Originally written by Sean Adams · 3 December 2017
This year, rather than put out some democratically totted up list, I have embraced the era of the dictator. This is both my and “our” list. I did consult my lieutenants, and paid attention to what was written on the site throughout the year. I've also been keeping tabs on records that were adored on our boards during the year.
As Editor-At-Large, I’ve spent the year listening to music for pleasure as much as for dutiful research. Whether it’s been making the Independent Music Monday playlist every week for most of this year, ensuring DiS' Best of the Year Spotify playlist is up-to-date, or keeping up with the internet at my day job (doing social media for BBC Radio 6 Music), there has been - as there has been each of the seventeen years DiS has existed - a relentless deluge of amazing new releases every week.
As music fans, we’ve been truly spoilt by 2017. This list could have featured a 100 more albums in varying orders. Every Friday there were so many interesting and notable records coming out of different genres, from various new artists and plenty of favourites who’ve previously topped our “list”.
Like all good dictators, I reserve the right to do-a-Kanye and amend this list (especially as it’s too soon to decide about the Bjork album). We also conducted a staff poll, collating the editorial staff's and the contributor's Top 3s, which you can view here. There's also the not insignificant matter of the DiS Forum User Poll, which is open to our entire community of users.
For now, I invite you all to explore the records below, to start petitions, and to join the conversation on our forums where you can eloquently argue for the albums you feel others should investigate (every year I discover some extraordinary album I hadn't even heard of when putting this list together). I would especially love to see you celebrate and highlight those lesser known albums that didn’t have the resources to reach more people in a year filled with so many great releases.
Editor's Cut
1) Wolf Alice - Visions of A Life 2) Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens 3) EMA - Exile in the Outer Ring 4) St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION 5) Noveller - A Pink Sunset For No One 6) Austra - Future Politics 7) Feist - Pleasure 8) Jane Weaver - Modern Kosmology 9) Laura Marling - Semper Femina 10) Juana Molina - Halo 11) Soulwax - From Deewee 12) Thundercat - Drunk 13) Paramore - After Laughter 14) Jean Michel-Blais & CFCF - Cascades 15) Bjork - Utopia 16) Mogwai - Every Country’s Sun 17) Zola Jesus - Okovi 18) Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. 19) Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent 20) Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins 21) Hannah Peel - Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiotopia 22) Slowdive - Slowdive 23) Loyle Carner - Yesterday’s Gone 24) Eyre Llew - Atelo 25) Perfume Genius - No Shape 26) Nadine Shah - Holiday Destination 27) LCD Soundsystem - american dream 28) Lorde - Melodrama 29) Hurray For The Riff Raff - The Navigator 30) The Big Moon - Love In the 4th Dimension 31) Princess Nokia - 1992 Deluxe 32) Colin Stetson - All This I Do For Glory 33) The Horrors - V 34) Queens of the Stone Age - Villains 35) RIDE - Weather Diaries 36) Sylvan Esso - What Now 37) IDLES - Brutalism 38) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Before The Flood 39) Cigarettes After Sex - Cigarettes After Sex 40) Girl Ray - Earl Grey 41) The Mynabirds - Be Here Now 42) SZA - Ctrl 43) Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Choir Of The Mind 44) Johnny Jewel - Windswept 45) Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now 46) Katy Perry - Witness 47) Clark - Death Peak 48) Grandaddy - Last Place 49) Tired Lion - Dumb Days 50) William Basinski - A Shadow In Time 51) Four Tet - New Energy 52) Sløtface - Try Not to Freak Out 53) Beck - Colors 54) Bicep - Bicep 55) Alvvays - Antisocialites 56) Juanita Stein - America 57) Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps 58) Broken Social Scene - Hug of Thunder 59) Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun 60) Liars - TFCF 61) Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference 62) Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet 63) Ghostpoet - Dark Days + Canapes 64) Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest 65) The National - Sleep Well Beast 66) Jen Cloher - Jen Cloher 67) Do Make Say Think - Stubborn Persistent Delusions 68) Mount Kimbie - Love What Survives 69) Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life 70) Wiley - Godfather 71) Father John Misty - Pure Comedy 72) Max Richter - Three Worlds: Music from Wolf Works 73) Molly Burch - Please Be Mine 74) Rose Elinor Dougall - Stellular 75) Big Thief - Capacity 76) Casey Dienel - Imitation of a Women To Love 77) The Shins - Heartworms 78) Destroyer - Ken 79) Stormzy - Gang Signs & Prayer 80) Cherry Glazerr - Apocolipstick 81) Mura Masa - Mura Masa 82) Fever Ray - Plunge 83) Ryan Adams - Prisoner 84) Depeche Mode - Spirit 85) Laurel Halo - Dust 86) Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Whole Lotta Sea Lice 87) King Krule - The Ooz 88) Kelela - Take Me Apart 89) This Is The Kit - Moonshine Freeze 90) Sampha - Process 91) Lapalux - Ruinism 92) Afghan Whigs - In Spades 93) Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound 94) Circuit des Yeux - Reaching For Indigo 95) Rapsody - Laila’s Wisdom 96) The War on Drugs - Deeper Understanding 97) Public Service Broadcasting - Every Valley 98) Future Islands - Far Field 99) Blanck Mass - World Eater 100) Arcade Fire - Everything Now
If we were to revise this list, who should be higher?
Share your views and read some of our commentary by joining the conversation on our forums.
To see the results of the DiS Staff Poll, and to see everyone's Top 3 Albums Of the Year, click here. For the DiS Forum User Poll, click here.