In honor of the graduating class of 2016, Bark Beats highlights a stand-out album from each year of the past four years of high school.

Freshman Year:

Macklemore: The Heist

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s first studio album was released in early October of our freshman year and quickly overtook the halls with its fast beats and catchy lyrics. Popular songs like “Can’t Hold Us” and “White Walls” were even featured in the PE playlist. (That’s when you know you’ve made it, right?) Warming up (or slow jogging in a circle) wouldn’t be the same without this background music. The album also featured an eclectic mix of artists such as Ray Dalton, Mary Lambert and Schoolboy Q.

Featured: Thrift Shop

The spunky beat underlying the track along with the sporadic wind instruments and sound effects  made “Thrift Shop” unlike previous popular anthems. Additionally, the message was different from most songs, as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis describe the joys of thrift shopping as opposed to other themes like love lives, illicit activities or other similarly cliche ideas explored by artists.  

Sophomore Year:

Miley Cyrus: Bangerz

Though “Bangerz” was released too late for our second BTSD, this album was still blasted through the stereos of upperclassmen who drove past us as we walked to lunch. Known as Miley’s first non-Disney album, “Bangerz” brought Hannah Montana from a teen pop icon to a controversial, twerking young woman with half her hair cut off.  Her lyrics about true friends, boys and sleepovers suddenly switched to derogatory language and lyrics depicting illicit drug use and partying. And we loved it.

Featured: We Can’t Stop

The catchy beat combined with Miley’s clear voice made this song a standout. However, what caught most students’ attention was the edgy themes of the lyrics. They depicted a partying lifestyle that simply could not be avoided. In our rebellious phase of high school, the lyrics really resonated.  “No, Mom. I told you, I can’t stop ditching seventh period!”

Junior Year:

Fetty Wap: Fetty Wap

Junior year would not have been complete without Fetty Wap’s hits. We blasted songs like “679,” “Trap Queen” and “Again” from our cars with our friends once spring hit–– that is, the lucky few whose parents didn’t care about provisional license restrictions. Fetty Wap’s signature raspy voice made his album stand out more than any other music from this year.  We can’t help but sing along to his catchy music even a year later.

Featured: Trap Queen

We didn’t just listen religiously to the most popular of Fetty Wap’s songs, but we also created a revival of the slang word. After “Trap Queen” gained immense popularity on SoundCloud with more than 130 million plays, it became platinum and also became a huge radio hit.

Senior Year:

Drake: What a Time To Be Alive

In the beginning of fall, Drake released several singles, including “Charged Up,” “Hotline Bling” and “Right Hand,” each of which gained popularity during first semester.  Not long after these three singles became popular, Drake and Future released their first collaborative album “What a Time to Be Alive” in September, also to popular acclaim.  Yet even still Drake released his new album “Views From the Six,” in late April. Without a doubt, their near-ubiquitous presence make Drake’s albums the best encapsulation of this school year. Our afternoons spent avoiding homework and fleeing from fire alarms would not be the same without these classic soundtracks.

Featured: Live From The Gutter

“Live from the Gutter” is easy to sing along with because of the heavy bass and deep voices. The lyrics of the song may have also hit home with some of us, as college applications, standardized tests and school itself made us feel trapped in a similarly low place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMORtPKA-qA