Uproxx has a diverse staff who write about all sorts of things, from sports to politics to food and travel, to TV and film, but obviously, most of the people who work here share a passion for music, because music is always in the background throughout all of those other things. It’s one of the things that links us, no matter what our lifestyle, job, or location may be.

To celebrate that, Uproxx staffers are sharing their own personal year-end lists. Our official best albums list is here, and our favorite rap albums are here, with more genre-specific lists rolling out the rest of the week. For now, you can read Ashley Burns’ top 20 albums below.

20. The Thermals, We Disappear

At their best (like 2006’s The Body, The Blood, The Machine), The Thermals can make a great pop-punk album that you can listen to in one sitting without skipping a song. Of course, it helps that the band’s seventh album, We Disappear, is just 29 minutes long, but it’s filled with infectious songs that don’t need to be long to get your pulse charged.

19. Taking Back Sunday, Tidal Wave

Who knew a reunion of the classic lineup was all Taking Back Sunday needed to make a powerful, energetic album? Most longtime fans, probably, but that’s neither here nor there. Tidal Wave blends the band’s early sound (or at least a cleaner, matured version of it) with a renewed vigor that feels almost playful, like on the album’s fist-pumping title track.

18. Kaiser Chiefs, Stay Together

Ricky Wilson’s band has received some heat for toying with a pop sound on its latest album, and sometimes that’s a fair criticism. But just because a band goes pop, it doesn’t mean the album sucks, and Stay Togetheris a great example of when a talented group takes a shot at mainstream success and produces something everyone can enjoy. Even longtime fans who long for edgier sounds can admit that “Hole in My Soul” is a fantastic song to get stuck in your head.

17. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree

It’s hard to comprehend the power of the tragedy that Cave experienced after this album was all but finished, but Skeleton Tree is loaded with dominating emotion.

16. Descendents, Hypercaffium Spazzinate

Sometimes a band just needs to snap out of a 12-year slumber and return to do what it does best. It was like these guys knew we needed them to help us be angry and irrational in 2016.

15. Nada Surf, You Know Who You Are

It’s funny that Nada Surf became so, well, popular because of one of the more unusual songs of the ‘90s, but the band deserves way more praise for its catchy, occasionally beautiful music. “You Know Who You Are” is a sublimely sweet and memorable effort, like a collective anthem for the “Popular” generation all grown up and a little more laid back. (It is also complemented well by the band’s recent live album, “Peaceful Ghosts,” which is mostly stunning.)

14. Bob Mould, Patch The Sky

Mould’s 2014 effort Beauty & Ruin was such a great album that it set Patch The Sky at a disadvantage, because I wasn’t even done listening to that album by the time his new album was ready. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a great album, though, and Patch manages to do what Beauty did in blending new and old sounds that remind us why Mould has been kicking ass longer than most of us have been alive.

13. The Avett Brothers, True Sadness

If the Brothers are good at anything, it’s creating an album that allows you to explore a full range of emotions, and True Sadness is another job well done. It’s almost unfair to kick things off with a track as catchy as “Ain’t No Man,” because you need to hire an exorcist to get that song out of your head.

12. Diarrhea Planet, Turn To Gold

If Diarrhea Planet had a more pleasant, mainstream-friendly name, these guys would probably be full blown rock stars. But half the fun is telling people how awesome Diarrhea Planet’s third studio album is, and it’s even more fun knowing that Seth Meyers had them on Late Night right after Jimmy Fallon had Barack Obama. “Turn to Gold” is a necessary reminder that good rock music is far from dead in 2016 (lower your windows and crank “Life Pass” to feel like a teen again). It’s just being made by a band with an absurdly fun name.

11. Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression

In a year that we lost unparalleled legends, it was fitting that Iggy Pop released an album that was so strong and relentless, serving as a reminder that at 69 he’s still a bad, bad man. Josh Homme seems like such a perfect fit with Pop, too, so it’s no surprise that this collaboration was so well-received.

10. Green Day, Revolution Radio

Green Day bounced back from the sloppy and mediocre Uno, Dos and Tre! albums with this strong social statement that was as passionate and frenetic as the band’s older triumphs. Revolution reminded us that Green Day is always best when they don’t overthink it, and just rock.

9. NOFX, First Ditch Effort

The band’s collective biography, NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub And Other Stories, offered a somewhat troubling and often disgusting look at who the band was in its early days and who Fat Mike and the boys are now, and it served as a nice appetizer for their latest album. That said, First Ditch Effort just plain f*cks.

8. Norah Jones, Day Breaks

Norah Jones’ voice is so beautiful and serene that it’s like an angel set up camp in my brain and refuses to leave. It’s fine, I’ll never ask her to so long as she keeps singing tracks like “Carry On” to melt me into a puddle of happiness.

7. The Lonely Island, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Even when they’re being crude, filthy, offensive, and stupid, The Lonely Island create better pop songs than most bands out there. While the movie was depressingly under appreciated and performed terribly at the box office, its soundtrack is both hilarious and fun to listen to. “Mona Lisa” is arguably the best track, over-produced as if it’s the anchor of a boy band member’s debut solo effort, but it’s also f*cking hilarious.

6. Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

This whole album is beautiful, especially to a new father listening to the songwriter’s “welcome letter” to his own son. But the way Simpson turned Nirvana’s “In Bloom” into his own magnificent ballad is witchcraft. Simpson was shocked to learn he was nominated for a Grammy. We should all be shocked that he has any competition.

5. Against Me!, Shape Shift With Me

Laura Jane Grace is such an amazing inspiration, both in life and through her music, that you sometimes simply expect an Against Me! album, and especially Grace’s lyrics, to be powerful and brilliant. But Shape Shift With Me is about seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, and the result is a lasting impact that makes you appreciate Grace’s genius as much as the relentless attitude of the music.

4. Brian Fallon, Painkillers

While The Gaslight Anthem’s hiatus is unfortunate, fans could do worse than Brian Fallon’s solo effort. In fact, Painkillers is as gorgeous as it is catchy, with the debut single, “A Wonderful Life,” setting the table so well for his stripped down, emotional crooning that makes you long for an open road life even if you’ve never owned a car.

3. David Bowie, Blackstar

It still seems so wrong to call this Bowie’s final album. But it’s as remarkable an album as it is a parting gift, even if listening to it makes us confront the depressing fact that it’s the last we’ll ever hear from him.

2. A Tribe Called Quest, We Got it From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service

Tribe obviously isn’t the same as it once was, but this album is still better than perfect.

1. Violent Femmes, We Can Do Anything

This album is so simple that it makes you wonder why it took 16 years to happen. If We Can Do Anything didn’t make you so happy, you could be mad at the band for being selfish. But it’s also just flawless in its simplicity, as tracks like “Issues” and “I’m Not Done” will have fans old and new alike praying that they don’t have to wait so long for Milwaukee’s best to make us smile again.