Michael's Favorite Albums of 2016

I usually buy 2-3 albums a month with maybe 15 of them being new releases each year. So I thought I'd write a blog post about my favorite albums from this year and see if I can remember to do it next year to make it an annual thing.

So here they are, in reverse order:

#3 - Peaceful Ghosts by Nada Surf

I've been listening to Nada Surf since high school when they started out more punk driven. Peaceful Ghosts is a live album they recorded with a full orchestra and some back story between each song. It's a nice wide look at their entire catalog going back to 1998. My biggest complaint is that they didn't include any songs from their debut album High/Low. They mellowed out on subsequent albums and I know they aren't totally happy with their first album and how it was received, but I think it would have given this album a nice kick to have at least one heavier song with the orchestra. But it's still a great album with some neat arrangements.

This is The Fox with some nice the timpani and chimes.

#2 - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere by Thrice

For some reason, I didn't really get into Thrice for most of their career. It wasn't until their eighth album Major/Minor that I realized I liked them. I've since gone back and bought all of their previous albums with The Artist and the Ambulance and Vheissu being heavy favorites when I'm looking for some high energy music. This album comes after a 4 year hiatus where the band members took some time for family and other projects.

This is Black Honey, the first single from the album and one of my kids' favorites. It gets everyone singing along when we are in the car.

#1 - Joy, Departed by Sorority Noise

This is a new band for me and I checked them out after seeing other folks recommend them. I was really sold after watching their full session on AudioTree. It's a nice combination of poppy songs with good melodies, loud spacey guitars, introspective lyrics by normal folks who are looking to create good music, not become rock stars.

This is Art School Wannabee (my favorite on album would be a tie beteween it and Your Soft Blood, but since this is poppier I picked it). Unfortunately they don't have any official embeddable videos, so we get this instead. But definitely checkout out the AudioTree session for more songs done live.

Honorable Mention: Integrity Blues by Jimmy Eat World and Standards by Into It, Over It.