The 20 best albums of the year ranked, according to critics

2016 was a whirlwind year in music, punctuated by blockbuster releases, a handful of masterful albums, and the loss of some iconic artists.

From the critical dominance of the Knowles sisters - Beyoncé and Solange - to the final LPs from legendary acts like David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and A Tribe Called Quest, 2016 has produced many innovative, affecting, and memorable works. 

We turned to review aggregator Metacritic to find out which albums critics have gravitated to and praised the most this year. The resulting list includes the expected big names alongside a few lesser-known artists with remarkable works.

Here are the top 20 albums of the year, according to critics' scores on Metacritic: