As is tradition around these parts, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite CDs of the year, as did my music-lovin’ colleague Wes Woods. He used to host our lists on his IE Music Now blog, but that’s defunct, so we’ll do it here. Wes’ list is much more au courant than mine, it must be said.

My Top 15 releases of 2016:

1. Billy Bragg/Joe Henry: Shine a Light: Field Recordings From the Great American Railroad (Cooking Vinyl) (video can be seen here)
2. Various artists: God Don’t Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson (Alligator)
3. Regina Spektor: Remember Us to Life (Sire)
4. Parquet Courts: Human Performance (Rough Trade)
5. Twin Peaks: Down in Heaven (Grand Jury)
6. Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Denial (Matador)
7. Drive-by Truckers: American Band (ATO)
8. David Bowie: Blackstar (Columbia)
9. Tacocat: Lost Time (Hardly Art)
10. Blind Alfred Reed: Appalachian Visionary (Dust to Digital)
11. Terrace Martin: Velvet Portraits (Ropeadope)
12. Paul Simon: Stranger to Stranger (Concord)
13. Angel Olsen: My Woman (Jagjaguwar)
14. Wussy: Forever Sounds (Shake It)
15. Leonard Cohen: You Want it Darker (Columbia)

Note on the above: Blind Alfred Reed recorded in the ’20s and ’30s, but this 2016 compilation was so impressive I included it anyway.

Wes Woods’ Top 13:

1. Anderson .Paak: Malibu (Steel Wool Records)
2. Kaytranada: 99.9% (XL Recordings)
3. A Tribe Called Quest: We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service (SME Epic)
4. YG: Still Brazy (400, CTE World, Def Jam)
5. Case/Lang/Veirs: Case/Lang/Veirs (ANTI-)
6. Thao & the Get Down Stay Downs: A Man Alive (Ribbon Music)
7. Schoolboy Q: Blank Face LP (Top Dawg, Interscope)
8. Bon Iver: 22, A Million (Jagjaguwar)
9. Chance the Rapper: Coloring Book (download only)
10. Run the Jewels: Run the Jewels 3 (Mass Appeal, RED)
11. Solange: A Seat at the Table (Saint, Columbia)
12. Open Mike Eagle (with Paul White): Hella Personal Film Festival (Mellow Music Group)
13. Beyonce: Lemonade (Parkwood, Columbia)

Did you buy any new releases in 2016? What did you like?

We, and others, did lists for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2009. [I don’t recall if we didn’t do lists in 2010 and ’11 or I just can’t find them.]