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Poll Results: All Songs Considered Listeners' Favorite 100 Albums Of 2016

Clockwise from top: Radiohead, Sturgill Simpson, Angel Olsen, Chance The Rapper, cover art for Big Thief, cover art for Anderson .Paak
Courtesy of the artists
Clockwise from top: Radiohead, Sturgill Simpson, Angel Olsen, Chance The Rapper, cover art for Big Thief, cover art for Anderson .Paak

It was a monumental year for music. A lot of major artists dropped albums that were as big as they were important, speaking to events on both a personal and global scale. Seven out of the top 10 spots in our 2016 listener poll went to well-established or legacy artists, from Radiohead and Beyoncé to Bon Iver, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen. But if you dig a little deeper into the list you'll find some of 2016's best new artists, including Big Thief, Margaret Glaspy, Noname, Pinegrove and Joseph.

Some years these polls aren't even close, but this time it was a tight race for the top five most popular albums of 2016. In the end, Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool squeaked ahead of Beyoncé's Lemonade for the top spot. They were followed, in order, by David Bowie's Blackstar, Bon Iver's 22, A Million and Car Seat Headrest's Teens Of Denial.

On this week's All Songs Considered, we count down and talk about the poll's top 20 albums. You'll find those records below, along with a list of our listeners' top 100 albums.

The All Songs Considered Listener Poll's Top 100 Albums Of 2016

  • Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool
  • Beyoncé, Lemonade
  • David Bowie, Blackstar
  • Bon Iver, 22, A Million
  • Car Seat Headrest, Teens Of Denial
  • Chance the Rapper, Coloring Book
  • Frank Ocean, Blonde
  • A Tribe Called Quest, We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service
  • Anderson .Paak, Malibu
  • Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor's Guide To Earth
  • Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker
  • Solange, A Seat at the Table
  • Kanye West, The Life Of Pablo
  • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree
  • Angel Olsen, MY WOMAN
  • Big Thief, Masterpiece
  • case/lang/veirs, case/lang/veirs
  • Pinegrove, Cardinal
  • Mitski, Puberty 2
  • Wilco, Schmilco
  • Margaret Glaspy, Emotions And Math
  • ZAYN, Mind Of Mine
  • Margo Price, Midwest Farmer's Daughter
  • Whitney, Light Upon The Lake
  • Childish Gambino, "Awaken, My Love!"
  • Andrew Bird, Are You Serious
  • Drive-By Truckers, American Band
  • Rihanna, Anti
  • Blood Orange, Freetown Sound
  • Glass Animals, How To Be A Human Being
  • Paul Simon, Stranger To Stranger
  • Conor Oberst, Ruminations
  • James Blake, The Colour In Anything
  • Parquet Courts, Human Performance
  • Hiss Golden Messenger, Heart Like A Levee
  • Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression
  • The Avett Brothers, True Sadness
  • The 1975, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
  • Savages, Adore Life
  • Various Artists, Hamilton Mixtape
  • ANOHNI, HOPELESSNESS
  • Noname, Telefone
  • Kishi Bashi, Sonderlust
  • The Lumineers, Cleopatra
  • Andy Shauf, The Party
  • She Makes War, Direction Of Travel
  • Lucius, Good Grief
  • Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam, I Had A Dream That You Were Mine
  • Kendrick Lamar, untitled unmastered.
  • Sia, This is Acting
  • Lady Gaga, Joanne
  • Kaytranada, 99.9%
  • Michael Kiwanuka, Love & Hate
  • Jim James, Eternally Even
  • Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, A Man Alive
  • Lucy Dacus, No Burden
  • Frightened Rabbit, Painting Of A Panic Attack
  • Band of Horses, Why Are You OK
  • NAO, For All We Know
  • The Rolling Stones, Blue And Lonesome
  • The Avalanches, Wildflower
  • Weezer, Self-Titled (White Album)
  • PJ Harvey, The Hope Six Demolition Project
  • Shearwater, Jet Plane And Oxbow
  • Danny Brown, Atrocity Exhibition
  • Damien Jurado, Visions Of Us On The Land
  • Birdeatsbaby, Tanta Furia
  • The Jayhawks, Paging Mr. Proust
  • The Suffers, The Suffers
  • The Weeknd, Starboy
  • Esperanza Spalding, Emily's D+Evolution
  • Dawes, We're All Gonna Die
  • Lambchop, FLOTUS
  • Ariana Grande, Dangerous Woman
  • The Posies, Solid States
  • Local Natives, Sunlit Youth
  • NxWorries, Yes Lawd!
  • Kevin Morby, Singing Saw
  • Lake Street Dive, Side Pony
  • Miranda Lambert, The Weight of These Wings
  • Drake, Views
  • Gallant, Ology
  • Tedeschi Trucks Band, Let Me Get By
  • M83, Junk
  • DIIV, Is The Is Are
  • Joseph, I'm Alone No You're Not
  • Tegan and Sara, Love You to Death
  • Brandy Clark, Big Day In A Small Town
  • Parker Millsap, The Very Last Day
  • Cass McCombs, Mangy Love
  • Regina Spektor, Remember Us To Life
  • Flock of Dimes, If You See Me, Say Yes
  • Maren Morris, HERO
  • Frankie Cosmos, Next Thing
  • Pixies, Head Carrier
  • The Hotelier, Goodness
  • Chris Staples, Golden Age
  • Carly Rae Jepsen, Emotion Side B
  • AURORA, All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend
  • Phish, Big Boat
  • Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Bob Boilen
    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
    Robin Hilton
    Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.