Music

The second album by the California-based singer features an optimism often associated with West Coast pop. Critic Ken Tucker says Little World creates an "alternate universe of the sunniest sounds."

It was a great year for old pros and newcomers, big pop stars and beloved cult stars, as well as a couple of not-yet-stars. As always, winnowing down a list that could have easily been double this length was tough — but it was also a pleasure, since it forced me to concentrate on what made this music the best of 2016. The following picks are arranged in alphabetical order.

Enter Me

Mid-Thirties Single Scene, the new album by the Australian group Scott and Charlene's Wedding, describes the thoughts and actions of a character who has just turned 34. Critic Ken Tucker has a review.

The 82-year-old songwriter mixes serious contemplation with mordant humor on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker says You Want It Darker features some of Cohen's simplest, most effective lyrics.

In the 1940s and '50s, Jackson was the most famous gospel singer in the world. A new record, Moving On Up A Little Higher, presents never-released tracks from that era. Critic Milo Miles has a review.

Best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead, Weir goes solo on his new album, which was inspired by his time working as a ranch hand in Wyoming as a teen. Critic Ken Tucker has a review.

Dacus mixes plainspoken language with rock-music instrumentation on her debut album. Critic Ken Tucker says the singer-songwriter's vulnerability goes against the grain of much current pop music.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new three-and-a-half-hour documentary about Bob Dylan called No Direction Home by director Martin Scorsese. It's available on a two-disc DVD and will be shown on PBS as part of the American Masters series.

Though Olsen sets pain and frustration to music in her latest album, critic Ken Tucker says it's clear that the singer is "very much in control of her emotions and her life."