In a year as full of outstanding music as 2017, best-of voting can be a difficult task, and the wide variety of nominees across this year’s ballots reflects just how many great albums there were to choose from. After giving our Best Albums Of 2017 a read, dig into the individual lists our writers submitted of their favorite LPs, honorable mentions, EPs, and plenty more.
David Anthony
Top 10 LPs
1. Pile, A Hairshirt Of Purpose: This should come as no surprise. I love this band, I love this record, and it’s one of the few albums I can put on repeat and still have it hit me like it did the first time through.
2. Vagabon, Infinite Worlds: Much like the Pile record, I’ve listened to Infinite Worlds so many times it may as well be imprinted on my brain. But even then, the end of “Alive And A Well” still makes the hairs on my arms stand up by the end of it, no matter how well I know it.
3. Power Trip, Nightmare Logic: This is the most fun I had listening to a metal record this year. It’s vintage thrash with the softest hint of death metal tossed in, proving the so-called “thrash revival” is more than an assortment of derivatives.
4. (Sandy) Alex G, Rocket: Though many of Alex Giannascoli’s diehards would consider this statement sacrilege, Rocket is the first album of his that lacks any filler. On Rocker, Giannascoli is at his best, both as a songwriter and performer, and this record is his artistic peak—at least thus far.
5. Melkbelly, Nothing Valley: Melkbelly has been positioned as one of Chicago’s best bands for some time, and Nothing Valley cements those claims. “Kid Kreative” has been stuck in my head since I first heard it and, at this point, I hope that never changes.
6. Elder, Reflections On A Floating World: By now, we’re pretty well aware of what genres blend together well. Mixing stoner metal with prog-rock’s sprawl with hints of psych isn’t totally new ground, but few do it as well as Elder, and Reflections On A Floating World is easily their best record yet.
7. Meat Wave, The Incessant: I’ve championed Meat Wave for a long time, but this Chicago trio has made consistently great records, and The Incessant is far and away the most awe-inspiring. It’s dark, bleak, and furious, making for the kind of post-hardcore meets noise-rock totem that this decade is in need of.
8. Ratboys, GN: Ratboys have always been a good band. But, with GN, they became a great one. The way in which they blend alt-country with buzzy, borderline pop-punk shouldn’t work, but it totally does.
9. Bell Witch, Mirror Reaper: A single, 83-minute track by a funeral doom band is no easy sell, but it’s an incredibly rewarding journey if you’re willing to stick with it.
10. Katie Ellen, Cowgirl Blues: Last year’s TV Dreams EP wrecked me, and on the debut full-length, Anika Pyle made a record so effortlessly catchy that it almost hides how soul-rattling the subject matter is. Almost.
The next 10
11. Slaughter Beach, Dog, Birdie: This is the new Weakerthans record we’ve all been waiting for.
12. Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, DROOL: Nnamdi Ogbonnaya is unparalleled as a musician. At this point, I’m convinced he can do no wrong.
13. Phoebe Bridgers, Stranger In The Alps: This record just keeps growing on me, due in large part to the subtle humorous moments that Bridgers bakes into her lyrics.
14. Cloakroom, Time Well: The pride of Northwest Indiana returns with a sprawling album that’s equally indebted to Jason Molina and Jesu, threading a needle that only Cloakroom can.
15. Sampha, Process: Sampha’s debut was hotly anticipated and in no way did it disappoint. It’s an evocative, moving listen packed full of hooks that come so naturally to him it’s astounding.
16. Couch Slut, Control: The excellent follow-up to My Life As A Woman makes for a listen that’s jarring and uneasy, with saxophone squeals undercutting noise-rock blasts, proving Couch Slut is in a league of its own.
17. Julien Baker, Turn Out The Lights: Julien Baker’s second album builds on the intimacy she established on Sprained Ankle, only with a more refined, worldly outlook.
18. Caddywhompus, Odd Hours: Math-rock gets a bad rap, but Caddywhompus shows that it’s a genre only limited by the creator’s ambition.
19. Career Suicide, Machine Response: Machine Response is proof positive that the best vintage-sounding American hardcore is the kind that makes room for guitar solos befitting of Iron Maiden records.
20. Worriers, Survival Pop: Lauren Denitzio has been one of pop-punk’s sharpest songwriters, and Survival Pop is the personal, affecting album that scene has long needed.
Top five EPs
1. Palm, Shadow Expert
2. False, Hunger
3. Liquids, More Thana Friend
4. Slaughter Beach, Dog, Motorcycle. jpg
5. Fire Is Motion, Still, I Try
A.A. Dowd
Top 10 LPs
1. Lorde, Melodrama
2. Mount Eerie, A Crow Looked At Me
3. Bell Witch, Mirror Reaper
4. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN
5. The War On Drugs, A Deeper Understanding
6. White Reaper, The World’s Best American Band
7. Planning For Burial, Below The House
8. Japanese Breakfast, Soft Sounds From Another Planet
9. Elder, Reflections Of A Floating World
10. Waxahatchee, Out In The Storm
The next 10
11. Ex Eye, Ex Eye
12. Power Trip, Nightmare Logic
13. Vagabon, Infinite Worlds
14. The xx, I See You
15. Tyler, The Creator, Flower Boy
16. Big Brave, Ardor
17. Perfume Genius, No Shape
18. Algiers, The Underside Of Power
19. Converge, The Dusk In Us
20. Beck, Colors
Top five singles
1. “Strangest Thing,” The War On Drugs
2. “Green Light,” Lorde
3. “Ran,” Future Islands
4. “The Way You Used To Do,” Queens Of The Stone Age
5. “Loyalty,” Kendrick Lamar