My Favorite Records of 2017

1 Mavis Staples If All I Was Was Black
At 78, Mavis continues to make fantastic records. This is her third produced by Jeff Tweedy, and it's their best collaboration to date.



2 Jason Isbell The Nashville Sound
Everything he releases will be compared to 2013's Southeastern. He'll likely never equal that masterpiece, but some of his best songs are on this record.



3 Aimee Mann Mental Illness
One of the greatest songwriters of my lifetime. And as courageous as they come.



4 Neil Young Hitchhiker
This isn't *new* music so I'm not sure it should be eligible, but whatever, it's classic.

5 LCD Soundsystem American Dream
I haven't given this record nearly as much time as it deserves, but every listen, I find something new to love.

6 Josh Ritter Gathering
Ritter's records aren't as consistent as they used to be, but all of his recent records have a number of gorgeous songs.



7 Ray Davies Americana
I just discovered this brilliant record. Davies + The Jayhawks is a beautiful pairing.

8 Jeff Tweedy Together at Last
Hopefully a sign that 2018 will bring us our first proper Jeff Tweedy solo record.

9 Arcade Fire Everything Now
The title track is so good that it deserves a spot in the top ten.



10 Juana Molina Halo
Juana Molina doesn't release bad records. Ever.

Need more listens:
Magnetic Fields 50 Song Memoir
Kevin Morby City Music
Joan Shelley Joan Shelley
James Elkington Winters Woma
David Rawlings Poor David's Almanak
Kendrick Lamar DAMN.
Jens Lekman Life Will See You Now
Bonnie "Prince" Billy Best Troubadour






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