Here’s a brief list of what could plausibly be considered “rock” in 2016: digitally manipulated sound fragments, free-jazz freakouts, emo spoken-word, octogenarian baritone, a song that sounds like a vintage Disney soundtrack, and warped variants on all manner of light ’70s sounds—plus, of course, plenty of punk, post-punk, and Thin Lizzy-style guitar licks. Practitioners of the genre might not even have defined themselves as rock. But the best knew how to mine music history’s overlooked veins, wherever those could be found, and hammer them into fresh and singular shapes all their own. Here are Pitchfork's favorite rock albums of 2016—whatever that means.

