single song on the album is great. Lots of great use of electronic sounds, unlike a lot of pop music, everything actually works well together musically to make a complete sound. Admittedly some of the albums on the honorable mentions might be better than this album, but this album is so easy to listen to and I find myself coming back to it a lot. The song "Wild Things" is one of my favorite songs of the year, it's a very relaxing and inspiring song with great atmosphere. That's what this album brings... great atmosphere.

9. Lumineers - Cleopatra

Favorite Track: Gun Song

 Lumineer's last album was a fine folk-rock album with some memorable songs. It put them on the map for sure, and I was excited to see where they would go with this new album. Glad to say it was an improvement from their last album, as it was an overall great album where every song is at the very least good. Much like the last album on the list, this one is a very easy listen and also very relaxing to me. Folk isn't really something I listen to very often, so the fact that this album was one of the ones I found myself listening to more than most other albums is pretty telling.

8. HalfNoise - Sudden Feeling 

Favorite Track: Leaving

This album really came out of nowhere this year. I found out about these guys when they opened for a band I was seeing a few months back, and I haven't stopped listening to this album ever since. I found it very similar to Ladyhawke's album, as it has all the great atmosphere and it's relaxing and easy to listen to. What makes this better is how simple, yet full the music is. I love the sounds they use and I love how all the instruments come together to make really great music. The vocals are simple, as are the lyrics, but that's not a complaint in this case. The simplicity of the vocals match with the tone and atmosphere of the music, so it works very well in this case. I always feel this album ends too early, it's so good that it just flies by. I can't wait to get more music from these guys.

7. Anchor & Braille - Songs for the Late Night Drive Home

Favorite Track: Detroit Stab

Continuing with the theme of relaxing songs with great use of music is this album. Last year my favorite band Anberlin broke up, and it was a sad moment because they always made amazing music and I am going to miss them a lot. Early this year the lead singer of Anberlin released this album from his side project Anchor & Braille, and it ended up being one of my favorites. It's great to know i'll still be getting great music from them in one way or another, it might not be Anberlin, but this is really great in a really different way. Everything from the vocals to the music all work really well, and it creates a great album to... drive home at night to. Lots of beautiful melodies and lots of little details in the music make this album so great. Stephen Christian's vocals are always amazing, I'm glad to hear more from him and I hope to hear more music from this side project of his.

6. Green Day - Revolution Radio

Favorite Track: Forever Now

 Much like Blink-182, Green Day is a band that I've been waiting for a good release from for years. Green Day has a special place in my life, as American Idiot was pretty much the first album that really got me into music. The last decade has been hard, since Green Day has only released three albums that were all pretty disappointing. Then comes 2016 and the release of Revolution Radio, one of my most anticipated albums of the year. This was the Green Day album I've been waiting for, and it cured my itch for more great Green Day music. Every song on the album is great, and the lyrics are actually really great as well. Lots of the songs feel very personal to Billie Joe Armstrong's life and even current events and how the current state of the United States. With lots of great energetic songs, but also some great slower songs with very meaningful lyrics. I loved this album a lot and i'm glad to see Green Day making great music again.

5. Young the Giant - Home of the Strange 

Favorite Track: Art Exhibit

So I was actually pretty disappointed by this album. The reason being that the first two albums by Young the Giant were my favorites for the years that they were released (2011 and 2014 were the two years they released their first two albums). Now in 2016, the third full length by Young the Giant was released. At first I really loved this album and I could really see it being my favorite of the year. Over time though, I lost a lot of that love I originally had for this album. Even though I love most of the songs, there are some here that I lost some love for over time. Songs like "Amerika", "Titus Was Born" and "Mr. Know-It-All" were ones that I lost love for over time. I still like every song from this album and I do think it's great album, but it still feels like a step down from previous albums. Maybe with time I'll grow to love those songs again, but I know that this album won't be my favorite of the year. There were a few more memorable albums that I listened to way more than this one. Young the Giant is still one of my favorite bands, and their music is still really great including this album. I still am excited to hear more from this band in the future. Also, best album artwork of the year goes to this one.

4. Relient K - Air For Free

Favorite Track: Runnin'

Another band this year to make a great comeback was Relient K. Relient K is one of those bands, like Green Day, that really helped grow my love for music and I've always been a huge fan of. I was really disappointed by the last album they released back in 2013, as it was really the first album they released that I didn't love. Looks like it was just a small hiccup for them though, since the new album "Air For Free" is yet another amazing album by Relient K. This album is a very beautiful album with very uplifting lyrics and reflective songs that can be very relate-able in many different points of ones life. There's still some really good fun songs here though like "Bummin", "Cat" and "Elephant Parade". It's a slower Relient K album, but I found no problem with that. The only song that kept this from being a perfect album was "Empty House", which I think would have been a great song, but sadly ruined by auto-tune vocals that feel out of place on the album.

3. Bad Suns - Disappear Here:

Favorite Track: Even In My Dream I Can't Win

 Bad Suns was one of the best surprises of 2014, when they released their debut album and I fell in love with it instantly. With this new album they managed to make an even better album than the last one, and once again surprised me with one of the best albums of the year. From the great music with lots of great guitar, drum,synth, and bass work and the unique vocals, everything in this album just worked really well together.  Every song is a joy to listen to, and I found myself listening to this album over and over again without ever getting tired of a single song. After this album I can easily say that Bad Suns is one of my favorite bands out there. I need more from this band. RIGHT. NOW.

2. Thrice - To Be Everywhere is to Be Nowhere:

Favorite Track: Hurricane

 Comeback of the year. After going into a hiatus around 2012, Thrice came out of nowhere and announced their return in 2016 with a new album. I never thought the album was gonna be as good as it was. In my opinion this is the best album they have released to this day. It's a near perfect album in almost every sense, from the very topical lyrics about the United States and all the problems we face with violence and government to the fantastic music that's always on point. Dustin's vocals have improved so much since the last time they released an album, he has such a great gritty sound to his voice and he hits every note beautifully. With all that it accomplishes, this really should have been my favorite album of the year. This is rock music at it's best.

1. Paper Route - Real Emotion

Favorite Track: Chariots

I almost feel like I can't explain why this album is my favorite of the year. It's only been out for a few months, but it already feels like a big part of my life. I can't think of an album that impacted me so much in so little time as much as this one did. I love every single song on this album, and I haven't been able to stop listening to it since it came out. There are songs here that feel really emotionally (no pun intended?) impact-full, like "Untitled", "Balconies" and "Real Emotion". Musically, there's a lot of beautiful moments in this album, and it feels very personal. The band get every moment right here, from the slower more vulnerable moments, to the faster paced songs like "Writing on the Wall" and "Laugh About It". While musically and vocally, Thrice's album was probably better, this album just won me over with it's.... Emotion (Sorry). It's a perfectly named album, that I know I'll keep coming back to for years.