[334578rpm]

As the year is wrapping up, I think it's time to look back on all the great releases that came out this year. Post your top 5/top 10 favorite new releases/reissues of 2016. I'll start:

5. Friday the 13th Part 3: The best of Waxwork's F13 reissues. Disco theme, and that 3d cover is great!
4. The Night Evelyn...: Classic Nicolai.
3. Requiem for a dream: Iconic Mansell score, superb vinyl quality.
2. Papaya, Love Goddess...: A total earworm for me.
1. The Poliziotteschi Files: How is this not sold out yet?!?!?!?!

[NathanLurker]

good picks foor sure. But how can you make a top5 ?? so cruel to select only 5 in a sea of great releases this year haha

I'll think about my top releases and post when I decided. But I'm glad you picked the Poliziotteshi Files release as your top1, it's fantastic.

[deafmetal]

@334578rpm - Your list could be my own, but I will go through the exercise myself over the next week. Every time I go look at mondotees.com, and I cannot believe there are still copies of The Poliziotteschi Files available. I am going to be saying the same about Evelyn... soon as well. So, so good! Papaya is so dreamy, and after only having the "teaser" version on half of a Beat LP, it's fantastic to have the expanded score on vinyl.

Also, great to see your support of Mansell's Requiem for a Dream. I have been caning digital files of that album for over fifteen years now, and to finally see it released on vinyl is a beautiful thing indeed. I get a bit bristly when people complain about it being overused in commercials and whatnot (I remember all those trailers for LotR: The Two Towers as well), but that doesn't bother me at all. Every time I hear Morricone's theme from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly on some lager commercial, I just grin and say, "I love this music".

[Hatter313]

Have to go with a top 10 this year. This was actually little hard, so many excellent releases this year. OST's only, otherwise DWO, Ghost Box, and Folklore Tapes might have dominated.

10. You're Next - Flawless design work, great score.
9. Blair Witch - I loved Wingard's approach to this, and was super thrilled with how fast DW dropped this.
8. The Witch - What a fantastic score, and again, just stellar design work
7. Dellamorte Dellamore - Unexpected treat from Lunaris, wouldn't have expected this ever TBH.
6. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - My OG is great, but the design work on Milan's reissue put me over the edge. Sakamoto in top form here
5. My Bloody Valentine - underrated film, underrated score, just great all around.
4. Naked Lunch - One of my favorite scores of all time.
3. The Warriors - great package, great score, long awaited and worth every moment
2. Salem's Lot - one of my favorite SK movies, and a great score. Francavilla's art for this is my favorite of the year
1. Twin Peaks - because..Twin Peaks.

Honorable mentions to Milan's Terminator reissue, The Night Evelyn..., The Fountain, Taxi Driver, and Mad Monster Party, and Clue as a personal favorite...Man what a killer year

[milliondollars]

my top 5 releases in 2016:

1. Wojciech Kilar ‎– The Ninth Gate (Silva Screen ‎)
2. The Heliocentrics ‎– From The Deep (Now-Again)
3. Bixio, Frizzi & Tempera ‎– Magnetic Systems (Finders Keepers)
4. Maria Teresa Luciani ‎– Free Jazz (Cinedelic)
5. Silvano D'Auria ‎– Sortilegio (Four Flies)

***edit***
bonus: hip hop top 3:

1. KA ‎– Honor Killed The Samurai ‎(self released)
2. AG & Party Arty - Live From The Balcony (Red Apples 45)
3. Conway – Reject 2 (Daupe!)

[ChrisMcQueen007]

Will also go with a top 5:

5. Rocky IV - Vince DiCola: This is just so uplifting and energizing.
4. Bloodstained Shadow - Maestro Cipriani: This is so different to e.g. Papaya
3. Papaya Love Goddess... - Maestro Cipriani: This is just so nice.
2. The Long Good Friday - Francis Monkman: I love gangster film scores - and this is one of the best imo.
1. Musique Originale De Films - Ahmed Malek: Feeling low? Put on Ahmed Malek. Feeling good? Put on Ahmed Malek. Yearning for the faraway? ...

[334578rpm]

Damn, I forgot about Stranger Things. That has to be in my top 5 somewhere.

[Bezulsqy]

Great lists!
I just exported my discogs data into excel to see what I actually bought this year. I love data :-)
Not counting some different variants of a couple releases and taking only soundtracks on vinyl in account I bought around 45 LP's (and one 10") released in 2016. (A lot more other formats and older releases were acquired... apparently I prefer buying Dagored releases when they are on sale a year later...)

Anyways, for me in no particular order and both new on vinyl and re-issues:

Taxi Driver – Waxwork
Spookies – Terror Vision
Manhattan Baby – Sub OST
Papaya: Love Goddess of the Cannibals - One Way Static
The Witch – Milan
The Bloodstained Shadow - Death Waltz Recording Company
The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave - Death Waltz Recording Company
Rome Armed To The Teeth / The Cynic The Rat And The Fist (Original Motion Picture Soundtracks) - Death Waltz Recording Company
Deviation – Dagored
Il Dolce Corpo Di Deborah – Cinedelic
The Childhood of a leader – 4AD

This is hard. Looking again I have to include more Waxwork. Salem's Lot I loved as well as My Bloody Valentine and Shockwaves.
Hopefully I have some time during the holidays to play them all again. Maybe views will change. Again.

[vinyljunkie]

This was an incredible year for both new and reissued OSTs/scores! Could not keep my list to 10 (or even 20 for that matter)... Proud to say that I have 16 of these in my vinyl collection!

NEW:

Johnny Jewel - Lost River
Xiu Xiu Plays the Music of Twin Peaks
Theodore Shapiro - The Invitation
Lin-Manuel Miranda - Hamilton
Pierre Takal - Rats
Mica Levi - Jackie
Various Artists - The Get Down
Max Richter - The Leftovers
Mark Korven - The Witch
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - Stranger Things (Vol. 1 & 2)
Johann Johannsson - Arrival
Gruff Rhys - Set Fire to the Stars
Federale - All the Colours of the Dark
Duke St. Workshop - Tales of H.P. Lovecraft
Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Luke Cage
Cliff Martinez - The Neon Demon
Brooke Blair & Will Blair - Green Room
Beak - Couple in a Hole
Andy Hull & Robert McDowell - Swiss Army Man

REISSUES:
Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks
Wojciech Kilar - The Ninth Gate
Clint Mansell - Requiem for a Dream
Ahmed Malek - Musique Originale de Films

[deafmetal]

My copy of Jóhann Jóhannsson's Arrival OST just shipped(!), and I don't think I'm going to finalize my list until I give it a chance to make the cut. ;)

[Mateo Sanboval]

Great list, VJ. Some fine reminders of LPs I've missed. And I'm with Deaf on this for the record. Arrival needs to be on hand before I can make a list. In fact, I'd wager I'll need a few weeks to properly steep in the November and December releases before I can feel good about it. Fun times ahead.

[Hatter313]

Arrival score is tops, will likely pick it up after the holidays are over.

[SpaceCadet]

It's been such an incredible year, so many deep cuts and real craft on display. From my limited exposure I'd nominate:

1. Luke Cage - the artists are incredible and it's truly unique.
2. Twin Peaks - incredible sound master.
3. The Matrix - again, incredible sound master.
4. Terminator - so clean and clear, resurrected from nebulous preservation.
5. The Fountain - a solid version of one of the best.

Releases I'll be late to in the years to come: Arrival & Sicario, Ninja Scroll, Requiem for a Dream, Neon Demon, Stranger Things, Chinatown

Honorable mentions - Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Cynic and the Rat 2LP

[Steve Powder]

Hi guys.

I became interested in soundtracks and libraries three years ago, one of the first records I got was Jungle Obssession. Here's my top 5 list

Zoo Folle (!!!)
Oriente Oggi
Gigi Masin - Wind
Free Jazz - Luciani
Torossi, Brugnolini - Musica Per Commenti Sonori

[Mateo Sanboval]

Welcome aboard, Steve! It's early days yet, but i like the cut of your jib. Or at least your list; two of which I've not yet heard.

[milliondollars]

cheers @Steve Power!

welcome! the kind members in here will treat you very well and you are going to be broke soon if you visit this forum regulary, haha!

nice library oriented list...

[deafmetal]

@StevePowder - Welcome to the forum. I believe Zoo Folle is in a top slot for me as well, great pick.

[Vapormeyer]

What a fantastic year for music. Here's my top picks:
1. Aged In Harmony - You're A Melody
2. Arthur Verocai (self titled)
3. Western Skies Motel - Settlers
4. Outrun OST
5. Gremlins OST (Mondo)
6. Claude Rodap - Syn-Ka
7. Blue Gas - Shadows From Nowhere
8. Bert Jansch ‎– Avocet
9. Graeme Miller & Steve Shill - Moomins (the fancy pleather one)
10. Jose Mauro - Obnoxius

Wishing you and your families a happy new year and hopefully a 2017 full of fantastic audio.

[Tron4Life]

I agree with some of you that this has been great year, perhaps the best since vinyl revival. I have bought much more soundtracks this year than years before. Nocturnal Animals should come any day now, so I don't include that one on my list.

TOP 5:

1. Wojciech Kilar - The Ninth Gate (Silva Screen)
2. Thomas Newman - Spectre (Decca)
3. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Hell Or High Water (Milan)
4. Clint Mansell - Black Swan (Music On Vinyl)
5. Abel Korzeniowski - A Single Man (Silva Screen)

[Mateo Sanboval]

@Vape - Love seeing some Jansch love on your year end list!! Avocet is an awesome release. I could've included Pentangle's Basket of Light in my Christmas Lp list sine I listen to it non stop come Winter time.

@Tron - The Ninth Gate may very well be the release of the year for me, too. What a score.

[Hatter313]

Forgot about the ninth gate, great score. Maybe they will do another Kilar score this year COUGH COUGH DRACULA.

[texasvinyl]

Picking a Best Of list for 2016 is tough! The release schedule has been insane. I do think this was a much better year for reissues than new releases, but I'm sure some slept-on keepers will emerge eventually. I'm also older than I used to be and maybe don't have my ear to the ground as well anymore. I hope the release schedule slows down. I have over 300 in my collection with 2016 release dates, and with the baby coming I am going to have to cut WAY back.

Anyhow, here are ten of my faves from this year, plus a couple of honorable mentions:


1. BOWIE - BLACKSTAR - I didn't hear a better new album this year.

2. LEE MOSES - TIME AND PLACE - My top pick for non-soundtrack reissue by a mile. Spectacular treatment of a real grail by LITA.

3. AR LUCIANI - FREE JAZZ - Cinedelic could have taken up half of this list, but Free Jazz is a real standout. From the real paint splatter jacket an the heavy gatefold to the excellent mastering & MPO pressing...and of course a killer library LP! It's a must-have.

4. TOROSSI / BRUGNOLINI - MUSICA PER COMMENTI SONORI - All killer, no filler, one of the very best libraries! Schema's mastering and pressing stands out above many of the library reissue labels, and you can hear the difference. Another must-have.

5. CIPRIANI - PAPAYA: LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS - Probably my favorite in the OWS catalog to date. Very well-done release of the highest quality!

6. VARIOUS - LOST HIGHWAY - I've asked every label under the sun to press this for years, so it has to go on the list. MoV did a great job and I appreciated the detail work on the jacket.

7. DUST BROTHERS - FIGHT CLUB - Some of the Dust Bros finest and one of my all time favorite films. The creative packaging gives this a little 'extra' to warrant inclusion on a 'best of' list!

8. NICOLAI - THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE - One of the best Italian soundtracks yet on Death Waltz. Gorgeous release and sounds great. The score has a wide variety of sounds and checks a lot of boxes for me.

9. WOJCIECH KILAR - THE NINTH GATE - Another film I've been into for a long time, and the score is top notch. Silva Screen could have done a better job with the release quality as it lacks the premium treatment you'd hope for--heavy gatefold w/ leatherette finish and a stitched binding would have been amazing.

10. CLIFF MARTINEZ - THE NEON DEMON - I keep coming back to this one, and the French import pressing is shiny, oh so shiny. And very pink.

----------

Honorable mentions:

MANSELL + KRONOS + MOGWAI - THE FOUNTAIN - Some pressing issues kept this off of my top list otherwise it would be there.

CHOCOLAT - RECONTRER LOOLOO - I really like this, but I haven't listened to it enough times to give it a top pick. But it's worth investigating...

YSUSEF KAMAAL - BLACK FOCUS - A good, solid record. But is it 'best of' great? I'm not sure yet.

SORGINI - ZOO FOLLE - This should be on the best of list, but it just doesn't sound very good... not the only Four Flies reissue I feel this way about. I really have to crank up the gain & EQ to get this to sound halfway decent, and that makes me sad. I think the door is open for someone to do a better job, although that probably won't happen now for at least a number of years. It should have been Cinedelic!!

[tim28212]

This was a bit tough for me because I got more older releases than 2016 releases this year. That said here are my top 10 2016 releases

Jerry Goldsmith ‎– Warlock (Intrada)
Angelo Badalamenti ‎– Twin Peaks (Death Waltz)
Mark Korven ‎– The Witch (Milan)
Scott Walker ‎– The Childhood Of A Leader (4AD)
Jerry Goldsmith ‎– Rudy (Varese Sarabande)
Philip Glass, Kronos Quartet ‎– Dracula (Orange Mountain Music)
James Bernard ‎– Nosferatu A Symphony Of Horrors (Silva Screen)
Rocky Gray ‎– The Barn (Lunaris)
Wojciech Kilar ‎– The Ninth Gate (Silva Screen)
Various ‎– SNDTRK (Disco Cinematic)

[Hatter313]

@tim, that Phillip glass Dracula issue is superb, have long loved that restore and was thrilled to get it on wax at last.

[bpwlogan]

Here's mine in order.

1. The Warriors (Waxwork) Nice to have the score and the songs from the film in one release.
2. Naked Lunch (Mondo) The icing on the cake for my Coleman collection.
3. LARVA Tapes (Ondes Positives) The most refreshing and unique release all year for me.
4. Swans- The Glowing Man (Young God Records) Gira's last stand of gothic noise rock.
5. Repeated Viewing- Frozen Existence (Lunaris Records) Great ambient cuts on this. I love it.
6. Bowie-Blackstar (Columbia) The opposite of The Next Day...just chilling.
7. Bloodstained Shadow (Death Waltz) Experimental, jagged, creepy...just perfect.
8. Twin Peaks (Death Waltz) Need I say more.
9. MX-80 Sound- Out of the Tunnel (Ship to Shore) Great reissue from these no wave pioneers.
10. White Zombie-It Came From NYC- (Numero Group) one of the best box sets I've ever picked up.

Have a safe and Happy New Year's guys!