Top 84 Music Albums of 1997
by
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 12/07/2025 20:15
- (Created: 04/11/2012 18:10).
- Chart size: 84 albums.
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Overall chart ranking: #2. Decade ranking: #1. Produced by Jim Scott. Strangers Almanac is the crowning achievement of Whiskeytoen. Ryan Adams gets pushed aside as a country artist by a lot of people, but he is a really brilliant songwriter, and his music is, in many cases, moe alt than country. Whiskeytown didn't last long, but it yielded this masterpiece. "Inn Town" and "Dancing With The Women At The Bar" are beautiful, but "Losering" is one of the greatest songs ever. Yes, I have a lot of Ryan Adams high on my chart. For good reason.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
532
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Produced by Stephan Jenkins and Eric Valentine. Third Eye Blind doesn't get a whole lot of love, but tell me...what would the 90's have been without this gem of a record? "Semi-Charmed Life", "Jumper", and "How's It Gonna Be" surrounded by a cast of great rock songs. People often wonder why they like this, then they hear it again and remember all of the good tunes and great sounds. That's why. Because it's simply a well made, well written collection of great songs.
[First added to this chart: 08/15/2012]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,999
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
1997-ROSWELL
Produced By GIL NORTON
1. Doll
2. Monkey Wrench
3. Hey, Johnny Park!
4. My Poor Brain
5. Wind Up
6. Up In Arms
7. My Hero
8. See You
9. Enough Space
10. February Stars
11. Everlong
12. Walking After You
13. New Way Home
Bonus
14. Requiem
15. Drive Me Wild
16. Down In The Park
17. Baker Street
18. Dear Lover
19. The Colour And The Shape
The first Foo Fighters album was really a Dave Grohl solo album on which he wrote and played almost everything. The Colour And The Shape is the beginning of Foo Fighters as a band. Even the songwriting becomes a shared effort, as Grohl wrote only three of the songs by himself: the rest are band efforts. Guitarist Pat Smear left at the end of the tour for the album, replaced by Franz Stahl, and Taylor Hawkins, who played on Jagged Little Pill, became the drummer as the album was being finished (Grohl plays most of the drums here).The sound of The Colour And The Shape is much more developed than on the debut: the expectation for the album was that it would be grunge, but that is put to rest early on. The album is inspired mainly by Grohl’s divorce a couple of years earlier.
“My Hero” is the most memorable song here, but “Monkey Wrench”, “Everlong” and “Walking After You” are excellent as well. The real highlight, though, is Grohl himself. This is the hardest rocking Foo Fighters album, thanks in large part to Grohl’s insistent drumming, and maybe the most consistent songwriting of any of their albums. Although the band was still in transition, this is the Foo album, alongside the debut, to have. You’ll wish Grohl could go back to doing it all…the truth is, the more he’s all over it, the better they are. The bonus tracks featured here are mostly covers (Killing Joke, Vanity 6, Gary Numan) and a couple of non-album tracks, and none are remarkable, except for the Gerry Rafferty cover, “Baker Street”, which replaces the classic sax solo with screeching guitar. Nonsense. Skip the bonus tracks. Enjoy the rest. [First added to this chart: 05/16/2013]
Produced By GIL NORTON
1. Doll
2. Monkey Wrench
3. Hey, Johnny Park!
4. My Poor Brain
5. Wind Up
6. Up In Arms
7. My Hero
8. See You
9. Enough Space
10. February Stars
11. Everlong
12. Walking After You
13. New Way Home
Bonus
14. Requiem
15. Drive Me Wild
16. Down In The Park
17. Baker Street
18. Dear Lover
19. The Colour And The Shape
The first Foo Fighters album was really a Dave Grohl solo album on which he wrote and played almost everything. The Colour And The Shape is the beginning of Foo Fighters as a band. Even the songwriting becomes a shared effort, as Grohl wrote only three of the songs by himself: the rest are band efforts. Guitarist Pat Smear left at the end of the tour for the album, replaced by Franz Stahl, and Taylor Hawkins, who played on Jagged Little Pill, became the drummer as the album was being finished (Grohl plays most of the drums here).The sound of The Colour And The Shape is much more developed than on the debut: the expectation for the album was that it would be grunge, but that is put to rest early on. The album is inspired mainly by Grohl’s divorce a couple of years earlier.
“My Hero” is the most memorable song here, but “Monkey Wrench”, “Everlong” and “Walking After You” are excellent as well. The real highlight, though, is Grohl himself. This is the hardest rocking Foo Fighters album, thanks in large part to Grohl’s insistent drumming, and maybe the most consistent songwriting of any of their albums. Although the band was still in transition, this is the Foo album, alongside the debut, to have. You’ll wish Grohl could go back to doing it all…the truth is, the more he’s all over it, the better they are. The bonus tracks featured here are mostly covers (Killing Joke, Vanity 6, Gary Numan) and a couple of non-album tracks, and none are remarkable, except for the Gerry Rafferty cover, “Baker Street”, which replaces the classic sax solo with screeching guitar. Nonsense. Skip the bonus tracks. Enjoy the rest. [First added to this chart: 05/16/2013]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,642
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
1997 – UNIVERSAL
Produced By PAUL EBERSOLD
1. Just Remember
2. Happy
3. All For You (Full Band Version)
4. Look To The Children
5. Wanted It To Be
6. Think About Me
7. So Long
8. Superman
9. Concede
10. Cerilene
11. We’ll Find It
12. Starfish
Remember back in 1997, when Counting Crows released that big hit “All For You”? Well, as much as it sounds exactly like them, that was actually Sister Hazel. And as catchy and perfect as that chorus is, the song still has that grating, almost stolen quality. It’s also their only notable hit to date, even though they have released nine albums and are still quite active. Fortunately, the rest of …Somewhere More Familiar sounds more like Sister Hazel and less like that other more successful band, but it was still that sound that put them on the map. They play upbeat rock that has a taste of their Southern roots, and that translates well to the stage. They play well, and vocally, they are quite good. Where this band is limited is in the songwriting department. The songs here are as good as they have ever been, which stands squarely at average. So what you get with this album is a batch of good sounding forgettable tunes.
To be fair, “We’ll Find It” and “Cerilene” are pretty good. But everything else will fade from memory as soon as the next track begins. So, let’s get back to “All For You”. It was originally on their debut album (a different version). The chorus is the best bit of songwriting the band has ever produced: “It’s hard to say what it is I see in you / Wonder if I’ll always be with you / But words can’t say, and I can’t do / Enough to prove it’s all for you”. Nicely done. It’s too bad that they have never been able to build on that. These guys are solid, and the band has not changed in over 20 years (so they are definitely tight with each other)…they just lack strong original material. And even their one big break came on the heels of sounding like somebody else. This is their best album, but it stands squarely as the standard of average. Which is exactly what their entire career has turned out to be. [First added to this chart: 09/17/2015]
Produced By PAUL EBERSOLD
1. Just Remember
2. Happy
3. All For You (Full Band Version)
4. Look To The Children
5. Wanted It To Be
6. Think About Me
7. So Long
8. Superman
9. Concede
10. Cerilene
11. We’ll Find It
12. Starfish
Remember back in 1997, when Counting Crows released that big hit “All For You”? Well, as much as it sounds exactly like them, that was actually Sister Hazel. And as catchy and perfect as that chorus is, the song still has that grating, almost stolen quality. It’s also their only notable hit to date, even though they have released nine albums and are still quite active. Fortunately, the rest of …Somewhere More Familiar sounds more like Sister Hazel and less like that other more successful band, but it was still that sound that put them on the map. They play upbeat rock that has a taste of their Southern roots, and that translates well to the stage. They play well, and vocally, they are quite good. Where this band is limited is in the songwriting department. The songs here are as good as they have ever been, which stands squarely at average. So what you get with this album is a batch of good sounding forgettable tunes.
To be fair, “We’ll Find It” and “Cerilene” are pretty good. But everything else will fade from memory as soon as the next track begins. So, let’s get back to “All For You”. It was originally on their debut album (a different version). The chorus is the best bit of songwriting the band has ever produced: “It’s hard to say what it is I see in you / Wonder if I’ll always be with you / But words can’t say, and I can’t do / Enough to prove it’s all for you”. Nicely done. It’s too bad that they have never been able to build on that. These guys are solid, and the band has not changed in over 20 years (so they are definitely tight with each other)…they just lack strong original material. And even their one big break came on the heels of sounding like somebody else. This is their best album, but it stands squarely as the standard of average. Which is exactly what their entire career has turned out to be. [First added to this chart: 09/17/2015]
[First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
1997 – MATADOR
Produced By ROGER MOUTENOT
1. Return To Hot Chicken
2. Moby Octopad
3. Sugarcube
4. Damage
5. Deeper Into Movies
6. Shadows
7. Stockholm Syndrome
8. Autumn Sweater
9. Little Honda
10. Green Arrow
11. One PM Again
12. The Lie And How We Told It
13. Center Of Gravity
14. Spec Bebop
15. We’re An American Band
16. My Little Corner Of The World
Yo La Tengo has successfully flown under the radar of stardom for a long time. A very long time. Formed in 1984 by the couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, almost everything about this band is interesting. They are named for a humorous story involving the 1962 New York Mets. They have had 14 bass players in their history, but only one since 1992. They are loved by critics, and have a small but fiercely loyal fan base. They played the Velvet Underground in a film, and they played a Night Ranger tribute band on Parks And Recreation. Their taste in cover songs is impeccable. And they have made mostly pretty great albums. I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One is maybe their finest…if not, it’s one of their very best. Kaplan and Hubley trade lead vocals, all of them low key and deep down in the mix almost as far as the guitars. And the result is that they sound undeniably cool. Undeniably.
The appeal of this album over their other great efforts is that this one branches out and tries the most different sounds. And almost everything works like a charm. The heaviest track is a surprise cover of The Beach Boy’s “Little Honda”. It sounds nothing like the original. Which makes it so cool. This album changes sound almost track by track, showing a stunning versatility. It also shows how good their songwriting is, and how unafraid they are to step out of their comfort zone. This album stands alongside the best of the longtime indie bands like Sonic Youth, and shows that even after so many years together, they were nowhere close to running out of ideas. This is a band and an album that gets lost in the shuffle way too often. They deserve to be heard, and this album, along with a few others by them, should be essential parts of a good rock collection. Take a listen, if you haven’t already. You’ll be happy you did. [First added to this chart: 07/14/2017]
Produced By ROGER MOUTENOT
1. Return To Hot Chicken
2. Moby Octopad
3. Sugarcube
4. Damage
5. Deeper Into Movies
6. Shadows
7. Stockholm Syndrome
8. Autumn Sweater
9. Little Honda
10. Green Arrow
11. One PM Again
12. The Lie And How We Told It
13. Center Of Gravity
14. Spec Bebop
15. We’re An American Band
16. My Little Corner Of The World
Yo La Tengo has successfully flown under the radar of stardom for a long time. A very long time. Formed in 1984 by the couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, almost everything about this band is interesting. They are named for a humorous story involving the 1962 New York Mets. They have had 14 bass players in their history, but only one since 1992. They are loved by critics, and have a small but fiercely loyal fan base. They played the Velvet Underground in a film, and they played a Night Ranger tribute band on Parks And Recreation. Their taste in cover songs is impeccable. And they have made mostly pretty great albums. I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One is maybe their finest…if not, it’s one of their very best. Kaplan and Hubley trade lead vocals, all of them low key and deep down in the mix almost as far as the guitars. And the result is that they sound undeniably cool. Undeniably.
The appeal of this album over their other great efforts is that this one branches out and tries the most different sounds. And almost everything works like a charm. The heaviest track is a surprise cover of The Beach Boy’s “Little Honda”. It sounds nothing like the original. Which makes it so cool. This album changes sound almost track by track, showing a stunning versatility. It also shows how good their songwriting is, and how unafraid they are to step out of their comfort zone. This album stands alongside the best of the longtime indie bands like Sonic Youth, and shows that even after so many years together, they were nowhere close to running out of ideas. This is a band and an album that gets lost in the shuffle way too often. They deserve to be heard, and this album, along with a few others by them, should be essential parts of a good rock collection. Take a listen, if you haven’t already. You’ll be happy you did. [First added to this chart: 07/14/2017]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,583
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
1997-EASTWEST
Produced by ERIC MASUNAGA
1. Digitize
2. Break Up With Your Boyfriend
3. Burn This Bridge
4. Herstory
5. You Might Want Me Around
6. You'll Never Know
7. Itch It
8. Discopolis
9. Luster
10. I Was Wrong
11. On The Slide
12. Seek And Destroy
13. Wished On The Wrong Star
The Dambuilders, from Hawaii of all places, finally found the perfect mix between their big sound, their great songs, and the production it all needed to pull everything together on Against The Stars. Much better than the earlier entry here (Ruby Red), this album is loaded with heavy gems: "Break Up With Your Boyfriend" is power pop perfection, and the chorus on "Itch It" is as good as it gets.
There's also an experimental side: "Luster" is a dancefloor trance that sticks in your head. Joan Wasser and Dave Derby trade vocals throughout the album, and the guitars are heavier than on any other Dambuilders release. This is the album to have from this band. Virtual unknowns who should have been a big thing. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Produced by ERIC MASUNAGA
1. Digitize
2. Break Up With Your Boyfriend
3. Burn This Bridge
4. Herstory
5. You Might Want Me Around
6. You'll Never Know
7. Itch It
8. Discopolis
9. Luster
10. I Was Wrong
11. On The Slide
12. Seek And Destroy
13. Wished On The Wrong Star
The Dambuilders, from Hawaii of all places, finally found the perfect mix between their big sound, their great songs, and the production it all needed to pull everything together on Against The Stars. Much better than the earlier entry here (Ruby Red), this album is loaded with heavy gems: "Break Up With Your Boyfriend" is power pop perfection, and the chorus on "Itch It" is as good as it gets.
There's also an experimental side: "Luster" is a dancefloor trance that sticks in your head. Joan Wasser and Dave Derby trade vocals throughout the album, and the guitars are heavier than on any other Dambuilders release. This is the album to have from this band. Virtual unknowns who should have been a big thing. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
[First added to this chart: 04/20/2013]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,923
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
1997-CAPITOL
Produced By TONY LASH & COURTNEY TAYLOR
1. Be-In
2. Boys Better
3. Minnesoter
4. Orange
5. I Love You
6. Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth
7. Every Day Should Be A Holiday
8. Good Morning
9. Whipping Tree
10. Green
11. Cool As Kim Deal
12. Hard On For Jesus
13. Pete International Airport
14. The Creep Out
Portland’s Dandy Warhols had a garage sound on their first album, Dandy’s Rule OK. That all changed with …The Dandy Warhols Come Down. After having had a second album rejected by their label for having “no songs” on it, the band shifted to a psychedelic sound mixed with power pop. The problem is, they didn’t quite know how to mix the two together, resulting in an album that is at time amazing, and at others frustratingly hazy and bad. Their next effort would be better, but this album has moments that are simply bad.
But the highs are truly great. “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth” is one of the best songs of the 90’s, and “Cool As Kim Deal”, a tribute to the Pixies and Breeders singer, is what power pop is all about. When they get it right, it’s great. The front end is very good, with “Be-In”, “Boys Better”, and the strange rhyming of “Minnesoter”. The best of the hazy stuff is “I Love You”, which is as close to what the band probably meant to achieve as they get. The album is heavily weighed by the last three tracks, which are mainly unlistenable droning instrumentals. The good songs make it worthwhile…skip over the crap. [First added to this chart: 10/28/2012]
Produced By TONY LASH & COURTNEY TAYLOR
1. Be-In
2. Boys Better
3. Minnesoter
4. Orange
5. I Love You
6. Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth
7. Every Day Should Be A Holiday
8. Good Morning
9. Whipping Tree
10. Green
11. Cool As Kim Deal
12. Hard On For Jesus
13. Pete International Airport
14. The Creep Out
Portland’s Dandy Warhols had a garage sound on their first album, Dandy’s Rule OK. That all changed with …The Dandy Warhols Come Down. After having had a second album rejected by their label for having “no songs” on it, the band shifted to a psychedelic sound mixed with power pop. The problem is, they didn’t quite know how to mix the two together, resulting in an album that is at time amazing, and at others frustratingly hazy and bad. Their next effort would be better, but this album has moments that are simply bad.
But the highs are truly great. “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth” is one of the best songs of the 90’s, and “Cool As Kim Deal”, a tribute to the Pixies and Breeders singer, is what power pop is all about. When they get it right, it’s great. The front end is very good, with “Be-In”, “Boys Better”, and the strange rhyming of “Minnesoter”. The best of the hazy stuff is “I Love You”, which is as close to what the band probably meant to achieve as they get. The album is heavily weighed by the last three tracks, which are mainly unlistenable droning instrumentals. The good songs make it worthwhile…skip over the crap. [First added to this chart: 10/28/2012]
1997 – PALADIN / REVOLUTION
Produced By DAVID KAHNE
1. My Love Is Real
2. Safe Within Your Arms
3. Say What You Mean
4. Alone
5. Dream Too Real To Hold
6. Walk Away From Me
7. How The Road Unwinds
8. Where The Bluegrass Grows
9. Don’t Cry Baby
10. All My Stars Are In Your Eyes
11. Fallen Angel
The question is easy. Who the hell is Greg Garing? The answer is not so easy. Greg Garing grew up in Pennsylvania, and by way of Bill Monroe, discovered a love of country and bluegrass music. By the 90’s, he was an up and coming country star. More than that…he was seen by some as the future of country. He put together a kick ass band, and was on the verge of being signed and shot to stardom. And then…Garing was floored by the music of Garbage. The band with Shirley Manson. He suddenly found his musical direction shifted dramatically. Garing gave up Nashville to pursue his new found love of electronica and rock mixed into his bluegrass roots. The result is Alone. Never the debut album that Garing was supposed to make. And Garing, as a result, never became a star. But here it is…world, meet Garing.
The results are interesting. You can very much hear his country background, but this is, in no way, a country record. The title track is a solid dance groove with a fiddle swirling around it. “Dream Too Real Too Hold” is a straight country song, twisted by electronics into something strange and unique. Garing’s vision is a solid one, and when this works, it’s pretty amazing. But it doesn’t always work. Alone has moments of greatness, and it has moments of pure misses. Had this been a consistent album, it might have been viewed as great, and it may have been the start of something new. As it is, it’s an interesting and fairly twisted soup of country, rock and electronica. Kudos to Greg Garing for trying this, and for making it succeed as well as it did. A strange oddball of an album that’s worth at least a listen. [First added to this chart: 12/21/2012]
Produced By DAVID KAHNE
1. My Love Is Real
2. Safe Within Your Arms
3. Say What You Mean
4. Alone
5. Dream Too Real To Hold
6. Walk Away From Me
7. How The Road Unwinds
8. Where The Bluegrass Grows
9. Don’t Cry Baby
10. All My Stars Are In Your Eyes
11. Fallen Angel
The question is easy. Who the hell is Greg Garing? The answer is not so easy. Greg Garing grew up in Pennsylvania, and by way of Bill Monroe, discovered a love of country and bluegrass music. By the 90’s, he was an up and coming country star. More than that…he was seen by some as the future of country. He put together a kick ass band, and was on the verge of being signed and shot to stardom. And then…Garing was floored by the music of Garbage. The band with Shirley Manson. He suddenly found his musical direction shifted dramatically. Garing gave up Nashville to pursue his new found love of electronica and rock mixed into his bluegrass roots. The result is Alone. Never the debut album that Garing was supposed to make. And Garing, as a result, never became a star. But here it is…world, meet Garing.
The results are interesting. You can very much hear his country background, but this is, in no way, a country record. The title track is a solid dance groove with a fiddle swirling around it. “Dream Too Real Too Hold” is a straight country song, twisted by electronics into something strange and unique. Garing’s vision is a solid one, and when this works, it’s pretty amazing. But it doesn’t always work. Alone has moments of greatness, and it has moments of pure misses. Had this been a consistent album, it might have been viewed as great, and it may have been the start of something new. As it is, it’s an interesting and fairly twisted soup of country, rock and electronica. Kudos to Greg Garing for trying this, and for making it succeed as well as it did. A strange oddball of an album that’s worth at least a listen. [First added to this chart: 12/21/2012]
Total albums: 54. Page 1 of 6
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Top 84 Music Albums of 1997 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Spiritualized® | 1 | 1% | |
| The Prodigy | 1 | 1% | |
| Modest Mouse | 1 | 1% | |
| Bob Marley | 1 | 1% | |
| Everclear | 1 | 1% | |
| Björk | 1 | 1% | |
| Veruca Salt | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
|
54 | 64% | |
|
15 | 18% | |
|
4 | 5% | |
|
4 | 5% | |
|
3 | 4% | |
|
1 | 1% | |
|
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
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Top 84 Music Albums of 1997 ratings
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