Top Ten Albums of 2017 (Me)

Time for the annual deep dive back through the year to see what I think were the best albums released in 2017.  

A few preliminary notes:

• I'm 94% sure that I already know which album is my winner of the year, but I still want to go back through all of the albums I've heard in 2017 to make sure that my instinct is right.
• Since I made my 2016 list, other albums that were either released late in 2016 (Run the Jewels, looking at you) or that I never got around to hearing until 2017 (Paerish, Margaret Glaspy), have popped up and should have made that list.  I'm sure similar things will happen here, but I'll do the best I can.  That Paerish album still rules.
• Some albums aren't available on Spotify, so as usual I might not be able to hear them.  If you feel like I'm missing your favorite thing ever, let me know.
• I follow local badass record shop Waterloo Records on Twitter, and while I have purposefully avoided going out to see what others are putting in their top 10 albums of the year, I have noted some of the lists that Waterloo employees have published.  AND THEY ARE BATSHIT.  I'd say that at least 99% of them are entirely comprised of music I've never heard of.  Like not just an album that I didn't know an artist released, but like I've never even heard of any of the bands in the first place.  Go find "Corby" list, published Nov. 24, and other than QOTSA, I have no clue who any of those bands are.  Weird.

All the 2017 Albums I Might have Heard:

Anyhoo, I'm going to start this process by running through all of the albums that Wikipedia says came out in 2017.  Let's see which ones ring a bell that I heard them.

The xx - I See You, John Mayer - The Search for Everything, Japandroids - Near to the Wild Heart of Life, Migos - Culture, (man, January was a pretty bleak month for good album releases), Big Sean - I Decided, Future - Future, Ryan Adams - Prisoner, Strand of Oaks - Hard Love, Future - Hndrxx, King Gizzard... - Flying Mictrotonal Banana, Old 97's Graveyard Whistling, Thundercat - Drunk, Ed Sheeran - (symbol for division), Khalid - American Teen, Methyl Ethel - Everything is Forgotten, Temples - Volcano, (hahaha!, Bush put out a new album this year!), Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Navigator, The Shins - Heartworms, Valerie June - The Order of Time, Milky Chance - Blossom, Depeche Mode - Spirit, (Hey, Real Estate put out a new album I didn't notice!), Rick Ross - Rather You Than Me, Spoon - Hot Thoughts, Drake - More Life, Kodak Black - Painting Pictures, Mastodon - Emperor of Sand, The Chainsmokers - Memories...Do Not Open, Cold War Kids - L.A. Divine, Father John Misty - Pure Comedy, Karen Elson - Double Roses, (a new Mike and the Mechanics?  What?), The New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions, White Reaper - The World's Best American Band, Kendrick Lamar - DAMN, Incubus - 8, Sheryl Crow - Be Myself, Gorillaz - Humanz, Willie Nelson - God's Problem Child, Foster the People - III, At the Drive In - In ter a li a, (there is a band called Big Walnuts Yonder, FYI), Chris Stapleton - From a Room Vol. 1, Logic - Everybody, Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog, Harry Styles - Harry Styles, Machine Gun Kelly - bloom, Paramore - After Laughter, PWR BTTM - Pageant, XXXTentacion - Revenge, Linkin Park - One More Light, (by the way, Warrant, Papa Roach, and Quiet Riot are all still making new music), Snoop Dogg - Neva Left, Lil Yachty - Teenage Emotions, Alt-J - Relaxer, Bleachers - Gone Now, Dan Auerbach - Waiting on a Song, Vic Mensa - The Manuscript, Gov't Mule - Revolution Come...Revolution Go, (never did try out the new Katy Perry, huh...), Phoenix - Ti Amo, 2 Chainz - Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, Bassnectar - Reflective, Big Boi - Boomiverse, Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound, Lorde - Melodrama, Portugal. The Man - Woodstock, Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark?, DJ Khaled - Grateful, Jeff Tweedy - Together at Last, King Gizzard ... - Murder of the Universe, Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory, Jay-Z - 4:44, 21 Savage - Issa Album, Broken Social Scene - Hug of Thunder, Haim - Something to Tell You, Coldplay - Kaleidoscope, Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm, Foster the People - Sacred Hearts Club, Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life, Arcade Fire - Everything Now, Vic Mensa - The Autobiography, Kesha - Rainbow, ASAP Ferg - Still Striving, Action Bronson - Blue Chips 7000, ASAP Mob - Cozy Tapes Vol. 2., The Oh Sees - Orc, Queens of the Stone Age - Villians, LCD Soundsystem - American Dream, (there is a new Living Colour album!!!), Nothing but Thieves - Broken Machine, Foo Fighters - Concrete and Cold, Prophets of Rage - Prophets of Rage, The Killers - Wonderful Wonderful, Macklemore - Gemini, Primus - The Desaturating Seven, Wolf Alice - Visions of a Life, Liam Gallagher - As You Were, Beck - Colors, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice, Robert Plant - Carry Fire, St. Vincent - Masseduction, Margo Price - All American Made, Big KRIT - 4eva is a Mighty Long Time, Weezer - Pacific Daydream, Grace VanderWaal - Just the Beginning, King Gizzard ... - Polydondwanaland, Bjork - Utopia, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Chris Stapleton - From a Room Vol. 2, U2 - Songs of Experience, Taylor Swift - Reputation, Eminem - Revival.

Whew.  Quite a pile up.  But, I already know that many of those won't even come close to the top of my list, because things like the new Jay Z album blow.  Let's get to it, after one additional anecdote.  Last night, I was talking Taylor Swift with my daughters and I was OVERJOYED to hear them say it was a weak album.  My son may be a musical lost cause, but maybe the girls know what is up.  The older one said that she just didn't like the lyrics.  YES!  I spent a few hours with that album in the car the other day, and in comparison to the great tunes on Red or 1989, Reputation is just very derivative and boring.  Without further blathering, my top ten for 2017.

Jack's Top Ten for 2017:

1. Beck - Colors.  I still can't get enough of this album.  I went out and bought it on vinyl the other day to prove my devotion and to further my hipster cred with the world.  From the opening sparkle and funk of "Colors" to the hyped-up jam of "I'm so Free," to the excellent three song chunk in the middle - "Dreams" to "Wow" to "Up All Night."  The album references some of his weirder, quirky days from Odelay, but brings that forward into the more electro sound of now.  The main thing about the album is that it is freaking ridiculously fun.  I love rock and I love hip hop and this has elements of both, shoved into a joyously funky mash.  Give it to me.

2. Queens of the Stone Age - Villains.  Another album that taps into my happiness zone and just makes me glad to listen to music.  More groove-based rock and roll, swaggering and brawny, but with enough pop sensibility to make it more fun than just some cock rock chug-fest.  "Feet Don't Fail Me" is a great intro, ominously building up to the breakdown roar of the opening.  "The Way You Used to Do" shows that pop side, hand-claps and loose bounce with Josh Homme's leering lyrics cruising along with it.  I also went out and bought this album on vinyl the other day - went right after Record Store Day so that I could get the limited edition cover with the devil flipping double birds.  Which is an absolute indication that I have too much disposable income and need to get my priorities straight.  And then this track, which has odd time signatures to go with the great guitar work and groove.  Good stuff.

3. Chris Stapleton - Songs From a Room, Vol. 1 & 2.  As I mentioned in one of my reviews for these two albums (which I'm treating as one album here), I'm a drooling fanboy for this guy's tuneful, soulful, bluesy outlaw country sound.  These songs are great.

4. Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark.  Also a raging boner-eared nerd for these dudes.  I've seen them twice because of ACL Fest, but I'd go see them again immediately if they were coming through town right now.  Heavy, groove-based rock, this stuff speaks to me.

My wife is extremely sick of coming home to me blaring these songs on the Sonos system in the house when I think I'm home alone and can therefore get my blaring rock and roll fire on.

5. Arcade Fire - Everything Now.  I bought this album almost as soon as I streamed it a few times, I loved it immediately.  Something in the melancholy spirit of the album spoke to me right away, and it still wipes me out sometimes when I'm driving around and a lyric catches me crossways all over again.  "Creature Comfort" wasn't my favorite song right away (that was probably "Chemistry" or "Everything Now") but the lyrics have snuck up on me repeatedly.  

"God, make me famous, If You can't, just make it painless, Just make it painless."  Something about that, while I'm raising kids in an age of continuous connection and feedback, and still remembering my own times of coming up through those feelings.  "It's not painless. She was a friend of mine, a friend of mine. And we're not nameless, oh."  Suicide is just such a shitty damn shit thing.  After just watching Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway and then listening to this song again, I'm going to need to go jam some Royal Blood for a couple of hours.  Anyway, this album is very good stuff, I dig the Arcade Fire.

6. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.  Kendrick has so much to live up to in his catalog, so this one doesn't make the top of my list, but it is still very good.  But Good Kid and Pimp a Butterfly are just better.  This one is still a great mix of brawn and lithe lyricism that will last.  I just wish he hadn't done all those stupid sounding shoutout aside things ("NEW KUNGFU KENNY!") throughout.

I just ran through it again this morning before publishing this, and it is so well done.  It maybe should be above Arcade Fire.
7. Pearl Jam - Let's Play Two.  Now, I know that it is unorthodox to have a live double-disc album of songs that are previously released creep its way up into a current top ten list.  But honestly, while looking up and down my list of the albums that might make this list, I'll probably keep listening to this one before many of the others on the list.  But the joy that I derive from listening to this faithful reproduction of these classic songs, and the goosebumps that roll up my arms as I sing along, is just too good for me to pass this up and act like I'm not going to keep this album around for a long ass time.

8. U2 - Songs of Experience.  My review of this one is so comprehensive and freshly written that I won't even try to re-do it here.  It might belong a little higher up on this list, but I'm satisfied with it down here for now.  Classic U2.

9. Spoon - Hot Thoughts.  I was extremely bummed to miss out on them for ACL this year, as this was a very enjoyable album and I've never seen them live.  As the current hot Austin band out there in the universe, I feel like a bad Austinite to have never seen them live.  Great rock and roll with a good groove.

10.  J. Roddy Walston & the Business - Destroyers of the Soft Life.  These guys can go from raw, ripped-up rock and roll to a new, cleaner modern rock sound, and I'm in on both of them.  This is that cleaner sound, like Kings of Leon type stuff, or Moon Taxi stuff, and its just plain good rock and roll.

I think the band name is the only thing holding those dudes back from future stardom.  That song right there should be on every alternative rock station right now.

The close misses: If I made a 19 album list, then you'd see more discussion of these nine.

John Mayer's Theory of Everything, Dan Auerbach's Waiting on a Song, Nothing But Thieves' Broken Machine, Temples' Volcano, Waxahatchee's Out in the Storm, War on Drugs' A Deeper Understanding, Liam Gallagher's As You Were, and Broken Social Scene's Hug of Thunder.  In addition, I have to note that the new Jason Isbell is really very good, but it is such an unrelenting bummer that I refused to put it on my list.  Very well done, though.

Albums that I expect to see on other people's top ten list that will baffle me to my grave: Taylor Swift's Reputation, Jay-Z's 4:44, Drake's More Life, Migos, Future, (pretty much 98% of all rap this year), Gorillaz's Humanz, and Lorde's Melodrama.

Good year.  I feel like I accomplished a lot in my music listening and fandom and live music seeing and writing here.  Hope you have enjoyed some of it as well.  Now, time to go read up on other people's top ten lists and learn about all the good music I've missed out on.