Rob Sheffield’s Top 20 Albums of 2016

As you might have noticed, 2016 was not the brightest year for the human race. So here’s to the musicians who made albums worth celebrating – so many great ones, there was no way to slice it down to a mere top 10. These were my 20 favorites, from all over the map: soul catharsis, rock & roll kicks, hip-hop exorcism, cheap pop thrills. Some came from new voices, others from old favorites, and a few from legendary hearts saying good night. But these were the albums that lifted me up, dug me out, spun me right round and sang me back home.