5 Essential R&B Albums You Slept On In 2016

By Kiana Fitzgerald,

Published December 17, 2016 at 7:00 AM EST

SiR's album <em>Seven Sundays</em> deserved more love in 2016. — SiR's album *Seven Sundays* deserved more love in 2016.

R&B had a banner year, taking three of the four top slots in our 50 Best Albums list. Five essential albums fell just short of the big countdown — because NPR Music recognizes all sorts of music and because some people just got caught sleeping. Let's fix that right now.

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Kiana Fitzgerald

Kiana Fitzgerald is a freelance music journalist, cultural critic, and DJ. She writes for the world from deep in the heart of Texas.

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Bobby Carter

Bobby Carter is a leader on the Tiny Desk Concerts team for NPR Music. He's brought an ever growing roster of big names and emerging artists through NPR's HQ to squeeze behind the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen and record standout performances, including Usher, Mac Miller, Noname, Anderson.Paak and H.E.R.

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