Beyoncé

Lemonade

When & Where: April 23 on HBO and TIDAL

What: Sweet revenge in album form

Vince's Verdict: “ ‘Oh, I didn't know Beyoncé came out’—no one says that. That's not a thing.” Surprise: 😵 😵

Frank Ocean

Endless and Blonde

When & Where: August 19 and 20 on Apple Music and iTunes

What: Everything we ever wanted

Vince's Verdict: “We were waiting for the album for a long time. There's no reason to make posters.”

Surprise: 😵

Kanye West

The Life of Pablo

When & Where: February 14 on TIDAL

What: The MSG live-stream-slash-fashion-show was a defining moment of 2016. The aftermath was very Kanye: He was tweaking the album even after releasing it.

Surprise: 😵 😵 😵

Chance the Rapper

Coloring Book

When & Where: May 12 on Apple Music

What: Chance's gift to humanity

Vince's Verdict: “Chance doesn't believe in selling music because Chance has a lot of morals and a lot of values behind the thing that he does.”

Surprise: 😵 😵 😵

James Blake

The Colour in Anything

When & Where: May 6, everywhere

What: Spirit guide for millennials

Surprise: 😵 😵

Solange

A Seat at the Table

When & Where: September 30, everywhere

What: Prompted a national discussion around feminine blackness in America.

Surprise: 😵 😵

Kendrick Lamar

untitled unmastered.

When & Where: March 3, everywhere

What: A mixtape of unfinished songs—still better than pretty much every other rap album this year

Vince's Verdict: “I don't think he was thinking, ‘I hope this goes double platinum.’ That's more of a gift to his listener than anything else.”

Surprise: 😵 😵 😵 😵 😵

Rihanna

ANTI

When & Where: January 27 on TIDAL

What: TIDAL accidentally leaked the album early, took it back after about 25 minutes, and then released it again.

Vince's Verdict: “There's no such thing as a surprise album if you follow the artist on Instagram. You knew what was happening the entire time because you saw the pictures in the studio.”

Surprise: 😵