Pitchfork's 20 Best Experimental Albums of 2017

From Arca’s operatic insanity to Klein’s thrashed R&B, these are the year’s most urgent experimental records.

Published: December 15, 2017 06:00 Source

# 1

Arca by Arca

Album • Apr 07 / 2017 Art Pop Glitch Pop

# 2

The Kid by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Album • Oct 06 / 2017 Art Pop Neo-Psychedelia Progressive Electronic Ambient Pop

# 4

async by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Album • Apr 28 / 2017 Ambient

# 5

Narkopop by GAS

Album • Apr 21 / 2017 Ambient Ambient Techno

# 6

World Eater by Blanck Mass

Album • Mar 03 / 2017 Electro-Industrial Post-Industrial

# 7

A Shadow in Time by William Basinski

Album • Jan 20 / 2017 Ambient Drone Tape Music

# 8

Selfless by Joni Void

Album • May 05 / 2017 Sound Collage Electronic

# 9

Asking/Bearing by Lushloss

Album • Jul 28 / 2017 Slacker Rock Ambient Pop

# 10

Fantasii by MHYSA

Album • Jul 21 / 2017 Deconstructed Club Ambient Pop

# 11

Compassion by Forest Swords

Album • May 05 / 2017 Ambient Dub

# 12

Luciferian Towers by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Album • Sep 22 / 2017 Post-Rock

# 13

On the Echoing Green by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

Album • Jun 16 / 2017 Shoegaze Ambient

# 14

The Centre Cannot Hold by Ben Frost

Album • Sep 29 / 2017 Post-Industrial Electronic

# 16

Shuffle Drones by Eluvium

Album • Nov 10 / 2017 Ambient Drone

# 17

L'Rain by L'Rain

Album • Sep 15 / 2017 Neo-Psychedelia Art Pop Neo-Soul

# 18

AS Truth by Amnesia Scanner

Single • Dec 13 / 2016

# 19

Tommy by Klein

EP • Sep 29 / 2017 Sound Collage Glitch

# 20

Contact by Pharmakon

Album • Mar 31 / 2017 Death Industrial