Top 10 National Albums of 2016

Our favorite picks from across the country

Neph Basedow (Indie rock)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Car Seat Headrest, Teens of Denial (Matador)

2) Angel Olsen, My Woman (Jagjaguwar)

3) David Bowie, Blackstar (ISO)

4) Beach Slang, A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings (Polyvinyl)

5) Savages, Adore Life (Matador)

6) The Gotobeds, Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic (Sub Pop)

7) Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool (XL)

8) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree (Bad Seed Ltd.)

9) Teen, Love Yes (Carpark)

10) Big Thief, Masterpiece (Saddle Creek)


Jim Caligiuri (Singer-songwriter)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Robbie Fulks, Upland Stories (Bloodshot)

2) Parker Millsap, The Very Last Day (Okrahoma)

3) Margo Price, Midwest Farmer's Daughter (Third Man)

4) Bob Weir, Blue Mountain (Columbia/Legacy/ROAR)

5) Paul Simon, Stranger to Stranger (Concord)

6) Cactus Blossoms, You're Dreaming (Red House)

7) Doyle Bramhall II, Rich Man (Concord)

8) Shawn Colvin & Steve Earle, Colvin & Earle (Fantasy)

9) Jim Lauderdale, This Changes Everything (Sky Crunch)

10) Freakwater, Scheherazade (Bloodshot)


Doug Freeman (Country)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Margo Price, Midwest Farmer's Daughter (Third Man)

2) Drive By Truckers, American Band (ATO)

3) Robbie Fulks, Upland Stories (Bloodshot)

4) Miranda Lambert, The Weight of These Wings (RCA)

5) Brent Cobb, Shine On Rainy Day (Low Country Sound)

6) Lori McKenna, The Bird & the Rifle (CN)

7) Parker Millsap, The Very Last Day (Okrahoma)

8) Amanda Shires, My Piece of Land (BMG)

9) Lydia Loveless, Real (Bloodshot)

10) Frankie Lee, American Dreamer (Loose Music)


Abby Johnston (Electronic)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Lambchop, FLOTUS (Merge)

2) Nicolas Jaar, Sirens (Other People)

3) Aphex Twin, Cheetah (Warp)

4) Avalanches, Wildflower (Astralwerks)

5) Elysia Crampton, Demon City (Break World)

6) Kornél Kovács, The Bells (Studio Barnhus)

7) Nite-Funk (Glydezone)

8) James Blake, The Colour in Anything (Polydor)

9) Marie Davidson, Adieux au Dancefloor (Cititrax)

10) The Range, Potential (Domino)


Kahron Spearman (Hip-hop)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Chance the Rapper, Coloring Book

2) Kendrick Lamar, Untitled Unmastered (TDE/Aftermath/Interscope)

3) Young Thug, Jeffery (300 Entertainment/Atlantic)

4) Kanye West, The Life of Pablo (G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam)

5) Skepta, Konnichiwa (Boy Better Know)

6) A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (Epic)

7) NoName Gypsy, Telefone

8) Vince Staples, Prima Donna (Def Jam)

9) Kevin Gates, Islah (Bread Winners' Association/Atlantic)

10) Isaiah Rashad, The Sun's Tirade (TDE)


Tim Stegall (Punk)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Bob Mould, Patch the Sky (Merge)

2) Descendents, Hypercaffium Spazzinate (Epitaph)

3) Bulemics, Something Wicked This Way Comes (Slope)

4) Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds, La Araña Es la Vida (In the Red)

5) Javier Escovedo, Kicked Out of Eden (Saustex)

6) A Giant Dog, Pile (Merge)

7) Bleached, Welcome the Worms (Dead Oceans)

8) Surprise Vacation, Stealing Office Supplies (Our Damn Selves)

9) The Dicks From Texas & Friends (Grackle Butter)

10) Exterminators, Product of America (Slope)


Michael Toland (Metal)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Cobalt, Slow Forever (Profound Lore)

2) Oranssi Pazuzu, Värähtelijä (20 Buck Spin)

3) Whores, Gold (eOne)

4) Dysrhythmia, The Veil of Control (Profound Lore)

5) Neurosis, Fires Within Fires (Neurot)

6) Wrong (Relapse)

7) Cough, Still They Pray (Relapse)

8) Inquisition, Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith (Season of Mist)

9) Brain Tentacles (Relapse)

10) Black Tusk, Pillars of Ash (Relapse)


Jay Trachtenberg (Jazz)

Top 10 National Albums of 2016

1) Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith, A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke (ECM)

2) Andrew Cyrille, The Declaration of Music Independence (ECM)

3) Charles Lloyd & the Marvels, I Long to See You (Blue Note)

4) Roberto Fonseca, ABUC (Impulse!)

5) Kenny Barron, Book of Intuition (Impulse!)

6) Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane, Matthew Garrison, In Movement (ECM)

7) Dave Douglas & High Risk, Dark Territory (Greenleaf Music)

8) Jaimeo Brown Transcendence, Work Songs (Motéma)

9) Daniel Freedman, Imagine That (Anzic)

10) Los Jazz Vatos, El Jefe (Lounge Side)

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National Top 10s 2016, Top 10s 2016

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