Well. In reading the previous incarnations of this annual list, I noticed a theme. A great deal of hand wringing was had about how it had been a rough year due to the death of various iconic musicians and or the election of a finalist in the worst humans ever conceived competition. This was all true. Thankfully, 2017 was a calm breeze, lazily blowing across an uneventful peace where music could once again just be an accoutrement to an idyllic life.
That's obviously not true in the slightest, but would music really mean the same thing right now if it were? I can't speak for others, but it certainly wouldn't for me. Music always has an escapist capability, but these days it seems to take on more of an absolute necessity to do so. As a result, I think I listened to more new music than ever in an attempt to reinforce that quality products can still be made, good people still exist and the communal experience of happiness isn't a thing of the past. Overdramatic as that may sound, it became a legit truth, and most surprisingly lead to an unexpected side affect; an unprecedented inability to count. So here's a list even Roy Moore could love (it's 26 but should be 15):
Debatably-Honorable Mention:
Almost a full collection itself, this list falls into one of two categories; either it was something I really enjoyed but didn't revisit enough OR it had only a limited selection of songs that stuck with me. As I look back in years to come there is very little chance that these would sneak into my actual top 10 (though it's not impossible), however, they are also albums I certainly don't want to forget that have diamond in the rough future potential.

Key Tracks: "Easy Tiger", "Feel it Still", "Rich Friends"

Key Tracks: "Peace of Mind", "Casual Freefall", "Could've Happened to Me"

Key Tracks: "Young Lady, You're Scaring Me", "Put the Kids to Bed", "Don't Mind the Lion"
Key Tracks: "Love is Love", "Bleeding Blue", "Love is Love (Sun On Time)"

Key Tracks: "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness", "Day I Die", "Carin at the Liquor Store"
21. The Killers - Wonderful, Wonderful - If these guys had JUST put out the first two singles from this album, it would be my number 1. Let that sink in for a second. "The Man" is probably my favorite song of the year. It takes everything I love about Michael Jackson and puts it into an unfathomably catchy Killers song. There are multiple choruses, each remarkably, significantly sexier than the last. There is literally no possible way I can't dance to this song. When it first came out, I begged my wife for a good hour to let me go ask a wedding DJ to put it on in a place where no one else would have known it or likely appreciated it. It is truly incredible. Then, "Run For Cover" comes out and though it's not quite otherworldly, it's still very catchy and very good. Unfortunately for me, they released the rest of the album.
Key Tracks: "The Man", "The Man", "The Man", "The Man", "The Man", "The Man", "The Man"

Key Tracks: "Mexican Fender", "Feels like Summer", "Any Friend of Diane's"

Key Tracks: "Total Entertainment Forever", "Two Wildly Different Perspectives", "Ballad of A Dying Man"
Legit Candidates:
These on the other hand may very well scramble their way up into my list in the coming years. As I looked back on previous years in preparation to write this, it was no shock that the top 10 order would surely change as albums have evolved and grown in my experience and appreciation of them. What did surprise me though was that many of the honorable mentions ended up being long term favorites that would have easily snuck into the list if it were written now. So with the same "not wanting to forget" as above, here are a handful more that very well deserve to be on the real deal (and very well could eventually be).
Key Tracks: "Shine on Me", "King of a One Horse Town", "Cherry Bomb"

Key Tracks: "Silver", "Tame Beasts", "Lighthouse"

Key Tracks: "Feet Don't Fail Me", "Feet Don't Fail Me", "Feet Don't Fail Me"
15. Real Estate - In Mind - Matt Else is going to be mad at me. That's all I could think about as I listened to this again and again, enjoying the heck out of it but not knowing any feasible way I could sneak it higher than this. It's an absolutely stellar album, a true leap for a band that looked like it would remain stagnant in a jangly sunny pop holding pattern. A new guitarist combined with bringing back the old keyboardist brought with it some new ideas. For one, it's now a band that likes the needling sound of an (*gasp*) electric guitar, and the new members do a lot to enhance the complexity of their sound. There are jams, true solos and weird bleeps and bloops that would have seemed out of place in previous efforts. It stills allows you to be in the laid back Cali mindset, but in a more cerebral way. In the end, the excellence of the albums ahead of it on this list are the only reason it didn't make it higher. Sorry Else...
Key Tracks: "Darling", "Holding Pattern", "Same Sun"
14. Bonny Doon - Bonny Doon - A newcomer to the scene in 2017, this debut does has excellent promise. Breezy, live to record sounding short tunes spill out, evoking the image of buddies sitting around an afternoon oceanside campfire drinking a couple beers. It's familiar, would fit in any era and allows the listener to pull from their plethora of influences without feeling as if they are directly stealing from any specific one. It just has that FEEL that immediately grips you and makes the music feel authentic. I also had the extremely weird sensation of thinking that one of the singers sounds exactly like what I would sound like (if I had a voice, which I do not). Given some time, growth and refinement, I'd be truly shocked if their next album (whenever that may come) isn't in my top 10.
Key Tracks: "Summertime Friends", "I See You", "Lost My Way"

Key Tracks: "Over Everything", "Continental Breakfast", "Fear is like a Forest"
Key Tracks: "Restart", "L.A. on My Mind", "Failing at Feeling"
Key Tracks: "Milaak", "Every Single Day of Late", "Heresy and Snakes"
The Finalists:
Here lies the cream of the 2017 crop. In a year where six of my favorite bands DIDN'T put out an album (Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Built to Spill, Dawes, Dinosaur Jr. and Teenage Fanclub), it was remarkably hard to whittle everything down based on the incredible output of those who did. It'll be hard for me not to look back at 2017 as a windfall of musical brilliance.

Key Tracks: "I Ain't the One", "Whisperi'lllistentohearit", "Can I Sit Next to You"

Key Tracks: "Star Stuff", "JBS", "Disco Kid"

Key Tracks: "Una", "Your Highness", "Break Me Down"
7. Ryan Adams - Prisoner - The heartbreak is palpable. It's the epitome of someone laying their emotions bare, presumably in an effort to self medicate and potentially though less likely "win her back." The album is 12 tracks and he was so distraught he had 17 more FINISHED songs he put out as a b-side companion, just because. It's not the first time he has pulled this move, but it's the first time I caught it in the moment. On top of everything else, I saw in real time the way it resonated with a friend going through a similar experience. This is an album about the breakup of a marriage and a famous one at that (Mandy Moore). I'm certainly not the first to acknowledge that the pure heartache and depression of losing a long term relationship helps to create great art. As it was, my first impression was to feel bad right along with him, reminiscing about women of yore and lamenting my own inability to write about them in the same meaningful way. But then two things happened. One, Ms. Moore went onto date and become engaged to Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes fame. He happens to be the main craftsman of one of my favorite albums from last year (We're All Gonna Die) and presumably she played a role in helping him to creatively expand, even appearing to sing backing vocals on one track. Secondly, I read the excellent Meet Me in the Bathroom, which happens to portray Mr. Adams in an, um, less than favorable light. So, I'm stuck between loving the art and feeling bad while at the same time being truly better off for the sadness that had to happen for it to exist. Unlike relationships though, one thing that can be said with certainty is this album was one I could put on any place, any day, any time and I would always want to let it run its course.
Key Tracks: "Do You Still Love Me?", "Broken Anyway", "Doomsday"

Key Tracks: "Helpless", "Moving on and Getting Over", "In the Blood"

Key Tracks: "Need to Feel Your Love", "Just Can't Get Enough", "Milk and Honey"
Key Tracks: "Trick", "Pretty Please", "Bittersweet"
Key Tracks: "Strangest Thing", "Nothing to Find", "Pain"
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2. Blitzen Trapper - Wild and Reckless #1/#2 - First, an origin story. Early in the year, the Trapper announced that they would be putting on a stage show. Eric had written a play about two lovers addicted to a new drug referred to as "lightning". They would be the house band, write the score and perform each night during its multi-month run. Unfortunately, it was only done out in Portland and you could only purchase the soundtrack at the shows themselves. Hmm. Flash forward a few months later and they announce they would put out a limited run of 500 vinyl over the summer. It took me approximately .03 seconds to purchase it. That's #1. Then, a few months after that they announced it would ALSO be there next album, but with changes. It would have a few tracks rearranged, re-done track-list and also a few tunes added in. So now, I had 2 albums, 50% of which overlapped but 50% of which was like getting Basement Tape-esque reworked versions and B-sides. Though it was midsummer before I could get in my first listen, I have no problem admitting that it was mid afternoon on a Tuesday with a beer in hand where things actually got a little dusty; it was just that good. The music does what all good BT does, it dances and darts through genres, packs incredible amounts of melodies into each song and provides me ample opportunity to replace all of the lyrics with a variation of my dogs name (another thing that drives my wife nuts in way I can only assume is her secret way of really meaning "Please keep doing that all the time"). It's perfect and I can't think of a more reliable band out there today. (Oh and did I mention that they also put out ANOTHER album in 2017 for Record Store Day, consisting of b-sides and outtakes from earlier in their career? Hachi machi these guys love making music and hot damn do I benefit from it.) Key Tracks: "Wild and Reckless", "When I'm Dying", "Baby Won't You Turn Me On"

Key Tracks: "Jah Werx", "Gay in the South", "Cosmic Cowboy"