10. Run the Jewels 3 - Run the Jewels

When Santa Run the Jewels delivered Run the Jewels 3 on Christmas Eve, it was a surprise gift to hip-hop fans everywhere. (There are advantages to not publishing these types of lists until the last possible minute.) While RTJ3 isn't the explosive power keg of an album that Run the Jewels 2 was, it's the most consistent album across the board that the duo of Killer Mike and El-P has put out to date.

Run the Jewels still mainlines swagger (Killer Mike on "Hey Kids (Bumaye)": "I ain't flinchin', Marshawn Lynchin' it / Run through a mother#$%&@!'s face like ig'nant, isn't it") and isn't afraid to get personal and vulnerable about lost friends ("Thursday in the Danger Room"), but the group is at its most essential when delivering sociopolitical ferocity. RJT3 provides a soundtrack of fire for the resistance, be it Killer Mike's the disturbingly prophetic (recorded pre-election) intro to "2001" ("How long before the hate that we hold lead us to another Holocaust? / Are we so deep in it that we can't end it? Stop, hold, ever call it off / It's too clear, nuclear's too near and the holders of the molotov / Say that 'revolution's right here, right now' and they ain't callin' off") or El-P decree "Fear's been law for so long that rage feels like therapy" on "Thieves! (Screamed the Ghost)." Times might not be easy, but Run the Jewels offers music to bring unify those willing to fight for their rights, or as El-P more bluntly puts it on "Talk to Me," "We a good crew to fuck with, better to love."

9. Return to Love - LVL UP

Sometimes an album feels eminently familiar upon first listen. LVL UP’s Return to Love almost seems like it might be a long lost compilation of unreleased tracks by indie rock favorites. It's an amalgamation of what people love about the genre that manages to avoid drifting into derivative territory.

Much of the freshness felt throughout Return to Love can be attributed to the group's three songwriters (Dave Benton, Nick Corbo, and Mike Caridi) taking turns as lead vocalist. Even though the vocal tone qualities of the three are similar to the point of being somewhat indistinguishable, the type of songs they separately pen provides the variety. Things kick off on "Hidden Driver" with Benton wailing out cryptic lines about God over buzzy ringing chords like Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum. Caridi leads the way on "Pain" which begins with a twee-like tone before building to a distorted clash of guitars and scathing repetition of "I hope you’re cold / I hope you grow old and never find love / Never find love... never find love... never find love..." By the time LVL UP reaches the conclusion of its pastoral psychedelic journey with the heavy, hypnotic trudge of "Naked in the River With the Creator," the band has already taken listeners through an expansive existential trip that proves there's still magic to be found in mucky chords. 

8. Freetown Sound - Blood Orange

Freetown Sound spells "BLACK" and "BEAUTIFUL" in all caps. Blood Orange's (aka one-man R&B wizard Dev Hynes) composition on his third album overflows with the type of complex and seamlessly soulful creativity that should leave other musicians in stunned awe. Each track manages to boast sexy grooves, personal lyricism about identity and love, and deeper messages about the struggle inherent in modern black culture.

Blood Orange proves to be an expert at sprinkling just the right sonic ingredients to maximize a track's impact. In the traditional sense, guest vocals from artists like Carly Rae Jepsen ("Better Than Me") and Nelly Furtado ("Hadron Collider") boost Hynes own voice by allowing him to step out of the direct spotlight. But more importantly, the samples and spoken word passages he slides into the mix as song outros emphasize black strength. These stirring segments range from De La Soul samples ("Thank You") to an interview snippet from Ta-Nehisi Coates ("Love Ya") to a powerful poem on hip-hop feminism by Ashlee Hayes ("By Ourselves"). It all weaves together to create a stunningly dreamy R&B collection with a purpose. It's hard to shake the realization that Hynes's request to raise ones arms on a warm, breathy, and silky song like "Hands Up" isn't a call to pump up the party, but a plea for survival in the face of police brutality. But Freetown Sound isn't an album to be shook off.

7. Splendor and Misery - Clipping.

Full disclosure: I have never listened to the Hamilton soundtrack (I don't like listening to musical soundtracks before I see the live productions, it's a quirk). So coming into Splendor and Misery, I was only familiar with Tony-winner Daveed Diggs as the MC behind the previous Clipping. record (CLPPNG). So there was no Hamlton fanboy sheen when approaching the trio's new album, the science fiction opera Splendor and Misery.

While there's been plenty of spacey hip-hop put out by Sub Pop in the past (Shabazz Palaces and THEESatisfaction), Clipping. actually ventures into the dark abyss. William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes's sparse, industrial-leaning production maximizes metallic clanks, alarms blares, static, and synthetic amalgamations of whirling ventilation and airlock doors in otherwise silent halls to create an ever-eerie and tense backdrop that feels ripped right out of Alien. In this universe of sonic isolation, Diggs creates a narrative of terror by unleashing lyrical precision at a frightening quick clip (see: the mind-boggling enunciation while frenetically spouting off spaceship administrative protocol on "The Breach"). For Diggs, the "all black everything" universe of hip-hop can sometimes be as empty as drifting on an aimless lost starship ("All Black"). But the variety of styles Clipping. employs on Splendor and Misery keeps the travels from being soulless, be it the downtrodden spiritual singing of "Long Way Away" or the staccato organ bounce of "A Better Place."

More than any record on this list, Splendor and Misery relies on the cohesive unity of the album format. Some tracks straight up would not work as independent entities detached from the larger space opera context, but when placed together, they form an otherworldly journey of cold isolation that transports a listener away from the earthly plane like no other 2016 record can. 

6. Hit Reset - The Julie Ruin

Kathleen Hanna still has her fastball. On the Julie Ruin's second album, her voice piercingly shreds through a fluffy pop rock backdrop as her razor sharp lyrical claws rip apart the people she doesn't need bringing down her world anymore. Her punk fury and riot grrrl edge remains ever-present (disemboweling false male rock feminists on "Mr. So And So"), yet its equally delightful to hear her belt it out to sugary danceable instrumentals. 

Hit Reset's 13 tracks constitute an emotional thrill ride, as no other record in 2016 meshes such jubilant highs with such doleful lows. At times, Hanna showcases the exuberant pep of a secretly cynical self-help guru (like when declaring we should all "start a Kickstarter for your heart" on the chorus of "Planet You"), but she can also find defiant strength in crushing sadness and pain (see: the gorgeous stripped-down piano-led melancholia of "Calverton"). Hit replay on Hit Reset.

5. Talk to Me So I Can Fall Asleep - Crater

"Escapism was a necessary tool for mental survival at times in 2016, and there was no better digital world to escape to then the one created by Crater on Talk to Me So I Can Fall Asleep. Over the course of 11 tracks, the electronic duo of Ceci Gomez and Kessiah Gordon simultaneously sing like welcoming sirens while keeping listeners at an arms length. The album is industrial pop for the Internet age. It’s music to listen to while watching people stare at their phone screens.

The core of Crater’s sound comes from the sleek synthetic electronic sounds that cut at sharp angles and the cold distance Gordon’s manual and digitally sampled drums evoke. Talk to Me So I Can Fall Asleep pulsates with an industrial music edge, with just enough glitchy goth dissonance to keep things discomforting. More importantly, the duo has a clear ear for pop. The melodic sensibility Crater displays on tracks like “Crater Head,” “Sick Sand World,” and “Hardly At All” surpass almost all of its electronic/industrial contemporaries. The hooks jack into a listener’s mental wiring and spread like a virus. 

Crater is the musical equivalent of Rachel the replicant from Blade Runner: mechanical but struggling with human emotion, seeming to fight against its own programming to survive, wanting to hold on to a glimmer of hope while deeply pessimistic, captivating with a noir sophistication. A traditional happy ending doesn’t seem to be in the cards, but at least each step along the path to Talk to Me So I Can Fall Asleep’s denouement is a gorgeous one.” Top 10 Seattle Albums of 2016

4. No Grace - PAWS

Scottish trio PAWS is one of the best rock bands on the planet, and it's an artistic travesty that the group remains so unheralded. On No Grace, PAWS' combination of punk melodicism, ripping guitars, self-aware lyricism, and thundering drums gets filtered through production by Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, resulting in an eminently accessible album with a pop punk sheen.

Scrappy passion defines all of PAWS' music thanks to frontman Phillip Taylor's knack for addressing relationships and creative struggles within that context. If PAWS had a motto, it'd be something along the lines of "just keep going." The album-opening "No Grace" acts as an anthem for any band trying to make it (against their better judgement) because music pulses through their veins ("Punched out and smashed in the teeth / These boys are done, they're bleeding / Pouring their sweat, souls, and hope / Into a dying black hole / Here we are it's all or nothing / Even if this room is empty / Live young, die fast, don't believe / In everything that you read"), while "Impermanent" attempts to fight against the feelings of futility by embracing a sense of nihilism. With the walls of sublime aggressive sound the band builds on tracks like "Complete Contempt" and "Salt Lake," No Grace soars with a blistering frenzy that feels like a rallying cry for all the underdogs that would rather go down swinging than take what's given.

3. Slugger - Sad13

On Slugger, Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis (aka Sad13) becomes her own brand of pop star. She wants all of the fun of a sugary pop palette without the objectification that too often goes along with it. She's no mystical genie in a bottle that needs to be rubbed. She's not going to be a slave for you. Sad13 simply wants to carve out a blissful, inclusive place where she can dance and clap nights away with her friends.

Springing forth from bedroom recordings, the self-produced Slugger mixes the glistening joy of an catchy electronic pop soundscape with Dupuis's hyper-intelligent lyricism, resulting in songs that touch on thematic ground atypical for the genre. When's the last time you heard a shimmering single about sexual consent ("Get A Yes"), jealousy caused by the mere existence of platonic male pals ("Just A Friend"), or even dark love odes involving Christmas demons ("Krampus (In Love)")? Slugger fires sharpened lyrical arrows at female rock quotas on "Line Up" ("Need one of those / Yeah you're the one we choose / I'm not obliged / They let in every boy, but I'm the only girl in sight"), reductionist rock critics on "Hype ("Who is she? / A ditz, a rogue, a bitch? / Naw, call me warrior, non-pejorative / That's the shoe that fits"), and plenty of awful dudes ("Devil in U"). But the real strength of Slugger comes from the pure infectiousness of its choruses. After a few listens its damn near impossible to not shake a shoulder or hip along with the earworms, be it the swaying insecurity of "The Sting," the defiant telling off of "Tell U What," or the speedy descending note blitz of "Line Up."

Slugger might not be the type of pop that will ever dominate the airwaves, but the thought of some little girls discovering the album and deciding this is the type of self-reliant and strong pop template they want to follow is heartening enough.

2. My Woman - Angel Olsen

Heartbreak—in one form or another—has been a running theme throughout 2016. At least Angel Olsen makes the feeling sound drop dead gorgeous. On My Woman, the modern musical heartbreak queen takes the rough, folk rock rawness of Burn Your Fire for No Witness and refines it into an expansive melodic gem. With a voice that could rip the heart right out of the most hardened soul, Olsen's lines of lovesick poetry pack a wallop whether conveying trembling anguish or steel-eyed strength.

There's something undeniable about the saucy swagger Olsen flaunts when directly and declaratively bellowing her orders—"Shut up / Kiss me / Hold me tight"—on the flawless single "Shut Up Kiss Me." But she commands just as much attention when "Give It Up" finds her wallowing in the messy passion of an all-consuming romantic obsession. The composition and delivery throughout the record compels listeners to hang on for the nuance of every syllable. Olsen isn't a singer-songwriter on My Woman, she's a goddamn diva. With different variants of pain pulsating through each track, My Woman is the most fulfilling masochistic listening experience of the year.

1. Out of the Garden - Tancred

While it can reasonably assumed that Tancred's Jess Abbott is not a witch, there's something crafty going on with Out of the Garden. Her endearing songwriting and sincere delivery manages to squeeze an unrealistic amount cunning pop rock out of her trio without ever encountering a single dip or lull during the album's 11 tracks.

A sweet melodic sensibility and layers upon layers of guitar form the core of Out of the Garden's aesthetic, but Tancred takes that formula and applies subtle twists that prove continually engaging. Things can transition from wry, bouncy numbers like "Control Me" to slow-burning songs centered around sinister-sounding plucked strings "Hang Me" without ever feeling like a stretch. If there's a central theme to the album, it's Abbott's mildly overactive, overthinking brain, but it lyrically manifests itself in a variety of forms. These range from letting someone mental imprison you in your own hangups ("Bed Case") to the spellbinding rapid fire scatterbrain tongue-twisters of an educated mind on "Sell My Head" ("I was taught along with math that sister was a psychopath / ... / I was taught in elementary brother was just gonna fight me"). Even after months of continual listening, Out of the Garden's enchanting powers have yet to dissipate. (Okay... Abbott might be a witch.)