The Top 50 Albums Of 2016

The album hasn’t traditionally been an intrinsically dance-orientated format. It’s a form of music rooted in two-track 12”s made for club use only. But as the scene continues to grow and subgenres began to fuse together, a longer-running collection of tracks has increasingly taken up position as a prominent outlet to release music.

This year has seen futuristic electronica producers team up with an art pop vocalist, grime continue its ascent to the peak of popularity, records that blend contemporary r’n’b with bass and footwork, a one-time dubstep poster boy continue on his path of leftfield pop, and a whole host of producers turn in clubby efforts that make sense in a long playing format, taking the opportunity to experiment with their approach and push their sound into uncharted territory. We’ve also shouted out some of the finest hip hop and r’n’b to land over the past 12 months. Our 50 favourite albums of 2016 are listed below.

Listen to a Spotify playlist featuring the top tracks from each album here.