Ugh.

I can't tell you how many times I rolled my eyes at the plethora of lists by the big publications/blogs. I can't stand them. Fuck them in the fucking face. 

Why do I hate them? It's not because of the albums they chose......I don't get my grundle in a bundle over that shit. It's because of the major 'best of lists' out there, the same 5 or 6 fucking albums make everybody's top ten. You know those albums: Frank Ocean, Chance The Rapper, David Bowie, Radiohead, Kanye West, blah, blah, blah.  Many of these publications represent a group of people circle jerking to their own confirmation bias in the middle of their condescending bubble. 

C'mon. How about a little diversity? 

That said below are our FAVORITE albums. (Not BEST albums because that's the term those self-important assholes use). And while some of the artists I railed about above are listed below, we are not anointing them King/Queen of 2016. 

SO, all that I ask is: don't peruse the list below looking for the favorite artists we have in common. Don't confirm your bias, bro. Find an artist you never heard before and give them a try. Let's spread the 2016 love because there are a lot of great and hard-working artists out there that need to be recognized. Even artists that we missed. And if we did miss an artist, tell us about it on the social mediaz. We aren't only the pitchers of reccomendations we like to be the catchers too. #ittakesavillage

And so you can align your tastes with a specific staff writer, here is a helpful guide that will help you find that special new artist to listen to:

• Joel's tastes range from the Nate Berkis Target to artisan melodies created to sell Suburus. And if they contain a never-ending and heavily reverbed guitar solo...even better.
• Tom appreciates a finely curated list, sourced from an Etsy store owned by a Norwegian snow princess that also makes coasters for craft beer
• Del likes music drunk people 15 years younger than him puke to from inside of a trendy Hollywood public bathroom.
• Tim likes mainly rap music that nobody knows about it. And if he finds out that somebody else likes the rap they aren't supposed to know about, then he'll leave that rapper like a drunkin' date in the gutter. He also likes a little jazz that he can snap his bratwurst fingers to. 
• Brando fancies music from only the wokest of white people and the financially brokest of rappers. Because the only thing he likes more than being awake to society's struggles is self-loathing.
   

joel's favorite albums of 2016

5. The Holy - More Escher and Random Notes: I spent so much alone time with The Holy this year. Perhaps the biggest, most beautiful sounding album/EP I've heard all year, the reverence the music inspired was appropriate considering what a fucking shitstorm 2016 has been. I think I used the word "shimmering" like fifty times in my review of it, but it's so spot on if it didn't make it on your list of adjectives when describing the album maybe you weren't really listening. Go buy this before you forget that five perfect songs out of only five songs on an EP is fucking impossible. With two tracks that make you want to hug yourself, and three others that make you play air guitar like your left depended on it. Read our review. 
4. White Denim - Stiff: As a fan of the guitar, White Denim is one of my favorite bands based solely on how they treat the guitar. I love how every fucking song makes me want to stand up and draw attention to myself as I strum each riff, lick, and chu-chu-chunka on my freshly polished air guitar. The pace, rhythm, and meter of this entire album is some of the best road trip music I've ever heard, but again, the guitar work is the fucking star of this bitch. It's almost like 90% of the album has to be played while sporting the hot face because of how ruthless the guitar work is throughout. Read our review.
3. Moderat - III: I needed Moderat to make an album for me this year. Their strange and appreciated method of creating simply painful dance tracks is one of my favorite skills I never thought I would think would be a thing. From the opening track's dank cellar feel, to the rest of the album's skyscraper topped night club high above the city like atmosphere, III proves that electronic music isn't something to underestimate. Moderat has made my good times memorable, and my bad times forgettable, and I fucking love how they craft these peaceful rhythms amid their warehouse full of electronic toys. Knobs and keys and buttons and pedals and switches, oh my bro. Read our review. 
2. Warpaint - Heads Up: Having purchased this twice, once as a download and once as a vinyl, I can say with certainty that my love for it grew noticeably after the vinyl arrived. The warmth these ladies have gifted me is so much more than appreciated now that I've got my kids hooked on it. I love how relaxed and smooth everything sounds, and it's the perfect soundtrack for everything from laundry to late night drives, to strawberries, bacon, and waffles on Sunday morning. Read our review.
1. Daughter - Not To Disappear: This was the very first addition to my BEST OF playlist this year. I know that because whenever everything sucks and I fall back on my favorite albums of the year list Daughter just starts playing again. Intimate, erotic, tender, uncomfortable at times, grimy and beautiful, the entire Daughter album seems an introspective traipse through the imagination as one experiences isolation. I fucking love how raunchy the guitar work is behind how beautifully gorgeous the vocals are. I will admit to becoming aroused while listening to this album on more than one occasion. Read our review.

TOM'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2016

5. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam: I Had A Dream That You Were Mine: I love how Hamilton Leithauser sounds like he drank too much whiskey. And I love how Rostam makes music sound so whimsical. You wouldn't think it, but these two are actually a match made in Heaven. Read our review. 
4. Klangstof - Close Eyes To Exit: Klangy, as we know like to call him at SYFFAL created this perfect album that wisps you away to the rolling hills of Norway where the beer flows like wine and and the women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistano. F'real tho, I can't tell you how many times I intended to put this album on as background music and got lost in it. Read our review. 
3. Mike Adams At His Honest Weight - Casino Drone: Mike Adams is easy like Sunday morning. It's like he jumps out of a comic strip in the Sunday paper you're reading with a guitar and serenades you while you drink your coffee. And he's only wearing his Warby Parkers, striped boxers and v-neck under tee. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that this was my dream last night. I love Mike Adams! I draw hearts on foggy glass for Mike Adams! Read our review. 
2. Gregory Alan Isakov: GAI w/ The Colorado Symphony Orchestra: I was watching Castaway the other day. Remember that scene right after Tom Hanks gets rescued? When the movie cuts away to Helen Hunt (his wife who moved on with her life, got re-married and had a kid) got that phone call informing her that her thought-to-be deceased husband was still alive? And then she passed out? Remember that feeling you got in the pit of your stomach that was a mixture of joy and sadness? Well, that is how this album feels. It's a Costco sized jug of feels. Beautiful. Beautiful feels. Read our review. 
1. Whitney - Light Upon The Lake: I seriously thought about going back to re-write my original review for this album. The more I listened to it, the more I loved it. And although I initially wrote glowingly about the album, I feel like I somehow short-changed it. I left out my thoughts on the genius of the melodies....the melodies of every single instrument and they flow together. I left out how I think that this is one of the best guitar albums of this year. I left out that I think Whitney is one of the best song-writing bands out there today. So, if you haven't listened to Light Upon The Lake, or maybe listened to a couple of times, then I urge you to listen/re-listen to all the glorious parts on all the songs. Read our review. 

del'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2016

5. Starwalker - Starwalker:  When I started Starwalker's self titled album I was sure it was some trite ass shit. The lead song was just too saccharine for my liking. In year's past I may have even just punted it from there but something made me keep going. I could feel that there was something there beyond the cheese chorus. My perseverance was rewarded  tenfold.  The rest of the album was an absolute gem of spacey and spacious prog rock pop that deserved my attention. 
4. School of Seven Bells - SVIIB: ​​This will be the School of Seven Bells last album due to a death and a departure. God damn what a fantastic swan song to go out with. Leading songs "Ablaze", "On My Heart" and "Open Your Eyes" were the perfect pop start to any album of 2016.  The urgency is palpable. The heartache is empowering. The feels last long after.
3. The Avalanches - Wildflower:  The album that I never expected to happen came to fruition after sixteen years of waiting and it impossibly managed to exceed expectations.  In a year that saw Guns and Roses get back together, a new Tribe Called Quest album, and all sorts of other nostalgia rebirth (What up "Fuller House"!) this was the most welcome. The true beauty of Wildflower is it mined the same core structure of what made "Since I Left You" so perfect but then also sprinkled guests in that at first pass as singles were jarring but as a whole meshed in the true look and feel  of the full LP made up   a rich cavalcade of freak show characters swirled around all the colors. So many fucking colors. 
​2​. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo: A total unapologetic Kanye album with gospel tinged bangers for your car instead of the club. The Anti Yeezus. "Ultralight Beams", "Pt 2, "Waves", Famous", and "No More Parties" are the stand outs but what also struck a chord for me is the album closer, "Fade". It is the most misplaced sounding song I can recall in quite some time...and it is perfect. Imagine Hot Chip on a Kanye album but with no Kanye. That's kind of the vibe.  Kanye, for all of his faults, loves a rich tapestry of sounds and that love pushes the listener to go exploring down some wiki holes to experience new ideas via his samples.  He's the Tarantino of popular music.
1. Japanese Breakfast - Psychopomp:  Let’s be real right from the jump off on this one. My SYFFAL writing has been grossly non existent for quite some time.  I think it is fair to say that it’s been over two years since I’ve made a meaningful contribution. Sure I contributed little blurbs and tag team reviews for some albums but nothing really poured out of me the way Joel and Tom shoot language loads around town.  Me on the other hand I could probably could count on JPP’s hand on how many reviews I’ve done.  SO you must be getting the gist that what I’m about to start talking about is some important shit.  It is. What shook me out of my netflix and nill zone was Japanese Breakfast’s Psychopomp.  I didn’t know Michelle Zauner nor did I know the impetus to the creation and re-shaping of the songs that would make this album.  I stumbled across it in a vacuum and it pulled me in so hard and so tight. The shimmer, the pain, the beauty, the pleas they all come blasting at you right from the beginning on the first track. One minute and 45 seconds in, once those strings hit, I was all over Bandcamp.  I was pre ordering the vinyl.  I needed the feeling to be tangible.  That was significant because I really didn’t have a working record player at the time. It didn’t matter. The bombastic DIY (is that even a thing!? Low Lush!?) of “Jane Cum” would force me into fixing that issue.  The rumble crawls into your body and makes you part animal.  I’ve wanted to review the album for awhile but i instead kept it to myself for the entire year because my reaction could never be replicated by others. It kicked my ass and insisted it lock in a place in my brain for all of 2016  that no one else could take.

TiM'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2016

5. Illingsworth - I Didn't Ask for This: I had this album in my "need to listen to" folder for a few months before finally checking it out a few weeks ago.  I am super pissed at myself for waiting this long. I Didn't Ask for This is exactly the kind of rap that moves the needle (yes code) with me these day. Illingsworth brings you into his world with the confidence you would expect of a rapper, the twist is, it is not the world you have been told to expect from a rapper. Does that make sense?  To me it does so fuck it. Illingsworth is a man after my own heart. An introvert, who likes what he likes and is cool with that. I Didn't Ask for This seems like the manifesto for comfortable detachment, dripped into a veneer of super coolness that most people don't get until it is too late in life. I would have killed to be as comfortable in my skin as this album feels. Instead I had to waste a bunch of years trying to be cool by drinking too much and buying fedoras and vests at H&M. 
4. Tone Tank - One-offs and One-upsmanship: Technically this didn't come out in 2016 but I am making an exception here because it dropped at the very end of the year, well after all the best of lists were published, mocked and forgotten. If the Grammys can make exceptions so can I, especially for one of the best albums in the past 12 months (by the time this published it will still be less than a year old). Tone Tank is my rap role model at this point. Clever without being smug, brilliant without being off putting, and completely original.  Tone is nothing if not original. Stylistically homeboi is the marriage of Serengeti style conversational wit with Brooklyn neighborhood kid. There is a complete ease and honesty with Tone, he is so good at rap that it makes me mad. He is one of the rare geniuses that can bring you into even the most mundane moments of everyday life and make it a colorfully joyous moment. Thank kind of brilliance deserves our attention and admiration. Tone gets both from me.  
3. WESTSIDE GUNN - FLYGOD: If I learned anything this year, it is to never underestimate how easily the American public is to dupe and that my friend Zilla Rocca is an invaluable asset when looking for new rap music. One Saturday morning, out of the blue, Zilla sent me a text singing the praises of a rapper by the name of WESTSIDE GUNN and his album FLYGOD. I think he described it as 'the album you always wished AZ made'. It was a pretty accurate description, I think I would have gone with 'If AZ made Cuban Linx'. FLYGOD is perfect rap music. It is what you always hope for when you hear people singing praises of a new artist, with the exception being, FLYGOD doesn't disappoint. GUNN takes the classic style of mid-90s street rap and updates the formula, instead of being a tribute artist he reinvents he genre. When I first started rapping in the mirror all those years ago, WESTSIDE was what I always dreamt I would be. Untouchable skills, absolutely unique, utterly engaging, and wholly original. It is the best rap album this decade. 
2. David Bowie - Black Star: I was really skeptical about this album when it dropped. I assumed the lion's share of the praise was due to the fact that he had just passed away. Nobody is worse than music journalists, especially when it comes to the passing of a canonized saint of awesome - it is the perfect mix for asshole level meditations on what it means to be an artist in the internet age or some shit. Much to my pleasant surprised this was not the case, the album really is pretty god damn fantastic. It is a beautifully thought out goodbye. In a lot of ways,it is the sonic equivalent of seeing your life pass before your eyes. Knowing that he knew that he was dying only made it more stunning. I can't imagine having the poise to make something this beautiful on my way out of this mortal coil, I would be too busy making fun of people on twitter for having trigger warnings, or whatever the fuck it is that old people do these days. There are some genuinely stunning songs on this album, songs that stand up to the classics in this man's catalog. We can only hope that dying feels as good as listening to this album does. 
1. Yussef Kamaal - Black Focus: I traveled to space this year, it was god damn awesome. I saw the majesty of the universe, the alpha and omega, creation, destruction and recreation of everything. It was magical. I go back daily, traveling via the basslines, the horns, the drums, holy fuck those drums, The moods and emotions of Black Focus is everything I have ever wanted from music. The only thing keeping me from saying that Yussef Kamaal won music with Black Focus, is that my imagination is vibrant enough to imagine what might be next, shit, I couldn't even imagine up the wonderful sounds that Yussef Kamaal created, so who am I to declare a winner. While they might not be the winners of music, they may very well hold the pole position. Black Focus is the perfect record. You can play it anywhere and it will add to the moment, cement itself in the mood. It is stunning. Read our review.

brando'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2016

5. Linafornia - Yung: is something to be consumed whole. It isn’t to be nibbled. It isn’t bite-size. It isn’t made of nugget-shapes of processed white meat. It should not be eaten with a fork and knife, but picked up and shoved completely into wide-open and eager ears. It is also something that should be experienced live, or rather Linafornia is. If you have no reference, you need to go to church. Linafornia has really become the standard bearer for energetic live beat sets around the ciudad. I haven’t been going out much, so I haven’t seen her lately, but she keeps popping up in publications and newsfeeds so I know she’s still got a firm handhold on the tail of her particular comet. When the mood strikes, when I’m ready to nod my head until my vertebrae turn to pudding, when I’m ready to scrunch up my face like it hurts, when I’m ready to pump air drums and beat drops like I’m conducting an orchestra of holy shit, I put on Yung. I put on Yung and am transported to those humid nights spent standing pressed in the presence of Ms. Fornia’s sonic energy emissions. And I fucking like that shit. Read our review.

4. Open Mike Eagle & Paul White - Hella Personal Film Festival: Title, production, introspection, and comedy, Hella Personal Film Festival had everything. It’s amazing that this isn’t even close to my favorite Open Mike Eagle record, nor is it my favorite Paul White project. But together, I can’t deny the burning in my loins for all things these guys. The album was a slow burn. A couple of songs were released online. I listened. I moved on. I almost never made the commitment to pick up the record. It wasn’t until seeing the video for “Smile (Quirky Race Doc)” and after reading about how Mike’s, “I read what Lena Dunham said and I shouldn’t have” line blew up on Twitter in an interview about his comedy show (The New Negroes) with Baron Vaughn that I copped it. I have been a staunch Open Mike Eagle fan and should have known better than to doubt. This is a solid record full of memorable lines (“Every time I close my eyes a tiny Obama in a drone flies by”), unique topics (A song about a guy who dies every night.), and the introspection that makes me want to send Sir Eagle a heavy blanket for the holidays. Read our review.

3. Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid: Unquestionably a stunning release. If there were any questions whether or not Aesop Rock still got it, consider them served up on a petri dish infected with shut the fuck up germs. I don’t know Aes Rizzle personally, but his battles with mental health are well-chronicled. I feel like his genius was on full display and then became almost too much. It went from being the fulcrum of his inspiration to a full granite impediment. The Impossible Kid feels like the other side of that equation, and an expression that surprised even himself. Loving this record is like reconnecting with an estranged family member, completing a circle, solving for x, or riding into a sunset in reverse. Read our review.

2. Homeboy Sandman - Kindness for Weakness: It’s like Homeboy Sandman wrote a battle record against evil itself. The evil within. And like most of the battles Homeboy Sandman enters, he fucking WON. THAT. SHIT. Kindness for Weakness struck a chord, personally. It found a target, albeit a soft one, and hit the bullseye. Man, I NEEDED this record. It might be the only rap record that made me weep. It might be the only rap record that ever made me a better person. I listened like I was reading a page-turning self-help manifesto. I wanted to give Mr. Del Villar a huge hug and thank him. I’m a teacher and I remind my class everyday of the mantra of an educator hero of mine named Rafe Esquith, “Be Nice, Work Hard.” This was the rap version of that expression and it came from a source that struck me with the same urgency that it strikes the students when it comes from me. So, Homeboy, Sir Sandman, thanks, teach! I will. Read our review.

1. James Supercave - Better Strange: The first time I saw James Supercave I knew by my hard-on that they were going to be successful. They are the end of some kind of a personal era concerning my relationship with LA indie bands. I threw myself in the fire, and James Supercave’s Better Strange’s analog branches gave me that last stoke of coals. It’s pop-infused yearning provided that final gust of warmth. Its expansive dreaminess became the last glowing moments before sleep came. I don’t know who is who anymore. It happened very quickly. A couple of months of ignoring promo emails, and promo emails, and promo emails, and all of a sudden I couldn’t even tell you if the Echo is even doing its Monday night residencies anymore. But for all my new found ignorance, a product of acting my age, and falling in love, I’m healthier mentally and emotionally than I might have ever been. Better Strange was the perfect vessel in which to sail back from the Wonka Factory.  Read our review.