5 Reasons Lemonade Is the Best Beyoncé Album to Date

When Beyoncé dropped her self-titled album out of nowhere in 2013, it was unprecedented. No promotion, no singles, no warning. Instead of picking out singles for months after the release, she put out every music video with the songs. It was one gargantuan move, and it inspired a sort of awakening in the music industry. In an era ruled by singles, Beyoncé released an album you could only initially buy in full. Other artists tried to mimic the "surprise drop" model, with less success.

This time around, I wasn't sure Bey could outdo herself, but she managed to blow her last release out of the water. Here was this album, beautiful and raw and fully formed, and we were experiencing it all at once, sight first. It's a visual album in the purest sense. By forcing us to watch it first, Beyoncé created a permanent bond between the images and the music. It's electric.