TCCT 2016: How the critics voted

1. Poliça, "United Crushers"

2. Kitten Forever, "7 Hearts"

3. Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

4. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price"

5. Aby Wolf, "Call the Rocks"

1. Lizzo, "Good As Hell"

2. Poliça, "Wedding"

3. P.O.S, "Sleepdrone/Superposition"

4. Sophia Eris, "Aaliyah"

5. Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski, "Baby It's Cold Outside"

1. Nick Jordan

2. Kitten Forever

3. Lizzo

4. Ness Nite

5. The Florists

No. 1 Sign the Minnesota Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: The creation of "A Statement Of Solidarity From The Minnesota Arts And Music Community" by Natalie Grace Krueger of Naive Sense following the election, signed by many, many musicians from Justin Pierre to Southside Desire. Kruger wrote the statement to encourage and inspire local musicians to "combine [their] platforms and resources to organize in an effort to benefit those who have been marginalized within our current system." Those who signed pledged to donate their "time, resources, and finances to benefit those who have been further disenfranchised by this election." Well done.

1. Lizzo, "Coconut Oil"

2. King, "We Are King"

3. Nancy Harms, "Ellington at Night"

4. Sonny Knight & Lakers, "Sooner or Later"

5. Cactus Blossoms, "You're Dreaming"

6. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

7. Bad Plus, "It's Hard?"

8. Okee Dokee Brothers, "Saddle Up"

9. Bob Dylan, "Fallen Angels"

10. The Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"

Lizzo, "Good as Hell

Jayhawks, "Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces"

Cactus Blossoms, "Powder Blue"

Gaelynn Lea, "Someday We'll Linger in the Sun"

Black Market Brass, "Half a Cig"

Dead Man Winter, "Destroyer"

1. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

2. Night Moves, "Pennied Days"

3. Lizzo, "Coconut Oil"

4. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream."

5. Finding Novyon, "Super Saiyan 2"

6. King, "We Are King" (yes, I'm counting them as local; imagine this is a Bully-esque point of contention)

7. Kitten Forever, "7 Hearts"

8. Cactus Blossoms, "You're Dreaming"

9. Sims, "More Than Ever"

10. Ahem, "Just Wanna Be"

1. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

2. Cactus Blossoms, "You're Dreaming"

3. Communist Daughter, "The Cracks That Built the Wall"

4. Blind Shake, "Celebrate Your Worth"

5. Poliça, "United Crushers"

6. Siama Matuzungidi, "Rivers — From The Congo to the Mississippi"

7. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

8. Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"

9. The Pines, "Above the Prairie"

10. Lolo's Ghost, "The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars"

Haley Bonar, "Kismet Kill"

Gaelynn Lea, "Someday We'll Linger in the Sun"

Lizzo, "Good As Hell"

Frankie Lee, "High and Dry"

ZuluZuluu, "Fades"

Black Market Brass

Blind Shake

Har Mar Superstar

Kitten Forever

Charlie Parr

Aby Wolf, "Call the Rocks"

Bug Fix, "Chocolate Nerve"

Fret Rattles, "Pedal to the Metal and Damn the Consequences"

(tie) Har Mar Superstar "Best Summer Ever"/Sims "More Than Ever" (5 points apiece)

Sonny Knight and the Lakers, "Sooner or Later!"

That's What You Get, "Party Songs for Future Wars"

The Blind Shake, "Celebrate Your Worth"

Ringout!, "Ringo UT"

Twilight Hours, "Black Beauty"

Whale in the Thames, "Whale in the Thames"

Alpha Consumer, "In the Age of the Pixel Phone"

Blaha "Downer, Loser"

Har Mar Superstar, "How Did I Get Through the Day"

Black Widows, "Tortuga"

Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra, "Hi, My Name is Ana"

Eleganza

The Boot

The Suburbs

Babes in Toyland

Tie: The Blind Shake/Birthday Suits

The Bad Plus, "It's Hard"

Nancy Harms, "Ellington at Night"

Dave King Trucking Company, "Surrounded by the Night"

Leisure Valley, "Welcome to the Valley"

Mancrush, "Authentic Midwestern"

Mississippi, "Mississippi"

Bryan Nichols, "Looking North"

John Raymond, "Real Feels"

John Zorn, "Flaga: The Book of Angels Volume 27" (because Golden Valley native Craig Taborn plays on it)

Various artists, "Twin Cities Jazz Sampler Volume Two"

No. 1 Sign the Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: Eight new jazz albums came out on the Twin Cities-based collective jazz label Shifting Paradigm Records, the most ever since it was founded in 2014 to boost area jazz artists' visibility locally and nationally. The website already lists three more due in 2017.

1. Mark Mallman, "The End Is Not the End"

2. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

3. Astronautalis, "Cut the Body Loose"

4. Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

5. Tony Peachka, "Dirty Knees"

6. Finding Novyon and J.Kelr, "Believe in MPLS"

7. Night Moves, "Pennied Days"

8. Sarah White, "Laughing at Ghosts"

9. Carnage the Executioner, "The MN Mean Movement"

10. Rogue Valley, "Radiate/Dissolve"

1. Mark Mallman, "The End Is Not the End"

2. Ness Nite, "Sigh"

3. Fraea, "Criminal"

4. Astronautalis, "Kurt Cobain"

6. Sean Anonymous and Finding Novyon, "Cups"

1. Eric Mayson

2. Astronautalis

3. Finding Novyon

4. Bruise Violet

5. Swimsuit Area

No. 1 Sign the Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: Finally getting some national shine! Especially with Finding Novyon and Lizzo, the rest of the United States (which, you know, also matters) is honing in on the locally grown talents we've been touting so much. Getting outside the echo chamber is a big advance, so congrats to all who managed to do so.

1. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

2. Frankie Teardrop, "Hell Yep"

3. Fog, "For Good"

4. Allan Kingdom, "Northern Lights"

5. Lizzo, "Coconut Oil"

6. Kitten Forever, "7 Hearts"

7. MMYYKK, "Astralbeat Theories Vol. 2"

8. Poliça, "United Crushers"

9. The Bad Plus, "It's Hard"

1. Monica LaPlante, "NOIR"

1. Hamburger Helper, "Feed the Streets"

2. P.O.S., "Wave" (feat. Moncelas Boston and Sophia Eris)

3. Lydia Liza & Josiah Lemanski, "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

4. Low, "Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)"

5. Hippo Campus, "Boyish"

1. Lizzo

2. ZuluZuluu

3. Finding Novyon

4. Dizzy Fae

5. DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip

No. 1 Sign the Local Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: The artistic universe unleashed a meteor storm of reaction when Prince died, and people are still recovering. One of the most horrible days in music confirmed, yet again, the lasting impact of Paisley Park and the Purple One.

1. Har Mar Superstar, "Best Summer Ever"

2. Desdamona, "No Man's Land"

3. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

4. Lizzo, "Coconut Oil"

5. Nazeem and Spencer Joles, "The Album"

6. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

7. Poliça, "United Crushers"

8. Holidae, "Tantrum"

9. Astronautalis, "Cut the Body Loose"

1. "Criminal," Fraea

2. "Good as Hell," Lizzo

3. "Youth Without Love," Har Mar Superstar

4. "Kismet Kill," Haley Bonar

5. "Baby It's Cold Outside," Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski

1. Lizzo

2. Har Mar Superstar

3. Sonny Knight and the Lakers

4. Holidae

5. Ness Nite

No. 1 Sign the Minnesota Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: Just about every big name who came to Minnesota this year — Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, Stevie Nicks — paid tribute to Prince, but the most compelling tributes were performances by local artists who are living his legacy every day. From the First Avenue street party to the Xcel Energy Center concert to the thousands of covers played in hundreds of clubs and bars across the state, local artists proved that even though Prince is gone, the vibrant music community he helped to build is still — yes — alive and well.

Desdamona, "No Man's Land"

Fraea, "Bend Your Bones"

Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

Har Mar Superstar, "Best Summer Ever"

The Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"

MMYYKK, "Love In Synthesis"

Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

Poliça, "United Crushers"

Sims, "More Than Ever"

ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

Har Mar Superstar, "It Was Only Dancing (Sex)"

The Jayhawks, "Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces"

Lizzo, "Good As Hell"

Poliça, "Wedding"

P.O.S, "Sleepdrone/superposition"

1. Big Cats

2. Nick Jordan

3. TABAH

4. DJ Keezy

5. Bad Bad Hats

No. 1 Sign the Minnesota Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: "Good luck getting me to leave Minneapolis," I shouted to downtown, in love with Kimbra's version of Prince's "Kiss." Yes, I was eavesdropping on the third and final Revolution show at First Avenue from outside Conrad's door — I'd gotten to review the second show but rushed back the next night when I heard Kimbra would perform — and standing on the sidewalk, I felt a burst of affection, connection, and pride for our scene. Where else could a Kiwi Prince fanatic, the band behind Purple Rain, and a host of diehard out-of-towners more fittingly venerate their idol?

1. Why Khaliq, "Under the Perspective Tree"

2. Allan Kingdom, "Northern Lights"

3. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

4. deM atlas, "mF deM"

5. The Lioness, "Growing Pains"

6. Metasota, "RUM DMT"

7. Nazeem & Spencer Joles, "The Album"

8. Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

9. Mason Jennings, "Wild Dark Metal"

10. Fraea, "Bend Your Bones"

1. Ben Lubeck, "Rented Rooms"

2. Communist Daughter, "The Cracks That Broke the Wall"

3. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

4. The Pines, "Above the Prairie"

5. Har Mar Superstar, "Best Summer Ever"

6. Fog, "For Good"

7. Poliça, "United Crushers"

8. Holidae, "Tantrum"

9. Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

10. The Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"

1. Fraea, "Bend Your Bones EP"

2. Ben Lubeck, "Rented Rooms"

3. Zuluzuluu, "What's the Price"

4. Fiji-13, "Sleezy"

5. Communist Daughter, 'The Cracks That Built the Wall"

6. Sims, "More Than Ever"

7. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

8. The Blind Shake, "Celebrate Your Worth"

9. Fog, "For Good"

10. Lizzo, "Coconut Oil EP"

1. Lizzo, "Good as Hell"

2. Fraea, "Criminal"

3. Sims, "OneHundred"

4. Fiji-13, "Mansplain it to Me"

5. Zuluzuluu, "FADES"

1. Fraea

2. Fury Things

3. The Blind Shake

4. Lizzo

5. Communist Daughter

No. 1 Sign the Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: We had a rough year here — from April on, especially — and many people didn't move past Prince's passing very easily. For the rest of the year however, I watched as a lot of people from here migrated to Eaux Claires; band after band, both new and established, sold out their album releases and Lizzo effectively closed out the year just a couple of weeks ago now by selling out First Avenue two nights in a row like a boss. 2016 was brutal, but we're going to make it.

1. Mark Mallman, "The End Is Not the End"

2. Communist Daughter, "The Cracks that Built the Wall"

3. Black Market Brass, "Cheat and Start a Fight"

4. The Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"

5. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

6. Har Mar Superstar, "Best Summer Ever"

7. Cloud Cult, "The Seeker"

8. Sonny Knight and the Lakers, "Sooner or Later"

9. The Cactus Blossoms, "You're Dreaming"

10. Ben Lubeck, "Rented Rooms"

1. The Cactus Blossoms, "You're Dreaming"

2. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

3. Kitten Forever, "7 Hearts"

4. Sarah White, "Laughing at Ghosts"

5. Communist Daughter, "The Cracks That Built the Wall"

6. Ben Lubeck, "Rented Rooms"

7. The Pines, "Above the Prairie"

8. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

9. Metasota, "#RUMDMT"

10. Fraea, "Bend Your Bones"

1. Mark Mallman, "The End Is Not the End"

2. Dead Man Winter, "Destroyer"

3. Fraea, "Criminal"

4. Gaelynn Lea, "Someday We'll Linger in the Sun"

5. Haley Bonar, "Kismet Kill"

1. Cloud Cult

2. The Revolution

3. NPG alumni

4. Lizzo

5. Har Mar Superstar

No. 1 Sign the Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: The national-scope Prince tribute at Xcel Energy Center that took six months and who knows how many phone calls to John Mayer and Christina Aguilera to plan was an organizational mess from start to finish, but the all-local Prince tribute that only had a few hours of planning outside and inside First Avenue the night of his death turned into one of the biggest and proudest cultural moments in Minneapolis history. Staffers from First Ave, 89.3 the Current and the city made it happen. Performers including PaviElle French, Sarah White, Cameron Kinghorn, Shannon Blowtorch and Lizzo — all winging it, of course — made it magical.

1. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

2. Night Moves, "Pennied Days"

3. The Blind Shake, "Celebrate Your Worth"

4. Cactus Blossoms, "You're Dreaming"

5. Frankie Lee, "American Dreamer"

6. Color TV, self-titled EP

7. Finding Novyon, "Believe in Mpls"

8. Real Numbers, "Wordless Wonder"

9. Astronautalis, "Cut the Body Loose"

10. Fraea, "Bend Your Bones"

1. Mason Jennings, "Wild Dark Metal"

2. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

3. Poliça, "United Crushers"

4. Fraea, "Bend Your Bones"

5. The Pines, "Above the Prairie"

6. Tufawon, "The Homecoming"

7. Fort Wilson Riot, "City of Eyes"

8. The Lioness, "Growing Pains"

9. Enemy Planes, "Beta Lowdown"

10. Grape Whales, "Hostel Aloha"

1. Mason Jennings, "Two Dollar Man"

2. Haley Bonar, "Stupid Face"

3. The Pines, "Hanging From The Earth"

4. Dead Man Winter, "Destroyer"

5. P.O.S., "Wave"

1. Tickle Torture

2. Poliça

3. Peter Wolf Crier

4. Mason Jennings

5. Trampled by Turtles

No. 1 Sign the Minnesota Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: Even when beloved local acts find success nationally and internationally (Chastity Brown touring with Ani DiFranco, Lizzo on "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee", Low and Poliça playing all over Europe) they always come back and still call Minnesota "home."

1. Sims, "More than Ever"

2. Atmosphere, "Fisherman's Blues"

3. Fog, "For Good"

4. Monica LaPlante, "Noir"

5. Mason Jennings, "Dark Wild Metal"

6. Fret Rattles, "Pedal to the Metal and Damn the Consequences"

7. Sonny Knight and the Lakers, "Sooner or Later"

8. The Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"

9. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

10. Dosh and Ghostband, "Def Kith II"

1. ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?" and "The Cover-Up"

2. Metasota, "#RUMDMT"

3. Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

4. Kitten Forever, "7 Hearts"

5. Rey Gordo, "Drive Slow"

6. MMYYKK, "Love In Synthesis"

7. Sophia Eris, "Sophia Eris"

8. Dosh & Ghostband, "Def Kith II: The Price Is Ill"

9. Sarah White, "Laughing At Ghosts"

10. Why Khaliq, "Under the Perspective Tree"

1. P.O.S., "sleepdrone/superposition"

2. Ness Nite feat. Nick Jordan, "Yes"

3. Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski, "Baby It's Cold Outside"

4. Cashinova, "Know Me Well"

5. Su Na & DUVV, "Worry"

1. ZuluZuluu

2. PaviElle French

3. Metasota

4. Kitten Forever

5. Burning

No. 1 Sign the Local Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: The collective response to, and mourning of, Prince's unfortunate passing affirmed both his powerful aura as an artist and music's greater impact on the city as a whole.

Ben Lubeck, "Rented Rooms"

Desdamona, "No Man's Land"

Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

The Jayhawks, "Paging Mr. Proust"

Lexii Alijai, "Joseph's Coat"

Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

Poliça, "United Crushers"

Sarah White, "Laughing at Ghosts"

Sonny Knight and the Lakers, "Sooner or Later"

ZuluZuluu, "What's the Price?"

Gaelynn Lea, "Someday We'll Linger in the Sun"

Jay Smart, "Kismet Kill" (Haley Bonar)

P.O.S, "Sleepdrone/Superposition"

Tony Peachka, "Knees"

Toussaint Morrison, "Minnesota"

Dizzy Fae

Har Mar Superstar

Nazeem and Spencer Joles

The Revolution

Tabah

No. 1 Sign the Local Music Scene Was Alive and Welll in 2016: This is a tough question to answer in the year we lost Prince. But I do believe our Beautiful One would have appreciated how much music was created in direct response to the trying political and social struggles of 2016; from ZuluZuluu to Sarah White, Toussaint Morrison to Poliça, I can't recall another year when artists spoke so specifically and poetically to the issues of our time.

1. Real Numbers, "Wordless Wonder"

2. Posh Lost, "Posh Lost"

3. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

4. Night Moves, "Pennied Days"

5. Communist Daughter, "The Cracks That Build the Wall"

1. Haley Bonar, "Kismet Kill"

2. Color TV, "Meat Wagon"

3. Poliça, "Wedding"

4. Communist Daughter, "Roll a Stone"

5. Gaelynn Lea, "Someday We'll Linger in the Sun"

1. The Blind Shake

2. Fury Things

3. Bruise Violet

4. Hippo Campus

5. Lizzo

No. 1 Sign the Local Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: You no longer have to tell people from other states/countries, "We've got a great music scene in Minneapolis," when you tell them where you live. If they are paying any attention at all to modern music, they already know that the Twin Cities is once again a hotbed for music.

1. Communist Daughter, "The Cracks That Built the Wall"

2. Rogue Valley, "radiate/dissolve"

3. Sims, "More Than Ever"

4. Haley Bonar, "Impossible Dream"

5. Farewell Milwaukee, "FM"

6. Ben Lubeck, "Rented Rooms"

7. Monica LaPlante, "Noir"

8. The Honeydogs, "Love and Cannibalism"

9. The Person and the People, "Dark & Low"

10. The Pines, "Above the Prairie"

1. "Balboa Bridge," Communist Daughter

2. "The Brightest Stars," Rogue Valley

3. "Waiting on a Big Jet Plane," A Piano In Every Home

4. "Winter Grey," Joey Ryan and the Inks

5. "Long Gone," Vicky Emerson

1. Communist Daughter

2. Davina and the Vagabonds

3. Aby Wolf

4. Chris Koza

5. We Are the Willows

No. 1 Sign the Local Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: The outpouring of love that was shown when Prince died shows how important music is in our lives. (Also, Danny Sigelman and Daniel Corrigan's new book "Heyday" highlights how rich our history is here.)

Chris Lynch with The Dust of Suns Ensemble, "Dreams For Hannah"

Jeff Waryan, "The Crosses and the Bone"

Joe Fahey, "Somnambulist Chaser"

Whale In The Thames, "Whale In The Thames"

Steele Arundel, "Cloudhouse"

Doug Collins & the Receptionists, "Complicated Compliments"

Katy Thomasberg and the T-Bergs, "No Shoestrings"

Ahem, "Just Wanna Be"

Shawn Stelton, "Wallflower's Lament"

The Pines, "Above The Prairie"

Erik Koskinen, "On Christmas Day"

Pasadena 68, "Hurry Up and Wait"

The Cactus Blossoms, "Powder Blue"

Haley Bonar, "Hometown"

Ben Lubeck, "Love of Mine"

The Revolution

Morris Hayes & the NPG

Lizzo

The Home Fires

The Cactus Blossoms

No. 1 Sign the Local Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: The inspirational outpouring of grief, love, music, creativity and community that exploded and continues to explode around the death of the one and only Prince Rogers Nelson.

1. G.P. Jacob (prod. Mamadu), "The Longest Bridge"

2. The Lioness, "Growing Pains"

3. Destiny Roberts, "Just A Reminder"

4. ZuluZuluu, "AstralBeat Theories" (EP series)

5. Ness Nite, "Nite Time"

6. Koo Keem, "It'll All Be Worth It"

7. Big Cats, "What If It Doesn't Get Better"

8. Finding Novyon + J.KELR, "Believe in MPLS"

9, Ced Linus, "Autumn Sessions"

10. Helper, "Watch The Stove"

1. G.P. Jacob, "The Strongest Kids"

2. Reefa Rei, "Thumbin'"

3. Sarah White, " Siren"

4. Tha Rift + J. Plaza + Daddy Dinero, "Eg"

5. Mac Irv, "Change"

1. Vie Boheme

2. Radio AHLEE

3. BdotCroc

4. Destiny Roberts

5. G.P. Jacob

No. 1 Sign the Local Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2016: Soul Tools Radio and the Feel Good Revolution (now The Feels); DJ Keezy Presents: The Klituation selling out the main room; ZuluZuluu selling out Icehouse four consecutive weeks.