Can you believe 2016 was a decade ago? From Radiohead’s return to Frank Ocean’s dual albums to Knocked Loose’s debut LP, it was a whirlwind year that gave us a lot to talk about. It was also a year of luminaries departing — most notably the passing of Prince, A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, and David Bowie, the latter of whom presented us a final gift in the form of Blackstar (released on his 69th birthday and two days before his death). With the year on our minds, we wanted readers to tell us the best 2016 albums, regardless of genre. You can find the top fan picks ranked below.
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5. Sum 41 – 13 Voices
Following 2011’s Screaming Bloody Murder, Sum 41 experienced a lot of change and turbulence. After years of heavy drinking, frontman Deryck Whibley almost died from kidney and liver problems in 2014, which set him on a path of sober living. Two years later, 13 Voices was meant to signal triumph — with drummer Frank Zummo joining the band and guitarist Dave “Brownsound” Baksh making his return. The album rollout kicked off properly with “Fake My Own Death,” pulling from their Does This Look Infected? sessions and reminding fans of the snotty skate punk they grew up with.
4. Every Time I Die – Low Teens
By the time Every Time I Die put out 2016’s Low Teens, it’d been exactly 15 years since their debut. Full of heavy hitters, the album proved that the Buffalo-bred metalcore group hadn’t lost any of their fire. “Map Change” boasted Keith Buckley’s refined songwriting. “C++ (Love Will Get You Killed)” showed off their melodic side. Then there was “It Remembers” with Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie, which completed an emo trinity after previously working with members of Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. After all these years, the band’s inexplicable chemistry, across Low Teens and otherwise, is why our readers are demanding a reunion this year.
3. blink-182 – California
Yes, there’s a lot to unpack with this blink-182 album, but our readers love it. Following the departure and reunion with Tom DeLonge, many fans remain divided on how to process the band’s Matt Skiba years. That being said, the sound is undeniably tight, especially on “Bored to Death,” “Sober,” and “Teenage Satellites.” “I remember that first Roxy show being mildly terrified and looking over at Mark cracking jokes,” Skiba told NYT in 2025, reflecting on the era in an interview about Hoppus’ memoir. “His joy would just bring me back into the moment.” Whether or not you like California, it’s an important part of the blink canon — a moment when they could have packed it all up but chose to keep going.
2. Pierce the Veil – Misadventures
Pierce the Veil reached a high point with 2012’s Collide with the Sky, whose single “King For a Day” became an inescapable anthem within the scene. That made the follow-up tricky, but after four years, the group returned with Misadventures in 2016. As we wrote that year, “Misadventures expertly redraws PTV’s own map, celebrating their impossible blend of ambitious, creative obsessions and the electric crackle of raw intensity.” In the time since its release, they’ve only continued to get massive, blowing up on TikTok, playing stadiums with blink-182, and embarking on their own era-spanning tour.
1. Frank Iero and the Patience – Parachutes
In the wake of My Chemical Romance’s breakup, Frank Iero turned toward a wealth of other projects. He started Death Spells with James Dewees, released his first solo album, 2014’s Stomachaches, and followed it up with his sophomore LP, Parachutes, under Frank Iero and the Patience, in 2016. Overwhelmingly, our readers called it the greatest album of 2016 — and it’s not hard to explain, full of grandparent tributes (“9-6-15”), reality checks (“I’m a Mess”), and splashes of clarity (“Dear Percocet, I Don’t Think We Should See Each Other Anymore”). “I felt totally emptied but so inspired by the end of it,” he told AP that year. “It was physically and emotionally like someone had bled me out.” A decade later, Parachutes holds up without question.
