What's your favourite album of the year? And who was responsible for the best single? Every year, these two questions spark debate, ire and excitement across the music business.
It's unlikely you'll agree with every choice here, you may not even have time for a single one, but read on to find out which records the industry have been digging this year, and look out for part two very soon.
Ferdy Unger-Hamilton, president, Columbia UK
I really like both the Bon Iver record and the Leonard Cohen one.
Geoff Taylor, chairman, BPI
Track: Laura Marling - Soothing
Album: David Bowie - Blackstar
Mark Meharry, CEO, Music Glue
Track: Michael Kiwanuka’s eight-minute statement of intent in Love & Hate showed you can still break the rules.
Album: The visceral beauty of Slaves’ Take Control and their live performance at Reading made it my firm favourite album this year
Vanessa Higgins, director, Regent Street Records
Track: Where Are You Now - Lady Leshurr. She’s the queen for a reason
Album: Trick by Jamie T, a welcome return!
Craig Jenkins, CEO, Raw Power
Track: Frank carter and the rattlesnakes Lullaby.
Album: Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression
Iain Watt, founder, Machine Management
Track: BadBadnotgood - Time Moves Slowly
Album: Solange - A Seat at the Table
Martin Goldschmidt, chairman, Cooking Vinyl
Track: Skepta - Man
Album: David Bowie - Blackstar
Jason Rackham, MD, [PIAS} UK
Track: Rag‘N’Bone Man - Human, alongside Christina & The Queens, this artist is testament to long term artist development and international reach.
Robert Ashcroft, CEO, PRS For Music
Track: Gregory Porter -Take me to the Alley from the album of the same name. Last week I heard his music being played in a local restaurant in Beijing. Onwards and upwards for copyright in China.
Dipesh Parmar, MD, Ministry Of Sound Recordings
Track: Rag'N'Bone Man - Human
Album: The Weeknd – Starboy
Pete Leggatt, VP sales & business development, Sony Music UK
Album: Christine & The Queens – Chaleur Humaine
Mark Collen, EVP international operations, Sony Music UK
Track: The 1975 - Somebody Else
Album: James Blake - The Colour In Anything
Phil Savill, Managing Director, Sony Music Commercial Group
Track: I loved Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling!, it’s the perfect pop song. Every so often a track like Happy, Get Lucky or Uptown Funk comes along which grabs you instantly, it feels familiar the first time you hear it, but six months later you still haven’t tired of it – Can’t Stop The Feeling! is one of those songs.
Album: As a counterpoint to that, I love the melancholy of Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker, full of his pathos and wit delivered in his rumbling voice. It is the work of a true genius.
Joe Gossa, co-president, Black Butter Records
Track: Giggs - Lock Doh
Album: Drake - Views
Mike O’Keefe, VP of Visual Creative, Sony Music Uk
Track: Solange - Don’t Touch My Hair
Album: Solange – A Seat At The Table. She is pure class.
Andy Varley, President, Insanity Records
Track/album: White Ferrari from the Frank Ocean album Blonde was a real stand out track for me. I think we all waited such a long time for the album to come, and it definitely lived up to expectations.
Kim Frankiewicz, MD Imagem Music UK
Track: The Weeknd - In The Night
Album: Solange - A Seat At The Table
Paul Rodgers, head of BBC Radio 6 Music
Album: The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey MBE is my favourite album from 2016. It makes its point directly.
Anthony Hippsley, talent manager, Bucks Music Management
Track: James Blake Radio Silence
Album: James Blake - The Colour In Anything
Jo Dipple, chief executive, UK Music
Track: David Bowie - I Can’t Give Everything Away
Album: David Bowie - Blackstar. Losing important artists is hard but to lose one as inspirational, influential and world-changing as him, as well as songwriters and poets like Leonard Cohen, makes me feel 2016 has been terribly gloomy.
Chris Price, head of music, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra
Track: Calvin Harris and Rihanna - This Is What You Came For. I loved it so much we added it straight to the A list and took the Radio 1 Breakfast Show to Calvin’s LA home to launch it.
Album: Blossoms - Blossoms. Blossoms’ eponymously entitled debut album delivered on all fronts; a fine body of work packed with great radio singles that saw them rise from BBC Sound of 2016 to the Radio 1 A-list and then the top of the album chart in the space of a year.
Isabel Garvey, MD, Abbey Road Studios
Track: Emeli Sandé - Hurts
Album: Beyoncé - Lemonade
Fiona Gillott, studios manager, Abbey Road Studios
Track: Bon Iver – 8 (Circle)
Martin Bandier, CEO, Sony/ATV
Track: DJ Snake Let Me Love You (feat. Justin Bieber)
Album: Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book.
Bill Colitre, VP and general counsel, Music Reports, Inc.
Track: Beyoncé – Don’t Hurt Yourself (feat. Jack White). A devastatingly effective artist pairing.
Album: Connie Price & The Keystones - Wildflowers(Expanded Edition)
James Donio, president, Music Business Association (Music Biz)
Track: Justin Timberlake - Can’t Stop The Feeling!. This is always a tough question to answer given the multitude of new music I am lucky enough to hear every day. But, I would have to say my favorite new track would be Justin Timberlake’s from the Trolls soundtrack. I’ll confess, I am a died in the wool mainstream pop fan.
Album: Barbara Streisand – Encores. My favorite album of 2016 would have to be Encores, featuring duets with movie stars singing Broadway tunes.
Daniel Glass, founder and CEO, Glassnote
Track: DJ Snake - Let Me Love You (feat. Justin Bieber)
Album: Charles Bradley - Changes and Kanye West - The Life Of Pablo are tied.
Justin Kalifowitz, CEO, Downtown Music Publishing
Album: David Bowie – Blackstar
Golnar Khosrowshahi, president, Reservoir Media Management
Track: Coldplay - Hymn For The Weekend
Album: Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road Ensemble - Sing Me Home
Guy Moot, president, UK and European creative, Sony/ATV
Track: PartyNextDoor - Not Nice
Album: The Weeknd Starboy
Cary Sherman, chairman & CEO, RIAA
Track: Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling! I'm a big fan of Justin Timberlake's, and I really liked this.
Album: Lady Gaga – Joanne. As for albums, I thought Joanne was really incredible. I also really liked The Chainsmokers' Collage.
Paul Williams, president, ASCAP
I'm excited about all the great music released in 2016, and how so much of it was embraced by audiences across genres. As the president of ASCAP there are so many incredible songs I listen to - asking me to name one would be like picking a favorite child!
Sarah Liversedge Platz, director A&R, Bucks Music Group
Track: Christine & The Queens - Tilted
Album: Bon Iver - 22, A Million
Miles Leonard, chairman Parlophone Records
Track: The Weeknd - Starboy
Album: Christine And The Queens - Chaleur Humaine
Korda Marshall, executive vice president, new recordings, BMG
Track: Michael Kiwanuka – Black Man In A White World
Album: David Bowie - Blackstar. A true genius who is sincerely missed.
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