The Best Albums of 2016 (So Far)

Best of 2016

As we pass the midway mark of 2016, it’s nice to sit back and reflect on the great albums that have come out so far this year. Below you’ll find a compiled list that looks at the selected albums from contributors and moderators to this website, as well as all of the broken down individual lists. Maybe there will be some albums you’ve heard of, hopefully there will be quite a few you haven’t checked out yet, and maybe there will be a few you’ll want to give a second look. I think it’s been a pretty damn good year for music so far and there’s quite a bit to still look forward to as well.

There’s a thread in our music forum where we’d love to see your lists.

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Sponsor: Save 50% on Amazon Prime Student

amazon

Amazon Prime is offering a 50% discount for all students. With an Amazon Prime account you get free 2-day shipping, access to Amazon Prime’s movie and TV show library, and access to Amazon Prime Music. Amazon Prime Music is full of music and playlists for any mood. They currently have a “Songs of Summer” playlist that was put together by Amazon to be the best playlist for summer and a Blink-182 playlist that if you listen to you can be entered into a contest to meet the band in Seattle.

Also, Amazon Prime Day is July 12th and there will be all kinds of deals going on throughout the day. So, if you’re a student and you buy a lot of stuff on Amazon, this is almost a no-brainer!

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Singles Club: Taking Back Sunday – “Tidal Wave”

Taking Back Sunday

To say that Taking Back Sunday is a polarizing band is an understatement. For nearly 15 years now the Long Island-based band have gone through it all – inter-band drama, outer-band drama, more member changes than they’d like to admit, and the transition from emo darlings to bonafide rock stars. And while not every fan has always enjoyed every change the band has gone through musically and professionally, Taking Back Sunday has always stuck to their vision. And the same can be said about the band’s latest song, “Tidal Wave,” the first single from the band’s upcoming seventh LP of the same name.

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Zac Farro Confirms He’s Drumming on New Paramore Album

Zac Farro has confirmed in an interview with Idobi that he’s drumming on the new Paramore album, but at the moment, that’s it.

They’ve asked me to play drums on their album, on their new album. So [Hayley] put it on their Instagram and put it on their website, and it’s no joke that I’m back just playing drums for them on their album alongside with doing my HalfNoise stuff. That’s it, and that’s literally all it is right now. No one’s really asked cause I’ve kind of deterred the question, but I’m doing HalfNoise – that’s my band. They’ve asked me to drum, and it was like, ‘Yeah, of course!’ We’ve always been friends, and yeah, there was a little bit of weirdness cause I left the band for a few years, but all that stuff is not even there anymore and there’s no hard feelings and it’s just been rad and fun.

Drake Tops Charts For Ninth Straight Week

Drake, again, is at the top of the charts this week. Projections have Blink-182 overtaking Views, which has now been at the top of the charts for nine weeks, when they debut on the charts next week.

Views earned 111,000 equivalent album units in the week ending June 30, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 25,000 were in traditional album sales. The bulk of Views units were driven by streaming equivalent album units (67,000), owed to the album’s popularity on streaming services.

Hacker Involved in ‘Celebgate’ Pleads Guilty

Technology

James Vincent, writing for The Verge:

A hacker has pleaded guilty for his role in the “Celebgate” breach of 2014. Edward Majerczyk faces up to five years in federal prison for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Like fellow hacker Ryan Collins, the 28-year-old Majerczyk used a phishing scam to trick celebrities into entering their online credentials into fake ‘security’ sites. Majerczyk then used this information to illegally access more than 300 personal Gmail and iCloud accounts, retrieving private photos and videos from targets including celebrities. No individuals affected by the hack were named in court documents.

Kevin Durant Joins Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant Joins Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant has joined the Golden State Warriors, basically, on paper, forming an unbeatable basketball team:

But I am also at a point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth. With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors.

With that new huge contract I’m sure he’ll be able to find a nice one bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

Happy Fourth of July

Today is the 4th of July holiday so we will be on a more relaxed posting schedule. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable day and we’ll be back to our regular schedule tomorrow.

Sponsor: Thank You to Blink-182; ‘California’ in Stores Now

Blink-182 - "Bored to Death"

My thanks to Blink-182 for sponsoring Chorus this week. They released their new album, California, yesterday and I’ve gotta say: I’m impressed. I’ve been toying around with a write-up about the album that I may post in the foreseeable future, but the fact is that I think this is the best Blink’s sounded in years. Great, fun, summer pop-punk music.

You can find the album now on all streaming platforms, iTunes, and in stores. The album is making a run for the #1 spot next week so if you’re into it — definitely give it a spin (or ten). Thanks again to Blink for sponsoring the website this week. Hilarious to think that I once built a Blink-182 fan-page, and here we are, 20-something years later, and they’re sponsoring the site. It’s awesome.