The trends of many year-end summaries for 2017 focus on the negatives. Which makes sense; there was a lot to be negative about. But if you look at the reactions to the current social climate, there are things to be overwhelmingly optimistic about. The most compelling aspect of music this year was the immediacy of its reactions. To loneliness. To heartbreak. To loss. To death. In past years, when music seemed like it could be an escape from the world, it felt important to those who paid attention. But 2017’s music rid itself of the idea that music could be an escape. Instead, these singles and albums all confronted the world’s blemishes in a method that felt meaningful and deeply impactful. Continue reading “The Top 50 Singles of 2017”
For every grandstanding statement that we can apply to the year 2016, the simplest one can be boiled down to this: 2016 had a lot of releases. There were albums that worked better with visual components. There were albums from legends and albums that hinted at fruitful careers for future artists. Essentially, there was a lot to digest – maybe even too much. For every album that established itself as a benchmark record for the year, another album became less prominent in our eyes. But these albums, despite not making our Top 50, are still worth talking about today:
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