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    Ghost ChannelsKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 7:51am

    1. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. 2. LCD Soundsystem - American Dream 3. Lorde - Melodrama 4. Tyler the Creator - Flower Boy 5. Fleet Foxes - Crack Up 6. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism 7. Hundred Waters - Communicating 8. The XX - I See You 9. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory10. Bjork - Utopia

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      Raymond Luxury-YachtGhost Channels
      12/07/17 8:17am

      1. LCD Soundsystem, American Dream. 2. Slowdive, s/t. 3. Kendrick, DAMN.. 4. Drab Majesty, The Demonstration. 5. Demen, Nektyr. 6. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rest. 7. Oddisee, The Iceberg. 8. CCFX, s/t EP. 9. Elsa, I Still Think Of You. 10. Shabazz Palaces, Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines.

      Further listening: Chuck Johnson, Balsams; Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, The Kid; Nadine Shah, Holiday Destination; Japandroids, Near To The Wild Heart of Life; Shabazz Palaces, The Other One They Put Out; Fever Ray, Plunge.

      Personal to OP: Was kind of disappointed by the new Hundred Waters. Their first two were great, this one was sadly kinda boring to me.

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      swans283Ghost Channels
      12/07/17 9:04am

      I was surprised to see that Dangerous and Replica from I See You were 2 of my 5 most played tracks this year. It’s amazing the leap in quality from their last album, although I shouldn’t be surprised since Jamie xx’s album was such a banger.

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    dollymixKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 8:59am

    My favorites that aren’t listed: Saint Etienne (pastoral chamber dance pop - their best album in years), Cornshed Sisters (‘70s-style pop-rock (think Fleetwood Mac) with great vocal interplay), Charli XCX (sprightly electropop), Richard Dawson (noisy folk rock), H. Hawkline (Welsh indie), and Dutch Uncles (post-punk pop i guess?).

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      FKAswimfanfandollymix
      12/07/17 9:21am

      Number 1 Angel = Number 1 Album of 2017

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      FKAswimfanfandollymix
      12/07/17 9:26am

      Also, I know you have good taste (which is to say, similar to mine) so I’ll have to check out the ones you mention that I haven’t heard (I know Saint Etienne is great).

      You should check out WY’s album Okay. Emo-tinged Dream pop that consistently pushes the boundaries of the genre. Superb vocals.

      Also, how’d you like the new Charlotte Gainsbourg? I thought it was fantastic.

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    BenLanternKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 8:04am

    Noel Gallagher’s “Who Built the Moon?” is a lot of fun. And Jay-Z’s “4:44" is solid. I might be showing my age with those selections though...

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      swans283BenLantern
      12/07/17 8:58am

      Right? I’ve been an on-and-off Oasis fan through the years (teenage me loved Brit rock), and I’ve been following Noel with a modicum of interest, but mostly in the way you follow solo artists i.e. with a heavy dose of pity listening. But I’m surprised at how listenable it is; I was thrown by how ambitious the first track is and how catchy the others are. Dare I say it’s pretty fun!

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      Bradley CoopersBenLantern
      12/07/17 10:22am

      I don’t think Noel will ever reach the songwriting heights he did in Oasis but I still check out everything he’s put out since. He can still write a damn catchy hook.

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    ol chippenchopsKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 7:17am

    I realize it’s all just a matter of opinion, and normally I’m all about praising Kendrick Lamar, but St. Vincent should be #1. St. Vincent only makes the best albums of any given year.

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      stsomethingol chippenchops
      12/07/17 7:30am

      As St. Vincent’s biggest fan (fight me), I love this level of delusional worship. I can’t cross there with you, but I support it.

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      MwFullerstsomething
      12/07/17 7:36am

      Alright, dude! I’m gonna fight ya!

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    Jazzy TronKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 8:09am

    Three Sun Kil Moon records in 2017 - all pretty good.

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      FKAswimfanfanJazzy Tron
      12/07/17 9:27am

      30 Seconds definitely made my top-20.

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      KlutzJazzy Tron
      12/07/17 9:58am

      I really wish he would return to his Ghosts of the Great Highway sound

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    stsomethingKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 7:28am

    I like this top 20 a lot. I would like it even more if it had The Weather Station, Brand New, and Broken Social Scene in it, but it’s a good list regardless.

    Most of all though, I wish it had EMA on it. Seriously, she’s three stellar albums in (The Future’s Void is much better than people think, once you get over that it is not and has no interest in being Past Life Martyred Saints), and I wish she got more recognition. And Exile in the Outer Ring, her album this year, is straight up brilliant, and (even if she claims this wasn’t the inspiration) a wonderfully bleak and dire framing of the “Trump Country” parts of the US from which she comes.

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      ol chippenchopsstsomething
      12/07/17 7:43am

      Never heard of EMA, but now I’m curious—I’ll have to check out her music.

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      gonzagylot00stsomething
      12/07/17 8:31am

      I came here to say the same thing about EMA.

      Exile in the Outer Ring captures the desperation, rage, ugliness, and I guess feeling of Exile of the people that feel forgotten about by society. At the same time, it’s enjoyable music, and in no way apologizes for the behavior of those people.

      EMA put on a heck of a show when she came to NC...

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    stsomethingKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 7:34am

    4 may be a bit high, but I love seeing Sylvan Esso on this list. That album is so much better than I thought they had in them. Of all the two-person electro pop acts that have popped up in the mid 2010s, who would have guessed it would be Sylvan Esso who would so confidently beat the sophomore slump? Especially when peers like Purity Ring, Phantogram, and AlunaGeorge disappointed with recent releases as much as they did

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      MwFullerstsomething
      12/07/17 7:37am

      Sylvan Esso has silly and cartoonish vocalizations, as it were.

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      stsomethingMwFuller
      12/07/17 7:42am

      I don’t disagree, which is why their first album felt perfectly fine and enjoyable, but just a bit too silly and slight to indicate this band could go further. But I felt the silliness was much toned down on this album, in favor of a kind of dry wit I didn’t know they had in them.

      At the end of the day, her voice is her voice, she can only change it so much, but they treated her vocals much more seriously on this album and it worked for me.

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    Generic Indie KidKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 7:36am

    i’m a boring boy now, because my favorite albums this year were prolly pure comedy and american dream. always foreign and process both are honorable mentions. DAMN is deffo my least favorite kendrick.

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      MwFullerGeneric Indie Kid
      12/07/17 7:38am

      Stephen Malkmus is your co-pilot.

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      Generic Indie KidMwFuller
      12/07/17 7:53am

      i actually listened to the entire pavement discography in one sitting recently, and all of it is just as good as i remember it being.

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    HockeyMikeOnTheGoKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 6:08am

    Wrong.

    The best album was that Arcade Fire album everybody loved.

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      MwFullerHockeyMikeOnTheGo
      12/07/17 6:24am

      Nein, Weezer’s “Pacific Daydream” all the way.

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      HockeyMikeOnTheGoMwFuller
      12/07/17 7:33am

      That was Weezer’s 7th straight album that was a return to form. 7th album in a row that was their best since Pinkerton!

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    TimSPCKelsey J. Waite
    12/07/17 8:52am

    Some honorable mentions:

    Alvvays - Antisocialites
    Ted Leo - The Hanged Man
    Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet
    Margo Price - All American Made
    Run the Jewels - RTJ3

    Also, everything on 19 Naughty III is better than Damn.

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      swans283TimSPC
      12/07/17 9:23am

      RTJ3 was late last year and I think it might have been on their list

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      TimSPCswans283
      12/07/17 9:34am

      Looked it up and it was released online on December 24 and on CD three weeks later. I’ve seen it on some 2017 lists. (And not on last year’s list: https://music.avclub.com/the-a-v-club-s-20-best-albums-of-2016-1798255452)

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