100 Greatest Albums of 2016

2016 record album covers for Lemonade, Blackstar, We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service, and A Seat at the Table
Criteria: These music albums from the year 2016 were chosen for their immediate and lasting popularity, impact, influence, and acclaim from critics and musicians. This list does not include 'Greatest Hits' albums.

Note: Yearly album lists go by earliest 'release date'.
Not necessarily the year an album peaked in the U.S. charts.
  1. Lemonade - Beyoncé
  2. Blackstar - David Bowie
  3. We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service - A Tribe Called Quest
  4. A Seat at the Table - Solange
  5. Coloring Book - Chance the Rapper
  6. A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
  7. ANTI - Rihanna
  8. The Life of Pablo - Kanye West
  9. 22, A Million - Bon Iver
10. Blonde - Frank Ocean
11. You Want It Darker - Leonard Cohen
12. Teens of Denial - Car Seat Headrest
13. Starboy - The Weeknd
14. Views - Drake
15. A Sailor's Guide to Earth - Sturgill Simpson
16. This is Acting - Sia
17. Skeleton Tree - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
18. American Band - Drive-By Truckers
19. Freetown Sound - Blood Orange
20. My Woman - Angel Olsen
21. Stranger to Stranger - Paul Simon
22. Malibu - Anderson .Paak
23. Run the Jewels 3 - Run the Jewels
24. Hoplessness - Anohni
25. Atrocity Exhibition - Danny Brown
26. Wonderful Crazy Night - Elton John
27. Post Pop Depression - Iggy Pop
28. Midwest Farmer's Daughter - Margo Price
29. Blue & Lonesome - The Rolling Stones
30. Untitled Unmastered - Kendrick Lamar
31. I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It - The 1975
32. The Hope Six Demolition Project - PJ Harvey
33. blackSUMMERS'night - Maxwell
34. 57th & 9th - Sting
35. Goodness - The Hotelier
36. Emily's D+Evolution - Esperanza Spalding
37. Jeffrey - Young Thug
38. Blue Mountain - Bob Weir
39. Joanne - Lady Gaga
40. Human Performance - Parquet Courts
41. Care - How to Dress Well
42. The Weight of These Wings - Miranda Lambert
43. No Burden - Lucy Dacus
44. Good Times! - The Monkees
45. Holy Ghost - Modern Baseball
46. 24k Magic - Bruno Mars
47. Hero - Maren Morris
48. Weezer (The White Album) - Weezer
49. The Ghosts of Highway 20 - Lucinda Williams
50. Glory - Britney Spears
51. Sremmlife 2 - Rae Sremmurd
52. AIM - M.I.A.
53. case/lang/veirs - case/lang/veirs
54. Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande
55. Tired of Tomorrow - Nothing
56. Islah - Kevin Gates
57. Awaken, My Love! - Childish Gambino
58. Puberty 2 - Mitski
59. Paradise - White Lung
60. Blank Face LP - Schoolboy Q
61. Worry. - Jeff Rosenstock
62. Big Day in a Small Town - Brandy Clark
63. Death of a Bachelor - Panic! at the Disco
64. Remember Us to Life - Regina Spektor
65. Disassociation - The Dillinger Escape Plan
66. Moth - Chairlift
67. American Football - American Football
68. Away - Okkervil River
69. Bottomless Pit - Death Grips
70. 99.9% - Kaytranada
71. Blood Bitch - Jenny Hval
72. Patch the Sky - Bob Mould
73. Revolution Radio - Green Day
74. I Had A Dream You Were Mine - Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam
75. Young In All the Wrong Ways - Sara Watkins
76. Hardwired...to Self-Destruct - Metallica
77. Still Brazy - YG
78. Light Upon the Lake - Whitney
79. Night Thoughts - Suede
80. Schmilco - Wilco
81. Dig In Deep - Bonnie Raitt
82. Full Circle - Loretta Lynn
83. Love & Hate - Michael Kiwanuka
84. Let Them Eat Chaos - Kate Tempest
85. Wildflower - The Avalanches
86. Painting of a Panic Attack - Frightened Rabbit
87. Here - Alicia Keys
88. SVIIB - School of Seven Bells
89. We're All Gonna Die - Dawes
90. Magma - Gojira
91. The Waiting Room - Tindersticks
92. HEAVN - Jamila Woods
93. Mudcrutch 2 - Mudcrutch
94. Konnichiwa - Skepta
95. Chaleur Humaine - Christine and the Queens
96. Side Pony - Lake Street Dive
97. A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings - Beach Slang
98. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future - Underworld
99. A Good Night in the Ghetto - Kamaiyah
100. Adore Life - Savages
Lemonade Beyonce album cover

Blackstar David Bowie album cover

We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service album cover

A Seat at the Table Solange album cover

Coloring Book Chance the Rapper album cover

A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead album cover

ANTI by Rihanna album cover
 DigitalDreamDoor Editor Picks for 2016
  Ryan's choice - An unheralded great album from 2016
 •  Designs in Rhythm - Ice Choir
  Lew's choice:
 •  Beautiful Lies - Birdy


Top 100 Albums by Year: