Best Albums of 1997

Explore the best albums of 1997, based on over 2 million album rankings across 61,000 chartsHelp Click to see how the rankings are calculated . Last updated: 3 hours ago
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1997 year summaryThe best artists of 1997 were Radiohead, Björk, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Spiritualized, Built To Spill, The Verve, Foo Fighters and Nick Cave.
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"I think making such a big deal about OK Computer only takes away from the great music they made after. This is a great album but unlike a lot of 90s bands Radiohead didn't try to ride this any further. From here on out they became a genre all their own."  Reply
- ProfessorSquid | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 46 Help 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:
1997
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Rank Score:
59,143
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Top rated album (92/100 - 5692 votes)  92 (5,692 votes)
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"Björk, one of the greatest vocalists alive today ("All Is Full of Love" can attest to this), reached her peak with one of the most beautiful and emotive albums ever made. Driven by great icy electronic production and beautiful strings, this album is made for quality headphones. The track sequenci..."    Reply
- juro00134 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 6 Help 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:
1997
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12,417
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"Elliott Smith's music means a lot to me. From the very first time that I heard this album, I've had a deep admiration for it. The fragility and beauty on this album is staggering. Smith's voice grabbed me instantly on my first listen, because it just fits so well with the music and the lyrics. El..."    Reply
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 5 Help 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:
1997
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9,854
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"Some of Isaak Brock's best songs are on this record and this album marked their indie level zenith. Now for the criticism: I feel there are two many songs on this album and they often go on for too long. Cowboy Dan suffers from this, so does the directionless, Out of Gas and Long Distance Drunk. ..."    Reply
- Mr. Shankly | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 4 Help 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.
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1997
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7,116
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"One of my first Vinyl purchases. The vinyl came with extra goodies and features a looping end track, which I have never found on any other Vinyl record. This album reminds me of the novel The Road, an end of the world. Though bleak, the message it sends is short, and the instrumentals can be hypn..."    Reply
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 6 Help 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:
1997
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Rank Score:
6,311
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"Yeah, sometimes I really wish this album would sound like Squarepusher or Aphex Twin on one of their genre defying (unlistenable) pursuits. If only the music world was full of alien chants and rhythms, we really wouldn't be able to judge anything based on past experience, instead just take a batt..."    Reply
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 4 Help 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.
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1997
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Rank Score:
6,058
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Year of Release:
1997
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Rank Score:
5,778
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1997
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5,462
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"Dave's 2nd album is more elaborately fleshed out both musically and lyrically. This album really bridged a shift in style from the 1st album to the rest of their output. (i felt subsequent albums just haven't been as good, and i just found out that dave grohl created most of the songs of the 2nd ..."    Reply
- paladisiac | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 4 Help 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:
1997
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Rank Score:
4,323
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"The Boatman's call, is the most beautiful Nick Cave album. Its really a solo record, although it is credited to the Bad Seeds. It's also one of Cave's best and my personal favourite of his, alongside, abbotoir blues. It's his heartbreak LP, his, blood on the tracks, his, tunnel of love. Opener, i..."    Reply
- garycottier | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 4 Help 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:
1997
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Rank Score:
3,844
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 1997 composition

Best Albums of 1997 chart changes

Biggest climbersHelp Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Climber Up 13 from 82nd to 69th
Climber Up 11 from 69th to 58th
Climber Up 2 from 98th to 96th
Biggest fallersHelp Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Faller Down 3 from 67th to 70th
Faller Down 3 from 79th to 82nd
Faller Down 2 from 74th to 76th
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New entry Up 1 from 101st to 100th