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Achilles 2016: Fantastic Music and Where to Find It
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Last Dance ![clap](http://home.arcor.de/smiliez/smz/1074.gif)
That's the Way Love goes ![clap2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/655abaf2.gif)
Life On Mars? ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif) although the Chris Martin cover is better than the original ![Keir](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/atrlers/keir_zps24e7c972.gif)
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Member Since: 10/5/2009
Posts: 137,162
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Last Dance + Life On Mars? ![heart2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/a3fdf692.gif)
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Member Since: 1/13/2012
Posts: 13,577
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All these classics ![heart2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/a3fdf692.gif) Bowie, of course, is my fave here. Last Dance is another evergreen bop.
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 50,981
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![](http://i.imgur.com/go9Vs1A.png) | 20. Barbra Streisand
Happy Days Are Here Again | 19. Dolly Parton
Something Fishy | ![](http://i.imgur.com/Ws3CHrS.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/OdXKrL3.png) | 18. Diana Ross
Touch Me In The Morning | 17. Loretta Lynn
The Pill | ![](http://i.imgur.com/ciq01aW.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/S35omI0.png) | 16. Tammy Wynette
D-I-V-O-R-C-E | 15. Diana Ross
I'm Coming Out | ![](http://i.imgur.com/OdXKrL3.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/s3Dh9pj.png) | 14. David Bowie
Starman | 13. Barbra Streisand
The Way We Were | ![](http://i.imgur.com/go9Vs1A.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/3bzq85X.png) | 12. Aretha Franklin
Think | 11. U2
I Still Haven't Found What
I'm Looking For | ![](http://i.imgur.com/WtfLVqR.png) |
![](http://i.imgur.com/Ws3CHrS.png) | 10. Dolly Parton
Robert | 9. Barbra Streisand
Send In The Clowns | ![](http://i.imgur.com/go9Vs1A.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/eGTzZqO.png) | 8. Alison Krauss
Paper Airplane | 7. Cher
Bang Bang | ![](http://i.imgur.com/qPKLDup.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/3bzq85X.png) | 6. Aretha Franklin
Chain of Fools | 5. Alanis Morissette
You Oughta Know | ![](http://i.imgur.com/lehj4WM.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/4qWWH49.png) | 4. Audrey Hepburn
Moon River | 3. Patsy Cline
Crazy | ![](http://i.imgur.com/OKa5d7t.png) | ![](http://i.imgur.com/Ws3CHrS.png) | 2. Dolly Parton
Travelin' Thru | 1. Barbra Streisand
Don't Rain on My Parade | ![](http://i.imgur.com/go9Vs1A.png) |
Quote:
About The Top Twenty
Let's start with the founding mothers of country music. Loretta Lynn makes her sole appearance with "The Pill," a 70s feminist anthem about birth control. Tammy Wynette also appears just once, with another mid twentieth century feminist anthem "D-I-V-O-R-C-E." Both songs are short and sweet, with a dash of humor to lighten the politically charged nature of the songs. Alison Krauss makes her third appearance with "Paper Airplane," a gorgeous song that helped to extend her record as the most awarded woman in Grammy history. Patsy Cline likewise scores her third appearance with her iconic "Crazy," which was penned by Willie Nelson back when he was still a nobody.
Dolly Parton is the final country act here, appearing three times in the top twenty. First with "Something Fishy," a funny little single where she sings about her suspicions that she is being cheated on when her man claims to be fishing. It sets the stage for a lot of lines that would come to be typical of Dolly, including, "I guess some large mouth bass left that lipstick on your shirt / honey, I don't think you're a fisherman, I think you're a flirt." It's a great song that appeared on her debut album more than half a century ago.
Dolly's second entry is "Robert," a storytelling song about rejecting a boy's advances. However, the song has a great plot twist as—unbeknownst to Robert—he and Dolly have the same father! The song is also an underlaying theme about socioeconomic class that reminds me of "Coat of Many Colors." Oh, and did I mention that it's all based on her real life?
Finally, Dolly claims the runner up position with "Travelin' Thru," an inspirational Oscar nominated country-gospel song that was written for the film Transamerica. The song speaks to a person's journey on the road to find home—and find yourself.
Four rock songs make it into the top twenty. First up is David Bowie's "Starman," whose use in an extended sequence of the film The Martian was made all the more poignant by the fact that I first saw the film within a week or two of Bowie's passing. Second is U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," my favorite of their classic masterpiece anthems from The Joshua Tree. Third is Cher's classic "Bang Bang (He Shot Me Down)." Finally comes Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know," which defined music for a generation and ushered in the Era of Badass Women.
Four R&B songs make the top twenty, split evenly between Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin. Diana appears with #1 hit "Touch Me In The Morning" and "I'm Coming Out," the greatest, gayest anthem of all time. Aretha Franklin charts with feminist anthem "Think" and "Chain of Fools," which is commonly featured on lists of the greatest songs of all time.
Three songs here have history with the Academy Awards (including the aforementioned "Travelin' Thru"). The highest ranking of these songs is Audrey Hepburn's classic "Moon River," which manages a top four finish. Arguably one of the best-known Original Song winners—and inarguably one of the best Original Song winners—"Moon River" is a music standard that has been covered countless times, but it's hard to imagine anyone comparing to Miss Hepburn's original recording.
The rest of the top twenty is rounded out by Barbra Streisand, whose entries include her Oscar-winning signature song "The Way We Were," her rendition of playwright Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece "Send in the Clowns," and her commercial debut single "Happy Days Are Here Again." Capping it all off is "Don't Rain on My Parade," which nabs the top spot on this list and also happens to be my most played song of 2016. Hello, gorgeous!
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Next up: Top Albums, starting Tuesday or Wednesday (I'm still trying to squeeze in a few more albums).
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Think
I'm Coming Out
I Still Haven't Found What.....
These classics ![worship2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/310230f4.gif)
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Bang Bang ![clap](http://home.arcor.de/smiliez/smz/1074.gif) You Oughta Know is my favorite from this set! I love that song ![weeps](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/52b0f867.gif)
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Member Since: 6/3/2006
Posts: 51,724
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I am living for your title!
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 21,143
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Travelin' Thru >>>>>
one of the BEST songs of the 2000s
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Member Since: 10/5/2009
Posts: 137,162
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Happy Days Are Here Again, I'm Coming Out, The Way We Were, I Still Haven't Found What
I'm Looking For, Bang Bang, Chain of Fools, You Oughta Know, Don't Rain On My Parade ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif) Yas at you saving some of these classics for the last part
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 3,111
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sis, you just can't stop slaying me
Happy Days
Bang Bang (I hope it's superior 1966 version ![eli's_rhythm](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/atrlers/eli_zps0932edf9.gif) )
Touch Me in the Morning
TheWayWeWere ![eli's_rhythm](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/atrlers/eli_zps0932edf9.gif)
Send me in the Clowns
You Oughta Know
Don't Rain on My Parade ![JonnyϟLightning](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/atrlers/jonny_zpsc73391c5.png)
ugh, so many slayness in one post ![JonnyϟLightning](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/atrlers/jonny_zpsc73391c5.png)
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Member Since: 2/17/2012
Posts: 33,611
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STAN for Aretha.
There needs to be more Donna here though.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 27,248
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You Oughta Know ![avril](images/smilies/images/smilies/avril.gif)
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Almost 48 hours since the last update ![whip](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/dbfaf5f8.gif)
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 50,981
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![](http://i.imgur.com/lqN0RYE.png)
If I had included these in the albums countdown, they would both have placed in the 18-22 range.
But I wanted an even 25 albums, so they get their own special section.
Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion Side B
![](http://i.imgur.com/OIMkzg0.png)
Quote:
Carly Rae Jepsen dropped this collection of Emotion leftovers (fittingly titled Emotion Side B) to offer fans more of the pop music they love so much. Mostly consisting of pop songs that merit their B-side status, the EP offers a trio of absolute gems in the stunning "Roses," the excellent "Fever," and the outstanding "Cry." I might have actually bought Emotion if the album had been on par with "Cry." Poor that!
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Jake Miller - Overnight
![](http://i.imgur.com/4doVw5D.png)
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Jake Miller has been on my Instagram feed—I mean radar—for at least two or three years now, but I've never cared much for his music. Finally, in 2016, he abandoned his hip-hop leanings to deliver the straight up pop EP Overnight. The set starts off strong with the title track "Overnight," which would have been a smash with a bigger name attached to it. Next comes the equally good—and equally sexy—lead single "Good Thing." After that, things sorta fall of the rails. I have mixed feelings about "Could've Been Me," which is well-crafted, but seems a bit sexist in ways that I'm not in the mood to write an essay about right now. "Tell Me You Love It" is decent. The other three songs aren't up to snuff. Ultimately, Overnight is a very mixed bag of pop offerings.
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![](http://i.imgur.com/NUTAjlY.png)
It should be noted that this list was created by me ranking every 2016 release that I've heard from worst to best. Just because an album appears here does not mean that I listen to it often (or even more than once), or that I think it's a particularly good album.
25. DNCE - DNCE
![](http://i.imgur.com/a5LyqFx.png)
Quote:
Honestly, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that Joe Jonas's sole solo album, Fast Life, held a top 10 position in my inaugural Best of list back in 2011. Not because it was a bad album, but because it makes me feel like such a kid to think about it. But here's Joe Jonas again—although quite a ways away from the top ten this time. DNCE is full of perfectly crafted ear-worm pop songs that channel latter day Maroon 5 without being nearly so awful. DNCE actually has a pretty good thing going for them with their whole dancey-uptempo-with-quirky-lyrics schtick, but it gets a bit weary before long.
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24. Nick Jonas - Last Year Was Complicated
![](http://i.imgur.com/ztpOXal.png)
Quote:
Nick Jonas broods his way through this album, which one might expect considering its title is Last Year Was Complicated. The title is excellent. The music, not so much. I feel like I ought to like this album, but I don't. "Chainsaw" is kinda amazing and a few other songs ("Close," "Champagne Problems") are decent. But overall, this album is pretty unremarkable—and that just doesn't cut it anymore.
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23. Maren Morris - Hero
![](http://i.imgur.com/R09b6lJ.png)
Quote:
Maren Morris's debut album Hero has been heralded in many circles as one of the year's best records. Hero is a country-marketed album that features excessive name dropping that ranges from Hank Williams to Marilyn Monroe, basic pop melodies that echo the latest Hailee Steinfeld single, vocal cadences straight off of urban radio, in-your-face swaggering bravado, and production that could pass for pop or rock or perhaps even rhythmic. In other words, everything that makes Hero an ostensibly "good" album also makes it a grievous insult to the genre that it falsely purports to be.
Its best moments (and there are but a few) come with the rightfully praised lead single "My Church" and the more subdued ballad "I Could Use A Love Song."
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22. Shawn Mendes - Illuminate
![](http://i.imgur.com/Zbialpz.png)
Quote:
Shawn Mendes starts off fairly strong on his sophomore album, Illuminate. Things kick off with the excellent "Ruin," where he channels his best John Mayer (if there is such a thing). From there, he launches immediately into what may be the year's best pop single, the powerful "Mercy." Lead single "Treat You Better" features one of the record's biggest choruses, but also engages in some casual sexism—a problem that recurs throughout the album, if we're honest. The majority of the remaining songs are your standard acoustic ballads about heartbreak—the best of the set is the meditative "Three Empty Words"—but the catchy uptempo "No Promises" stands out as a worthy future single.
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21. Rihanna - ANTI
![](http://i.imgur.com/NLqBRhZ.png)
Quote:
I'm not well-versed enough in the assorted sub-genres of music to know if Rihanna's ANTI qualifies as "experimental," or "house," or "underground," or if this is just the norm in R&B these days, but I do know that I don't care for this album at all. Sure, the production is top notch (if not a bit abrasive) and Rihanna has never sounded better vocally, but that's not enough to distract from the fact that the album is seriously lacking in the lyric department. ANTI seems to eschew traditional songwriting structure, instead relying completely upon the production and vocals to try to provoke an emotional response from listeners. This strategy is overwhelmingly a failure.
I hadn't planned on including ANTI in this list at all, but I rediscovered "Love On The Brain" over Thanksgiving weekend and fell in love with it. Regrettably, my late-blooming appreciation for "Love On The Brain" did not carry over to the remainder of the album.
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 50,981
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Quote:
Originally posted by Superpower
Almost 48 hours since the last update ![whip](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/dbfaf5f8.gif)
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Yasss whip me into shape daddy ![blush](images/smilies/images/smilies/blush.gif)
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 37,384
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Rih, Marren, Nick ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 46,848
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Carly, DNCE and ANTI ![clap2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/655abaf2.gif)
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Member Since: 1/3/2014
Posts: 18,157
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Maren ![Alexz](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ec20fb7f.gif)
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Member Since: 10/5/2009
Posts: 137,162
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Side B ![smitten](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ebf69f50.gif) A lovely EMOTION continuation, Carly came thru once again.
Bye at you shading DNCE, Nick and Rih + all 3 being this low. ![Lipton](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/5b373a2e.gif) You should feel ashamed.
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Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 22,877
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Side B snatched. It deserved to be in your top 25. ![:'(](images/smilies/images/smilies/cry.gif)
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