Plebings presents the definitive* list of the top 50 albums of last year.       ^{_{*In his opinion.}}

2016 is behind us now, you’ll be glad to know – congratulations, you survived! There are a lot of things we want to forget about and leave in 2016, but if there’s one thing last year knocked out of the park, it was music. We saw statement albums from superstars like Beyoncé and Rihanna, we saw brilliant debuts in the shape of Nao and Shura, and of course we saw the heartbreaking final chapter in the discographies of David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.

I have written mini reviews for most of the albums on this list on previous Music Monthly articles, or this Habbox Forum thread, but without further ado, I present you with my favourite albums of 2016.

50. Pet Shop Boys – Super (pop)
49. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool (indie-rock)
48. David Bowie – Blackstar (alternative)
47. Michael Angelakos – Merry Christmas, Mr Fields (baroque-pop)
46. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree (alternative/singer-songwriter)
45. Laura Mvula – The Dreaming Room (baroque-pop/R&B)
44. Daniel Woolhouse – What’s That Sound? (singer-songwriter)
43. Solange – A Seat At The Table (R&B)
42. Christine and the Queens – Chaleur Humaine (alt-pop)
41. Sia – This Is Acting (pop)

40. The Weeknd – Starboy (R&B)
39. Gwen Stefani – This Is What The Truth Feels Like (pop)
38. Tegan & Sara – Love You To Death (pop)
37. Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (pop/R&B)
36. ANOHNI – Hopelessness (alt-pop)
35. Nao – For All We Know (dance/R&B)
34. Johnny Foreigner – Mono No Aware (indie-rock)
33. Zayn – Mind of Mine (R&B)
32. Angel Olsen – My Woman (singer-songwriter)
31. Kanye West – The Life of Pablo (rap)

30. Britney Spears – Glory (pop)
29. Local Natives – Sunlit Youth (indie-rock)
28. Dragonette – Royal Blues (pop)
27. Lauren Aquilina – Isn’t It Strange? (singer-songwriter/pop)
26. AlunaGeorge – I Remember (dance)
25. Jones – New Skin (pop/R&B)
24. Niki and the Dove – Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now (pop)
23. Tove Lo – Lady Wood (pop)
22. Dawn Richard – Redemption (R&B)
21. Chairlift – Moth (alt-pop)

20. Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION: Side B (pop)
19. Wild Beasts – Boy King (indie-pop)
18. LUH – Spiritual Songs For Lovers To Sing (indie-rock)
17. Ra Ra Riot – Need Your Light (indie-rock)
16. Beyoncé – Lemonade (R&B)
15. Blood Orange – Freetown Sound (R&B)
14. Metronomy – Summer 08 (alt-pop)
13. Lady Gaga – Joanne (pop)
12. Porches – Pool (alt-pop)
11. Slow Club – One Day All Of This Won’t Matter Any More (folk)

10. Magik*Magik – Magik*Magik (baroque-pop)
9. Låpsley – Long Way Home (singer-songwriter/R&B)
8. How To Dress Well – Care (alt-pop)
7. Department M – Deep Control (alt-pop)
6. Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost (emo)
5. Fifth Harmony – 7/27 (pop)
4. Japanese Breakfast – Psychopomp (indie-rock)
3. Shura – Nothing’s Real (pop)
2. Banks – The Altar (pop)
1. The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It (indie-pop)

So there we have it! Check out the forum link above to see me go more in depth with some of these albums (and some that didn’t make the list). Also comment below telling us what albums you’ve been enjoying over the past year, if you’re a fan of any of these albums, or any you think I missed out.

Fingers crossed this year provides just as many great albums as last!