The Sunday Times Records of the year

1 Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool (XL)
Reworked, updated ideas and songs from years ago jostling with newly minted tracks, lyrics mired in the break-up of Thom Yorke’s relationship, a sonic architecture that fashioned these components into music of breathtaking beauty, menace and poignancy, futuristic and as old as the hills: on their ninth studio album, Radiohead created a work of art that, seven months after its release, continues to surprise.
2 Beyoncé
Lemonade (RCA) In which the enraged Mrs Carter used rumours of Jay Z’s infidelity to create a stunning multi-genre journey through betrayal, fury, estrangement and forgiveness. After this, her sixth studio album, the lemon emoji was never the same again.
3 Bon Iver
22, A Million (Jagjaguwar)
Exactly how a pop/rock/hip-hop/jazz/gospel/electro/folk album should sound in 2016. Justin Vernon — aka Bon Iver — pulls in all the sounds now available to artists at the press of a screen for songs that reach far, but always stay grounded.
4 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Skeleton Tree (Bad Seed)
Stupefied by grief following the sudden death of his son Arthur in 2015, Nick Cave continued to put pen to paper, and sang the visceral, heart-wrenching results in a voice that was rarely louder than a whisper.

5 David Bowie
Blackstar (Columbia)
A last will and testament or a staging post to another album taking shape in Bowie’s head: either way, Blackstar, released two days before his death from cancer, was an indispensable addition to an unrivalled canon

6 Leonard Cohen
You Want It Darker (Columbia)
Deadlines focus the mind, and the approach of the ultimate deadline brought forth some of Cohen’s finest work: the songs as perfectly crafted as ever, the production (by his son, Adam) the most sympathetic his music has ever received.

7 Solange
A Seat at the Table (Saint Records/Columbia)
The second Knowles sister in our Top 10 fashioned a third solo album of inventiveness, dignity and simmering rage, with at least two songs — Cranes in the Sky and Don’t Wish Me Well — that are among the year’s best.

8 Rihanna
Anti (Virgin EMI)
A collection of stoner ballads with just one big single — Work — Rihanna’s eighth album is her best. Fed up with the pop machine, the Barbadian opted for fearless reinvention, with the Winehouse-like abuse ballad Love on the Brain as tough as they come.

9 The 1975
I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It (Dirty Hit/ Polydor)
Fiercely divisive, this absurdly titled album was a shop window for a mad mix of musical styles — gospel, 1980s new wave, soft rock and ambient — that makes the 1975 stand out from the crowd.

10 Christine and the Queens
Chaleur Humaine (Because)
The French superstar’s debut challenged concepts of glamour and gender identity, and spawned the anthem of the summer in Tilted. Paired with her suits and Jacko moves, its bold electronica proved that pop can still stun on TV.

11 Anohni
Hopelessness (Rough Trade)
Shocking, strange, seductive, the torch singer’s protest album, an indictment of our failings set to whirring electronica, was one of the most powerful statements of 2016.

12 Conor Oberst
Ruminations (Nonesuch)
The rawest album yet from the forever troubled one-time voice of a generation. Political and very, very personal.

13 Frank Ocean
Endless (Boys Don’t Cry/Def Jam)
Originally a teaser for Blonde, this “visual album”, with swirling, futuristic R&B melodies and those trademark Ocean falsettos, outshone the follow-up.

14 Drake
Views (Island)
On his mega-streaming opus, the singer-rapper produces more broody, moody hits for the millennial generation. There’s a distinct sense of refining a formula, but when the formula is this good, who’s complaining?

15 De La Soul
And the Anonymous Nobody (AOI)
The Daisy Chainers overhauled hip-hop again, with the aid of David Byrne, Damon Albarn and an unhinged Justin Hawkins.

16 Kaytranada
99.9% (XL)
A stunning debut from the Montreal-based producer, whose celebratory hip-hop rhythms and sunshine beats can easily be danced to until the early hours.

17 Lambchop
Flotus (City Slang)
Melodic Americana meets 21st-century production, as Kurt Wagner autotunes his vocals — and thrillingly pushes them to the point of intelligibility.

18 Skepta
Konnichiwa (Boy Better Know)
The king of grime’s fourth album won the Mercury prize for its tongue-in-cheek lyrics and raw political undertones.

19 Jenny Hval
Blood Bitch (Sacred Bones)
If there’s room in your life for a concept album about menstruation, make it this one. It’s a bloody masterpiece.

20 PJ Harvey
The Hope Six Demolition Project (Island)
This is sonically a sister to her masterpiece Let England Shake, but Harvey’s politics here look wider, from Afghan refugees to the impoverished US.

21 Common
Black America Again (Universal)
With guest appearances from two other insightful social commentators (Chuck D and Stevie Wonder), one of the pioneers of “conscious hip-hop” addressed the state of the nation.

22 Jain
Zanaka (Columbia)
A sun-drenched excursion through Africa, the Middle East and hip-hop clubs suggested that Jain could be French pop’s next great export.

23 Jessy Lanza
Oh No (Hyperdub)
On her sophomore album, Lanza continued to navigate the line between straight-up pop and wonky electronica to thrilling effect.

24 Maxwell
BlackSUMMERS’night (Columbia)
The neo-soul veteran is a master of his genre, his feathery voice and delicate arrangements still conveying a satisfying weight on his first album for seven years.

25 Nao
For All We Know (RCA)
The Londoner’s spacious, soulful digital funk and playful vocals provided the summer with its most smouldering soundtrack.

26 A Tribe Called Quest
We Got It from Here... (Epic)
A remarkable final album, capturing the political chaos of 2016 with old-school beats and free-flowing lyrics.

27 Chance the Rapper
Coloring Book (Good Music)
The 23-year-old Chicago native, accompanied by gospel choirs, fiercely flaunts his dexterity with lyrics, making for a joyous, incredibly accomplished mixtape.

28 Dvsn
Sept 5th (WEA)
This mysterious Canadian duo, more of Drake’s prolific protégés, serve up come-hither R&B grooves and soulful confessions.

29 Sia
This Is Acting (RCA)
Rather than stick her rejected songs in a drawer, Sia turned them into solid gold with this masterclass in powerhouse pop.

30 Iggy Pop
Post Pop Depression (Caroline)
Ably supported by Josh Homme, this is the most powerful musical statement Iggy has made since his late-1970s masterworks The Idiot and Lust for Life.

31 Meilyr Jones
2013 (Moshi Moshi)
The Welshman fled to Rome with a broken heart after his break-ups, and returned with this masterpiece of chamber pop.

32 Let’s Eat Grandma
I, Gemini (Transgressive)
There are nods to Björk and 1990s Madchester on this wonderfully compulsive and surprising debut from two 17-year-old multi-instrumentalists.

33 Laura Mvula
The Dreaming Room (RCA)
The Brum singer’s second album, teeming with audacious classical/soul/jazz experimentation and polemic, confirmed her as one of Britain’s most original voices.

34 Petite Meller
Lil Empire (Island)
The fashion favourite fused funk, flute, African rhythms and Italian house piano on a debut every bit as dizzy as her dress sense.

35 Shura
Nothing’s Real (Polydor)
Alexandra Denton’s long-awaited debut LP is the perfect synth-pop concoction, her sure ear for melody twinned with shimmering 1980s-style production and her fragile, hopeful voice.

36 Tanya Tagaq
Retribution (Six Shooter)
Tagaq is an Inuit throat singer, Retribution a visceral exploration of modern dysfunction. “Money,” she sings at one point, “has spent us.” Agree? Then this is for you.

37 Bat for Lashes
The Bride (Parlophone)
A concept album about a deceased groom and a failed wedding, Natasha Khan’s ballad-heavy fourth record is her most haunting yet.

38 Angel Olsen
My Woman (Jagjaguwar)
Excavating a doomed relationship, the American’s third album captured her at her most intimate, unfettered and fierce.

39 Steve Mason
Meet the Humans (Double Six)
In the past, the former Beta Band man has revelled in being “difficult”, but Meet the Humans offers us his warmest and most accessible collection of songs yet.

40 Kanye West
The Life of Pablo (Mixtape Manor)
Love him or loathe him, Kanye epitomises our twisted times. As, in its astonishingly good, crudely offensive fashion, does this album.

Hup

Their top 25 are predictable as fuck, but some good stuff in the remainder of the list

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>>69477094
>that Jenny Hval entry
>"it's a bloody masterpiece"

the fact that solange exists and has commercial success is infuriating.