Best Songs of 1997

Considering this was the year I graduated from high school and entered college, it’s no stretch to call this a momentous year in my life, musically speaking or otherwise. But given those major events, it should not be surprising that this is a particularly indelible soundtrack for me, and one in which I can pinpoint a great number of these songs to not just general timelines, but specific memories.

From U2’s divisive Pop, released in the spring and the CD of choice I played on drives down to Tacoma to watch my classmates compete in the state basketball tournament; to Cornershop’s When I Was Born for the 7th Time, an album all the cool kids—myself included—in my freshman dorm had in their Case Logics; to Ben Lee’s Something to Remember Me By, which included a song I put onto a double mixtape for my fellow Seattle Prep alums headed to Boston College; to Radiohead’s OK Computer, which I listened to at Blockbuster Music before buying, even though I already loved their previous effort; to Daft Punk’s “Around the World”, which made my aunt so annoyed one summer day at the Canal, for all they did in the song was “say the same thing over and over again”; to Ben Folds Five, whom I discovered while listening to KUGS 89.3 one day in the U District—or if it wasn’t that, it was on a station I doubt exists anymore.

I could go on. And on, clearly. But instead, I will pause to mention there are some songs on here that arrived in my life later than the year in question. I would not discover the joys of World Party, The Dismemberment Plan, Cornelius, Whiskeytown, Neko Case or Sleater-Kinney until one (or two or three) years later, for example. Nor can I say I was listening to Pavement, Lambchop, Air, Guided by Voices or Old 97s at the time, though I was certainly familiar with them.

But 18-going-on-19 me was already on his way to becoming the musical archivist and devourer of genres I now consider myself. I was definitely listening to Chris Whitley 20 years ago. And Forest for the Trees, and Finley Quaye, and Spearhead, and Brad, and Willis, and The Minus 5, and Tuatara, and Elliott Smith, and Supergrass, and Citizens’ Utilities, and Buckshot LeFonque, and Super Deluxe, and Freedy Johnston, and Son Volt. For a lot of those names, I have The Mountain to thank. For others, The Rocket. Sometimes I still miss them both.

For these year-end lists, I like to undertake the seemingly impossibly task of creating an hours-long mix. The order you see below represents that effort, which you can listen to via Spotify. Sadly all 100 tracks aren't available—a whopping 8 short of complete!—but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.

Show Grid

Show Me Love

Robyn

Robyn Is Here

BMG

Notes
Miami

Will Smith

Big Willie Style

Columbia

Notes
Mo Money Mo Problems

The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Mase & Puff Daddy

Life After Death

Bad Boy

Notes
Gone Till November (The Makin’ Runs Remix)

Wyclef Jean featuring R. Kelly & Canibus

Gone Till November

Columbia

Notes
Too Close

Next

Rated Next

Divine Mill/Arista

Notes
Return of the Mack

Mark Morrison

Return of the Mack

Atlantic

1996 UK release
Your Woman

White Town

Women in Technology

Virgin

Notes
Love Is Here

Luscious Jackson

A Life Less Ordinary

London

Notes
One More Hour

Sleater-Kinney

Dig Me Out

Kill Rock Stars

Notes
1959

Patti Smith

Peace and Noise

Arista

Notes
Don’t Leave

Faithless

Reverence

Arista

Notes
If God Will Send His Angels

U2

Pop

Island

Notes
On Your Own

Blur

Blur

Food/Virgin

Notes
Place Your Hands

Reef

Glow

Sony

Notes
Every Day Should Be a Holiday

The Dandy Warhols

…The Dandy Warhols Come Down

Capitol

Notes
Dream

Forest for the Trees

Forest for the Trees

Dreamworks

Notes
Good Shit

Cornershop

When I Was Born for the 7th Time

Luaka Bop/Warner Bros

Notes
Deadweight

Beck

A Life Less Ordinary

London

Notes
Sunday Shining

Finley Quaye

Maverick a Strike

550 Music

Notes
Walkin’ on the Sun

Smash Mouth

Fush Yu Mang

Interscope

Notes
Graduate

Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind

Elektra

Notes
Dammit

Blink-182

Dude Ranch

Cargo/MCA

Notes
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

Green Day

Nimrod

Reprise

Notes
Years Ago

Super Deluxe

Via Satellite

Warner Bros.

Notes
Fade to Grey

Jars of Clay

Much Afraid

Essential/Silvertone/Jive

Notes
Crazy Life

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Coil

Columbia

Notes
Sadie

Farmer

Farmer

Aware

Notes
Immortal Blues

Chris Whitley

Terra Incognita

Work

Notes
Telephone Road

Steve Earle

El Corazon

Warner Bros.

Notes
Timebomb

Old 97’s

Too Far to Care

Elektra

Notes
Timber

Neko Case

The Virginian

Bloodshot

Notes
On the Way Out

Freedy Johnston

Never Home

Elektra

Notes
Caryatid Easy

Son Volt

Straightaways

Warner Bros.

Notes
Resignation Superman

Big Head Todd & the Monsters

Beautiful World

Revolution

Notes
Sweet Surrender

Sarah McLachlan

Surfacing

Arista

Notes
As the Rain

Jeb Loy Nichols

Lover’s Knot

Capitol

Notes
Happy Friends

The Greyboy Allstars

A Town Called Earth

Greyboy

Notes
Music Evolution

Buckshot LeFonque

Music Evolution

Columbia

Notes
Concrete Schoolyard

Jurassic 5

Jurassic 5 EP

Rumble

Notes
The Look of Love

Slum Village

Fan-Tas-Tic, Vol. 1

Counterflow

Bootleg only; officially released in 2006
Got ’Til It’s Gone

Janet Jackson featuring Joni Mitchell & Q-Tip

The Velvet Rope

Virgin

Notes
Do for Love

2Pac featuring Erick Williams

R U Still Down? (Remember Me)

Jive

Notes
The ’Notic

The Roots featuring D’Angelo

Men In Black: The Album

Columbia

Notes
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

Missy Elliott

Supa Dupa Fly

Elektra

Notes
You Make Me Wanna…

Usher

My Way

Arista

Notes
U Can’t Sing R Song

Spearhead

Chocolate Supa Highway

Capitol

Notes
Everybody Here Wants You

Jeff Buckley

Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk

Columbia

Notes
On & On

Erykah Badu

Baduizm

Universal

Notes
Dark State of Mind

Tuatara

Breaking the Ethers

Sony

Notes
Hanging on a Curtain

Morphine

Like Swimming

Dreamworks

Notes
Into My Arms

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

The Boatman’s Call

Mute

Notes
The Day Brings

Brad

Interiors

Sony

Notes
Umbrella

Dog’s Eye View

Daisy

Sony

Notes
The Book I’m Not Reading

Patty Larkin

Perishable Fruit

High Street

Notes
Crazy

Alana Davis

Blame It on Me

Elektra

Notes
New Song

Ben Lee

Something to Remember Me By

Grand Royal

Notes
Testimony

Willis

Bourgeois Blues

self-released

Notes
MMMBop

Hanson

Middle of Nowhere

Island

Notes
Battle of Who Could Care Less

Ben Folds Five

Whatever and Ever Amen

550 Music

Notes
Bella’s Birthday Cake

Five for Fighting

Message for Albert

Nettwerk America

Notes
Pink

Aerosmith

Nine Lives

Columbia

Notes
Put a Lid on It

Squirrel Nut Zippers

Hot

Mammoth

Notes
Empty Room

The Minus 5

The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy

Hollywood

Notes
Make You Feel My Love

Bob Dylan

Time Out of Mind

Columbia

Notes
Stick in the Mud

The Jayhawks

Sound of Lies

American

Notes
I Woke Up in the Mayflower

Mark Mulcahy

Fathering

Mezzotint

Notes
Losering

Whiskeytown

Strangers Almanac

Outpost

Notes
Idaho

Citizens’ Utilities

No More Medicine

Mute

Notes
Your Fucking Sunny Day

Lambchop

Thriller

Merge

Notes
Summertime

The Sundays

Static & Silence

DGC

Notes
California

The Freddy Jones Band

Lucid

Polygram

Notes
Slipped Away

G. Love & Special Sauce

Yeah, It’s That Easy

Okeh/Epic

Notes
Glory & Consequence

Ben Harper

The Will to Live

Virgin

Notes
Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)

Incubus

S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

Epic/Immortal

Notes
It’s No Good

Depeche Mode

Ultra

Mute

Notes
Brown Paper Bag

Roni Size & Reprazent

New Forms

Talkin’ Loud

Notes
Around the World

Daft Punk

Homework

Virgin

Notes
Breathe

The Prodigy

The Fat of the Land

Warner Bros.

Notes
Busy Child

The Crystal Method

Vegas

Outpost

Notes
I’m Afraid of Americans

David Bowie

I’m Afraid of Americans

Virgin

Notes
Bleed Together

Soundgarden

Burden in My Hand

A&M

Notes
Everlong

Foo Fighters

The Colour and the Shape

Capitol

Notes
Why Did We Ever Meet

The Promise Ring

Nothing Feels Good

Jade Tree

Notes
The Official Ironmen Rally Song

Guided by Voices

Under the Bushes Under the Stars

Matador

Notes
Ocean Man

Ween

The Mollusk

Elektra

Notes
Autumn Sweater

Yo La Tengo

I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Matador

Notes
Date With IKEA

Pavement

Brighten the Corners

Matador

Notes
Kicked It in the Sun

Built to Spill

Perfect From Now On

Warner Bros.

Notes
Polar Opposites

Modest Mouse

The Lonesome Crowded West

Up

Notes
This Is the Life

The Dismemberment Plan

Is Terrified

DeSoto

Notes
New Music Machine

Cornelius

Fantasma

Matador

Notes
Everything So Real

Eric Matthews

The Lateness of the Hour

Sub Pop

Notes
Brakhage

Stereolab

Dots and Loops

Elektra

Notes
Where Do I Begin

The Chemical Brothers featuring Beth Orton

Dig Your Own Hole

Astralwerks

Notes
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)

Deftones

Around the Fur

Maverick

Notes
Subterranean Homesick Alien

Radiohead

OK Computer

Capitol

Notes
Lades and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Spiritualized

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Dedicated/Arista

Notes
Angeles

Elliott Smith

Either/Or

Kill Rock Stars

Notes
Late in the Day

Supergrass

In It For the Money

Capitol

Notes
It Is Time

World Party

Egyptology

Chrysalis

Notes