2016 has had a wide volume of music releases. Here's a handful of albums that are well worth your time:

David Bowie - Blackstar

Blackstar, released just two days before David Bowie's death from liver cancer, is undoubtedly an album for which 2016 will be known. Bowie had known of his condition for eighteen months before his passing, and Blackstar is quite clearly a reflective work born from this. Bowie gives the boot to his familiar band in exchange for a New York jazz group that assists in making his last project one that spans a wide variation of genres. Notable tracks Blackstar and Lazarus are haunting, yet beautiful. Anyone with an appreciation for Bowie or for his role in history as a musical catalyst must give Blackstar a listen.

Kanye West- The Life of Pablo

Is it called Waves? So Help Me God? No, Kanye made up his mind. It's called The Life of Pablo, and it's pretty good. Pablo is unfiltered Kanye - it's rough around the edges, it's brash, and it means to be. Kanye isn't afraid to explore on this tape - he pulls some gospel elements into tracks like Father Stretch My Hands, and samples large chunks of other songs like Desiigner's Panda. They're risky calls, but they contribute to the intentionally messy aesthetic and ultimately pay off. There's also a host of strong features that add to the project. It's definitely not perfect - there are struggle bars across lots of Pablo's tracks (including a pretty weird but very Kanye bar on Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1), and Kanye's attempts to create a sort of living mixtape by adding tracks post-release have made the project unwieldy and thematically cluttered. Still, it's a fun album and definitely one of the more noteworthy releases of this year.

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Radiohead has been going strong for over twenty years. The rock group has experimented with sound and style for just as long, and A Moon Shaped Pool is no different. In a sharp contrast from Radiohead's more recent releases, this album is creepy. It's off-putting, and abrasive at first, with harsh, sometimes surprising audio effects coupled with some of Thom Yorke's most naked, disarming lyrics. The first listen will be uncomfortable, but A Moon Shaped Pool is a grower. In one of the most engaging releases of the decade, Radiohead will force you into a state of deep introspection on this record. As a dense, heavy album, A Moon Shaped Pool is already a leading Grammy contender, and rightfully so.

Frank Ocean - Blonde

Articulating exactly what Blonde is as an album can be difficult. Frank Ocean's second release is a lengthy, dizzying, trippy experience. There's no loud, speaker blasting lead; instead, there's a fluid list of mellow tracks. The instrumentation very subdued, almost ambient on Blonde - it sounds sometimes like the music is being played through a filter, or being received by the listener in a dream like state. This amplifies Frank's voice. His lyrics are political, emotional, sexual, and Frank Ocean fluidly transitions among these themes freely. A full listen from front to back is a worthy experience of your play queue.

Honorable Mentions:

Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.

Weezer - White Album