The Official Central Track List.

At the end of 2016, we hit you with a list of our 100 favorite locally-tied songs of the year. While we think it’s a pretty big accomplishment for an act to land anywhere on that list, there were quite a few artists on there who released all of one song last year, and that’s it.

Coming up with an entire album’s worth of material, on the other hand? Let’s face it: That’s just a much bigger accomplishment. And if it’s an album that’s fire from top to bottom? That’s a hell of a feat, for sure.

SEE ALSO:
• The Top 100 Dallas-Area Songs of 2016.
• The Best Local Albums of 2015.

Thus we present, without comment, our top 30 local albums of 2016 — along with another 30 or so honorable mentions that were on our short list before we began paring it down. It’s pretty interesting, we think, to see brand new artists appearing right alongside 20-year vets, and Grammy winners next to youngins that made their records in their bedrooms. — Cory Graves

30. Herrick & Hooley – Texoma

29. Bowling for Soup – Drunk Dynasty

28. Siberian Traps – Stray Dogs

27. Snarky Puppy –  Culcha Vulcha

26. Pageantry — Influence

25. Jayson Lyric – Lyric Show

24. The Longshots – Inhaler

23. The Gritz – The Feel

22. Party Static – Wasted Waster

21. Cody Jinks – I’m Not the Devil

20. John Congleton –  Until the Horror Goes

19. Connor Wallace – Friday Mean

18. Astronautalis –  Cut the Body Loose

17. Daniel Markham – Disintegrator

16. Ishi – Juno

15. The Outfit, TX – Green Lights: Everything Goin’

14. True Widow – AVVOLGERE

13. Charley Crockett – In the Night

12. Felix – My Second Album

11. Tiger + Man – s/t EP

10. Post Malone – Stoney

9. Jesus Chris + The Beetles – Love Songs from the Slime World

8. Maren Morris – Hero

7. Ethereal and the Queer Show – Fairy Super Crystal Blue

6. A.Dd+ – Nawf America

5. Conner Youngblood – The Generation of Lift

4. Quaker City Night Hawks – El Astronauta

3. Parquet Courts – Human Performance

2. Paul Cauthen – My Gospel

1.  Sam Lao – SPCTRM

Honorable Mentions:
Sad Cops — Liam Murphy Holt
TraÌi Bo — Sugar_Cookie
Leoncarlo — Still Forms
Relick — Twin House
Jonny Boy — s/t
Acid Carousel — America’s Newest Hitmakers
Keegan McInroe — Uncouth Pilgrims
Cozy Hawks — End Era
Jay Fresh — Heard it All Before
Luke McGlathery — Life Ain’t Hard
Kevin England — About as Country as Oklahoma’s WinStar World Casino and Resort
Pleasant Grove — The Heart Contortionists
Go Yayo — Boom God
David Morgan — Genesis
CLIFFFS — Bill, You’re Only Human
Nervous Curtains — Low Defender
Ronnie Heart — s/t
Norvis Junior — Pyrrhic Victory Disc 03
Plain Jane Francis — 3 Likes
War Pary – To Love and Fear It
G.U.N. & Cardo – #GunGotWings
BeMyFiasco – Layers
Mary Walker – Scenes of You and Me
Jacob Metcalf – Fjord
Mind Spiders – Prosthesis
Tony Ferraro – A Parrot Buys a Hotel
Danny Diamonds – JV
Ari Roar – Patch Me Up
Norah Jones – Day Breaks
Curtis Mayz – Real Life Raps
Joshua Dylan Balis – Modern Gospel

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