Anderson .Paak had an insane year, by any measure. In the span of 12 months, the Los Angeles-raised funk polymath rose from a standout feature on Dr. Dre’s comeback album to a formidable performer in his own right. On Malibu, .Paak addresses his difficult family history and romantic exploits while showing off his versatility behind the microphone. It’s an album that pays tribute to both his own past and artists of yore like Curtis Mayfield, all while opening doors to a bright future. –Noah Yoo

Anderson .Paak: "Come Down" (via SoundCloud)

There is a certain purity to creators who swear no allegiance to any genre signifiers and instead choose to remain perpetual students. Olga Bell is one such artist, and it was her curiosity about club music that led her to create Tempo, the unexpected follow-up to her Russian folk-influenced album Krai. She treats her voice like a malleable abstraction, to be looped and distorted like a synth stab or snare drum. Refocusing her classical piano training, Bell composes weirdo pop that boldly flirts with inharmony. –Noah Yoo

Olga Bell: "Randomness" (via SoundCloud)

Name one major pop trend this year that Lemonade didn’t influence or meaningfully intersect with in some way, whether it’s the ongoing proliferation of the visual album, the necessity of Black Lives Matter, or a new way to quote and sample from across genre aisles. Lyrically, this is Bey’s second album in a row to spawn memorable entries in the pop-phrase lexicon; though she’s done it since her Destiny’s days, what’s most remarkable is that the meme-worthiest of Bey’s lines here—“Better call Becky with the good hair”—serves to rake her very famous husband over the coals for his apparent infidelity. It’s hard to think of another pop star who could pull that off with so much realness, but then again, competition seems futile when it comes to topping Beyoncé at her own game. Don’t hurt yourself trying. –Jillian Mapes

James Blake’s latest album lengthens his arc of emotionally charged songwriting over forcefully forward-thinking production elements—pianos placed in surreal echo chambers, pointillist drums that catch you off guard and demand attention. It’s a “wonderfully messy dive into maximalism,” and one that’s rewarding if you, too, are feeling at the end of your rope. –Noah Yoo

James Blake: “Radio Silence” (via SoundCloud)

Freetown Sound is a funk-laden affair that doesn’t simply address the quandaries of “otherness” in America so much as it repurposes those struggles for fuel. The fight against oppression is inherent to Dev Hynes’ third Blood Orange album, with songs bookended by samples of protesters marching against police brutality and words by Ta-Nehisi Coates. While Blood Orange is Hynes’ project, he utilizes the platform to elevate the voices of women he admires. “The woman’s voice is powerful and needs to be heard,” Hynes said earlier this year. “It’s the most important voice in general, and that can’t be denied.” Freetown Sound can’t be ignored, either. –Noah Yoo

Blood Orange: “Augustine” (via SoundCloud)

In the past few years, a number of artists have successfully transitioned from indie rock to pop experimentation, but this was arguably Chairlift’s turf first. On their third album, Moth, Caroline Polachek and Patrick Wimberly offer up their most self-assured and fully realized version of their ’80s electropop inclinations. Here we find the kitchen sink stylishly tossed in, from saxes that don’t quit to errant noises and dialogue to elegant disco strings that accompany the familiar jangle of Nile Rodgers-style guitars. It’s pop that’s impeccably produced but not too perfect—the right match for Polachek’s more vulnerable fits of romance, like when she’s overpowered by the feeling of falling in love on the standout single “Crying in Public.” –Jillian Mapes

Chairlift: “Romeo” [Preview] (via SoundCloud)

The illusive OVO Sound duo dvsn represent the more sensual side of this list, picking up where ’90s R&B slow jams left off. But Torontonians Daniel Daley and Paul “Nineteen85” Jefferies have a few tricks up their sleeves, taking the kind of alien-sounding production Timbaland made his name with and giving it the modern spaciousness favored by the Drake generation. Maybe it’s this vaguely futuristic backdrop that makes the more classic elements here—soaring falsettos dropping double entendres, gospel choir-sized declarations of Real-Ass Adult Love—stand out. –Jillian Mapes

dvsn: "Too Deep" (via SoundCloud)

On Ariana Grande’s third studio record, we’re introduced to the diva we always suspected her to be; she’s no longer the newly sexed-up pop sensation of 2014, and the children’s TV star is long dead and gone. Dangerous Woman is roughly an hour of Grande at her vocal finest—few other powerhouse singers can create such crisp harmony stacks—and throughout the album, she proves fluid with several subgenres, from the reggae-infused Nicki Minaj collaboration “Side to Side” to electro-pop singles like “Be Alright” and “Into You.” It’s all in her. –Noah Yoo

Going into her third album, E•MO•TION, Carly Rae Jepsen was tasked with following up the saccharine magic of “Call Me Maybe.” Instead of attempting to top her success, Jepsen decided to go all-in on making the hookiest ’80s-inspired pop imaginable, writing more than 250 tracks in the process. E•MO•TION Side B collects a handful of the love songs that didn’t make the original album, but you’d be remiss to consider it less worthy of your time. –Noah Yoo

At just 24, the Montreal producer already has a masterful understanding of the indelible ties that bind house, hip-hop, funk, soul, and jazz, putting them together with an eye towards buoyant, relaxed-fit dance music—perfect summertime house-party jams, really. On most tracks, he brings in guests who share his genre-defying outlook—from SYD to River Tiber to BADBADNOTGOOD to Phonte to Anderson .Paak—and arranges them within a web of fresh samples and bright polyrhythms. On the album’s standout single, .Paak declares with such swagger, “Lately I’ve been glowed up/Feelin’ like the only one out here.” With a style that feels familiar yet singular, both statements ring true for Kaytranada himself too. –Jillian Mapes

Kaytranada: "Bus Ride [Ft. Karriem Riggins and River Tiber]" (via SoundCloud)

By the time they released their debut LP in January, buzz had been building around KING—the vocal trio comprised of Anita Bias and twins Paris and Amber Strother—for almost five years. (Thanks, Kendrick.) It didn’t disappoint: Electro-R&B with a taste for Sade and Jodeci floods out of We Are KING in radiant beams, broken up slightly by sophisticated synths, bright and varied percussion, whimsical hand-claps, and more. The trio’s voices are what naturally stand out, but it’s nice that the whole record has a light touch—no single element threatens to overpower these self-assured daydreams of the heart. –Jillian Mapes

KING: "Hey" (Extended Mix) (via SoundCloud)

On her second album, Jessy Lanza makes pop music out of non-pop sounds, from ’90s R&B to Chicago footwork to acid house. But arranged with an eye towards ’80s synthpop and led by Lanza’s alternatingly cheeky and angelic vocals, the music takes on a different sum than its parts might suggest. The Canadian producer puts nervous energy to work with borderline-bizarre standouts like “It Means I Love You” and “VV Violence,” two singles it’s hard to imagine anyone else releasing. –Jillian Mapes

Jessy Lanza: "VV Violence" (via SoundCloud)

On Maxwell ’s first album in seven years, the crooner leads full-band soul with a few twists, from the psych flourishes of “1990x” and “Of All Kind” to the Tetris synths of “Gods” and “III.” The latter is about as close to a banger as this veteran Romeo gets; it’s also where he admits his ever-romantic but admittedly grown-up needs: “I just want a Michelle Obama lady.” –Jillian Mapes

At 18 tracks long, Nao’s first album is an exercise in R&B completism—a shiny, modern melange of soulfulness that ranges atmospheric updates to new jack swing (“Adore You,” “Happy”), epic should-be-hits (“Bad Blood,” “We Don’t Give A,” “Girlfriend”), tangy funk guitar riffs (“Get to Know Ya,” “DYWM”), and more. Through it all, Nao’s vocals are both the music’s guiding light and the personality behind lyrics that aren’t always so personal. The 28-year-old Brit’s voice is lithe enough to flit around without effort, yet rooted enough to bring credence to her pleas. –Jillian Mapes

Nao: "Girlfriend" (via SoundCloud)

During the course of NxWorries’ debut full-length, Yes Lawd!, Anderson .Paak sings about leaving his girl for his musical passions, wanting to be faithful to her while on the road, and stealing another man’s woman when he starts acting up. These conflicting bouts of lust and reverence are all matched with a healthy heaping of bedroom talk and love songs that swap “baby” for “bitch” on the regular. All the while, producer Knxwledge establishes gorgeous, hazy vignettes that swell passionately before fading to static, just like .Paak’s romances. –Noah Yoo

NxWorries: “Lyk Dis” (via SoundCloud)

When Frank Ocean declares on Blonde opener “Nikes,” “We gon’ see the future first,” it sounds slightly overconfident. By the fifth listen, it just rings true. Though Blonde is less immediate and more abstract than Channel Orange, Ocean’s seemingly tossed-off specificity makes you want to think more about songs in which he’s often trying to think less. In true Frank fashion, we’re given mysterious vignettes instead of narrative throughlines—flashes of his individuality coexisting and clashing with the existence of others. It’s all set against warped guitar jangles, gospel organs, spoken-word weirdness, helium vocal modulations, and half a dozen other things that might make more sense in the future. –Jillian Mapes

With Redemption, former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard completes the trilogy that she began four years ago with her album Goldenheart. She continues to flip the script of what is expected of our pop stars; self-producing much of the album while recruiting inventive consultants like Machinedrum, Richard refuses to compromise the complexity of her work for the sake of radio play. These aren’t dancefloor-inspired tracks with attached toplines so much as they are club-ready, fully-formed songs, intended to be viewed in their entirety rather than as simple vehicles for Richard’s sultry voice. That organic solidarity can’t be faked, and it’s a powerful thing to hear. –Noah Yoo

Dawn Richard: “Stars” (via SoundCloud)

Rihanna’s album was something of a mixed bag—Tame Impala cover? A ’50s style soul ballad? Travis Scott?—but it aged terrifically. On first listen, this was a headscratcher; on 500th listen, it was a wily collection of Rihanna’s modes, with clubby highs like “Work” and “Needed Me” surrounded by rawer, presumably higher, moments. An excellently modern jumble. –Matthew Schnipper

Rihanna: “Needed Me” [Preview] (via SoundCloud)

In message, A Seat at the Table is a stunning patchwork of blackness. In execution, the album is something more elegant than a quilt—more like the sculpted pink coat Solange wears in the “Cranes in the Sky” video. Across 21 tracks of full-band soul-funk and spoken-word interludes from loved ones, the younger Knowles sister keeps the record a little psychedelic but ultimately sophisticated in its graceful piano lines, proud brass, and dreamy harmonies. But make no mistake, Solange’s message—For Us, By Us—is unwavering throughout. –Jillian Mapes

When 2016 started, Jamila Woods was best known as Chance the Rapper’s sweet-voiced counterpoint on “Sunday Candy.” It’s a different reality following the release of her debut album. HEAVN meets ugly truths about race with more love and grace than is deserved. Though her calm voice floats, Woods’ words often reverberate with specific injustices (“They want us in kitchen/Kill our sons with lynchings/We get loud about it/Oh, now we’re the bitches,” she sings on “Blk Girl Soldier”). On her own, Woods is a compelling writer, but with a slew of Chicago’s most promising players behind her (Peter Cottontale, oddCouple, Saba), she delivers a playful album with a political message we desperately need. –Jillian Mapes

Jamila Woods: “VRY BLK” [ft. Noname] (via SoundCloud)