Favorite 50 Albums of 2017

2017 has been another fabulous year for music. Numerous bands and artists made triumphant returns, dozens of newcomers took music to new heights, and some established stars aged like fine wines. With the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time to review the year that was. For the last five days, we shared our Favorite 50 Albums of 2017. If you missed it, here’s an opportunity to catch up on what blew us away. A playlist is provided on SoundCloud (GO account required) and Spotify. Think of this as our gift to you.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Part 1:

Aldous Harding – Party (Flying Nun Records / 4AD)
Algiers – The Underside of Power (Matador Records)
Alvvays – Antisocialites (Royal Mountain Records / Polyvinyl Records / Transgressive Records)
Arcane Roots – Melancholia Hymns (Easy Life)
Big Thief – Capacity (Saddle Creek Records)
The Black Angels – Death Song (Partisan Records)
Bully – Losing (Sub Pop)
Chelsea Wolfe – Hiss Spun (Sargent House)
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – Lotta Sea Lice (Matador Records / Milk Records)
Curtis Harding – Face Your Fear (Anti Records)

Part 2:

Dan Auerbach – Waiting for a Song (Easy Eye Sound)
Father John Misty – Pure Comedy (Sub Pop / Bella Union)
Fleet Foxes – Crack Up (Nonesuch Records)
Florist – If Blue Could Be Happiness (Double Double Whammy)
Future Islands – The Far Field (4AD)
Gang of Youths – Go Farther in Lightness (Sony Music Australia)
Girlpool – Powerplant (Anti Records)
Hand Habits – Wildly Idle (Humble Before the Void) (WOODSIST)
Hurray for the Riff Raff – Navigator (ATO Records)
Japanese Breakfast – Soft Sounds from Another Planet (Dead Oceans)

Part 3:

Jay Som – Everybody Works (Polyvinyl Records)
Julia Holter – In the Same Room (Domino Recording Co.)
Julie Byrne – Not Even Happiness (Ba Da Bing Records)
Julien Baker – Turn Out the Lights (Matador Records)
Kevin Morby – City Music (Dead Oceans)
Mt. Wolf – Aetherlight (CRC Music)
Nadia Reid – Preservation (Spunk Records / Basin Rock Records)
The National – Sleep Well Beast (4AD)
Nicole Atkins – Goodnight Rhonda Lee (self-released)
Noah Gundersen – White Noise (Cooking Vinyl)

Part 4:

Noga Erez – Off the Radar (City Slang)
Perfume Genius – No Shape (Matador Records)
Phenomenal Creature – Vettenvalvoja (self-released)
Phoebe Bridgers – Stranger In The Alps (Dead Oceans)
Priests – Nothing Feels Natural (Sister Polygon)
PUMAROSA – The Witch (Harvest Records / Fiction Records)
Real Estate – In Mind (Domino Recording Co.)
Ryan Adams – Prisoner (PaxAm)
Sleep Party People – Lingering (Joyful Noise Recordings)
Sløtface – Try Not to Freak Out (Propeller Recordings)

Part 5:

Slowdive – Slowdive (Dead Oceans)
Spoon – Hot Thoughts (Matador Records)
Strand of Oaks – Hard Love (Dead Oceans)
Sundara Karma – Youth Is Only Fun in Retrospect (Sony Music / Chess Club Records)
TEN FÉ – Hit the Light (PIAS)
Tim Darcy – Saturday Night (Jagjaguwar)
TORRES – Three Futures (4AD)
The War On Drugs – A Deeper Understanding (Atlantic Records / Warner Music Canada)
Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life (Dirty Hit / RCA Records / Liberator Music)
Wolf Parade – Cry Cry Cry (Sub Pop)