Sound In The Signals - Best Music Of 2016 So Far (Mid-Year List)

This year we wanted to keep our mid-year best of list all on one list. So this list includes albums, EPs, and mixtapes. Also we did not create a numbered order for this list. We did this mainly to highlight some great releases so far this year without adding a lot of numerical weight to them so people could just find something new and enjoy it. Not numbering them also helps not take away from some of that surprise end of the year element. We also wanted to cherry pick genres meaning I'm highlighting releases from various genres. This kind of also helps keep the list varied, better represents music taste of the site as a whole, and kind of keeps some surprises for the end of the year list. If there is something you know we liked, but don't see it mentioned on this list don't sweat it. It will probably turn up on the final end of the year list. As always when you compile something like you miss a few releases. We pulled 15 essential releases from the large list and that list is first. It is followed by the 60 exceptional releases we think you should check out! (Check out past best of lists HERE.)

*Note releases considered for this list had to have been released between January 2016-June 2016. Anything after June 2016 was not considered. 

Top 15 Essential Music Releases Mid-Year:

The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It
Grayscale - What We’re Missing
Into It. Over It. - Standards
The Sun Days - Album
With Confidence - Better Weather
Youth Code - Commitment to Complications
Kygo - Cloud Nine
Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost
Lil Yachty - Lil Boat
Pinegrove - Cardinal
Real Friends - The Home Inside My Head
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway
Pinkshinyultrablast - Grandfeathered
Somos - First Day Back

The Full List Of The Best 60 Music Releases In Alphabetical Order:

Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties - Bittersweet
Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman
Austin Lucas - Between The Moon And The Midwest
Brian Fallon - Painkillers
Brockhampton - All-American Trash
Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
Dag Nasty - Cold Heart/Wanting Nothing
Death Grips - Bottomless Pit
Deftones - Gore
Direct Hit - Wasted Mind
Draa - Losing My Charm
Drake - VIEWS
Fader - You're Guilty For Killing Me
Flatbush Zombies - 3001 A Laced Odyssey
Future - Evol
Future - Purple Reign
Gallant - Ology
Garbage - Strange Little Birds
Grayscale - What We’re Missing
Hotel Books - Run Wild, Stay Alive
HXLT - HXLT
Into It. Over It. - Standards
Issues - Headspace
Jon Pardi - California Sunrise
Kanye West - Life Of Pablo
Kygo - Cloud Nine
letlive. - If I'm the Devil...
Like Pacific - Distance Like You Asked
Lil Yachty - Lil Boat
Marshmello - Joytime
Mitski - Puberty 2
Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost
Pinegrove - Cardinal
Pinkshinyultrablast - Grandfeathered
Postcards - My Departure
Posture & The Grizzly - I Am Satan
PUP - The Dream Is Over
Real Friends - The Home Inside My Head
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway
Rival Summers - Undeniable
Saosin - Along the Shadow
Slushii - Brain Freeze
Somos - First Day Back
Sorority Noise - It Kindly Stopped For Me
Tegan and Sara - Love You To Death
The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It
The Ataris - October in This Railroad Earth
The Hotelier - Goodness
The Living End - Shift
The Rocket Summer - Zoetic
The Starting Line - Anyways
The Sun Days - Album
Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere
Vic Mensa - There's Alot Going On
Waterparks - Cluster
Weezer - Weezer (White Album)
White Lung - Paradise
With Confidence - Better Weather
Youth Code - Commitment to Complications
Zayn - This Mind Of Mine