I just have to have music in my life, especially live music. It makes my heart right and gives me balance, and helps me feel like a complete being.
Here are the albums that meant the most to me in a year when I have been sadly more absent from the care and feeding of this web site, and from music appreciation, than I’ve been in years.
There’s a melody that reaches into your soul, a voice that speaks to your values and your very humanity, a beat that makes you smile uncontrollably, and a hook that brings a tear to your eye; a joy that makes you feel whole. It’s love that comes through your ears from the unstoppable passion of another, through their music.
I can’t listen to everything; especially not in a crazy busy year like 2017. A year when work left me mentally exhausted most days meant I couldn’t get all the concert-going and photo-editing in that I wanted and much of my commute-listening was while otherwise mentally occupied with little things like driving. But undaunted I go into the yearly tradition of listing out the albums that made the biggest impression on me in 2017, in order, my absolute favourites at the top.
Take a look at my other Best of 2017 lists: My 25 Favourite Concert Photos of 2017 and My 50 Favourite Songs of 2017.
Wolf Alice Visions of a Life
Waxahatchee Out in the Storm
The National Sleep Well Beast
Bully Losing
Japandroids Near To The Wild Heart Of Life
K.Flay Every Where Is Some Where
St. Vincent MASSEDUCTION
The Districts Popular Manipulations
Kasabian For Crying Out Loud
Royal Blood How Did We Get So Dark?
The War on Drugs A Deeper Understanding
Charly Bliss Guppy
Diet Cig Swear I'm Good At This
Kendrick Lamar DAMN
Partner In Search of Lost Time
The xx I See You
Casper Skulls Mercy Works
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Who Built The Moon?
Sumo Cyco Opus Mar
Weaves Wide Open
And if you want to check out my 2017 concert photos of the bands from by best of list, please click the following links:
Kasabian at Sound Academy
Diet Cig at The Drake Underground
Partner at The Silver Dollar Room and The Garrison
Weaves at Lee's Palace