Before publishing this list, I listened to each of these albums again to make sure that I still liked them. And I did! (But there was one other that I had on my preliminary list that I ultimately decided I didn’t like enough to include. Bonus points if you can guess what it was.)

1. The Weeknd, Dawn FM: Abel Tesfaye gets an assist from his fellow Canadian Jim Carrey.
2. Beyoncé, Renaissance: Queen Bey dedicates it to the dancefloor.
3. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Omnium Gatherum: Blazingly unfiltered full-tilt jammin’ psychedelia.
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cool It Down: Rock isn’t dead; it’s hot.
5. Tove Lo, Dirt Femme: A multi-dimensional panorama of love.
6. Lizzo, Special: In case nobody told you today, this album is special.
7. Silversun Pickups, Physical Thrills: Still shoegazin’ after all these years.
8. Santigold, Spirituals: A fresh mix of sounds, all ready for you to boogie.
9. Soccer Mommy, Sometimes, Forever: Preternaturally sensitive, despite the stage name.
10. Soft Cell, Happiness Not Included: A vision of the future, from seers of the past.
11. John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies, Firestarter Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: This is one of the reasons why I watch (and listen to) every movie I possibly can.
12. The Black Keys, Dropout Boogie: Keep the groove alive.
13. Mandy Moore, In Real Life: Digging deep and belting out those emotions.
14. Florence + the Machine, Dance Fever: Florence always goes so big, you’d think she’d be exhausted by now. But no!