Not to be missed: Billboard magazine’s “Year in Music: Best Original Photography of 2016.” To call this an impressive portfolio is understating it by quite a bit. It is exceptional work, a lovely testament to many talented working photographers, the art directors and editors who paired them with just the right subjects, and of course the artists whose sense of play and willingness to engage is the cherry on top.

Eye candy that manages to stimulate the higher cognitive functions, this collection is conceptual and fun. The mind reels at the amount of work that went into bringing these 100 images to light. So here’s to all the techicians, schedulers and equipment-schleppers who helped realize the vision. (And a tip of the hat to the anonymous marathon photo-uploader, t…oooh!)

This image by Eric Ryan Anderson is my favorite (among many clamoring for the honor) because it is both a great portrait and transcends the mechanics of photography to evoke a painting, a waterfall.