If you’re looking for good music to listen to, 2016 stands as a great place to look. In fact, the year was so good, I decided to make a list about it months later. A major amount of music was released that probably slide right under your radar. The majority of you have probably heard about Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Kanye’s Pablo, and Frank’s Blonde, so I am going to focus on the albums that people probably never heard of. Fair warning, we are diving into semi-hipster territory and the list will not be in any order except alphabetical.

HOPELESSNESS by ANOHNI

Protest music with some trap beats? Where do I sign up? ANOHNI’s (fka Antony) solo debut has her teaming up with Hudson Mohawke (TNGHT and Kanye West’s Yeezus) and Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) to create some of the most powerful protest pop the world has ever seen. The lyrics may be a little blunt with its message (see “Obama”), but the production is stellar throughout. If this isn’t your thing, at least listen to “Drone Bomb Me”. It’s dark title hides the fact that it’s a borderline banger.

Wildflower by The Avalanches

The Avalanches burst onto the music scene with 2000’s Since I Left You. A groundbreaking effort in instrumental hip hop and the obscure genre known as “plunderphonics”. The album is regarded as one of the best in Australia's history (they’re from Australia). Wildflower, sixteen years in the making, disregards the sophomore slump by shaking up the style to a more psychedelia effort. Features include Danny Brown, DOOM, Father John Misty, Ariel Pink, Biz Markie, and a bunch more. If you’re looking for an chill listening experience, you should listen to Mac Demarco. If you seek a some bizarre sampling mixed with some subtle hip hop, check this out.

22, A Million by Bon Iver

There’s a fair chance you’ve probably heard of Bon Iver. He released the stellar For Emma, Forever Ago, including the single “Skinny Love”, back in 2007. The release and its mysterious back story caught the attention of Kanye West, leading to the lead singer appearing on West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and 2013’s Yeezus. In 2011, he released Bon Iver, Bon Iver, finding a commercial breakthrough and a couple of Grammy Awards. The signature sound of Bon Iver involves mainly traditional folk instrumentation with a synthesizer just to irritate people. This time around, the group dives into their electronic tendencies head first. This results in some abrasive textures, beautiful melodies, and some of the weirdest song titles to ever be conceived (see “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄”). If you’re looking for a short burst of electronic folk music with very cryptic lyrics, this would be perfect.

Bottomless Pit by Death Grips

If you thought Danny Brown was abrasive, Death Grips hold reign over the art known as industrial hip hop. Bursting onto the scene with the 2011 mixtape Exmilitary, Death Grips have released a major work every year since. This effort finds the band going back to their basics, crafting extremely twisted songs, sonically and lyrically, that trudge a hole straight into your head. The album bases its format off of the band’s 2012 masterwork The Money Store, and shares some quality with that release as well. If you feel the need to break something, let this be the perfect soundtrack.

Views by Drake

This isn’t one of the underlooked albums of the year. I just wanted to take a break about how much of a disappointment this album was. If Drake hadn’t set his standard so high with the masterpiece Take Care, then maybe this wouldn’t have to be this way. There are highlights: “Feel No Ways”,”Hype”. I can’t really remember anything else, and that’s the problem. So much of this album is just so forgettable. I listened to this album like three times the weekend it dropped. The next day, I couldn’t remember half the tracks. Also, listening to this album is not easy. This thing is eighty minutes. If this album was a person, it’d be featured on My 600-lb Life. Sure, Take Care is 80 minutes, but that album has the consistency, the single power, and the freshness that Views lacks. To be honest, I’m also just a little sick of all the dancehall tracks.

Floss by Injury Reserve

With the relevance of groups of Migos and Run the Jewels, the rap group seems to be making a comeback. Enter Injury Reserve: a three piece from Arizona who burst onto the scene with 2015’s Live From the Dentist’s Office. The new release sticks to the same formula only on a stronger degree. The first track might be one of the best bangers of 2016. There are very few words that could do justice for this album. A hard mixtape with strong emotions underneath.

I Had a Dream that You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam

I remember exactly where I was when I found out Rostam left his signature band Vampire Weekend. I felt the worst feeling. Rostam pulled the pure definition of a “dick move”. Vampire Weekend are one of the most important bands of the decade, what could possibly be more important than being in that? Well, turns out Rostam built a reputation for being a very prolific producer working with the likes of Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen, Haim, Chance the Rapper, and even Frank Ocean. A couple of months later, Rostam announced an album with the lead singer of the Walkmen (the band that wrote the song in the How I Met Your Mother finale). The result is some typical Rostam production work complemented with interesting lyrics and vocals by Hamilton Leithauser. If you like whimsical music, I’d listen to this.

Endless by Frank Ocean

Blonde was my favorite album of last year. Before the release, Frank released a 45-minute visual album called Endless. As soon as Blonde arrived, Endless was swept under the rug. In reality, Endless serves not only as a nice compliment to Blonde, but as an interesting project that stands on its own. This is definitely the weirdest release Frank Ocean has released so far and may of the same production, instrumentation, and vocal performances would foreshadow the mood on Blonde. If you’re a real fan of Mr. Ocean, this is most definitely not worth a skip.

MY WOMAN by Angel Olsen

Angel Olsen made the leap from indie darling to rock powerhouse in 2016. With the help of single “Shut Up, Kiss Me”, MY WOMAN stood out as one of few breakthroughs made during a year mainly comprised of veteran releases. The strong personality shines through with songs like “Intern”, and “Sister”, as Olsen puts her greatest traits on full display. For an early look on one of music’s future stars, Olsen’s release is perfect.

Run the Jewels 3 by Run the Jewels

The only reason this album is underrated is due to the fact that it dropped on Christmas Eve of last year. The follow up to the hailed RTJ2, Run the Jewels 3 cements a great trilogy of rap records that could easily stand toe to toe with Kanye’s first three. Killer Mike and El-P bring their greatest traits together and this time letting the great ideas flesh out, Run the Jewels 3 stands as the perfect testament to the combination of two rap veterans.

A Seat at the Table by Solange

Released the same year as her sister Beyonce’’s Lemonade, Solange’s recent effort stands on its own as a politically charged R&B album with a low key style. Solange combines a sense of gentleness with a great deal of elegance to create some of the most gorgeous songs of the year, perhaps decades. From the soaring loneliness of “Cranes in the Sky” to confident defiance on “Don’t Touch My Hair”, Solange shines in ways never before seen. A must listen for anyone into either low key tunes or music with strong politics.