Best Albums of 2017

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Explore the best albums of 2017, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
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2017 year summaryThe best artists of 2017 were Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, Brockhampton, Tyler, The Creator, The War On Drugs, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Slowdive, Phil Elverum, The National and LCD Soundsystem.

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Damn.

Kendrick Lamar

"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)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

833 charts

Rank Score:

6,546

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Lorde

"I have been slowly convinced that this is not just a masterpiece of pop, but of music as an art form. It is currently in my top ten. I never would have expected a modern chart-pop album to end up in my top ten, but there it is. It's so fine tuned, so well crafted, so monolithic at its most powerf..." [+] Reply

JulianR | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

667 charts

Rank Score:

5,424

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"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..." [+] Reply

- vinnid127 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

581 charts

Rank Score:

4,314

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

386

Average Rating:

84 (819 votes)

Comments:

A Deeper Understanding

The War On Drugs

"Slowdive is one of my personal favorite groups, and their comeback record was absolutely magical, so I came into this record with an anti-#1 bias when it came to ranking it.... ...but keeping it out of my handful of favorites for this year would be simply delusional on my part. It's really fuckin..." [+] Reply

- Cosmo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

585 charts

Rank Score:

4,271

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

389

Average Rating:

81 (618 votes)

Comments:

Slowdive

"A pleasant surprise. "Star Roving" is one of my favourite songs of the 21st century. Here's hoping that Slowdive will soon have another album in the BEA top 1000. Oh, and by the way, I respectfully disagree with those of you who claim that the last 2 tracks bring this album down. I especially lov..." [+] Reply

- LordMark | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

527 charts

Rank Score:

3,636

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Ever since I heard the Glow Pt. 2, I've always found Phil to me relatable to me. It's safe to say I'm a pretty melancholic man, myself. I don't show it to people I know in person, but I am not afraid to express it anonymously online (who wouldn't). But since I was a wee lad in high school to now,..." [+] Reply

Anti | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

458 charts

Rank Score:

3,289

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"This is undoubtedly a very very good album. After a couple of listens I know It's going to get many more rotations before I've wrung it dry of all the subtle (and not so subtle) elements within. And this is what makes a great album - being able to keep you returning to it time and again so as to ..." [+] Reply

Strangel | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

468 charts

Rank Score:

2,960

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"I'm hesitant to say that this is their best album, purely because "Sound of Silver" & "This is Happening" were both exceptional records, however I do believe it is. "American Dream" is a masterpiece in the genre they carved out for theirselves, yet it takes risks like never before. The percussion..." [+] Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

501 charts

Rank Score:

2,726

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"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)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

411 charts

Rank Score:

2,506

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

102

Overall Rank:

685

Average Rating:

77 (613 votes)

Comments:

10.

Crack-Up

Fleet Foxes

"This was an unexpectedly overwhelming listen, first off this is not only a proper evolution from Helplessness Blues, this goes a step further Taking ques from genres like Musique Concrete, Psychedelia, Chamber pop yatta yatta yatta It feels like looking at a Sistine chapel being painted in the sk..." [+] Reply

Franz-Aussie | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (5 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2017

Appears in:

443 charts

Rank Score:

2,450

Rank in 2017:

Rank in 2010s:

104

Overall Rank:

704

Average Rating:

78 (586 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 2017 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	7	1%
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	5	1%
Mach-Hommy	5	1%
Brockhampton	3	0%
David Bowie	3	0%
Oh Sees	2	0%
Big Big Train	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	464	46%
	187	19%
	46	5%
	43	4%
	38	4%
	27	3%
	17	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%

Best Albums of 2017 chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 13 from 106th to 93rd Rest by Charlotte Gainsbourg
Up 2 from 79th to 77th Culture by Migos
Up 2 from 61st to 59th Sketches Of Brunswick East by King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard With Mild High Club

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 2 from 18th to 20th Flying Microtonal Banana by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Down 2 from 63rd to 65th As You Were by Liam Gallagher
Down 2 from 77th to 79th A Black Mile To The Surface by Manchester Orchestra

New entries New entries in top 100 since last month
Up 13 from 106th to 93rd Rest by Charlotte Gainsbourg

Leavers Leavers from top 100 since last month
Down 1 from 100th to 101st Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?! by Milo

« View best albums of 2016View best albums of 2018 »

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