Every year, musicians all across the globe bare their hearts and souls to the public through album releases, in the hope that someone will resonate with their art. It's a tale as old as the industry itself: a new year means new music, and the excitement of that can be consuming. But the new year is also a time of reflection, to compare and contrast how far we've all come on our individual journeys. So in the spirit of that, we're taking a look at various records released throughout 2016 to see just how far the artists, their albums, and their music have come in the decade since.
Released at the beginning of the year on January 15, Panic! At The Disco’s fifth album, “Death of a Bachelor,” was also Brendon Urie’s official launch of moving things forward as a solo endeavor. With full creative freedom over the project, Brendon Urie, collaborating with various others, wrote the entirety of “Death of a Bachelor” in his own home. When the time came to record, a small studio was built specifically for the album’s production, and Urie played every instrument himself, minus the horns, as well as the drums on track three, “Hallelujah.”
The release of “Death of a Bachelor” was an immediate triumph, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and giving Panic! At The Disco its highest first-week sales to date. However, it dropped to the number five spot the following week, with sales falling by 79 percent. Despite that, “Death of a Bachelor” is one of 2016’s most commercially successful albums. It was the twelfth-best-selling record of the year and is certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Fast forward a decade, and Panic! At The Disco is seemingly no more. Brendon Urie released two more albums under the name, 2018’s “Pray for the Wicked” and 2022’s “Viva Las Vengeance,” before discontinuing Panic! in 2023, and taking a step back from the recording industry to focus on his family. However, in October 2025, Urie resurrected Panic! At The Disco to perform “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” in its entirety at the When We Were Young festival, for the record’s 20th anniversary, briefly reuniting with former drummer Spencer Smith to close out both nights with “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.” And with a 20th anniversary box set for “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” due to be released later this month, hope for a Panic! At The Disco comeback may not be lost to fans just yet.
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When Zayn Malik announced his departure from One Direction on March 25, 2015, fans worldwide were left completely stunned and heartbroken. A seemingly sudden decision, considering the group was in the midst of the Asian leg of their “On the Road Again” tour, the months that followed were filled with confusion and speculation. Many were left wondering what this meant for the future, not only for the other four members of One Direction, but also for Zayn himself. They wouldn’t be left wondering long, though.
On January 29, 2016, Zayn Malik officially launched his solo career with the release of “PILLOWTALK,” a sultry, volatile single overflowing with R&B influence. His debut album, “Mind of Mine,” would follow shortly after, released exactly one year to the day after leaving One Direction. It was an instant success, charting at number one in multiple countries and making him the first ever British solo male artist to debut at the top of the charts in both the US and UK.
Ten years later, Zayn Malik is still thriving as a solo artist, appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” multiple times throughout the years, as well as performing at various iHeartRadio events. He now has an additional three albums under his belt, all with favorable praise, though none saw the same commercial success that “Mind of Mine” did upon release. Zayn Malik wrapped up his first-ever tour as a solo artist at the beginning of 2025, after initially postponing it due to the tragic passing of former bandmate Liam Payne. He’s currently scheduled for a seven-night residency at Dolby Live in Nevada at the end of January.
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On April 23, with zero promotion or even mention beforehand, Beyoncé released her sixth studio album, “Lemonade,” alongside a musical film of the same name. The surprise launch of an album would be an admirable conquest for any artist, but one very few other than Beyoncé herself could do successfully, and even then, probably not to the same level of acclaim. A genre-bending, visual, and concept album, “Lemonade” scrutinizes the historical experience of Black women in America, reflected through Beyoncé’s own life and personal journey. This is further visualized and depicted in the accompanying film.
Despite the lack of promotion pre-release, “Lemonade” came in hot on the charts, taking the number one spot all across the globe, including the Billboard 200. Making Beyoncé the first artist to ever have their first six albums all debut at number one. It received countless nominations for various awards and went on to win eighteen of those, including Best Album of the Year at MTV’s VMAs, Best R&B Album at the Billboard Music Awards, and a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album. To this day, “Lemonade” is highly regarded as a cultural phenomenon for its socio-political commentary and has prompted numerous academic studies through published essays, University discussions, and even entire college courses.
With all this in mind, it comes as no surprise that ten years later, Beyoncé is still one of the most accomplished and celebrated artists in the history of the music industry. In 2023, she officially became the most-awarded artist in Grammy history by winning four out of her nine nominations for her 2022 album, “Renaissance.” Last year, with her 2024 album, “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé not only became the first Black artist in 50 years to win in the Grammy’s country categories, but she also became the first one ever to win Best Country Album. Furthermore, that same night, she took home the award for Album of the Year, becoming the first Black woman in 25 years to do so.
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To fans, the release of letlive.’s fourth album, “If I’m The Devil…,” on June 10, probably seemed like a beacon of hope. It had been three years since the launch of their highly successful third record, “The Blackest Beautiful,” and the band, which had previously struggled to keep a consistent list of permanent members in earlier years, had just experienced another significant change to their lineup. But new music is a sign of perseverance, and a chance to start anew from a clean slate. Nobody thought “If I’m The Devil…” would also end up being letlive.’s final album.
“If I’m The Devil…” performed exceptionally on both US and international charts, marking a career first for letlive. While their third album had given them their first slice of chart success, coming in at various Top 100 positions all across the US and UK, “If I’m The Devil…” had come in even more triumphant. Peaking at 97 in the UK, yet snatching multiple Top 25 spots in the US, the release of their fourth record found letlive. also charting in Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Though the band had previously shared that they struggled internally while writing “If I’m The Devil…,” arguing over what direction to take the music in, it was easy to assume the album’s success had helped to smooth things over. That would soon prove to be incorrect, as on April 28, 2017, the band announced they’d be parting ways.
While it may seem like letlive.’s story ended not too long after the 2016 release of “If I’m The Devil…,” a decade is a long time. After releasing a 10th anniversary edition of their second album, “Fake History,” in 2020, and an 11th anniversary remaster of “The Blackest Beautiful” in 2024, the band announced an international farewell tour, giving themselves and fans a chance to say a proper goodbye. The tour, which included the 2025 When We Were Young lineup, concluded at the end of the year. However, letlive. was recently announced as support for Hawthorne Heights’ “If Only You Were Lonely” 20th anniversary tour, so hope for a true comeback, one beyond farewells, remains strong.
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In addition to her own full-time solo music career, Skylar Grey is one of the minds, and at times even one of the voices, behind some of the biggest songs by countless notable artists. With her co-writer credits including, but nowhere near limited to, “Clarity” by Zedd ft. Foxes, “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem ft. Rihanna, “Coming Home” by Sean Combs, and “I Need a Doctor” by Dr. Dre ft. Eminem, the latter two featuring her vocals, Skylar Grey is a certified hitmaker. And on September 23, she released her long-awaited third LP, “Natural Causes.”
The follow-up to 2013’s “Don’t Look Down,” Grey’s album “Natural Causes” was released to astounding critical acclaim but moderate commercial performance. Which was surely unexpected, considering her previous record had debuted at the number eight spot on the Billboard 200. Nevertheless, even without over-the-moon chart-topping glory, the album’s fourth track still experienced noteworthy success. While never officially released as a single, “Kill For You” ft Eminem, the only song on “Natural Causes” to feature another artist, garnered substantial traction amongst fans, and became an instant favorite.
In the ten years that have followed, Skylar Grey has been plenty busy. Along with continuing her collaborations with other artists, including Jelly Roll’s song “Past Yesterday” and multiple writing credits for Eminem’s album “Revival,” Grey has also had a multitude of her songs featured in numerous shows and movies. Additionally, she’s released another three studio albums, her eponymous fourth record, “Skylar Grey,” released in 2022, a 2023 compilation album titled “Lofi Chill Vibes With Skylar Grey” which features solo versions of songs she’s written for others, and, most recently, 2025’s “Angel With Tattoos,” which debuted at number two on the iTunes Pop Charts.
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By the time Green Day released “Revolution Radio” on October 7, the band had been making music for almost 30 years. As their 12th studio record, “Revolution Radio” came as the follow-up to the 2012 “¡Uno!,” “¡Dos!,” “¡Tré!” trilogy of albums, which had been met with overall indifference from fans and, therefore, less than ideal commercial success. However, the same could not be said for this release.
“Revolution Radio” debuted at number in a myriad of countries, including the US Billboard 200. A feat which Green Day had only achieved twice prior, with 2004’s iconic “American Idiot” and their greatest chart-performing release thus far, 2009’s “21st Century Breakdown.” Upon the album’s release, critics commended the band for getting back to their roots, and one month later, the band proved that sentiment went beyond musical style. While performing “Bang Bang,” the lead single from “Revolution Radio,” at the American Music Awards that November, Green Day used the opportunity to publicly protest the at-the-time recently elected US President, Donald Trump.
Green Day has added two more records to their discography since 2016: “Father of All Motherfuckers,” released in 2020, as well as 2024’s “Saviors.” Both debuted at the number four spot on the Billboard 200, becoming the band’s 11th and 12th Top 10 albums, respectively. Additionally, they’ve released 25th anniversary editions of the albums “Insomniac,” “Nimrod,” and “Warning,” a 20th anniversary edition of “American Idiot,” and a 30th anniversary edition of “Dookie.” Furthermore, after being elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame upon their very first year of eligibility in 2015, Green Day received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2025, solidifying their legacy as one of the world’s greatest and most influential bands.
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When Sabrina Carpenter released her second studio album, “EVOLution,” on October 14, she was still signed to Disney’s Hollywood Records. At just 17, she was best known at the time for her role as Maya Hart on “Girl Meets World,” the Disney Channel spinoff to “Boy Meets World.” Carpenter had garnered praise from the release of her debut LP “Eyes Wide Open” the year before, though the record’s success was limited to the Disney hemisphere of the music industry. Even in 2016, she still had a ways to go until global superstardom.
With “EVOLution,” Sabrina Carpenter began to see musical success on a broader level than with her previous release. It charted at 28 on the US Billboard 200, 15 spots higher than her debut album, and also charted in the top 200 in an additional six countries. The highest being a number four spot in New Zealand. “EVOLution” gave Carpenter the chance to perform a handful of songs at the Pandora Headquarters, in addition to a live performance of the record’s second single, “Thumbs,” on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” Reviewers all over commended Carpenter for the increased levels of growth and maturity seen on “EVOLution,” a fitting critique considering the album’s title. But her overall success as a recording artist was still limited to what Disney could do for her. Despite that, it remained indisputable that Sabrina Carpenter had truly started making her way up the music industry’s ladder of success.
These days, Sabrina Carpenter, now under Island Records since 2021, is standing firmly at the top as one of the world’s biggest pop stars. Her sixth album, 2024’s “Short n’ Sweet,” ended up charting at the number one spot in numerous countries, no doubt thanks to the global success of its two previously released singles, “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” and has since been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA. In 2025, still riding the waves of success, Carpenter earned her second number-one album with the release of “Man’s Best Friend.” She is scheduled to headline multiple prominent music festivals later this year, including Coachella in April.
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Released on October 21, Lady Gaga’s fourth album, “Joanne,” saw the singer/songwriter take a step back from the avant-garde to show off a softer, more intimate side of herself. A genre-bending, stripped-down variant of her standard dance-pop/electronic sound, “Joanne” was named for the singer’s late aunt, Joanne Stefani Germanotta, after whom Gaga, born Stefani Joanne, herself was named. Lyrically, the record explores stories and notions of family, as well as the erratic, ever-changing emotions of life, with Gaga calling each track “completely autobiographical.”
Alongside a heap of positive reviews from critics, “Joanne” debuted at the very top of the Billboard 200. Following in the footsteps of 2011’s “Born This Way,” 2013’s “ARTPOP,” and “Cheek to Cheek,” her 2014 collaborative album with Tony Bennett, Gaga’s fourth solo release was also her fourth ever album to achieve chart-topping status. This made her the first woman to attain four number one albums in the US for the 2010s. Furthermore, “Joanne” was also 2016’s second-highest-selling record of the year, only coming in behind Beyoncé’s “Lemonade,” and has since been certified platinum by the RIAA.
To this day, Lady Gaga is still one of the world’s most successful and celebrated musicians. After her iconic 2017 Super Bowl halftime performance, Gaga went on to star in the 2018 remake of the film “A Star is Born,” as well as procuring a Vegas residency for December 2018 through to January 2019. Despite her completely full, hectic schedule, Lady Gaga has managed to produce another two records since the release of “Joanne.” Both her 2020 fifth studio album, “Chromatica,” and 2025’s “Mayhem” debuted at the number one spot on the charts. At the time, the release of “Chromatica” marked the biggest sales week of the year for a female artist, and went on to be the fifth biggest sales week overall for the year. “Mayhem” followed suit upon its debut, not only becoming the biggest sales week for a female artist in over six months, but also recording the biggest sales week for an album by a woman in 2025.
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Metallica effectively sealed their fate in rock music history with the 1986 release of their third studio album, “Master of Puppets,” which launched them into becoming one of the most monumental, impactful bands in heavy metal, especially thrash metal. That level of prestige had been achieved and universally recognized long before 2016. And yet, three decades and seven records later, Metallica’s tenth album still managed to be groundbreaking.
Released on November 18 as a double album, “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct” not only marked the end of an eight-year gap between album cycles, the longest in the band’s history, but was also Metallica’s first record under their own label, Blackened Recordings. It debuted at the top of the charts in more than 50 countries, including the US Billboard 200, marking Metallica’s sixth consecutive number one album. A feat that had only ever been achieved once before, by Dave Matthews Band. “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct” had the third largest debut of the year, following Drake’s “Views” and Beyoncé’s “Lemonade,” and was the best-selling heavy metal album for all of 2016.
Metallica has spent most of the last decade busy with tours and various other performances. In March 2020, the band began “#MetallicaMondays,” a series of archived, full-length concert footage streamed every Monday on YouTube and Facebook, to help relieve quarantine boredom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their eleventh studio album, 2023’s “72 Seasons,” debuted on the Billboard 200 at number two, marking Metallica’s twelfth record to chart in the top 10, but their first since 1988’s “...And Justice For All” not to come in at number one. In 2025, the band confirmed that they have ideas for a new album in the works.
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One of the last album releases of the year, Post Malone’s debut record, “Stoney,” came out on December 9, and officially began his journey into superstardom. Beginning his music career as a teenager in 2011, Post Malone first achieved mainstream success with his breakout single “White Iverson” in 2015. The song’s popularity earned him a deal with Republic Records, and Post Malone immediately began working on “Stoney,” though the release ended up delayed. On May 12, he released his second mixtape, titled “August 26th,” after his album’s initial release date.
Though regarded mainly as a hip-hop album, “Stoney” draws on influences from a range of genres, including pop, R&B, and even country. While it received mixed reviews from critics upon release, “Stoney” debuted at number six on the charts, though it dropped to 23 in its second week. Still, the record was incredibly successful for a debut album and served as a significant stepping stone for Post Malone, with two of its eight singles certified diamond by the RIAA and the other six certified platinum or multi-platinum. “Stoney” itself was even certified five times platinum in 2018.
Now, it’s been nearly an entire decade since his debut release, and Post Malone has evolved into one of today’s most prominent artists. His second studio album, 2018’s “Beerbongs & Bentleys,” broke Spotify streaming records upon release and charted at number one, as did 2019’s “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” as well as his most recent, heavily country music-inspired record, 2024’s “F-1 Trillion.” And while they weren’t chart toppers, the 2022 release of “Twelve Carat Toothache” and 2023’s “Austin” were still majorly successful, debuting at number 2 on the charts. In 2025, during Coachella, Post Malone confirmed that his seventh album was in the works.
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