The Freshman 15: 2016's Best Debut Albums

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 8, 2016

We are still a week away from our final, overall list of 2016's best albums, but our best of 2016 coverage continues now with a look at the year's top newcomers.

Below is our list of the 15 best-reviewed debut albums of 2016, ranked by Metascore. Note that albums must have at least 7 reviews—and be a full LP, rather than an EP—to be eligible for inclusion. Albums are ranked by Metascore prior to rounding.