Year-End Lists

Pazz & Jop: Top 100 Albums of 2017 (an annual poll of more than 400 critics, published by The Village Voice)

[see also 2018 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. DAMN.
   Kendrick Lamar
2. Ctrl
   SZA
3. MASSEDUCTION
   St. Vincent
4. Melodrama
   Lorde
5. The Nashville Sound
   Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
6. A Deeper Understanding
   The War on Drugs
7. Slowdive
   Slowdive
8. 4:44
   JAY-Z
9. american dream
   LCD Soundsystem
10. Out in the Storm
    Waxahatchee
11. Black Origami
    Jlin
12. Pure Comedy
    Father John Misty
13. Drunk
    Thundercat
14. Sleep Well Beast
    The National
15. A Crow Looked at Me
    Mount Eerie
16. Take Me Apart
    Kelela
17. Big Fish Theory
    Vince Staples
18. No Shape
    Perfume Genius
19. Life Will See You Now
    Jens Lekman
19. Culture
    Migos
21. Hot Thoughts
    Spoon
22. The Navigator
    Hurray for the Riff Raff
23. The OOZ
    King Krule
24. Process
    Sampha
25. Nothing Feels Natural
    Priests
26. Freedom Highway
    Rhiannon Giddens
27. Aromanticism
    Moses Sumney
28. 50 Song Memoir
    The Magnetic Fields
29. The Underside of Power
    Algiers
29. Dark Matter
    Randy Newman
31. Antisocialites
    Alvvays
32. Rainbow
    Ke$ha
33. Run the Jewels 3
    Run the Jewels
34. Utopia
    Björk
35. All American Made
    Margo Price
36. Turn Out the Lights
    Julien Baker
37. Lust for Life
    Lana Del Rey
38. I See You
    The xx
39. Capacity
    Big Thief
40. The Kid
    Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
41. Everybody Works
    Jay Som
42. Guppy
    Charly Bliss
43. The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone
    Lee Ann Womack
44. After Laughter
    Paramore
45. Kelly Lee Owens
    Kelly Lee Owens
46. Freudian
    Daniel Caesar
46. Rest
    Charlotte Gainsbourg
48. Soul of a Woman
    Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
49. Fin
    Syd
50. Whiteout Conditions
    The New Pornographers
51. War & Leisure
    Miguel
52. Lotta Sea Lice
    Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
52. Harry Styles
    Harry Styles
54. More Life
    Drake
55. Not Even Happiness
    Julie Byrne
56. Soft Sounds from Another Planet
    Japanese Breakfast
56. I Love You Like a Brother
    Alex Lahey
58. American Teen
    Khalid
59. Need to Feel Your Love
    Sheer Mag
60. Mental Illness
    Aimee Mann
60. Brick Body Kids Still Daydream
    Open Mike Eagle
62. The Hanged Man
    Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
62. Harmony of Difference
    Kamasi Washington
64. Music for the Age of Miracles
    The Clientele
65. Plunge
    Fever Ray
65. Nightmare Logic
    Power Trip
65. Relatives in Descent
    Protomartyr
68. Bells For the South Side
    Roscoe Mitchell
68. Flower Boy
    Tyler, The Creator
70. Prisoner
    Ryan Adams
71. reputation
    Taylor Swift
72. Stranger in the Alps
    Phoebe Bridgers
73. World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane
    Alice Coltrane
73. SweetSexySavage
    Kehlani
75. Fly or Die
    Jaimie Branch
76. For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986
    The Replacements
77. Crack-Up
    Fleet Foxes
77. HNDRXX
    Future
79. Feel Your Feelings Fool!
    The Regrettes
79. Hippopotamus
    Sparks
79. What Now
    Sylvan Esso
82. Robyn Hitchcock
    Robyn Hitchcock
83. Reflections of a Floating World
    Elder
84. In Between
    The Feelies
85. The Courtneys II
    The Courtneys
85. Villains
    Queens of the Stone Age
87. Ash
    Ibeyi
87. Beach House 3
    Ty Dolla $ign
89. The Order of Time
    Valerie June
89. Semper Femina
    Laura Marling
91. Number 1 Angel
    Charli XCX
91. The Dusk In Us
    Converge
91. Okovi
    Zola Jesus
94. Dedicated To Bobby Jameson
    Ariel Pink
95. Near To The Wild Heart Of Life
    Japandroids
95. Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng
    Orchestra Baobab
97. Halo
    Juana Molina
98. Simultonality
    Joshua Abrams
98. Exile In the Outer Ring
    EMA
98. From A Room: Volume 1
    Chris Stapleton
98. Songs of Experience
    U2

Robert Christgau: Dean's List 2017

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2012]

1. Dark Matter
   Randy Newman
2. American Epic: The Best of Blues
   various artists
3. A Crow Looked at Me
   Mount Eerie
4. Whiteout Conditions
   The New Pornographers
5. American Epic: The Soundtrack
   various artists
6. 1992 Deluxe
   Princess Nokia
7. Love and War
   Brad Paisley
8. Tackle Box
   Hamell On Trial
9. Out in the Storm
   Waxahatchee
10. Nothing Rhymes with Orange
    Dawn Oberg
11. Trophy
    Sunny Sweeney
12. The Nashville Sound
    Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
13. Rough Guide to the Music of West Africa
    various artists
14. Chuck
    Chuck Berry
15. Life Will See You Now
    Jens Lekman
16. American Epic: The Collection
    various artists
17. Talk Tight
    Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
18. Rough Guide to Jug Band Blues
    various artists
19. American Teen
    Khalid
20. Step Brothers THREE
    Starlito & Don Trip
21. Andalusia of Love
    Marcel Khalife & Mahmoud Darwish
22. La Voz Indómita
    Mariem Hassan
23. Triple Fat Lice
    Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman
24. The Night Took Us in Like Family
    L'Orange & Jeremiah Jae
25. République Amazone
    Les Amazones d’Afrique
26. 50 Song Memoir
    The Magnetic Fields
27. DAMN.
    Kendrick Lamar
28. Ladilikan
    Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet
29. Oversleepers International
    Emperor X
30. Electric Trim
    Lee Ranaldo
31. 1999
    Joey Bada$$
32. The Bob's Burgers Music Album
    various artists
33. Key To The Kuffs
    JJ DOOM
34. Veins
    Homeboy Sandman
35. City of No Reply
    Amber Coffman
36. Fake Sugar
    Beth Ditto
37. 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo
    Pere Ubu
38. Sleep Well Beast
    The National
39. The Underside of Power
    Algiers
40. Celebrate Ornette
    Ornette Coleman
41. Bloodlust
    Body Count
42. Cashmere
    Swet Shop Boys
43. Recitative
    Robt Sarazin Blake
44. The World of Captain Beefheart
    Nona Hendryx & Gary Lucas
45. Seekers and Finders
    Gogol Bordello
46. 4:44
    JAY-Z
47. The Iceberg
    Oddisee
48. Resolution
    The Perceptionists
49. Thawing Dawn
    A Savage
50. Under Cöver
    Motörhead
51. Above Ground Fools
    Matt North
52. Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng
    Orchestra Baobab
53. You Want It Darker
    Leonard Cohen
54. War Surplus
    Becky Warren
55. Culture
    Migos
56. Home Counties
    Saint Etienne
57. Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams
    various artists
58. Ad Out
    Dylan Hicks
59. Brick Body Kids Still Daydream
    Open Mike Eagle
60. Macgregor Park
    Fat Tony
61. Need to Feel Your Love
    Sheer Mag
62. Zonkey
    Umphrey's McGee
63. Fin
    Syd
64. Pollinator
    Blondie
65. Made in the Manor
    Kano
66. Antisocialites
    Alvvays
67. Can We Still Hang
    Daddy Issues
68. Big Fish Theory
    Vince Staples
69. Deer Tick, Vol. 2
    Deer Tick
70. Life Without Sound
    Cloud Nothings
71. Rock & Roll Music: Songs Of Chuck Berry
    various artists
72. Devil Is Fine
    Zeal & Ardor
73. So You Wannabe an Outlaw
    Steve Earle & The Dukes
74. NOW That's What I Call 90s Pop
    various artists
75. Wrangled
    Angaleena Presley
76. Underworld USA
    The Paranoid Style
77. Playboi Carti
    Playboi Carti
78. Sufi La
    Swet Shop Boys
79. American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story
    Kevin Abstract
80. Changer
    Fred Thomas
81. NOW That's What I Call Tailgate Anthems
    various artists
82. 24 Classic Blues Songs From The 1920's: Vol. 15
    various artists
83. We're All in This Together
    Hard Working Americans
84. Salutations
    Conor Oberst
85. Around Félicité (Original Soundtrack)
    Kasai All Stars
86. Battle Hymns
    various artists
87. Deep Dream
    Daddy Issues
88. Drool
    Nnamdi Ogbonnaya
89. Up to Anything
    The Goon Sax
90. South Texas Suite
    Whitney Rose

Jim Fusilli: Best Albums of 2017, as published by The Wall Street Journal

• Hot Thoughts
  Spoon
• Prisoner
  Ryan Adams
• The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone
  Lee Ann Womack
• Painted Ruins
  Grizzly Bear
• The Temple of I & I
  Thievery Corporation
• The Iceberg
  Oddisee
• Black Origami
  Jlin
• Aromanticism
  Moses Sumney
• I See You
  The xx
• Slowdive
  Slowdive
• Fake Sugar
  Beth Ditto
• Reflections of a Floating World
  Elder

The Stranger: Top Ten Albums of 2017, plus a list of “besties.” See also their list of albums by local Seattle bands on the same page.

• Utopia
  Björk
• Witness
  Benjamin Booker
• Drunk
  Thundercat
• Big Fish Theory
  Vince Staples
• Anguilla Electrica
  Porter Ricks
• Take Me Apart
  Kelela
• All My Circles Run
  Sarah Davachi
• Melodrama
  Lorde
• Musas
  Natalia Lafourcade
• Plunge
  Fever Ray

Besties

• Prince of Tears
  Baxter Dury
• Ctrl
  SZA
• A World of Masks
  The Heliocentrics
• Losing
  Bully
• Three Futures
  TORRES
• Robyn Hitchcock
  Robyn Hitchcock
• Villains
  Queens of the Stone Age
• Volcano
  Temples
• Out in the Storm
  Waxahatchee
• Tourist in This Town
  Allison Crutchfield
• Somersault
  Beach Fossils
• SATURATION II
  BROCKHAMPTON
• Deer Tick, Vol. 1
  Deer Tick
• Deer Tick, Vol. 1
  Deer Tick
• Capacity
  Big Thief
• Freedom Highway
  Rhiannon Giddens
• The Hanged Man
  Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
• Hey Mr Ferryman
  Mark Eitzel
• MASSEDUCTION
  St. Vincent
• Sleep Well Beast
  The National
• City Music
  Kevin Morby
• Swim Inside the Moon
  Angelo De Augustine
• 50 Song Memoir
  The Magnetic Fields
• Process
  Sampha
• Or
  Eyelids
• English Tapas
  Sleaford Mods

In Review Online: Best Albums of 2017

1. Something To Tell You
   HAIM
2. Melodrama
   Lorde
3. Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1
   Lil Peep
4. MASSEDUCTION
   St. Vincent
5. A Crow Looked at Me
   Mount Eerie
6. Plunge
   Fever Ray
7. New Energy
   Four Tet
8. Big Fish Theory
   Vince Staples
9. 4:44
   JAY-Z
10. DAMN.
    Kendrick Lamar
11. I See You
    The xx
12. Flower Boy
    Tyler, The Creator
13. Black Cab
    Higher Brothers
14. async
    Ryuichi Sakamoto
15. No Shape
    Perfume Genius

The Wild Honey Pie: Top 30 Albums of 2017

[see also 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2016]

1. Capacity
   Big Thief
2. Aromanticism
   Moses Sumney
3. Stranger in the Alps
   Phoebe Bridgers
4. Utopia
   Björk
5. Melodrama
   Lorde
6. MASSEDUCTION
   St. Vincent
7. Turn Out the Lights
   Julien Baker
8. DAMN.
   Kendrick Lamar
9. Young
   Overcoats
10. A Crow Looked at Me
    Mount Eerie
11. Cigarettes After Sex
    Cigarettes After Sex
12. Ctrl
    SZA
13. RELAXER
    alt-J
14. Something To Tell You
    HAIM
15. Crack-Up
    Fleet Foxes
16. The Wilds
    Henry Jamison
17. Big Fish Theory
    Vince Staples
18. Infinite Worlds
    Vagabon
19. Not Even Happiness
    Julie Byrne
20. american dream
    LCD Soundsystem
21. The OOZ
    King Krule
22. What Now
    Sylvan Esso
23. Slowdive
    Slowdive
24. No Shape
    Perfume Genius
25. Prisoner
    Ryan Adams
26. Everybody Works
    Jay Som
27. Nothing Feels Natural
    Priests
28. Glasshouse
    Jessie Ware
29. Flower Boy
    Tyler, The Creator
30. Rocket
    (Sandy) Alex G

The Alternative: Top 50 Releases of 2017

[see also 2022 • 2018]

1. The Yunahon Mixtape
   Oso Oso
2. Turn Out the Lights
   Julien Baker
3. DAMN.
   Kendrick Lamar
4. Guppy
   Charly Bliss
5. Plastic Cough
   Great Grandpa
6. Precious Art
   Rozwell Kid
7. You’re Not As _____ As You Think
   Sorority Noise
8. Daymoon
   Strange Ranger
9. First Things First
   Hodera
10. Capacity
    Big Thief
11. As You Please
    Citizen
12. Greatest Hits
    Remo Drive
13. Pleasure Suck
    The Spirit Of The Beehive
14. The Incessant
    Meat Wave
15. A Hairshirt of Purpose
    Pile
16. Rocket
    (Sandy) Alex G
17. Birdie
    Slaughter Beach, Dog
18. Ctrl
    SZA
19. Here Again
    A Will Away
20. Losing
    Bully
21. No One Loves You
    Blis
22. The Dusk In Us
    Converge
23. Soft Sounds from Another Planet
    Japanese Breakfast
24. Dixieland
    Greet Death
25. Infinite Hiatus
    Cool American
26. GN
    Ratboys
27. Wild Pink
    Wild Pink
28. Flower Boy
    Tyler, The Creator
29. Still, I Try
    Fire is Motion
30. Pretty Girls Like Trap Music
    2 Chainz
31. The Obsessives
    The Obsessives
32. Run the Jewels 3
    Run the Jewels
33. Smidley
    Smidley
34. What Not to Do
    Perspective, a Lovely Hand to Hold
35. Nothing Special
    Harmony Woods
36. Brick Body Kids Still Daydream
    Open Mike Eagle
37. All Aboard
    Washer
38. Gloom Cruise
    Walter Etc.
39. SATURATION
    BROCKHAMPTON
39. SATURATION II
    BROCKHAMPTON
39. SATURATION III
    BROCKHAMPTON
40. Exposure & Response
    Mo Troper
41. No Mountains in Manhattan
    Wiki
42. Melodrama
    Lorde
43. Swear I’m Good At This
    Diet Cig
44. Brokenlegged
    Sinai Vessel
45. Always Foreign
    The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
46. Everybody Works
    Jay Som
47. Lvndr Twn
    Jelani Sei
48. Stranger in the Alps
    Phoebe Bridgers
49. The Manson Family
    Heart Attack Man
50. Summer Megalith
    Caracara

Vibe Magazine: 25 Best Albums of 2017 (“in nonsequential order”)

[see also 2019 • 2018]

• Rather You Than Me
  Rick Ross
• Gang Signs & Prayer
  Stormzy
• Big Fish Theory
  Vince Staples
• At What Cost
  GoldLink
• blkswn
  Smino
• DAMN.
  Kendrick Lamar
• Luv Is Rage 2
  Lil Uzi Vert
• 4:44
  JAY-Z
• The Never Story
  JID
• Take Me Apart
  Kelela
• Culture
  Migos
• Jungle Rules
  French Montana
• More Life
  Drake
• 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
  Big K.R.I.T.
• Freudian
  Daniel Caesar
• Laila’s Wisdom
  Rapsody
• Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1
  Calvin Harris
• Lust for Life
  Lana Del Rey
• Flower Boy
  Tyler, The Creator
• Process
  Sampha
• Energía Lado B
  J Balvin
• Pretty Girls Like Trap Music
  2 Chainz
• Ctrl
  SZA
• Sonder Son
  Brent Faiyaz
• Still Striving
  A$AP Ferg

Under the Radar: Top 100 Albums of 2017

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. A Deeper Understanding
   The War on Drugs
2. Turn Out the Lights
   Julien Baker
3. MASSEDUCTION
   St. Vincent
4. Slowdive
   Slowdive
5. Visions of a Life
   Wolf Alice
6. DAMN.
   Kendrick Lamar
7. Sleep Well Beast
   The National
8. Painted Ruins
   Grizzly Bear
9. Pure Comedy
   Father John Misty
10. Soft Sounds from Another Planet
    Japanese Breakfast
11. Hug of Thunder
    Broken Social Scene
12. american dream
    LCD Soundsystem
13. Hot Thoughts
    Spoon
14. V
    The Horrors
15. Rest
    Charlotte Gainsbourg
16. Lotta Sea Lice
    Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
17. Crack-Up
    Fleet Foxes
18. No Shape
    Perfume Genius
19. A Crow Looked at Me
    Mount Eerie
20. Antisocialites
    Alvvays
21. Capacity
    Big Thief
22. Stellular
    Rose Elinor Dougall
23. Planetarium
    Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister
24. Aromanticism
    Moses Sumney
25. Everybody Works
    Jay Som
26. Cry Cry Cry
    Wolf Parade
27. Hang
    Foxygen
28. The OOZ
    King Krule
29. Kelly Lee Owens
    Kelly Lee Owens
30. Pleasure
    Feist
31. Utopia
    Björk
32. Plunge
    Fever Ray
33. The Far Field
    Future Islands
34. Little Fictions
    Elbow
35. Willowbank
    Yumi Zouma
36. The Underside of Power
    Algiers
37. Life Will See You Now
    Jens Lekman
38. Earl Grey
    Girl Ray
39. I See You
    The xx
40. Saturn Over Sunset
    Midnight Sister
41. Whiteout Conditions
    The New Pornographers
42. I’m Not Your Man
    Marika Hackman
43. Relatives in Descent
    Protomartyr
44. Love What Survives
    Mount Kimbie
45. Bedouine
    Bedouine
46. I Love You Like a Brother
    Alex Lahey
47. Stranger in the Alps
    Phoebe Bridgers
48. Room 29
    Chilly Gonzales & Jarvis Cocker
49. Prince of Tears
    Baxter Dury
50. Silver Eye
    Goldfrapp
51. Ctrl
    SZA
52. City Music
    Kevin Morby
53. Volcano
    Temples
54. Out in the Storm
    Waxahatchee
55. Big Fish Theory
    Vince Staples
56. Melodrama
    Lorde
57. Luciferian Towers
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor
58. Semper Femina
    Laura Marling
59. Weather Diaries
    Ride
60. Bravado
    Kirin J Callinan
61. RELAXER
    alt-J
62. Drunk
    Thundercat
63. Okovi
    Zola Jesus
64. Process
    Sampha
65. The Hanged Man
    Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
66. Dirty Projectors
    Dirty Projectors
67. Green Twins
    Nick Hakim
68. Last Place
    Grandaddy
69. Ti Amo
    Phoenix
70. In Spades
    The Afghan Whigs
71. Glasshouse
    Jessie Ware
72. Not Even Happiness
    Julie Byrne
73. Modern Kosmology
    Jane Weaver
74. Night Night At the First Landing
    Madeline Kenney
75. ken
    Destroyer
76. Mountain Moves
    Deerhoof
77. Soul of a Woman
    Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
78. Ununiform
    Tricky
79. The Weather Station
    The Weather Station
80. Let the Dancers Inherit the Party
    British Sea Power
81. Powerplant
    girlpool
82. Home Counties
    Saint Etienne
83. Future Politics
    Austra
84. Goths
    The Mountain Goats
85. Holiday Destination
    Nadine Shah
86. Nothing Feels Natural
    Priests
87. Every Country’s Sun
    Mogwai
88. Somersault
    Beach Fossils
89. Oczy Mlody
    The Flaming Lips
90. Run the Jewels 3
    Run the Jewels
91. World Eater
    Blanck Mass
92. The Weather
    Pond
93. Season High
    Little Dragon
94. Harmony of Difference
    Kamasi Washington
95. This Old Dog
    Mac DeMarco
96. Haiku From Zero
    Cut Copy
97. Pleasure
    Sondre Lerche
98. Morningside
    Fazerdaze
99. Exile In the Outer Ring
    EMA
100. Moonshine Freeze
     This Is the Kit

gal-dem: 27 Albums That Made Our 2017

[see also 2018 • 2016 • 2015]

• At What Cost
  GoldLink
• American Teen
  Khalid
• Drunk
  Thundercat
• AZD
  Actress
• Common Sense
  J Hus
• Humanz
  Gorillaz
• Cost of Living
  Downtown Boys
• Strike a Match
  SACRED PAWS
• Gang Signs & Prayer
  Stormzy
• 4:44
  JAY-Z
• Process
  Sampha
• Needle Paw
  Nai Palm
• Freudian
  Daniel Caesar
• Ctrl
  SZA
• Cleo
  Charlotte Dos Santos
• DAMN.
  Kendrick Lamar
• Migration
  Bonobo
• Voyager
  Moonchild
• Weighing of the Heart
  Nabihah Iqbal
• blkswn
  Smino
• Fin
  Syd
• Flower Boy
  Tyler, The Creator
• Sonder Son
  Brent Faiyaz
• SATURATION
  BROCKHAMPTON
• SATURATION II
  BROCKHAMPTON
• SATURATION III
  BROCKHAMPTON
• Wallflower
  Jordan Rakei
• Girlhood Vol. 1
  Girlhood
• 7 Days
  Krept and Konan
• 7 Nights
  Krept and Konan