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
Up All Night

Beck

Colors

Capitol

via past experience
Told You So

Miguel

War & Leisure

RCA

via past experience
Prom

SZA

Ctrl

Top Dawg

via Alli Adamonis, et al
The Times I’m Not There

Ne-Hi | Jamila Woods

The Times I’m Not There

Grand Jury

via KEXP
Baybee

Jay Som

Everybody Works

Polyvinyl

via past experience
I Don’t Care

Sarah Bethe Nelson

Oh, Evolution

Burger

via past experience
Nothing, Not Nearly

Laura Marling

Semper Femina

Kobalt

via past experience
Hungry Ghost

Hurray for the Riff Raff

The Navigator

ATO

via past experience
Frost Burn

Half Waif

form/a

Cascine

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Half Hour

Yumi Zouma

Willowbank

Cascine

via past experience
Deadly Valentine

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Rest

Because Music

via past experience
Slip Away

Perfume Genius

No Shape

Matador

via past experience
Should I

Little Dragon

Season High

Loma Vista

via past experience
Beauty of the Road

Future Islands

The Far Field

4AD

via past experience
Gentle Storm

Elbow

Little Fictions

Polydor

via past experience
Break Apart

Bonobo featuring Rhye

Migration

Ninja Tune

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Astral Plane

Valerie June

The Order of Time

Concord

via past experience
Calm Winds

Sui Zhen

Our First 100 Days

Bandcamp

via Bandcamp
Cruel World

Active Child

Cruel World

Sun Rooms

via past experience
Stay

Zedd & Alessia Cara

Stay

Interscope

via the ether
Go to Hell

Empress Of

Go to Hell

Terrible

via past experience
Hate That You Know Me

Bleachers featuring Carly Rae Jepsen

Gone Now

RCA

via past experience
Cut to the Feeling

Carly Rae Jepsen

Cut to the Feeling

Interscope

via past experience
On + Off

Maggie Rogers

Now That the Light Is Fading

Capitol

via past experience
Die Young

Sylvan Esso

What Now

Loma Vista

via past experience
Omnion

Hercules and Love Affair featuring Sharon Van Etten

Omnion

Big Beat

via past experience
Hold Me Close

Overcoats

Young

Arts & Crafts

via Alli Adamonis
Nobody Knows

Amber Coffman

City of No Reply

Sony

via past experience (Dirty Projectors)
Up in Hudson

Dirty Projectors

Dirty Projectors

Domino

via past experience
New York

St. Vincent

Masseduction

Loma Vista

via past experience
Scott Street

Phoebe Bridgers

Stranger in the Alps

Dead Oceans

via Cody Goins
How It Gets In

Frightened Rabbit featuring Julien Baker

Recorded Songs

Atlantic

via past experience
Continental Breakfast

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile

Lotta Sea Lice

Matador

via past experience
Denomination Blues

Okkervil River

Our First 100 Days

Bandcamp

via past experience
Domino (Time Will Tell)

Hiss Golden Messenger

Hallelujah Anyhow

Merge

via past experience
Dusty Old Man

Tift Merritt

Stitch of the World

Yep Roc

via past experience
Stand By My Girl

Dan Auerbach

Waiting on a Song

Nonesuch

via past experience
Need to Feel Your Love

Sheer Mag

Need to Feel Your Love

Sheer Mag

via past experience
Any Kind of Crowd

Filthy Friends

Invitation

Kill Rock Stars

via past experience (Sleater-Kinney, R.E.M.)
Modern Act

Cloud Nothings

Life Without Sound

Carpark

via past experience
Stupid in Love

Wavves

You’re Welcome

Ghost Ramp

via past experience
Kills to Be Resistant

Bully

Losing

Sub Pop

via past experience
Sometimes

Hypoluxo

Taste Buds

Broken Circles

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Julie’s Place

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

The French Press

Sub Pop

via past experience
Midnight to Morning

Japandroids

Near to the Wild Heart of Life

Anti

via past experience
Miles Away

Allison Crutchfield

Tourist in This Town

Merge

via past experience (Waxahatchee)
Recite Remorse

Waxahatchee

Out in the Storm

Merge

via past experience
Desperation

Bread & Butter

Bread & Butter

Killroom

via KEXP
Radio Kids

Strand of Oaks

Hard Love

Dead Oceans

via past experience
Up All Night

The War on Drugs

A Deeper Understanding

Atlantic

via past experience
Doomsday

Ryan Adams

Prisoner

Pax Am

via past experience
Sorry Is Gone

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Sorry Is Gone

ATO

via past experience
World Made

Land of Talk

Life After Youth

Saddle Creek

via past experience
Road Head

Japanese Breakfast

Soft Sounds From Another Planet

Dead Oceans

via past experience
Mirror

The Drums

Abysmal Thoughts

Anti

via past experience
Half Asleep

Korey Dane

Chamber Girls

Innovative Leisure

via Cody Goins
Preludes

Craig Finn

We All Want the Same Things

Partisan

via past experience
Oom Sha La La

Haley Heynderickx

Oom Sha La La

self-released

via KEXP
City Music

Kevin Morby

City Music

Dead Oceans

via past experience
My Old Man

Mac DeMarco

This Old Dog

Captured Tracks

via past experience
Omaha

Toro y Moi

Our First 100 Days

Bandcamp

via past experience
Fior di Latte

Phoenix

Ti Amo

Glassnote

via past experience
The Louvre

Lorde

Melodrama

Universal

via past experience
Sun’s Out

Hoops

Routines

Fat Possum

via Andy Greenwald
That Thing

Hazel English

Just Give In / Never Going Home

Polyvinyl

via Alli Adamonis
Pipe Dreams

Nelly Furtado

The Ride

Nelstar

via past experience
LOVE.

Kendrick Lamar featuring Zacari

DAMN.

Interscope

via past experience
Lights On

H.E.R.

H.E.R. Volume 2

RCA

via Alli Adamonis
Show You the Way

Thundercat featuring Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins

Drunk

Brainfeeder

via past experience
Chance for Us

Todd Rundgren featuring Darryl Hall and Bobby Strickland

White Knight

Cleopatra

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Slide

Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean and Migos

Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1

Columbia

via the ether
Heartline

Craig David

The Time Is Now

Speakerbox/Insanity

via past experience
Black Rainbows

Cut Copy

Haiku From Zero

Astralwerks

via past experience
Everything Now

Arcade Fire

Everything Now

Columbia

via past experience
You Never Knew

Haim

Something to Tell You

Columbia

via past experience
Concrete Love

Kristin Kontrol

Concrete Love

Hunny Music

via past experience
Reasons

Jillian Jacqueline

Side A

Big Loud

via Spotify Discover Weekly
Learn to Let Go

Kesha

Rainbow

Kemosabe

via past experience
Sorry Not Sorry

Demi Lovato

Tell Me You Love Me

Island

via the ether, probably
Water Me

Lizzo

Water Me

Nice Life

via Julia Paleski, et al
On and On

Curtis Harding

Face Your Fear

Anti

via past experience
Matter of Time

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Soul of a Woman

Daptone

via past experience
Mr. Minister Great

Júníus Meyvant

Mr. Minister Great digital single

Record Records

via past experience
Heartstruck (Wild Hunger)

Hamilton Leithauser featuring Angel Olsen

Heartstruck (Wild Hunger) digital single

Glassnote

via past experience
Can I Sit Next to You

Spoon

Hot Thoughts

Matador

via past experience
Oo La La

Beth Ditto

Fake Sugar

Myra’s Child

via past experience
Anymore

Goldfrapp

Silver Eye

Mute

via past experience
Going Backwards

Depeche Mode

Spirit

Sony

via past experience
Day I Die

The National

Sleep Well Beast

4AD

via past experience
Halfway Home

Broken Social Scene

Hug of Thunder

Arts & Crafts

via past experience
You’re Dreaming

Wolf Parade

Cry Cry Cry

Sub Pop

via past experience
The World of the Theater

The New Pornographers

Whiteout Conditions

Collected Works

via past experience
Plimsoul Punks

Alvvays

Antisocialites

Polyvinyl

via past experience
Pleasure

Feist

Pleasure

Interscope

via past experience
Don’t Let It Get to You

Rostam

Half-Light

Nonesuch

via past experience (Vampire Weekend)
I Can Relate

Way Yes

Tuna Hair

Gold Robot

via past experience
If You Need to, Keep Time on Me

Fleet Foxes

Crack-Up

Nonesuch

via past experience
Call It Dreaming

Iron & Wine

Beast Epic

Sub Pop

via past experience
Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas

Quiet Slang

We Were Babies & We Were Dirtbags

Polyvinyl

via past experience