The Owl Mag’s 20 Best Albums of 2016

December 22. 2016 | By Staff

One of the most tumultuous years of the 21st century (until the next one) leaves behind a vast array of powerful music in its wake. The Nest’s top picks for 2016 are an eclectic record of the tunes we turned to and returned to in times of celebration and commiseration. Tweet your favorites on this list and your own using #OwlBest16… HAPPY LISTENING!

A Tribe Called Quest
We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
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After an 18 year pause, @ATCQ return with their final chapter, the vibrant, vital, victorious #ThankYou4YourService
-Jason Martinez (@Jason4Breakfast)

Ages and Ages
Something to Ruin
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#SomethingtoRuin is @agesandages relatable eulogy to changing cities
-Anna Larina (@awwnuh)

Angel Olsen
My Woman
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#MyWoman teeter-totters between dream and reality. In each state, @AngelOlsen demonstrates that indie rock is still going strong
-Dustin Raucous (@sylvydra)

Bat for Lashes
The Bride
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Hushed menace pervades @BatForLashes #TheBride, an evocative subversion of our obsessions with romance and doom
-Sean Morris (@saneiscrazy)

Blood Orange
Freetown Sound
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Nostalgic, complex, and beautiful. #BloodOrange reminds us to wake up, pay attention,
and stay loud–all in under an hour.
-Julie Dyer (@peacelovejuly)

Childish Gambino
Awaken, My Love!
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If #AwakenMyLove is a window into @childishgambino’s mind, we don’t ever want to leave that funky place…ever
-Mayumi Okamoto (@myyoume_moto)

Daughter
Not to Disappear
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@ohdaughter embrace the bleak melancholia that life can present in the beautifully crafted #NotToDisappear
-@myyoume_moto

David Bowie
Blackstar
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@DavidBowieReal’s jazzy, unruly farewell is his best work since Heroes (Scary Monsters fans don’t @ me) #Blackstar
-@saneiscrazy

Denzel Curry
Imperial
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Wanna know who’s got it from here? Look no further than the transcendent fury of @ravenxmiyagi #Imperial #ULT
-@saneiscrazy

Gold Panda
Good Luck and Do Your Best
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2 albums this year, but this one’s a brand new and refreshing approach to sound from
@GoldPanda that’s anything but ambient.
-@peacelovejuly

Jenny Hval
Blood Bitch
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@jennyhval’s vampiric #BloodBitch creates a world where Draculas and Nosferatus spill concepts rather than blood.
-@sylvydra

Mitsuki
Puberty 2
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#Puberty2 is the fullest realization of @mitskileaks’ widescreen vision, songs that cut to the core. #OwlBest16 @DeadOceans
-Wayne Jessup (@waj1)

Mourn
Ha, Ha, He!
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@OHMOURN tighten the screws on their 2nd LP, ratcheting up the tension to amplify their explosions. @capturedtracks
-@waj1

Nothing
Tired of Tomorrow
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#TiredofTomorrow gave me all the old #MBV vibes necessary to get through this year. Thanks @bandofnothing
-Cervante Pope (@ghettocross)

Rihanna
Anti
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@Rihanna’s #ANTI actually made me care about sex and that one @tameimpala song.
-@ghettocross

Sama Dams
Comfort in Doubt
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Ranging from tender to dirty and intense, @sama_dams #ComfortInDoubt is wonderful.
-@awwnuh

Tacocat
Lost Time
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@TacocaTs, already riding high with the new Powerpuff Girls theme, cap off a victorious year with Lost Time @hardlyart
-@waj1

True Widow
Avvolgere
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3 albums deep into the home they’ve built for themselves in my heart. Can’t live w/out my @truewidow
-@ghettocross

Wet
Don’t You
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.@wet’s debut #DontYou is the perfect mix of somber & sweet tunes of crushing, love, & being crushed
-@myyoume_moto

Whitney
Light Upon the Lake
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Introspective and innocent, @WhitneyTheBand’s debut is the soundtrack to what we wish our life could be forever.
-@peacelovejuly

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