Best Albums of 2017

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1.

Damn. 

 Kendrick Lamar

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"After giving this a half-dozen more listens, I've got a few thoughts: As has been mentioned, DAMN. asks the question "Who is Kendrick Lamar?" We think we know Kendrick. And we do, don't we? This is that Compton kid, that Section.80 kid, that good kid, who broke out of his M.A.A.D. city with one m...""After giving this a half-dozen more listens, I've got a few thoughts: As has been mentioned, DAMN. asks the question "Who is Kendrick Lamar?" We think we know Kendrick. And we do, don't we? This is that Compton kid, that Section.80 kid, that good kid, who broke out of his M.A.A.D. city with one mission: To give back. And how does Kendrick Lamar give back? By doing his best to give life, hope, and power back to his community, back to his black brothers and sisters. Is it enough? Fox News doesn't understand him. He's exhausted by the work. Blind women might shoot him dead if he's at the wrong place at the wrong time when he's just trying to do right. Why do we demand great things from Kendrick Lamar? Kendrick Lamar is not shy about comparing himself to Jesus, albeit implicitly. The complement to DAMN., I'm finding, is none other than Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: Another record about a distinct personality aiming to be understood. Kanye West is a brilliant, frustrating genius. On MBDTF, he asks that we forgive his humanity. DAMN. is coming from the other direction. We put Kendrick, King Kendrick, on a pedestal--one for which he did not ask. But he'll do what it takes to keep his family secure. He'll be the example his nieces and nephews need. He knows he's lucky to be a success. Yet, why can't he make mistakes? Why can't he let down his principles once or twice? Why can't he do a Maroon 5 feature for other reasons than to make some side cash? What does Kendrick Lamar owe us, if anything at all? DAMN. may not be a great record. Personally, I think it falls ever so short. Maybe that'll change for me. What I do believe is that, for once, Kendrick Lamar gets to tell his story. It doesn't have to be for Tammy or Keisha. It doesn't need to be about Compton. It doesn't need to be about the black experience in America. Maybe it's because he finally gets to speak to his wants and concerns, about his own well-being, that this, while not Kendrick's best work, is maybe his most important as an artist, because DAMN, it's really hard being Kendrick Lamar."  [+]  Reply

- HoldenM | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +17 votes (21 helpful | 4 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

830 charts

Rank Score:

6,644

Rank in 2017:

1

Rank in 2010s:

28

Overall Rank:

239

Average Rating:

 80 (1,312 votes)

Comments:

151

3.

Flower Boy 

 Tyler, The Creator

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"Catchy. Soulful. Heart-warming. Hand-banging. Brilliant. This is my favourite album of 2017 and it's not hard to see why. While previous Tyler releases seemed to operate purely on the basis of outrage and provocation, "Flower Boy" is the first time Tyler *truly* sounds like himself. The first Tyl...""Catchy. Soulful. Heart-warming. Hand-banging. Brilliant. This is my favourite album of 2017 and it's not hard to see why. While previous Tyler releases seemed to operate purely on the basis of outrage and provocation, "Flower Boy" is the first time Tyler *truly* sounds like himself. The first Tyler Okonma record, if you will. The themes of lonliness, isolation and heartsickness are not new to Tyler's lyrical arsenal. The only difference here is the execution and careful songwriting. Even when Tyler is at his most volatile and bombastic (see "Ain't Got Time" and "Who Dat Boy") he still sounds tempered and controlled, a far-cry from Cherry Bomb. In my personal opinion, Flower Boy" outdoes DAMN. and Big Fish Theory on the basis of it's soul. The record is disconcertingly personal (Tyler often sings of his ongoing loneliness and battles with depression) without Tyler coming off as a prima donna or the record being a huge bummer. Despite the subject matter, "Flower Boy" is a surprisingly summery record. This is the record Tyler needed to make and the one that will cement his name as one of the most important simger/songwriter/rappers of this decade. "  [+]  Reply

- vinnid127 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

580 charts

Rank Score:

4,363

Rank in 2017:

3

Rank in 2010s:

47

Overall Rank:

383

Average Rating:

 84 (817 votes)

Comments:

62

4.

A Deeper Understanding 

 The War On Drugs

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"I just don't get it. Keep on playing, but this is good boring stuff, really. old fashioned shite. listening to "thinking of a place" whilst writin' this. Bob Dylan on vocals with a quite decent band - but not much happening - swell production, but . so what am i missing out on here? Is it the lyr...""I just don't get it. Keep on playing, but this is good boring stuff, really. old fashioned shite. listening to "thinking of a place" whilst writin' this. Bob Dylan on vocals with a quite decent band - but not much happening - swell production, but . so what am i missing out on here? Is it the lyrics? I like it, but damn; there's so much out there that are so much better and challenging, so what is this doing on the very top of the ratings everywhere. Is it because it's so mainstream: Everybody kinda like it a little, and subsequently it ends up on the very top when we add everybodys votes together? Maybe I'll find out some day. "  [+]  Reply

- martintho | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

582 charts

Rank Score:

4,286

Rank in 2017:

4

Rank in 2010s:

49

Overall Rank:

389

Average Rating:

 81 (619 votes)

Comments:

51

6.

A Crow Looked At Me 

 Mount Eerie

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"I feel perverse for even listening to this album. It is so deeply personal and heartbreaking that it feels strange to just put in my headphones and listen to it like it is any other album. I believe this to be a great album, but I am having a hard time determining just how great given how difficu...""I feel perverse for even listening to this album. It is so deeply personal and heartbreaking that it feels strange to just put in my headphones and listen to it like it is any other album. I believe this to be a great album, but I am having a hard time determining just how great given how difficult it is to actually listen to. I love plenty of honest and painful albums (Carrie & Lowell, Hi How Are You), but this one is something especially harrowing. Plus, even though the lyrics are so powerful, the songs themselves are rather simple and all sound very close to each other. While this does work as an effective vessel for the lyrics, I do see the argument that this is more great poetry than great music. At the moment, I really don't know where to rank this is my overall chart. Is it top 20? Should it even be in the top 100 at all? I have never struggled to rank an album this much."  [+]  Reply

- Mattdup279 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

457 charts

Rank Score:

3,309

Rank in 2017:

6

Rank in 2010s:

75

Overall Rank:

531

Average Rating:

 80 (608 votes)

Comments:

62

7.

Sleep Well Beast 

 The National

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"Okay, gave it a couple more listens. This is as sleek and deceptive a record as one could want from The National. It's like the band listened to FKA twigs's LP1 over and over, and thought, "What if we did our version of this?" It's hard to tell if anything will stand with the rest of The National...""Okay, gave it a couple more listens. This is as sleek and deceptive a record as one could want from The National. It's like the band listened to FKA twigs's LP1 over and over, and thought, "What if we did our version of this?" It's hard to tell if anything will stand with the rest of The National's highlights, or even where this will fit into their air-tight discography--because, really you could make a case for any of their albums Alligator forward as being their strongest work. I'll tell you, though--I don't mind a glitchy version of The National. Not one bit. The songwriting is still there. The emotional punch still hits hard. The consistency is as in tact as ever. Maybe it's lacking in dynamic range, but all of these songs are terrific in one way or another. God, what a damn fine year for music."  [+]  Reply

- HoldenM | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

466 charts

Rank Score:

2,872

Rank in 2017:

7

Rank in 2010s:

83

Overall Rank:

593

Average Rating:

 79 (554 votes)

Comments:

30

8.

American Dream 

 LCD Soundsystem

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"I've been listening to this non-stop since it leaked 2 days ago and I think I made up my mind. Some are saying this is their best, but I honestly don't think it tops Sound of Silver; Sound of Silver was their peak and I don't think they'll make something better than that. However, I think it mana...""I've been listening to this non-stop since it leaked 2 days ago and I think I made up my mind. Some are saying this is their best, but I honestly don't think it tops Sound of Silver; Sound of Silver was their peak and I don't think they'll make something better than that. However, I think it manages to be better than their other 2 records. This statement will become the most common one when talking about American Dream, but it's their darkest album to date, and you can feel throughout the record an evolution to their sound. Of course there are still over-the-top dance songs like "Tonite", "Call the Police" and the post-punk-ish "Other Voices", "Change Yr Mind" and "Emotional Haircut", but even then (especially the latter), they sound "heavier" in some way than their first 3 albums. The bookend tracks as well as the title track are beautiful. They provide a very emotional side of LCD that I think hadn't been fully explored before (except for "New York I Love You"). And even "How Do You Sleep?" which is the best song in American Dream and provides one of the best buildups ever in their discography, sounds much darker than similar songs in previous records. "I Used To" on the other hand sounds a lot like a Joy Division / goth era The Cure song and I fucking love it. I really really enjoyed this. Definitely one of the best albums of 2017. I had high expectations and even then, it managed to be even better than I ever expected. 3/4 of my favorite tracks weren't released as singles which was a good thing considering this year many bands decided to nuke us with singles. As a whole, American Dream simply blows my mind. Best songs: "oh baby", "how do you sleep?", "american dream", "black screen""  [+]  Reply

- lleon79 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

501 charts

Rank Score:

2,701

Rank in 2017:

8

Rank in 2010s:

90

Overall Rank:

633

Average Rating:

 78 (628 votes)

Comments:

38

9.

Crack-Up 

 Fleet Foxes

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"Is there a better band than Fleet Foxes today? Their sound has matured and they do not hold back on their ambition."  Reply

- foxrob | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (8 helpful | 2 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

441 charts

Rank Score:

2,491

Rank in 2017:

9

Rank in 2010s:

103

Overall Rank:

696

Average Rating:

 78 (586 votes)

Comments:

39

10.

Pure Comedy 

 Father John Misty

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"Father John Misty’s “Pure Comedy” serves as a reminder of the artist’s unique voice in the field of modern folk rock. He delivers a blend of humor and retrospective sadness into a package that demonstrates how he—and at least, I—view the world in its present state. Clever songwriting with an impa...""Father John Misty’s “Pure Comedy” serves as a reminder of the artist’s unique voice in the field of modern folk rock. He delivers a blend of humor and retrospective sadness into a package that demonstrates how he—and at least, I—view the world in its present state. Clever songwriting with an impassioned message, melded with prime production and instrumentation, creates a project which has grown on me with each subsequent listen. Josh Tilman, Misty’s “man behind the mask”, has no qualms with questioning and criticizing the problems of society, through his fictionalized perspective of a man wandering through a barren city proceeding the collapse of humanity, to his blunt summarization of the whole of humanity in the titular track. One of my favorite tracks from the album, “When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay”, Tilman assumes the role of a defender of mankind’s mistakes and flaws to a metaphorical “God of Love”. The instrumentation of the album is strong throughout, with the exception of a few tracks. In what will likely be the most divisive track on the record, “Leaving LA” is a sprawling, thirteen minute self-reflection by Tilman, reviewing his grievances with the music industry, his pseudonym and himself. While the track has plenty to chew on, narratively speaking, it lacks a sense of progression or complexity in its sound, which Tilman addresses in the lyrics of the actual song, aware that the extensity of the tracks runtime, paired with a lack of resolve, may lose him a number of fans. The only other track I find personal flaws with would be “Smoochie”, which has a tasteful Southern twang and an enjoyable performance by Tilman, but lacks the same snappy lyricism that permeates the rest of “Pure Comedy”. The track “Total Entertainment Forever” is a stark observation of the presence of media in our lives with a backing band reminiscent of Billy Joel. “Ballad of the Dying Man” is the perfect summarization of those who dedicate their lives to plaguing internet message boards with negativity or unnecessary “white knighting”. “Two Wildly Different Perspectives” and “Birdie” utilize a more technological soundscape, differentiating the tracks from the rest of the album’s folk rock vibes. The former addresses opposing views (political, social or otherwise) which may be perceived as highly contrasted, but hold similar values at their core. The latter holds a strong political message while providing an excellent crescendo, musically, which is a welcome commonality of the album. “The Memo”—a track which required a number of listens for myself to appreciate—contemplates perception and advertisers, and an audience which may believe to understand an artist or their work, but in truth, knows nothing. “So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain” and “In Twenty Years or So” finally address death and the future, where Tilman expresses the importance of acceptance in the way things are, and stresses that we enjoy life as it happens, no matter the outcome. Both of these final tracks contain gorgeous orchestral movements atop the soothing croons of the masked Misty. Tilman’s personality is very much a part of his music. Should you disagree with his views, or what may occasionally come across as patronizing, there is plenty to enjoy sonically. Personally, I adored the album, and will likely rank it as one of, if not my favorite, albums of the year. 9/10 "  [+]  Reply

- bookends70 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

408 charts

Rank Score:

2,487

Rank in 2017:

10

Rank in 2010s:

104

Overall Rank:

697

Average Rating:

 77 (612 votes)

Comments:

44

12.

Ctrl 

 SZA

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"Sounds good on a first listen. This is currently relatively low on BEAs 2017 list compared to a lot of critic lists. Personally, this is more like what I want to hear on a pop album than Lorde's latest, for example. It feels more expressive and energising to me. Will need to hear a few more times...""Sounds good on a first listen. This is currently relatively low on BEAs 2017 list compared to a lot of critic lists. Personally, this is more like what I want to hear on a pop album than Lorde's latest, for example. It feels more expressive and energising to me. Will need to hear a few more times before I rate though."  [+]  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

331 charts

Rank Score:

1,950

Rank in 2017:

12

Rank in 2010s:

126

Overall Rank:

891

Average Rating:

 77 (369 votes)

Comments:

14

13.

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Masseduction 

 St. Vincent

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"I don't care what any of y'all say... St. Vincent had the greatest album of 2017. From the gay ballad turned banger that is "Slow Disco" to fan favorite "New York" this album shines. The album isn't her most cohesive but every song is absolutely perfect. (At least is not of those albums so cohesi...""I don't care what any of y'all say... St. Vincent had the greatest album of 2017. From the gay ballad turned banger that is "Slow Disco" to fan favorite "New York" this album shines. The album isn't her most cohesive but every song is absolutely perfect. (At least is not of those albums so cohesive that every song sounds the exact same) I wouldn't change anything about it and it deserves recognition. The greatest guitarist alive and one of our best songwriters."  [+]  Reply

- Lukeaanthony | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

390 charts

Rank Score:

1,838

Rank in 2017:

13

Rank in 2010s:

135

Overall Rank:

948

Average Rating:

 78 (405 votes)

Comments:

25

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Total albums: 461. Page 1 of 47

Best Albums of 2017 composition

Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	7	1%
Mach-Hommy	5	1%
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	4	0%
David Bowie	3	0%
Brockhampton	3	0%
Charli XCX	2	0%
Shabazz Palaces	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	461	46%
	189	19%
	46	5%
	43	4%
	38	4%
	27	3%
	18	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	22	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	19	2%