BEYONCÉ

Beyoncé saved her most boldly experimental beats for her self-titled fifth album, a mature but still mischievous opus that makes monogamy cool and stability sexy. “Drunk in Love” is soaring, ecstatic, and intimate, an instant wedding-playlist staple; “Partition” has Bey at her flirtiest and most independent. Throw in a feminist motivational speech, on self-love anthem “***Flawless,” and a handful of instantly iconic ad-libs (you’ll never think of the word “surfboard” the same again)—it's a triumph that’s both audacious and effortless.