Top 25 Songs of 2017
I usually do this as a Top 20 list, but this year, I just couldn't let go of #'s 21 & 22, and I couldn't get rid of any of the other twenty either, so I just cheated and extended it. These are my personal favorites from 2017. |
| 25 |  | PVRIS
All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell
"Heaven"
I was kind of disappointed by the album, but this track is great. It starts slow, then really takes off. |
| 24 |  | Jule Vera
Waiting on the Sun
"Bad Company"
This is a jaunty little pop ditty about a dysfunctional relationship. |
| 23 |  | Grouplove
Little Mess
"Tell Me a Story"
Slowly strummed acoustic guitar and a nice, relaxed vibe. |
| 22 |  | Torres
Three Futures
"Righteous Woman"
There's a lot of bottled up passion in this song, and Torres' chocolate-rich voice is irresistible. |
| 21 |  | Black Kids
Rookie
"Obligatory Drugs"
This is a dopey song, but it's supposed to be. There's something about it that makes me smile every time I hear it. |
| 20 |  | COIN
How Will You Know If You Never Try
"Talk Too Much"
This one is just a bit of alternapop heaven. It's bouncy and catchy. |
| 19 |  | Dia Frampton
Bruises
"Gold and Silver"
This is a slow, ethereal pop number that's about dreams, the music business, and how much Dia misses her sister and former musical partner Meg. |
| 18 |  | The Flaming Lips
Oczy Mlody
"There Should Be Unicorns"
A slow, strange song that reminds me of Bob Ross on acid. Except that here, we're not painting happy little trees but unicorns -- the ones with the purple eyes, not the green eyes. |
| 17 |  | MisterWives
Connect the Dots
"Machine"
A vocal Tour de Force for vocalist Mandy Lee, who proves that she can sing a lot of words really, really fast. |
| 16 |  | Styx
The Mission
"Locomotive"
A measured, understated ode to a missing spaceship that would serve as a good companion piece to Bowie's "Space Oddity". |
| 15 |  | Rainer Maria
S/T
"Ornaments of Empty"
The ultimate musical tribute to becoming a sex object, fit only to be decorated and displayed. |
| 14 |  | London Grammar
Truth is a Beautiful Thing
"Truth Is a Beautiful Thing"
Yes, vocalist Hannah Reid gives a great performance here. But for me, it's the somber piano parts that make this a great track. |
| 13 |  | Motionless in White
Graveyard Shift
"Not My Type: Dead As Fuck 2"
An over-the-top song in praise of necrophilia. But it's all in good fun. 'Cause, "If she's got a pulse, then she's not my type". |
| 12 |  | Said the Whale
As Long As Your Eyes Are Wide
"Step Into the Darkness"
Another tasty indie rock anthem with a fetching pop hook. |
| 11 |  | Greywind
Afterthoughts
"Afterthoughts"
Lead singer Steph O'Sullivan's voice possesses a happy combination of beauty and power, and both of these attributes are on display in this track. |
| 10 |  | Incubus (CA-USA)
8
"Familiar Faces"
Yeah, yeah, I know, the album kind of sucked. But this track was a winner, even if the band was dumb enough not to recognize it. (It was about the only song off the "8" album they didn't play during their summer tour). |
| 9 |  | The Cranberries
Something Else
"Why"
Losing Dolores O'Riordan recently was a tragic blow to the music world. Weirdly enough, this song, one of only three new ones on the "Something Else" album, is about the afterlife, and a love that even death couldn't kill. |
| 8 |  | Aimee Mann
Mental Illness
"Goose Snow Cone"
According to Aimee Mann, this song was inspired by a photograph of a friend's cat she received while on tour in Ireland. It's a delicate but pleasing song. |
| 7 |  | Tigers Jaw
spin
"Escape Plan"
A sad, dreamy track with some really appealing vocals by Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins. |
| 6 |  | The Birthday Massacre
Under Your Spell
"Endless"
Thematically, this is something of a darker version of The Cranberries' "Why" song. But this one is a little louder, and filled with nicely programmed synths. And you can even dance to it, if you're so inclined. |
| 5 |  | The Magnetic Fields
50 Song Memoir
"Have You Seen It in the Snow"
Stephin Merritt is known for writing songs with a wry, and sometimes, cutting sense of humor. But this track, which is essentially a love song to New York, finds him at his most sincere and sentimental. As another transplanted New Yorker myself, while I see many faults with the city of my birth, this one still sends a flush of warmth through me. |
| 4 |  | Leslie Mendelson
Love and Murder
"Jericho"
Once upon a time, Leslie Mendelson was a Long Islander, and the lead singer of a somewhat successful local jam band called Mother Freedom. Now she's an L.A. gal trying to make it as a solo artist in the cold, hard music business. This wistful and touching folk ballad finds her trying to find her way back home. |
| 3 |  | Linkin Park
One More Light
"One More Light"
The suicide of Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington was another great loss to the music world in 2017. But while the "One More Light" album was justly criticized by fans as being too full of cheesy pop, this, the title track, was one of the best songs of the year. It was written about a friend of the band who died of cancer, and the subsequent death of Bennington only served to make the song even more poignant. |
| 2 |  | Dot Hacker
N°3
"Beseech"
I had never even heard of Dot Hacker before 2017, but this trippy little song grabbed me early in the year and never let me go. While "Beseech" is a quiet song, there are all kinds of interesting little things going on here musically. |
| 1 |  | Eisley
I'm Only Dreaming
"A Song for the Birds"
On this track, lead vocalist Sherri DuPree gets an able assist from her husband, Say Anything's Max Bemis, and just as in the couple's excellent side band Perma, they prove to be a winning combination. Hands down, this is the catchiest alternapop song I've heard in a long time. That's why it's my favorite song of 2017. |
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