Top 50 Albums of 2016

Hello to 2017, let's hope it's going to be much better than 2016 in every aspect!

As far as music is concerned, last year we lost too many great artists, while our beloved rock music, the reason for the existence of this blog, seemed to go out of fashion if we believe the various year-end lists of the established media organizations, where R'n'B, Rap and Dance music dominated.

However, we believe all is not lost for guitar music. Although I cannot say that we came across new groundbreaking rock music last year, there were plenty of worthwhile efforts and several excellent albums showing remarkable development for relatively new artists and bands like Car Seat Headrest, Angel Olsen, Savages, Diiv or Parquet Courts who are establishing themselves among this decade's important music makers.

Next to the great contributions from new(ish) artists, which also included albums by Warpaint, Goat, Factory Floor, Daughter and Quilt to name a few more, we also enjoyed the return of some familiar names from the past who added new and important chapters to their amazing history. Both Swans and PJ Harvey gave us amazing albums which could easily claim the top spot of our list, if it wasn't for our decision to dedicate the Top 5 to the work of up-and-coming artists that we feel they are the new blood of rock music of the '10s, while Black Mountain, Dinosaur Jr., The Julie Ruin, Woods, Kristin Hersh, Radiohead and, of course, David Bowie's last music statement, were also among the reasons that the heart of rock music was still beating strong in 2016 despite everything. Let's hope for more great music from all genres in 2017 because something tells me we are going to need it bad!

So, here are the 50 albums we enjoyed the most in the past 12 months, chosen of course among the new releases that we were able to listened to and buy in physical format. As always, the ranking of the list was valid as of the last day of the year, but it is not written in stone and can easily change as we are still looking to discover more great music released in 2016 that may have escaped our attention so far. A more thorough list will be published in Cool Music Database as soon as we feel that the search is over.

To 50 Albums of 2016

1. Teens of denial - CAR SEAT HEADREST

2. My woman - ANGEL OLSEN

3. Adore life - SAVAGES

4. Is the is are - DIIV

5. Human performance - PARQUET COURTS

6. The glowing man - SWANS

7. The hope six demolition project - PJ HARVEY

8. Heads up - WARPAINT

9. Requiem - GOAT

10. IV - BLACK MOUNTAIN

11. Give a glimpse of what yer not - DINOSAUR JR.
12. Hit reset - THE JULIE RUIN
13. Blackstar - DAVID BOWIE
14. A moon shaped pool - RADIOHEAD
15. 25 25 - FACTORY FLOOR
16. We got it from here... Thank you 4 your service - A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
17. Not to disappear - DAUGHTER
18. Plaza - QUILT
19. City sun eater in the river of light - WOODS
20. Wyatt at the Coyote Palace - KRISTIN HERSH
21. Next thing - FRANKIE COSMOS
22. A man alive - THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY
23. Distance inbetween - THE CORAL
24. A weird exits - THEE OH SEES
25. Emotional mugger - TY SEGALL
26. Paradise - WHITE LUNG
27. Patch the sky - BOB MOULD
28. Skeleton tree - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
29. The waiting room - TINDERSTICKS
30. Heart like a levee - HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER
31. Jet plane and oxbow - SHEARWATER
32. United crushers - POLIÇA
33. Pussy's dead - AUTOLUX
34. Ash & ice - THE KILLS
35. New view - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
36. Strangers - MARISSA NADLER
37. Case/Lang/Veirs - CASE/LANG/VEIRS
38. Funs cool - THE PRETTIOTS
39. Human ceremony - SUNFLOWER BEAN
40. Inner journey out - PSYCHIC ILLS
41. Until the hunter - HOPE SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS
42. Here - TEENAGE FANCLUB
43. Chaosmosis - PRIMAL SCREAM
44. Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future - UNDERWORLD
45. Painting with - ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
46. Everything you've come to expect - THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS
47. Eyes on the lines - STEVE GUNN
48. Mass Gothic - MASS GOTHIC
49. Sun Kil Moon / Jesu - SUN KIL MOON / JESU
50. Slugger - SAD13

Click here for our Top 50 Tracks of 2016 and enjoy below a playlist with some of the highlights from our 2016 Albums of the Year:

The Top of our 2016 CD pile

Top 50 Tracks of 2016

It's that time of the year again! The festive season is upon us, and despite what we might think or feel about 2016, we are seeing it off with a selection of some of the best music released in the last 12 months. For starters, we present today our own version of the Festive 50, 50 great tracks representing stand out moments from some of the albums we've enjoyed the most during 2016, plus a few selections taken from stand-alone single or EP releases. As usual, we are including only one track from each artist or band, so that we can fit in a wider variety of releases.

The top position of our favorite tracks list belongs to Angel Olsen with her impossible to say no command "Shut Up Kiss Me",  the astonishing, grungy power-pop single off her excellent fourth album "My Woman", one of the best examples of the reinvention of her sound which keeps the delicate melodies of folk music, but adds plentiful rock energy that lets the sparks fly on tracks like this one.

Here is the complete list of our Top 50 Tracks of 2016, which you can also stream on Spotify:

1. Shut Up Kiss Me - ANGEL OLSEN

2. The Wheel - PJ HARVEY

3. Fill in the Blank - CAR SEAT HEADREST

4. Human Performance - PARQUET COURTS

5. Florian Saucer Attack - BLACK MOUNTAIN

6. Under the Sun - DIIV

7. New Song - WARPAINT

8. I Sing in Silence - GOAT

9. Lazarus - DAVID BOWIE

10. Jesus Alone - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS

11. When Will I Return? - SWANS
12. Bath White - 50 FOOT WAVE
13. Sad Person - SAVAGES
14. Wedding - POLIÇA
15. Burn the Witch - RADIOHEAD
16. No Care - DAUGHTER
17. Chasing The Tail Of A Dream - THE CORAL
18. Tiny - DINOSAUR JR.
19. I’m Done - THE JULIE RUIN
20. Wise Ol’ Man - THE FALL
21. Sun City Creeps - WOODS
22. Were We Once Lovers? - TINDERSTICKS
23. Soma Gone Slapstick - KRISTIN HERSH
24. Sunday Love - BAT FOR LASHES
25. Dial Me In - FACTORY FLOOR
26. I Exhale - UNDERWORLD
27. We the People... - A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
28. Where the Lights Gets In - PRIMAL SCREAM
29. Aviation - THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS
30. I'm In Love - TEENAGE FANCLUB
31. On the Lips - FRANKIE COSMOS
32. Be Apart - PORCHES
33. Brainwasher - AUTOLUX
34. La Distinción - LORELLE MEETS THE OBSOLETE
35. Janie In Love - MARISSA NADLER
36. Sweetest Girl - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
37. Let Me Get There - HOPE SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS
38. The Spoils - MASSIVE ATTACK
39. Doing It to Death - THE KILLS
40. The Bridge - SAUNA YOUTH
41. Kiss Me When I Bleed - WHITE LUNG
42. Candy Sam - TY SEGALL
43. Oblivious - THE STROKES
44. Death Note - SPEEDY ORTIZ (mp3)
45. Golden Gal - ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
46. On My Heart - SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
47. X-Communicate - KRISTIN KONTROL
48. Reichpop - WILD NOTHING
49. Your Best American Girl - MITSKI 

50. Late 20s - BEST COAST