Top 10 Songs of 2016

Kanye West – "Ultralight Beam"
An affirmation in every sense of the word. Spare and violent, holy and downtrodden. And in its closing bars, when those voices ring, my heart stops, every time.

Tegan and Sara – "Stop Desire"
It's a microcosm of the wonderful album it lives on, as well as the potency and economy that Tegan and Sara have excelled at for years. They distill zealous love into "oh oh, oh-oh-oh."

Bon Iver – "715 Creeks"
I have a pension for things that occupy the liminal space between beautiful, scary, and broken. Justin Vernon's voice ripped to electronic shreds, aching all the while, and I just want this song to go on forever.

Kimbra – "Sweet Relief"
It's been too long since the weird and wonderful The Golden Echo. Kimbra holds the tension between pop and experimental R&B better than any artist since Prince. Perhaps that's why I was so upset that I couldn't see her perform with The Revolution in September. I can't wait to hear this song live, when Kimbra has the freedom to mine it for all its jam-session gold.

P.O.S – "Sleepdrone/Superposition"
A fantasia built of buzzes and screams, a stream of consciousness reminiscent of the works of Jack Kerouac. It's a song that gazes forward, while expressing with no apologies the hurt of the past. I'm always proud to point to music like this coming from the Twin Cities.

Ariana Grande – "Into You"
Have faith in the Top 40. Ariana's confident, effortless vocals matched with pitch-perfect songwriting. Can't get enough of "A little less conversation/ A little more touch my body."

Elliot Moss – "Without The Lights"
A song made of haze. I have no idea what it means. It's gorgeous.

FKA twigs – "Good To Love"
Far from the weirdest of FKA twigs's catalog, but up there with her most moving songs. A rapturous melodrama that swells to a breathtaking final minute-and-a-half.

Common – "Black America Again"
The best track on an album that reaffirms the powerful voice of the legendary Southside MC. Name-drops include Trayvon Martin, Ava DuVernay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Marvin Gaye, and Billie Holiday, all while Stevie Wonder plays the haunting modal chord progression and intones, "We are rewriting the Black American story." File under "songs we all need right now."

Poliça – "Lately"
This song implores us to reevaluate the love in our lives, something that has been on my mind a lot -- well, lately. The melody evokes something halfway between a lullaby and a protest chant. BRB, crying.

Top 10 Albums of 2016

Bon Iver – 22, A Million
I was a latecomer to the Iver-menon, first listening to them at length at the inaugural Eaux Claires. I wasn't sold then, but this album melted me. Disarming for its beauty and disturbing for its brokenness, it's quickly nestled its way into my stash of albums for feels. See also: Her Space Holiday's Manic Expressive.

Gallant – Ology
Name me a more exciting voice in 2016 than Gallant, and I'll buy you something nice. It haunts the entire record, wailing and soaring atop airtight R&B production. The emotional heights of "Jupiter" and "Weight In Gold" are simply astonishing.

Francis and the Lights – Farewell, Starlite!
For people who want to like Phil Collins, but find his music lacking in subtlety. Francis' debut LP sounds like it's visiting from the future, merging the catharsis-geared songwriting of contemporary folk-rock with a synth-pop sensibility.

Chance The Rapper – Coloring Book
I had the great privilege of traveling to Chicago for Magnificent Coloring Day with Cecilia Johnson, and I think I'd be an obscene kind of lucky to experience a day like that ever again.

Beyoncé – Lemonade
Another one of those "what hasn't been said about it already?" kind of albums. Listening to Lemonade is like plunging burning flesh into ice water. It's the agony that heals.

Tegan and Sara – Love You To Death
Tegan and Sara have been with me for a very long time. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mad about their abrupt transition to synth-pop (Heartthrob) after years of reliably angsty acoustic rock. Love You To Death made the change worth it all. Immaculately sparkly pop songs all the way through, tinged with the sting of heartbreak and regret. Can't get enough of: "U-Turn," "Stop Desire," and "100x."

Carly Rae Jepsen – EMOTION Side B
If you're my parents, you cringe at how effectively CRJ evokes '80s pop. If you're me, you can't resist. The worthy sequel to 2015's stupendous EMOTION.

NAO – For All We Know
Despite its bloat, For All We Know satisfies with its balance of schmoozy funk, laid-back R&B, and 2016 stank. The production swerves and pulses, and NAO's knack for a good hook certainly doesn't hurt.

Original Broadway Cast – Hamilton
I'm bending the rules here. In my defense, I didn't actually listen to the music from the pop culture juggernaut until January 2016, after seeing the show on Broadway. And I don't think I would have survived a year as maddening as 2016 without Hamilton to saturate my brain with a seemingly endless array of wordplay, references, allusions, rhymes, and inventions. It's a feat of storytelling, of reclamation, and of musical genius. Like all artistic masterworks, it's a gift that keeps giving. And this one in particular inspires the hell out of me.

Prince – Purple Rain
And now I'm breaking the rules outright, but if this album can win an AMA, it can be one of my favorites of 2016. Purple Rain has always been an album I love, but I would never have called myself a Prince expert, or even a fan. But after seeing what music is like without him, to see how his death has shaken the world and people I care about, it's hard to express what this album means to me now. I'll always consider myself to have been privileged to bear witness to this piece of history.

Freelance photographer Emmet Kowler works with lights all day and takes photos after dark.

The Current Hosts' and Staffers' Top 89 of 2016

Brett Baldwin • Bill DeVille • Jay Gabler • Leah Garaas • Jade • Cecilia Johnson • Lindsay Kimball • Mary Lucia • Jim McGuinn • Sean McPherson • Shelley Miller • Dan Nass • Mike Novitzki • Matt Perkins • Brian Oake • Jill Riley • Jake Rudh • Nate Ryan • David Safar • Derrick Stevens • Andrea Swensson • Luke Taylor • Anna Reed • Mark Wheat • Mac Wilson