The 11 best laptops of 2016

Though smartphone can handle more and more of your daily workload, it still can't replace a tried-and-true notebook when it's time to hunker down.

But which to get? That's the eternal question. Unfortunately, 2016 didn't make the answer any clearer. With the flow of laptop sales on a steady decline, no one manufacturer could get everything right.

While a number of very good notebooks launched in the last year, there wasn't One True Laptop you could point to and say, "this is the best machine for most people," the way you could about the MacBook Air years ago. Be it missing ports, an awkward design flaw, some overactive fans, or a price that's just too high, every good notebook seemed to have one or two nagging annoyances that kept it from being great.

But if you need a new laptop, you need a new laptop. There are still some notebooks that are well worth a look, from the budget to the ultra-premium. As 2016 comes to a close, here are our favorites.