2016 Round-Up: 10 Best Albums Of The Year

After bringing you three curated lists of ‘Top 25 Songs of 2016’ yesterday, here’s the second piece of the year-end round-up series where we select the ’10 Best Albums of 2016′. We at Only Kollywood have arrived at this list after careful consideration and well thought-out discussions. YouTube views and Radio Check datas are not the yardsticks that merited our selection but the ability of the composer to produce a lasting, fresh soundtrack. 

PS: We have considered albums of films that released only during this year. Oru Naal Koothu and Thaarai Thappattai, despite being terrific soundtracks, were excluded since both were part of our 2015 Best 10 Albums list.

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10. Chennai 28 Part II – Yuvan Shankar Raja

After a melodic, rooted album in Dharma Durai, Yuvan Shankar Raja hit a sixer with a vibrant, youthful soundtrack in Chennai 28 Part II and kept up with the reputation of the first installment. Soppana Sundari and Nee Kidaithai were long time residents on our playlists, while Idhu Kadhaiya was a wonderful throwback to Yuvan’s earlier melodies. 

 

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9. Aandavan Kattalai – K

Highly under-credited composer K delivered a jubilant soundtrack in Aandavan Kattalai. With tremendous mixtape of sounds, K created a rich tapestry of songs that formed an engaging album overall. Despite the overdose of numbers, the effortless variety K displayed in short and sweet numbers was commendable.

 

 

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8. Kavalai Vendam – Leon James

Another relatively new composer came to the party with a jolly good album, despite just three songs in the disc. What ticked it up is the choice of singers and a great new-age feel which was there in abundance. 

 

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7. Remo – Anirudh Ravichander

When it comes to songs which click with the youth, the go-to man is none other than Anirudh. With his one and only film release this year, he made sure that he had a peppy and romantic set of tunes in hand. Almost all the songs in the film made waves, with the energy and the excitement being maintained at a high.

 

 

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6. Kabali – Santhosh Narayanan

Instead of changing his style to suit that of the Superstar, Santhosh Narayanan took the bull by the horns and delivered a pleasing soundtrack in Kabali. Neruppu Da is by far the most powerful track of the year, with the melodies like Vaanam Paarthen and Maya Nadhi catering to the slow-go lovers. The overall genre that Santosh Narayanan maintained through the album is something that has to be appreciated.

 

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5. Dharmadurai– Yuvan Shankar Raja

Yuvan Shankar Raja had a great 2016, with his music actually returning to form through Dharmadurai and Chennai 28 II. Makka Kalanguthappa is easily the best kuthu song of the year, it’s a song only Yuvan can compose out of the current crop of composers. The two other melodies in Aandipatti and Endha Pakkam climbed charts too, with the underrated Poi Vaadaa finishing things on a high. High quality stuff.

 

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4. Joker – Sean Roldan

Composer Sean Roldan left music buffs wanting for more with his sole soundtrack of the year. With wacky, soul-soothing and genuinely kickass mélange of tunes, Joker brimmed with Sean Roldan’s inventiveness. And, most importantly, it made Tamil film industry sit up and notice. Now, he has become Dhanush’s favorite: his upcoming soundtracks include Dhanush’s directorial debut Power Paandi and Soundarya Rajinikanth’s sophomore feature VIP 2. He also has Vishnu Vishal’s Kathanayagan and Vikram Prabhu’s Neruppu Da.

 

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3. Kidaari – Darbuka Siva

The most promising debut of 2016 goes to Darbuka Siva for churning out a trend-setting album in the village-centric Kidaari. The sort of ecstatic folk-western blend Darbuka brought to the fore in Kidaari is what’s missing in Tamil music scene for long. At a time when auto-tunes & EDMs dominated Tamil albums, Kidaari was a refreshing, highly entertaining soundtrack from Darbuka Siva.

 

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2. Irudhi Suttru – Santhosh Narayanan

Santhosh Narayanan, who ruled our playlists this year with a bevy of chartbusters, produced this remarkable album and started 2016 on a high note in January. Be it the soul-stirring pathos of Dhee in Usuru Narumbeley, the spirited vocals of Pradeep Kumar in Poda Poda or the toe-tapping folksy rendition of Sean Roldan in Vaa Machaney, Irudhi Suttru is one of Santhosh Narayanan’s repeat-worthy albums.

 

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1. Achcham Yenbathu Madamaiyada – AR Rahman

If we had to go through all the albums of 2016 and pick just one which we had kept revisiting again and again, it would be doubtlessly be AR Rahman’s Accham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada. The effect of listening to Thalli Pogadhe for the first time is something incomparable, with the other gems like Rasaali and Avalum Naanum being songs which stay on our playlists even now. And how can someone forget the jet-fast rap in Showkali. Awesome and addictive.

 

SPECIAL MENTIONS: 

Kodi (Santhosh Narayanan), Sethupathi (Nivas K Prasanna), MOKK (GV Prakash), Iru Mugan (Harris Jayaraj).

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