A Sunnyvale 2017
My top 100 albums released in 2017, mostly loosely ranked outside of the top ten or so. 2017 is just the second year I've made a year-end list, and I basically tripled the number of releases I listened to from last year. Overall, a very solid year in music in my opinion, even if this was not matched in the world at large. |
| 100 |  | Royal Thunder
WICK |
| 99 |  | Kevin Morby
City Music |
| 98 |  | Enslaved
E |
| 97 |  | Hot Water Music
Light it Up |
| 96 |  | Deaf Havana
All These Countless Nights |
| 95 |  | Ulver
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi |
| 94 |  | Lana Del Rey
Lust For Life
This album's a bit of a mess, but plenty of good to great songs in the midst of it, I enjoyed far more than the consensus opinion. |
| 93 |  | Peter Silberman
Impermanence |
| 92 |  | Mastodon
Emperor of Sand |
| 91 |  | Under The Church
Supernatural Punishment
Really nifty old school death metal from Sweden, recommended if you like that sort of thing. |
| 90 |  | Darkest Hour
Godless Prophets and The Migrant Flora |
| 89 |  | Saint Tomorrow
Park Linear |
| 88 |  | Incantation
Profane Nexus |
| 87 |  | Japanese Breakfast
Soft Sounds From Another Planet |
| 86 |  | Need
Hegaiamas: A Song For Freedom |
| 85 |  | The Smith Street Band
More Scared of You Than You Are of Me |
| 84 |  | Ylva
M E T A |
| 83 |  | Son Volt
Notes of Blue |
| 82 |  | Strawberry Girls
Italian Ghosts (Re-Recorded) |
| 81 |  | Blaze Of Perdition
Conscious Darkness |
| 80 |  | Gnarwolves
Outsiders |
| 79 |  | Heretoir
The Circle |
| 78 |  | Noveller
A Pink Sunset For No One |
| 77 |  | Surfer Blood
Snowdonia |
| 76 |  | Ride
Weather Diaries |
| 75 |  | Nightrage
The Venomous |
| 74 |  | Cormorant
Diaspora |
| 73 |  | Susanne Sundfor
Music For People In Trouble |
| 72 |  | Mount Eerie
A Crow Looked At Me |
| 71 |  | Super Snake
Leap of Love |
| 70 |  | Ryan Adams
Prisoner |
| 69 |  | Vasudeva
No Clearance |
| 68 |  | Broken Social Scene
Hug of Thunder |
| 67 |  | Chris Stapleton
From A Room: Volume 1 |
| 66 |  | Ghost Atlas
All Is In Sync, and There's Nothing Left to Sing |
| 65 |  | Persefone
Aathma |
| 64 |  | And So I Watch You From Afar
The Endless Shimmering |
| 63 |  | Aeternam
Ruins of Empires |
| 62 |  | Less Art
Strangled Light |
| 61 |  | Pallbearer
Heartless |
| 60 |  | David Bazan
Care |
| 59 |  | Redshift Pilots
Moonlight Synthesis |
| 58 |  | Mac DeMarco
This Old Dog |
| 57 |  | White Ward
Futility Report
An interesting album, black metal with heavy jazz influences. Very creepy vibe at times, definitely a band to watch. |
| 56 |  | Sheer Mag
Need to Feel Your Love |
| 55 |  | Chris Stapleton
From A Room: Volume 2 |
| 54 |  | Thunder Dreamer
Capture
One of those “sentimental” favorites, an album I know might not objectively quite stand up to some of the others on this list. The band hails from the moderately-sized city I currently live in, one with a negligible music scene, and has made it big enough to get reviewed (positively) by Pitchfork. Besides, I’m a sucker for this style of Americana-influenced indie rock, and the chiming guitars and shoegazy haze are just gorgeous. Ultimately, I could see Thunder Dreamer producing a true masterpiece an album or two down the road, but this is a strong effort in itself. |
| 53 |  | Pillorian
Obsidian Arc |
| 52 |  | Hark
Machinations |
| 51 |  | The Shins
Heartworms
Probably the most underrated album of the year in my opinion. Sure, the first half of the record is iffy at times, but the second half is pretty much golden. It’s not Chutes Too Narrow, but a strong late career album from The Shins, with numerous standout tracks. |
| 50 |  | Alfa Mist
Antiphon |
| 49 |  | Mogwai
Every Country's Sun |
| 48 |  | Kardashev
The Almanac |
| 47 |  | Grizzly Bear
Painted Ruins |
| 46 |  | Hundredth
Rare |
| 45 |  | Iron And Wine
Beast Epic |
| 44 |  | Ufomammut
8 |
| 43 |  | Spoon
Hot Thoughts |
| 42 |  | Mark Eitzel
Hey Mr Ferryman |
| 41 |  | Opprobre
Le Naufrage |
| 40 |  | Alvvays
Antisocialites |
| 39 |  | Caligula's Horse
In Contact |
| 38 |  | Usnea
Portals Into Futility |
| 37 |  | Benjamin Clementine
I Tell A Fly |
| 36 |  | Cigarettes After Sex
Cigarettes After Sex |
| 35 |  | Kendrick Lamar
DAMN. |
| 34 |  | Paradise Lost
Medusa |
| 33 |  | Cloakroom
Time Well |
| 32 |  | Samsara Blues Experiment
One with the Universe |
| 31 |  | Pumarosa
The Witch |
| 30 |  | Ulver
The Assassination of Julius Caesar |
| 29 |  | The Flight of Sleipnir
Skadi |
| 28 |  | Craig Finn
We All Want the Same Things |
| 27 |  | Sun of the Sleepless
To The Elements |
| 26 |  | Fen
Winter |
| 25 |  | Elder (USA-MA)
Reflections of a Floating World
There are lots of bands performing this style of hard-hitting, long-form psychedelic hard rock, but probably none of them are capable of as much consistent awesome as Elder. I haven’t returned to this one quite as much as I should, but undoubtedly among the finest releases of any genre this year. |
| 24 |  | Sampha
Process
I rarely listen to or even pay much attention to R&B, but the initial hype on this release prompted me to give it a spin. Great music, emotionally potent with exceptional vocals. Not much more to say, really just hits all the spots for an album of this nature. |
| 23 |  | The Physics House Band
Mercury Fountain
This album took me by surprise, just a set of unassuming but relentlessly enjoyable instrumental math rock tunes. Highly recommended for fans of that type of stuff, the band’s first album is also excellent. |
| 22 |  | Manchester Orchestra
A Black Mile to the Surface
I’m not sure my emotional attachment to this album will ever reach the heights many users have attained, but regardless this is very fine album, certainly one of the greatest indie albums of the year. All of the tracks are sound, and many (The Grocery, The Sunshine, and The Mistake in particular) are among my favorite songs of the year. |
| 21 |  | Tera Melos
Trash Generator
A wonderful blend of complexity and accessibility. I really like the guitar work on this one, and many of the songs are relentlessly catchy. I got deeper into the math rock scene this year, and this one was probably the best album of 2017 in it, despite stiff competition. |
| 20 |  | Slowdive
Slowdive
Any project Neil Halstead’s been involved in, whether with Slowdive, Mojave 3, or his solo work, has always hit the spot with me, so expectations for Slowdive’s comeback album were reasonably high. This still exceeded them greatly, however. The album’s fallen off for a bit since its release, but still a glorious return. Sugar For The Pill is a contender for the most beautiful track of the year. |
| 19 |  | Der Weg Einer Freiheit
Finisterre
Another great album from one of the top bands in the contemporary black metal scene. For whatever reason I’ve never quite liked the first track much, but from the second track onward Finisterre finds a groove and becomes one of the elite metal albums of 2017. |
| 18 |  | Clap! Clap!
A Thousand Skies
One of my intentions for 2017 was to get more into electronic music. I was less successful at this than intended, due to the sheer volume of releases from other genres I checked out. However, this album was my best discovery from the vast world of electronic genres. I really dig the vibe and the African musical influences. A few of the tracks might not stand out, but overall one of the finest albums of the year. |
| 17 |  | Full of Hell
Trumpeting Ecstasy
This was my first experience with Full Of Hell, but I’ve since heard most of their extensive catalogue. This was a good starting point, as it leans towards straight up death metal. Probably the most aggressive thing I heard all year, just a really enjoyable and brief album with lots of replay value. |
| 16 |  | Fleet Foxes
Crack-Up
While I’m appreciative of both the indie and folk scenes, Fleet Foxes have always been a band I mysteriously don’t love. Sure, a song here and there I would appreciate, but I’ve never been the biggest fan. I still don’t think Crack-Up is a perfect album, but it deserves credit for finally getting me into the band. The first half of the album is nearly flawless, but it tails off a little towards the end. Nevertheless, highly recommended indie folk, with bonus points for getting me to revisit Helplessness Blues and the rest of the discography with positive results. |
| 15 |  | Enisum
Seasons Of Desolation
One of my bigger musical regrets this year was not checking this album out earlier. While it flew under the radar, Seasons Of Desolation is one of the finest metal albums of the year. An excellent blend of atmosphere and brutality. |
| 14 |  | Immolation
Atonement
What a band. After several decades, Immolation’s still going strong. Atonement is to me the band’s strongest effort in years, pummeling death metal all the way through. |
| 13 |  | Gang of Youths
Go Farther in Lightness
I’m not sure I’ll ever love this album quite as much as many of this site do, but it is a wonderful discovery. I really appreciate the influences of bands like the Gaslight Anthem, which aren’t nearly as fashionable as they were five or ten years ago, and the alt-rock sound with heavy strings. My main gripe is the album is a bit bloated, but most of the songs here are excellent, with numerous ones being 2017 highlights. If I had to choose just one “Let Me Down Easy” would be my song of the year. |
| 12 |  | The Great Old Ones
EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy
This album’s been in the shadow of Vigilance Perennial almost all year for me as far as the top 2017 black metal goes, but it’s still a wonderful album in its own right. Great riffs, great songwriting, great atmosphere. |
| 11 |  | Kauan
Kaiho
A new approach, but the same awesome results from the Eastern European genre-benders. Here Kauan has adopted post-rock as their primary genre, dropping most of the metal and folk elements which frequently characterized their earlier works. The results are stunningly beautiful at times, “Lahja” is a contender for song of the year as well. |
| 10 |  | The Menzingers
After the Party
The Menzingers have long been one of my favorite bands, but I’d fallen off listening to them in the past year or two. This album has rekindled my appreciation of them a bit. It stands as a clear contender for their best album, which considering their back catalog is quite impressive. I really like the more mature thematic material, while being much less gloomy than the (still great) Rented World, which I had found overly depressing for the band. |
| 9 |  | Ne Obliviscaris
Urn
I hadn’t listened to Ne Obliviscaris in years, but decided to give this album a listen, and I’m glad I did. So many elements are crammed in, but it just works so cohesively somehow. Complex songs, but nothing overstays its welcome. Great stuff. |
| 8 |  | Fazerdaze
Morningside
This album seems like a bit of a black sheep amid this top ten, an almost unknown artist sitting among the company of mostly renowned and hallowed bands and monikers. But there’s no doubt that Fazerdaze has created one of my absolute favorite records of the year. While this album won a consensus of positive acclaim, the common gripe was that it was quite one note. I don’t deny that, but it’s an effortless, short album with endlessly catchy and breezy songs with often darker lyrical themes. The sound of the year for me was shoegazy/dream pop type music, and no album hit the spot for me better than this one. Last thing, yes, Jennifer is the best song here. But every track here is wonderful. |
| 7 |  | The National
Sleep Well Beast
Another The National album, another indie rock masterpiece. As per usual, this one took a while to grow on me. To be honest, I’m still fairly certain that I’ll ultimately find this one to be their weakest since Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, but that’s not a complaint. The direction the band pursued here, with more obvious experimentation and frequent electronic touches, may not be to my exact taste, but it keeps their style from becoming stale and I can not argue with the quality of nearly every song here. The album’s consistency doesn’t quite match up with some of their earlier classics, but numerous tunes here are among my favorites of the year. |
| 6 |  | Do Make Say Think
Stubborn Persistent Illusions
This album made the biggest leap as I reviewed this year’s music to make this list. Upon first listening to the album, I knew it was undoubtedly one of the finest post-rock releases of the year, but repeat listens revealed how excellent this piece truly is. I don’t listen to nearly as much post-rock as I used to, but this is near-flawless example of music which stays near the post-rock standard template while producing tremendous results. |
| 5 |  | The War on Drugs
A Deeper Understanding
Hard to express my thoughts on A Deeper Understanding. Its predecessor, Lost In The Dream, was perhaps my favorite album of the last decade, and every song on it is firmly lodged in the deepest recesses of my mind. Therefore, my expectations were very high, but I was also mentally prepared that the follow-up probably wouldn’t meet them. Did it? Not quite, but close. The band clearly made a decision to not stray too far from their signature sound, but within its confines the results are absolutely glorious. Certainly an album I’ll continue to come back to for years to come. |
| 4 |  | Falls of Rauros
Vigilance Perennial
I’ve listened to Falls Of Rauros for years, being a big fan of atmospheric black metal. They’ve always struck me as a good band, but never stood out. This album changed all that, a masterful fusion of post-rock and black metal with hints of folk. Every song is excellent and never overstays its welcome. Highly recommended. |
| 3 |  | Jason Isbell
The Nashville Sound
This album has Jason Isbell returning to his backing band, the 400 Unit, for a collection of songs mixing rock, folk, and country. The results are an astonishingly good collection of songs. As an American, no other album has for me captured as successfully the current national mood of desperation, anger, and frustration. Ultimately, though, Isbell embraces cautious optimism, if only for “the fire in my little girl’s eyes”. May we all do the same. |
| 2 |  | Lorde
Melodrama
I rarely listen to much recent pop music excluding the occasional well-crafted song, but this album hit me like a ton of bricks. Great songwriting, great hooks, and the album flows together wonderfully. Likely the finest pop album in years, and gorgeous album artwork on top of all that. |
| 1 |  | Destroyer
Ken
My first experience with Destroyer here, but an amazing one to start with. An intriguing mixture of indie, singer-songwriter folk, and electronic flourishes. I really like the lyrics, even though most of the time I have no idea what Dan Bejar’s getting at, they resonate with me on a deeper level. I’m slowly working my way backwards through Destroyer’s discography, but for now I’m spending a lot of time with this one. A tough choice, but probably my favorite album released this year. |
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