Well, turd. I was very far out of the loop this year. Had planned to do as usual, and use the month of January catch up on lotsa stuff I missed, as well as re-visit my faves in order to hammer the list into shape. Instead, what come to pass was a resounding fail. Also, there were lots of disappointments this year, musicswise. That said, I would stack these rekkids up alongside the top of any recent year's list, with the exception of 2015's. I can't recall ever having had even a two-way tie at the top of the heap, let alone three-. But I kept returning to each of these three (along with 2016's Laura Gibson disc) over, and over, and over, and over, and over...and over again this year. Apart from the top ten, these are listed in no particular order within each group. A ----------------------------------------- 1. Chinese Man ~ Shikantaza --> This was only the second or third 2017 release I listened to. And while I knew from first listen that it would land up in the top five, I didn't really expect it to finish at the top of the pops. I suppose I could allow that it could stand to be about five or ten minutes shorter -- but I can't think of any individual song that I'd like to see excised. 1. The Duke Spirit ~ Sky Is Mine --> This marks back-to-back years The Duke Spirit has placed in my top three. Don't think any artist has pulled that feat since thee days of yore, when Robyn Hitchcock so dominated my imagination that I had to put his releases into a separate division. Couldn't possibly be more impressed with the way they've evolved their sound over the space of their last three albums, while at the same time remaining so spectacularly great. I think my holy trinity now comprises of: The Duke Spirit, Cloud Cult, and Wilco (in some order). 1. Heron Oblivion ~ Live At The Chapel --> My god, this band is fucking all-powerful. I don't know whether it's more audacious to put a live album as a band's second release...or to put a live album in which (from the sounds of it) about twenty-five people were in the audience. But I do know this: This record will knock you so hard onto your dimpled ass, you ain't never get up again. 4. Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton ~ Wildflower Blues --> I know everyone's all pissed off at Jolie because she said mean things about Frazey, or whatever. But both of them are riding MAJOR artistic peaks right now. If you wanna not like Jolie as a human person, that's fine -- but don't fail, for that reason, to listen to her records; otherwise, you'll be bumming. 5. Oumou Sangare ~ Mogoya --> Perhaps the most famous vocalist in all of Africa returns with a ferociously great recording. Don't let this one slip through your proverbial cracks. The Black Marble Selection ~ Greener Than The Other Side 6. Lost Balloons ~ Hey Summer --> If they were to ask me to write a blurb, I might put something like, "A pefectly, meticiulously crafted wall of crunchy/twangy powerpop for the masses." Can't figure out whether this reminds of anything. The first Thrills record, maybe? 7. Fujiya and Miyagi ~ Fujiya and Miyagi --> Well, if Ladytron aren't going to get off their lazy asses and make another album, I guess maybe this is actually my favourite electronic band. "R.S.I." is my song of the year; and probably their best cut since "Knickerbocker". 8. Purple Disco Machine ~ Soulmatic --> A completely unassailable platter o' wax, this. 9. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton ~ Choir Of The Mind --> With Bowie's passing and Iggy's retirement, I guess we can all agree that Karen O is the coolest rock star on the planet. But if Karen O had never existed, might *Emily Haines* now be the coolest rock star on the planet? In my estimation, she just might. 10. George Thorogood ~ Party Of One --> First listen, I thought it was going to be in my top five. Subsequent listens dimmed its star a little bit -- but top ten is still pretty great! A- -------------------------------------------- Matthew Squires ~ Tambaleo The Orwells ~ Terrible Human Beings Father John Misty - Pure Comedy The Stevenson Ranch Davidians ~ Amerikana Wooden Wand ~ Toth's Law The Black Angels ~ Death Song Beck Hansen ~ Colors Emily Mure ~ Worth Declan O'Rourke ~ Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine Johnny Flynn ~ Sillion Nick Mulvey ~ Wake Up Now Van Morrison ~ Versatile Al Di Meola ~ Morocco Fantasia Jimmy Chamberlin Complex ~ The Parable Tilasco ~ Capitol Vision Rare Monk ~ A Future Elliott Brood ~ Ghost Gardens Anna Ternheim ~ The Winter Tapes Live Laura Marling ~ Semper Femina Juliana Hatfield ~ Pussycat Kauan ~ Live 13 Lankum ~ Between The Earth And Sky B+ --------------------------------------------- Moon Duo ~ Occult Architecture, Vol. 1 The Grahams ~ The Grahams and Friends Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard ~ Flying Microtonal Banana Highway Hypnosis ~ Highway Hypnosis Ryan Adams ~ Prisoner Valerie June ~ The Order Of Time Singapore Sling ~ Kill Kill Kill (Songs About Nothing) ZZ Ward ~ The Storm Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn ~ Echo In The Valley The National ~ Sleep Well Beast Imany ~ The Wrong Kind Of War The Willowz ~ Fifth Church Of Sun ~ Golden Ram Robyn Hitchcock ~ Robyn Hitchcock Thea Gilmore ~ The Counterweight Sarah Jane Scouten ~ When The Bloom Falls From The Rose Laura Pausini ~ Laura Xmas Chad Van Gaalen ~ Light Information B ---------------------------------------------- Ted Leo ~ The Hanged Man Sleigh Bells ~ Kid Kruschev St. Vincent ~ Mass Seduction Goat ~ Fuzzed In Europe Jeremy Enigk ~ Ghosts Krishna Das ~ Trust In The Heart Caleb Ford ~ A World Unknown Spinning Coin ~ Permo Anna Nalick ~ At Now Amadou and Mariam ~ La Confusion Kevin Morby ~ City Music Frank London Glass House Orchestra ~ Astro-Hungarian Jewish Music