Hyun's Top 10 Albums of 2016
Hi! Welcome to my "Top 10 Albums of 2016" blog! In light on this year reaching an end and inspired by the multiple countdowns that other members have done in the forum, I decided to do one myself. This year has been pretty good to me in terms of music as I've liked a lot of releases, as well as found a lot of new stuff! Now if you know me you know that I like Korean and Japanese music, and yes, of course, there's albums of the language in this countdown. You can also probably guess my #1 correctly since I've been pretty vocal about it. You might find something new in this list that you like! Anyway, starting from #10 and going upwards...
SHINee are one of the staple groups in K-Pop, they're essential to anyone's experience in the genre and my favorite boy group ever! 1 and 1 features a variety of genres that together make up this great album; from House, to 90's Jack Swing, the album has many many gems in it. The album is a really nice collection of good vocals and production working together. It serves you bops, midtempos, (amazing) ballads.
#HyuntySTANS: SHIFT, Tell Me What To Do, Feel Good
Perfume are a techno inspired J-Pop trio, and one of my favorite artists ever. They're definitely not everyone's cup of tea, being such a heavy electronic group that features autotune, vocaloid, high-pitched voices, etc, but being a big electronic fan, that's really what makes me love them so much. COSMIC EXPLORER was preceded by many singles released prior to the album, but most of these were reworked into new versions that in some cases is for the better, and others, for the worst. Either way, the album does a great job at mixing today's EDM trends while still keeping it loyal to their sound.
#HyuntySTANS: STORY, FLASH, Cosmic Explorer, Pick Me Up
I was never a JoJo stan, hell I had never listened to a song by her previously to listening to Mad Love., but I was immediately impressed. This is a fantastic comeback album, you can feel the passion she has for music in many of the songs included here. Her vocals are absolutely fantastic - especially on the ballads Music. and I Am., whew - the production is done just right. Bops, mid-tempos, ballads, this album is a ride of emotions that I love to experience!
#HyuntySTANS: Honest., Vibe., High Heels., Good Thing.
LEMONADE, the iconic album/movie that shook the world! I could spend a while talking about how amazing the visual part of the album is, but we're talking about the music here so I'll leave that for another time! The album ranges from many, many genres yet manages to stay as a cohesive body of work. The production, the vocals, the lyrics, the theme, the concept, it's all perfectly executed and it's why this is Beyoncé best album ever.
#HyuntySTANS: 6 Inch, Freedom, Daddy Lessons, Hold Up
Big shoutout to @blankdreams. for introducing me to this album indirectly via Popfection! This album is seriously an electropop masterpiece, I'm still as amazed as I was the first day I listened to it, and I still love it as much as I did then. The album's production is insane and just massive, seriously praise Joel Little for the amazing work. It's an experience to listen to, let me tell you, especially when you get to the title track which closes the album, whew! Georgia's voice is so interesting and it shines in this album. Plus, the Tove feature is seriously an amazing moment.
#HyuntySTANS: Conscious, Free, Are You Home, Hold The Line, Recovery, Freak of Nature
I discovered DEAN not too long ago, and I'm very very glad I did! He's a South Korean alternative R&B artist who released his debut ep "130 Mood: TRBL" earlier this year. With just 6 tracks (and an outro) the album sets a moody ambient from the beginning, with a set of mid-tempos following through. The production (done by himself) is so on point, his vocals are so so smooth, the melodies are really lovely throughout the entire thing, and it all mixes together in this amazing record where every single track is a highlight. I highly recommend you listen to this, you won't regret it. He's almost a Korean The Weeknd, if that gives you any motive to listen to him!
#HyuntySTANS: 21, D (Half Moon), Pour Up
I found out about BANKS with Gemini Feed, and I was definitely interested from that point and on. The Altar did not disappoint from the excitement I had built up from before, it exceeded my expectations. I love the dark tone her music has, even in the more upbeat moments of the album. Actually I wanna point out how FLAWLESS the transition from Mother Earth to Weaker Girl is, easily one of the best moments of the album, I love that too much. Her lyrics are flawfree, the production slays. She really did that with this album.
#HyuntySTANS: Trainwreck, Gemini Feed, 27 Hours, To The Hilt
Barely a month has passed yet this album found its way into my Top 3 of the year, truly a flawless album. The album keeps his signature dark and moody R&B vibe, but it's evolved, Starboy definitely borrows more pop, electronic and house influences compared to his previous albums, and I'm a huge fan of this. The Daft Punk features really take each of those songs to a new level, and the fact that they're the opener and closer of the album is just a really nice touch.
#HyuntySTANS: Rockin', Secrets, False Alarm, A Lonely Night, Love To Lay
Pop perfection at its finest! This is the album that solidified me as an Ariana stan, it's just too damn good. Even though this is always said when talking about it, praise the lord for Focus' backlash that made her change the album's direction! The title track came through and left everyone shook, myself included. Then the rest of the album was just sent from the Pop Gods themselves. It has one of the best songs of this year, the hit that got away, Into You! By the way, Forever Boy > Knew Better
#HyuntySTANS: Into You, Touch It, Greedy, Thinking Bout You, Side to Side
Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it. I really cannot put my love for this album into words, she really left me bald. I'm a huge fan of electronic music - as I've previously stated - and this album being so House-heavy was just a gift. Every single song is fucking perfect, even the interludes! The album is short but that's compensated by the fact that every song is pure perfection. I cannot wait to see what the second volume will sound like, but I'm sure it'll be just as flawless as this one.
#HyuntySTANS: Lady Wood, True Disaster, Vibes, Flashes, Keep It Simple
Hope you enjoyed my rambling, and that you might've found something new to listen to!
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