The start of a new year always means there's a year's worth of music behind us—music that stays behind and music that sticks with us. In the case of 2016, we were fed a lot of disappointing and depressing news stories, often times leaving us with a bad taste in our mouth, but thanks to all the epic albums that kept pouring in, we were able to turn to music to "cleanse our palates", so to say. Do yourself a favor and take a minute (or a few hours) to recall all the good things our ears heard in 2016. Here's holaOLA's 66 Favorite Albums of 2016!
(If you don't want to scroll through this huge list with album art and song streams, click here to skip to the short-and-sweet list and to listen to holaOLA's Spotify playlist featuring a song from all 66 albums)
66. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity
65. Vesuvio Solo - Don’t Leave Me in the Dark
64. Yuck - Stranger Things
63. Barbagallo - Grand Chien
62. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.
61. Bombino - Azel
60. Dr. Dog - Abandoned Mansion
59. Nicolas Jaar - Sirens
58. David Bazan - Blanco
57. ARMS - Patterns
56. Conor Oberst - Ruminations
55. Steve Gunn - Eyes on the Lines
53. Jim James - Eternally Even
52. Flock of Dimes - If You See Me, Say Yes
51. Hiss Golden Messenger - Heart Like a Levee
50. White Denim - Stiff
49. ScHoolboy Q - Blank Face LP
48. Parquet Courts - Human Performance
47. ANOHNI - Hopelessness
46. Anderson .Paak - Malibu
45. Weyes Blood - Front Row Seat to Earth
44. D.D Dumbo - Utopia Defeated
43. Woods - City Sun Eater in the River of Light
42. James Blake - The Colour in Anything
41. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Pretty Years
40. Roosevelt - Roosevelt
39. Matt Kivel - Fires on the Plain
38. Caveman - Otero War
37. Frankie Cosmos - Next Thing
36. Foreign Fields - Take Cover
35. STRFKR - Being No One, Going Nowhere
34. Mutual Benefit - Skip a Sinking Stone
33. C Duncan - The Midnight Sun
32. Sioux Falls - Rot Forever
34. Mutual Benefit - Skip a Sinking Stone
33. C Duncan - The Midnight Sun
32. Sioux Falls - Rot Forever
30. Conveyor - Ready Not Ready
29. Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
28. Bibio - A Mineral Love
27. Helado Negro - Private Energy
26. Local Natives - Sunlit Youth
25. Brass Bed - In the Yellow Leaf
24. Andrew Bird - Are You Serious
23. The Hotelier - Goodness
22. A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service
21. Chris Cohen - As If Apart
20. PUP - The Dream Is Over
19. Japanese Breakfast - Psychopomp
18. LVL UP - Return to Love
17. Hamilton Leithauser & Rostam - I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
16. Maria Usbeck - Amparo
15. Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
14. Cass McCombs - Mangy Love
13. Andy Shauf - The Party
12. RY X - Dawn
11. Whitney - Light Upon the Lake
10. David Bowie - Blackstar
9. Mothers - When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
8. Porches. - Pool
7. Pinegrove - Cardinal
6. Mitski - Puberty 2
5. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
4. Jay Som - Turn Into
3. Bon Iver - 22, A Million
2. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial
1. Angel Olsen - My Woman