The Line of Best Fit's Best Albums of 2017

We rank the fifty most outstanding records of the year.

Published: December 17, 2017 00:00 Source

# 1

Stranger in the Alps by Phoebe Bridgers

Album • Sep 22 / 2017 Indie Folk Singer-Songwriter

# 2

DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar

Album • Apr 14 / 2017 West Coast Hip Hop Conscious Hip Hop

# 3

Ctrl by SZA

Album • Jun 09 / 2017 Alternative R&B Neo-Soul

# 4

Gang Signs & Prayer by Stormzy

Album • Feb 24 / 2017 UK Hip Hop Grime

# 5

Kelly Lee Owens by Kelly Lee Owens

Album • Mar 24 / 2017 Ambient Pop Tech House

# 6

Common Sense by J Hus

Album • May 12 / 2017 UK Hip Hop Afroswing Pop Rap

# 7

City Music by Kevin Morby

Album • Jun 16 / 2017 Singer-Songwriter Indie Rock Folk Rock

# 8

Brazil by JFDR

Album • Mar 17 / 2017 Art Pop Indietronica

# 9

The OOZ by King Krule

Album • Oct 13 / 2017 Art Rock

# 10

No Shape by Perfume Genius

Album • May 05 / 2017 Art Pop

# 11

Melodrama by Lorde

Album • Jun 16 / 2017 Synthpop Alt-Pop

# 12

Yesterdays Gone by Loyle Carner

Album • Jan 20 / 2017

# 13

Rest by Charlotte Gainsbourg

Album • Nov 17 / 2017 Art Pop Synthpop

# 14

Brutalism by IDLES

Album • Mar 10 / 2017 Post-Hardcore Post-Punk

# 15

ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ by Joey Bada$$

Album • Apr 07 / 2017 East Coast Hip Hop Political Hip Hop Conscious Hip Hop

# 16

Process by Sampha

Album • Feb 03 / 2017 Alternative R&B

# 17

Big Fish Theory by Vince Staples

Album • Jun 23 / 2017 West Coast Hip Hop Experimental Hip Hop Hardcore Hip Hop

# 18

Kinder Versions by Mammút

Album • Jul 14 / 2017 Indie Rock Art Pop Indie Pop

# 19

Fin by Syd

Album • Feb 03 / 2017 Alternative R&B

# 20

About U by MUNA

Album • Feb 03 / 2017 Synthpop Alt-Pop

# 21

Collection by Soccer Mommy

Album • Aug 04 / 2017 Bedroom Pop Indie Pop

# 22

Lotta Sea Lice by Courtney Barnett + Kurt Vile

Album • Oct 13 / 2017 Folk Rock Indie Rock

# 23

Take Me Apart by Kelela

Album • Oct 06 / 2017 Alternative R&B UK Bass

# 24

Résistance by Songhoy Blues

Album • Jun 16 / 2017 Afro-Rock Songhai Music

# 25

Harmony of Difference by Kamasi Washington

EP • Sep 29 / 2017 Spiritual Jazz

# 26

Prisoner by Ryan Adams

Album • Feb 17 / 2017 Singer-Songwriter Heartland Rock

# 27

Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator

Album • Jul 21 / 2017 West Coast Hip Hop Neo-Soul

# 28

Holiday Destination by Nadine Shah

Album • Aug 25 / 2017 Art Rock Art Pop

# 29

form/a by Half Waif

EP • Feb 24 / 2017 Art Pop Synthpop Ambient Pop

# 30

A Deeper Understanding by The War on Drugs

Album • Aug 25 / 2017 Heartland Rock Indie Rock

# 31

Turn Out the Lights by Julien Baker

Album • Oct 27 / 2017 Singer-Songwriter Slowcore Contemporary Folk

# 32

What Now by Sylvan Esso

Album • Apr 28 / 2017 Electropop Indietronica

# 33

Three Futures by TORRES

Album • Sep 29 / 2017 Art Pop

# 34

Capacity by Big Thief

Album • Jun 09 / 2017 Indie Rock Indie Folk

# 35

The Underside of Power by Algiers

Album • Jun 23 / 2017 Post-Punk Post-Industrial

# 36

Peasant by Richard Dawson

Album • Jun 02 / 2017 Progressive Folk Avant-Folk

# 37

MASSEDUCTION by St. Vincent

Album • Oct 13 / 2017 Art Pop Pop

# 38

Forced Witness by Alex Cameron

Album • Sep 08 / 2017 Synthpop New Wave

# 39

Aromanticism by Moses Sumney

Album • Sep 22 / 2017 Art Pop Singer-Songwriter

# 40

The Weather Station by The Weather Station

Album • Oct 06 / 2017 Singer-Songwriter Contemporary Folk

# 41

Rainbow by Kesha

Album • Aug 11 / 2017 Pop Soul Pop Rock

# 42

Tenderness by Blue Hawaii

Album • Oct 06 / 2017 Indietronica Electropop

# 43

Cigarettes After Sex by Cigarettes After Sex

Album • Jun 09 / 2017 Dream Pop Slowcore

# 44

Im Not Your Man by Marika Hackman

Album • Jun 02 / 2017

# 45

Music for People in Trouble by Susanne Sundfør

Album • Sep 08 / 2017 Art Pop Singer-Songwriter Contemporary Folk

# 46

SweetSexySavage (Deluxe) by Kehlani

Album • Jan 27 / 2017

# 47

Soft Sounds from Another Planet by Japanese Breakfast

Album • Jul 14 / 2017 Dream Pop Indie Rock

# 48

Not Even Happiness by Julie Byrne

Album • Jan 12 / 2017 Contemporary Folk Singer-Songwriter

# 49

Drunk by Thundercat

Album • Feb 24 / 2017 Neo-Soul Psychedelic Soul

# 50

American Teen by Khalid

Album • Apr 27 / 2017 Alternative R&B Alt-Pop