Best Songs of 2017

Though I am already well past the age where normal people cease consuming new music, I have to admit that while I may not be joining their ranks anytime soon, I am definitely slowing down. In all honesty, if I did not force myself to create this list, I may have been far less diligent in seeking out new music in 2017.

Obviously a large part of that is devoting my brain and energy to the bigger problems of the world. Some of that, too, can be chalked up to the way we consume music now; I buy a lot less music than I used to, and streaming hasn’t exactly filled the gap. If anything, it has made my connection to what I don’t buy more tenuous than before.

Mostly, though, the reason my consumption has waned is simply because I already have so much, and adding more to the pile—or piles, since this constraint goes beyond music into other forms of entertainment—often feels futile. This conundrum probably explains why so few items on my list the past couple years have been reserved for something truly new. The overwhelming majority of songs here, as you can see in my notes below, were from artists I already knew.

Technically speaking, this entire list is all “new” in the sense that it was released in 2017. And maybe it will be new to you, as you peruse the list in words below, or in audio form. But in actuality, with a limitation of 100 songs—sometimes a smaller number than it seems—there are only a handful of slots open each year to the truly new discovery. The rest is practically just playing out the timeline set years ago. Which is its own form of interesting, I think, and probably why I do this in the first place.

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 and Apple Music. Sadly all 100 tracks aren't available—just 2 shy of complete!—but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.

Show Grid

Call the Police

LCD Soundsystem

American Dream

DFA
via past experience library: 8/4/2017
Up All Night

Beck

Colors

Capitol
via past experience library: 10/13/2017
Told You So

Miguel

War & Leisure

RCA
via past experience library: 11/3/2017
Prom

SZA

Ctrl

Top Dawg
via Alli Adamonis, et al library: 6/24/2017
The Times I’m Not There

Ne-Hi | Jamila Woods

The Times I’m Not There

Grand Jury
via KEXP library: 12/3/2017
Baybee

Jay Som

Everybody Works

Polyvinyl
via past experience library: 3/29/2017
I Don’t Care

Sarah Bethe Nelson

Oh, Evolution

Burger
via past experience library: 3/29/2017
Nothing, Not Nearly

Laura Marling

Semper Femina

Kobalt
via past experience library: 3/11/2017
Hungry Ghost

Hurray for the Riff Raff

The Navigator

ATO
via past experience library: 3/12/2017
Frost Burn

Half Waif

form/a

Cascine
via Spotify Discover Weekly library: 7/22/2017
Half Hour

Yumi Zouma

Willowbank

Cascine
via past experience library: 9/29/2017
Deadly Valentine

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Rest

Because Music
via past experience library: 11/11/2017
Slip Away

Perfume Genius

No Shape

Matador
via past experience library: 6/25/2017
Should I

Little Dragon

Season High

Loma Vista
via past experience library: 4/22/2017
Beauty of the Road

Future Islands

The Far Field

4AD
via past experience library: 4/23/2017
Gentle Storm

Elbow

Little Fictions

Polydor
via past experience library: 2/4/2017
Break Apart

Bonobo featuring Rhye

Migration

Ninja Tune
via Spotify Discover Weekly library: 3/4/2017
Astral Plane

Valerie June

The Order of Time

Concord
via past experience library: 1/19/2017
Calm Winds

Sui Zhen

Our First 100 Days

Bandcamp
via Bandcamp library: 4/13/2017
Cruel World

Active Child

Cruel World

Sun Rooms
via past experience library: 9/2/2017
Stay

Zedd & Alessia Cara

Stay

Interscope
via the ether library: 4/22/2017
Go to Hell

Empress Of

Go to Hell

Terrible
via past experience library: 7/22/2017
Hate That You Know Me

Bleachers featuring Carly Rae Jepsen

Gone Now

RCA
via past experience library: 4/22/2017
Cut to the Feeling

Carly Rae Jepsen

Cut to the Feeling

Interscope
via past experience library: 5/27/2017
On + Off

Maggie Rogers

Now That the Light Is Fading

Capitol
via past experience library: 5/13/2017
Die Young

Sylvan Esso

What Now

Loma Vista
via past experience library: 4/29/2017
Omnion

Hercules and Love Affair featuring Sharon Van Etten

Omnion

Big Beat
via past experience library: 8/29/2017
Hold Me Close

Overcoats

Young

Arts & Crafts
via Alli Adamonis library: 7/8/2017
Nobody Knows

Amber Coffman

City of No Reply

Sony
via past experience (Dirty Projectors) library: 5/27/2017
Up in Hudson

Dirty Projectors

Dirty Projectors

Domino
via past experience library: 3/11/2017
New York

St. Vincent

Masseduction

Loma Vista
via past experience library: 10/21/2017
Scott Street

Phoebe Bridgers

Stranger in the Alps

Dead Oceans
via Cody Goins library: 10/18/2017
How It Gets In

Frightened Rabbit featuring Julien Baker

Recorded Songs

Atlantic
via past experience library: 11/4/2017
Continental Breakfast

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile

Lotta Sea Lice

Matador
via past experience library: 10/13/2017
Denomination Blues

Okkervil River

Our First 100 Days

Bandcamp
via past experience library: 4/29/2017
Domino (Time Will Tell)

Hiss Golden Messenger

Hallelujah Anyhow

Merge
via past experience/span> library: 9/29/2017
Dusty Old Man

Tift Merritt

Stitch of the World

Yep Roc
via past experience library: 12/18/2016
Stand By My Girl

Dan Auerbach

Waiting on a Song

Nonesuch
via past experience library: 6/25/2017
Need to Feel Your Love

Sheer Mag

Need to Feel Your Love

Sheer Mag
via past experience library: 7/18/2017
Any Kind of Crowd

Filthy Friends

Invitation

Kill Rock Stars
via past experience (Sleater-Kinney, R.E.M.)< library: 5/13/2017

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Modern Act

Cloud Nothings

Life Without Sound

Carpark
via past experience library: 11/20/2016
Stupid in Love

Wavves

You’re Welcome

Ghost Ramp
via past experience library: 6/24/2017
Kills to Be Resistant

Bully

Losing

Sub Pop
via past experience library: 11/5/2017
Sometimes

Hypoluxo

Taste Buds

Broken Circles
via Spotify Discover Weekly library: 9/29/2017
Julie’s Place

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

The French Press

Sub Pop
via past experience library: 3/11/2017
Midnight to Morning

Japandroids

Near to the Wild Heart of Life

Anti
via past experience library: 1/28/2017
Miles Away

Allison Crutchfield

Tourist in This Town

Merge
via past experience (Waxahatchee) library: 1/28/2017
Recite Remorse

Waxahatchee

Out in the Storm

Merge
via past experience library: 7/19/2017
Desperation

Bread & Butter

Bread & Butter

Killroom
via KEXP library: 5/27/2017
Radio Kids

Strand of Oaks

Hard Love

Dead Oceans
via past experience library: 2/22/2017
Up All Night

The War on Drugs

A Deeper Understanding

Atlantic
via past experience library: 8/29/2017
Doomsday

Ryan Adams

Prisoner

Pax Am
via past experience library: 2/22/2017
Sorry Is Gone

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Sorry Is Gone

ATO
via past experience library: 8/21/2017
World Made

Land of Talk

Life After Youth

Saddle Creek
via past experience library: 6/3/2017
Road Head

Japanese Breakfast

Soft Sounds From Another Planet

Dead Oceans
via past experience library: 7/22/2017
Mirror

The Drums

Abysmal Thoughts

Anti
via past experience library: 6/24/2017
Half Asleep

Korey Dane

Chamber Girls

Innovative Leisure
via Cody Goins library: 6/25/2017
Preludes

Craig Finn

We All Want the Same Things

Partisan
via past experience library: 3/26/2017
Oom Sha La La

Haley Heynderickx

Oom Sha La La

self-released
via KEXP library: 10/30/2017
City Music

Kevin Morby

City Music

Dead Oceans
via past experience library: 6/24/2017
My Old Man

Mac DeMarco

This Old Dog

Captured Tracks
via past experience library: 5/13/2017
Omaha

Toro y Moi

Our First 100 Days

Bandcamp
via past experience library: 4/13/2017
Fior di Latte

Phoenix

Ti Amo

Glassnote
via past experience library: 6/24/2017
The Louvre

Lorde

Melodrama

Universal
via past experience library: 6/25/2017
Sun’s Out

Hoops

Routines

Fat Possum
via Andy Greenwald on The Watch library: 7/8/2017
That Thing

Hazel English

Just Give In / Never Going Home

Polyvinyl
via Alli Adamonis library: 6/11/2017
Pipe Dreams

Nelly Furtado

The Ride

Nelstar
via past experience library: 4/13/2017
LOVE.

Kendrick Lamar featuring Zacari

DAMN.

Interscope
via past experience library: 5/13/2017
Lights On

H.E.R.

H.E.R. Volume 2

RCA
via Alli Adamonis library: 6/25/2017
Show You the Way

Thundercat featuring Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins

Drunk

Brainfeeder
via past experience library: 2/4/2017
Chance for Us

Todd Rundgren featuring Darryl Hall and Bobby Strickland

White Knight

Cleopatra
via Spotify Discover Weekly library: 9/2/2017
Slide

Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos

Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1

Columbia
via the ether library: 6/11/2017
Heartline

Craig David

The Time Is Now

Speakerbox/Insanity
via past experience library: 10/18/2017
Black Rainbows

Cut Copy

Haiku From Zero

Astralwerks
via past experience library: 9/28/2017
Everything Now

Arcade Fire

Everything Now

Columbia
via past experience library: 6/2/2017
You Never Knew

Haim

Something to Tell You

Columbia
via past experience library: 7/10/2017
Concrete Love

Kristin Kontrol

Concrete Love

Hunny Music
via past experience library: 9/24/2017
Reasons

Jillian Jacqueline

Side A

Big Loud
via Spotify Discover Weekly library: 9/23/2017
Learn to Let Go

Kesha

Rainbow

Kemosabe
via past experience library: 9/16/2017
Sorry Not Sorry

Demi Lovato

Tell Me You Love Me

Island
via the ether, probably library: 10/21/2017
Water Me

Lizzo

Water Me

Nice Life
via Julia Paleski, et al library: 11/12/2017
On and On

Curtis Harding

Face Your Fear

Anti
via past experience library: 11/5/2017
Matter of Time

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Soul of a Woman

Daptone
via past experience library: 11/3/2017
Mr. Minister Great

Júníus Meyvant

Mr. Minister Great digital single

Record Records
via past experience library: 12/13/2017
Heartstruck (Wild Hunger)

Hamilton Leithauser featuring Angel Olsen

Heartstruck (Wild Hunger) digital single

Glassnote
via past experience library: 10/18/2017
Can I Sit Next to You

Spoon

Hot Thoughts

Matador
via past experience library: 3/19/2017
Oo La La

Beth Ditto

Fake Sugar

Myra’s Child
via past experience library: 5/27/2017
Anymore

Goldfrapp

Silver Eye

Mute
via past experience library: 2/25/2017
Going Backwards

Depeche Mode

Spirit

Sony
via past experience library: 4/13/2017
Day I Die

The National

Sleep Well Beast

4AD
via past experience library: 9/11/2017
Halfway Home

Broken Social Scene

Hug of Thunder

Arts & Crafts
via past experience library: 6/24/2017
You’re Dreaming

Wolf Parade

Cry Cry Cry

Sub Pop
via past experience library: 10/28/2017
The World of the Theater

The New Pornographers

Whiteout Conditions

Collected Works
via past experience library: 4/23/2017
Plimsoul Punks

Alvvays

Antisocialites

Polyvinyl
via past experience library: 9/11/2017
Pleasure

Feist

Pleasure

Interscope
via past experience library: 4/29/2017
Don’t Let It Get to You

Rostam

Half-Light

Nonesuch
via past experience (Vampire Weekend) library: 9/18/2017
I Can Relate

Way Yes

Tuna Hair

Gold Robot
via past experience library: 10/21/2017
If You Need to, Keep Time on Me

Fleet Foxes

Crack-Up

Nonesuch
via past experience library: 11/4/2017
Call It Dreaming

Iron & Wine

Beast Epic

Sub Pop
via past experience library: 8/29/2017
Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas

Quiet Slang

We Were Babies & We Were Dirtbags

Polyvinyl
via past experience library: 10/28/2017