Top 30 Albums of 2017
A bit of background from my 2013 preamble for those new to my lists:
I do this more for me — as a way of discovering new music — than for you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to get as much joy from these amazing artists as I did this year. My list-making secret is to start a “long list” of albums I like at the beginning of the year. I keep adding when something strikes my fancy and use the year-end holidays to figure out which ones really made the cut.
For those interested, my previous Top 30 Albums are still online:
- Top 30 Albums of 2010
- Top 30 Albums of 2011
- Top 30 Albums of 2012
- Top 30 Albums of 2013
- Top 30 Albums of 2014
- Top 30 Albums of 2015
- Top 30 Albums of 2016
Overall I think it was a pretty good year for music. I loved the new sounds coming out of Toronto. Drake and The Weeknd have had such an impact on the music in the city and I’d say it’s been largely positive. More of that please. And I found myself returning repeatedly to more electronic, meditative soundscapes. Not sure if it’s me or the mood of the times.
Beyond the list here, I also listed to a lot of classical — digging in to the Harmonia Mundi catalogue — and jazz — Blue Note and ECM catalogues in particular.
And now, my Top 30 Albums of 2017! Enjoy!
Note these are in alphabetical order. I could never rank these absolutely — it would change daily.
- Waiting on a Song by Dan Auerbach
- Capacity by Big Thief
- Tenderness by Blue Hawaii
- Migration by Bonobo
- Freudian by Daniel Caesar
- Theory of Colours by Dauwd
- This Old Dog by Mac Demarco
- Mirage by Flitz & Suppe
- Oczy Mlody by The Flaming Lips
- Mysterium by Hammock
- H.E.R. by H.E.R.
- Black Origami by Jlin
- American Teen by Khalid
- Music To Draw To: Satellite by Kid Koala
- Damn by Kendrick Lamar
- A Pink Sunset For No One by Noveller
- Kelly Lee Owens by Kelly Lee Owens
- The Space Between by Majid Jordan
- No Shape by Perfume Genius
- Love Songs: Part Two by Romare
- Half-Light by Rostam
- Masseduction by St Vincent
- Big Fish Theory by Vince Staples
- Fin by Syd
- Ctrl by SZA
- Lonely Planet by Tornado Wallace
- Ladilikan by Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet
- Scum Fuck Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator
- Colter Wall by Colter Wall
- A Piece of the Geto by ZGTO
I’d love to know what albums we have in common and which ones you think should have made my list but didn’t. Use the comments people, don’t be shy!