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."  [More]  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:

828 charts

Rank Score:

6,707

Rank in 2017:

1

Rank in 2010s:

28

Overall Rank:

237

Average Rating:

 80 (1,311 votes)

Comments:

151

2.

Melodrama 

 Lorde

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"I think it's a kind of silly to suggest that people/critics are 'overhyping' this album because they are wary of underrating it like they may of done with Pure Heroine. I believe it's more to do with Pure Heroine being a slowburner; I remember not being very keen the first 5 or even 6 listens but...""I think it's a kind of silly to suggest that people/critics are 'overhyping' this album because they are wary of underrating it like they may of done with Pure Heroine. I believe it's more to do with Pure Heroine being a slowburner; I remember not being very keen the first 5 or even 6 listens but now it's probably up there with my favourite pop records. Pure Heroine was great and so is Melodrama, perhaps greater. Pure Heroine was pretty leftfield as far as pop records go and had a great skeletal sound which some, including myself, are very fond of. Whereas Melodrama, while still maintaining and capitalising on the interesting qualities of the album before, is MORE of a pop record (catchier hooks, drops in the instrumentals etc.), which I feel isn't a bad thing but I can understand why others may be turned off. I do have to say, Melodrama's lyrical themes are a lot more interesting and matured then those of Pure Heroine. Now in doing this, Lorde has two releases that I enjoy for very different reasons and for a pop artist to stay fresh release after release can be quite an ask, particularly in such a washed out, bland pop industry. I don't think it's a case of overrating, this album is just more of a solid and accessible pop record that still maintains the interesting qualities of it's predecessor. Who knows; perhaps this record won't have the longevity of Pure Heroine for years to come but right now I'm impressed and jamming it pretty hard."  [More]  Reply  
- Sometype | 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:

662 charts

Rank Score:

5,541

Rank in 2017:

2

Rank in 2010s:

40

Overall Rank:

300

Average Rating:

 81 (798 votes)

Comments:

77

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. "  [More]  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:

577 charts

Rank Score:

4,399

Rank in 2017:

3

Rank in 2010s:

47

Overall Rank:

381

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. "  [More]  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:

4,317

Rank in 2017:

4

Rank in 2010s:

49

Overall Rank:

387

Average Rating:

 81 (619 votes)

Comments:

51

5.

Slowdive 

 Slowdive

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"For a period in my life, I couldn't believe that Slowdive would reunite and ever release another album. After a 22-year-long hiatus, they prove not only that they are a staple in the shoegazing genre, but also that their ambition has peaked to an unprecedented height. In comparison to the low-pro...""For a period in my life, I couldn't believe that Slowdive would reunite and ever release another album. After a 22-year-long hiatus, they prove not only that they are a staple in the shoegazing genre, but also that their ambition has peaked to an unprecedented height. In comparison to the low-profile Just for a Day and the beautiful yet depressive Souvlaki, this eponymous album witnesses their musicality unleashed in full scale. The long intro in the opening track Slomo, whose title by the way is very self-referential in terms of its song structure and the nature of the band's soundscape, is so daring to the point that during your frist listen, it keeps you wondering when or whether the vocal is going to kick in. The gentleness is well blended into the grandiose instrumentation, creating a paradoxical sense of wonder which leaves you desiring for more. But then there comes the second track, the show-stealer Star Roving, and it gets aggressive without being too blunt. These two songs pretty much sets up the foundation of the album's strong, optimistic and brave vibe wrapped betwixt certain touching and sadness-induced downers. It's as if dozens of rays of light penetrate the dark universe to guide you on a memorable journey when you listen to these songs. When it reaches the denouement, the melancholic Falling Ashes does a great job bidding you good night in an ambient sound with its crystal-clear piano serenade. For me, this is absolutely the best Slowdive album to date, and it gives me high hopes in their future work because it best bespeaks that they are reluctant to be bound by any prism of song-writing or music production. This is more than the best expectation for an evolution in the past 22 years that a fan could long for, and it's a huge step forward for shoegaze and for rock music in general in my humble opinion."  [More]  Reply  
- ilovelctr | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 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:

524 charts

Rank Score:

3,692

Rank in 2017:

5

Rank in 2010s:

62

Overall Rank:

457

Average Rating:

 80 (620 votes)

Comments:

46

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."  [More]  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:

454 charts

Rank Score:

3,270

Rank in 2017:

6

Rank in 2010s:

75

Overall Rank:

536

Average Rating:

 80 (607 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."  [More]  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:

465 charts

Rank Score:

2,880

Rank in 2017:

7

Rank in 2010s:

83

Overall Rank:

586

Average Rating:

 79 (553 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""  [More]  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:

499 charts

Rank Score:

2,714

Rank in 2017:

8

Rank in 2010s:

87

Overall Rank:

627

Average Rating:

 78 (627 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:

440 charts

Rank Score:

2,511

Rank in 2017:

9

Rank in 2010s:

102

Overall Rank:

687

Average Rating:

 78 (583 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 "  [More]  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:

2,502

Rank in 2017:

10

Rank in 2010s:

103

Overall Rank:

689

Average Rating:

 77 (612 votes)

Comments:

44

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 2017 composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	7	1%
Mach-Hommy	5	1%
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	4	0%
Brockhampton	3	0%
David Bowie	3	0%
Samantha Fish	2	0%
Sufjan Stevens	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	461	46%
	190	19%
	45	5%
	44	4%
	38	4%
	26	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%