Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.
As years go, 2016 was a cruel one. We lost tons of musical heroes: Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Sharon Jones and other iconic performers departed. Before they left us, though, we were treated to a few final pieces of music. Likewise, once-dormant bands returned to prove that their best wasn't behind them. And of course, new bands appeared with fresh sounds and energy to inspire us all over again. While 2016 might be a year to forget in many ways, we don't think the following albums will be disappearing from memories any time soon. Overall site list 1 David Bowie Blackstar ISO Records / Columbia David Bowie has always stood outside the lines. In the last decade or so, every album release came as a surprise of sorts: no media circus or worldwide promo tour. Each release showed Bowie slipping into his older years with something more stable stylistically. Here on his 69th birthday we get his 25th album, Blackstar. In an almost complete lack of concern about what others may think, he released his most complete work in years so neatly stamping a mark to act as a coda for his career, and incidentally his life. In true Bowie fashion, he made something with lasting merits – something different, yet very much his own. (Jon) 2 A Tribe Called Quest We Got It From Here...Thank You For Your Service Epic Coming off their second hiatus, A Tribe Called Quest have released what is arguably their most politically charged and … Read more
Every year we ask record labels and artists what they thought of the last twelve months; we tell you the best albums of last year; and finally we offer you … Read more
It's the second half of our annual Pass The Mic feature and this time we're handing the microphone over to the bands and artists who brought us great music in … Read more
Now in its tenth year, Pass The Mic is a SPB tradition where we ask the artists and record labels producing some of our favorite music to comment on the … Read more
We post a variety of features in recurring series – click below to browse them.
A regular series by Robert F.
A wide-ranging guest column written by BJ from Ancient Shores, mainly covering film but extending into philosophy and aesthetics too. Check out BJ's work on the A389 podcast.
How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music.
Guest column by T of Vegas
A cookery column by Nick, vocalist with metal band The Famine. Veggie/vegan friendly!
A roundup of coverage of the annual punk rock festival held in Gainesville, Florida
Our annual roundup from Gainesville, FL's famous Fest.
SPB's coverage of the annual festival in Gainesville, Florida.
Our coverage of the annual Fest extravaganza.
Our coverage of the 19th edition of the Fest – an independent multi-day, multiple-venue music festival held annually in Gainesville, Florida.
All our coverage from the long-running music festival
Articles about the Fest 21
Our coverage of the 22nd edition of the FEST.
We dive into the back catalog of a record label and ask them to nominate their most memorable releases from their label's history–with a few suggestions of our own.
An interview format where we ask a band to rate and review a bunch of music
A radio DJ profile series created by Christopher D & Matt Hutchison.
There’s so much music released, whether physically or digitally, that keeping up with what’s going on becomes almost like a full time job. With Only Death Is Real, the aim is to bring you something new.
A life lived and lessons learned by Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers.
Welcome to Running on Nothing, the latest addition to our stable of columns at Scene Point Blank. Running on Nothing offers a look at the world through the eyes of Kole, bassist of The Lippies, guitarist of The Bloody Lips, and gigposter artist.
We survey some of the other music releases out there. Results may vary...may get weird, but hopefully something covered here piques your interest.
A semi-regular column where we choose a specific area and give a local scene report.
Discussing the state of the music business at the kitchen table
A brief but englightening chat with an artist who reveals an interesting or unexpected story from their career
A collection of items grouped by topic, eg. "Top 5 Worst Beatles Songs" or "Top 10 best '77 punk releases".
One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.
A collection of coverage rounding up the year 2012, covering our favorite albums, shows, bands, and more, as well as asking record labels and bands about their past twelve months in music
It's the end of 2013, so here's our best-of roundup for the last twelve months.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2015.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2017.
Our summary of the best music (and more) of 2018.
Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019
Our wrap-up of the best music and more for the year we'll all want to otherwise forget, 2020.
Our roundup of the best music from the worst year (since the previous one, anyway).
Our favorite music and more from the year 2022
Our roundup of the best music of the year 2023
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