Best of 2017

BEST ALBUMS

  1. Jens Lekman – Life Will See You Now (Secretly Canadian) (16)
  2. Orchestra Baobab – Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng (Nonesuch) (15)
  3. Randy Newman – Dark Matter (Nonesuch) (13)
  4. Migos – Culture (Atlantic/300 Entertainment) (11)
  5. Alex Lahey – I Love You Like a Brother (Dead Oceans (10)
  6. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Talk Tight (Sub Pop, 2016) (9)
  7. Various Artists – American Epic: The Collection (Sony) (8)
  8. New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions (Collected Works/Concord) (7)
  9. Gogol Bordello – Seekers and Finders (Casa Gogol) (6)
  10. Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 3 (self-released, 2016) (5)
  11. Waxahatchee – Out of the Storm (Merge)
  12. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – The Nashville Sound (Southeastern)
  13. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN. (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope)
  14. Charly Bliss – Guppy (barsuk)
  15. Spoon – Hot Thoughts (Matador)
  16. Pink – Beautiful Trauma (RCA)
  17. Various Artists – The Bob’s Burgers Music Album (Sub Pop)
  18. Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound (Carpark)
  19. Fat Tony – MacGregor Park (First One Up)
  20. Becky Warren – War Surplus (self-released, 2016)
  21. Angaleena Presley – Wrangled (Mining Light)
  22. The Magnetic Fields – 50 Song Memoir (Merge)
  23. Tyler, the Creator – Flower Boy (Columbia)
  24. Weezer – Pacific Daydream (Atlantic/Crush)
  25. Swet Shop Boys – Sufi La (Customs)
  26. Higher Brothers – Black Cab (CXSHXNLY)
  27. Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory (Def Jam)
  28. Queens of the Stone Age – Villains (Matador)
  29. Brad Paisley – Love and War (Arista Nashville)
  30. Khalid – American Teen (RCA)
  31. Sleater-Kinney – Live in Paris (Sub Pop)
  32. Hamell on Trial – Big Mouth Strikes Again (New West)
  33. Deap Vally – Femijism (Nevado, 2016)
  34. Matt North – Above Ground Fools (MattNorth.net)
  35. Low Cut Connie – Dirty Pictures (Part 1) (Contender)
  36. Jay-Z – 4:44 (Roc Nation)
  37. A. Savage – Thawing Dawn (Dull Tools)
  38. Blondie – Pollinator (Noble ID)
  39. Zeal & Ardor – Devil is Fine (MVKA Music, 2016)
  40. Nnamdi Ogbonnaya – DROOL (Father/Daughter/Sooper)
  41. Beth Ditto – Fake Sugar (Columbia)
  42. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – The French Press (Sub Pop)
  43. Omar Souleyman – To Syria, With Love (Mad Decent)
  44. T.I. – Us or Else: A Letter to the System (Grand Hustle/Roc Nation, 2016)
  45. Tom Ze – Cancoes Erotics Para Ninar (Irara, 2016)
  46. Mariem Hassan – La Voz Indomita (Nubenegra)
  47. Various Artist – Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams (Slate Creek)
  48. Sunny Sweeney – Trophy (Thirty Tigers)
  49. Kevin Abstract – American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story (Brockhampton, 2016)
  50. Hamell on Trial – Tackle Box (New West)
  51. Lee Ranaldo – Electric Trim (Mute Artists)
  52. Neil Young – Hitchhiker (Reprise)
  53. Steve Earle – So You Wanna Be An Outlaw (Warner Bros.)
  54. Amber Coffman – City of No Reply (Columbia)
  55. Various Artists – The Rough Guide to the Music of West Africa (World Music Network)
  56. Chuck Berry – Chuck (Dualtone)
  57. Hard Working Americans – We’re All in This Together (Melvin/Thirty Tigers)
  58. Japandroids – Near to the Wild Heart of Life (Anti-/Epitaph)
  59. Starlito & Don Trip – Step Brothers Three (Gind Hard LLC)
  60. Craig Finn – We All Want the Same Thing (Partisan)
  61. Tinariwen – Elwan (Anti-Epitaph)
  62. Various Artists – Rough Guide to the Sahara (World Music Network, 2014)
  63. Various Artists – Rough Guide to Salsa de Puerto Rico (World Music Network, 2003)
  64. Willie Nelson – God’s Problem Child (Legacy)
  65. Deer Tick – Vol. 2 (Partisan)
  66. The Paranoid Style – Underworld USA (Bar None)
  67. Fred Thomas – Changer (Polyvinyl)
  68. Body Count – Bloodlust (Century Media)
  69. Whitney Rose – South Texas Suite (Six Shooter/Thirty Tigers)
  70. The Mountain Goats – Goths (Merge)
  71. The XX – I See You (Young Turks)
  72. Syd – Fin (Epic)
  73. Sarah Shook & The Disarmers – Sidelong (Bloodshot)
  74. Amadou & Mariam – La Confusion (Because Music)
  75. David Bromberg – The Blues, the Whole Blues, and Nothing but the Blues (Red House, 2016)
  76. Arca – Arca (XL)
  77. Gorillaz – Humanz (Warner Bros.)
  78. Frank Ocean – Endless (Def Jam, 2016)
  79. Frank Ocean – Blonde (self-released, 2016)
  80. Girlpool – Powerplant (Anti-)
  81. Les Amazones d’Afrique – Republique Amazone (RealWorld)
  82. St. Vincent – MASSEDUCTION (Loma Vista)
  83. Young Thug – Beautiful Thugger Girls (Atlantic)
  84. Ab-Soul – Do What Thou Wilt (Top Dawg, 2016)
  85. LCD Soundsystem – American Dream (Excelsior Equity)
  86. Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked At Me (P.W. Elverum & Sun)

BEST SINGLES

  1. “T-Shirt” – Migos
  2. “Bodak Yellow” – Cardi B
  3. “Legend Has It” – Run the Jewels
  4. “Humble” – Kendrick Lamar
  5. “Drive Thru” – Fat Tony
  6. “Love and War” – Brad Paisley featuring John Fogerty
  7. “Made In China” – Higher Brothers
  8. “8TEEN” – Khalid
  9. “Chained to the Rhythm” – Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley
  10. “Andromeda” – Gorillaz featuring D.R.A.M.