Pitchfork Best Albums 2017

Oh look...an 8.1 review score for Thundercat in 2011 long before Kendrick Lamar’s last couple of projects. Thanks for coming out though.

Thundercat: The Golden Age of Apocalypse Album Review | Pitchfork

 

Rolling Stone (back in the day) also used to review albums in this fashion, with lyrics and themes seemingly getting a huge percentage share of how the album was perceived. As a player, I didn't hear music the same way and recognized that early on. What moved my spirit much more often had to do with note combinations, rhythms, key changes, particular approaches to certain notes, etc. It was this way right from the beginning, even at 10-11 years old. Never really changed although as I got older, I was more able to appreciate the labor and artistry that comes in a great lyric.

Have always felt that it's easier for critics to review the lyrics and themes because it's a pretty intellectual exercise, and it fits with what writers tend to value most. It's also why I used to enjoy guest-review interviews so much in guitar or musician magazines. I almost always could pick out and identify with (often agree with) what they cited being of interest in the music.

Would seem to me that this difference is OK. It's a huge world out there, and we don't all have to be moved by the same things.

 

I have not one on this list.....think Im finally moving into my old man phase of record collecting

 

Should have mentioned Flying Lotus in addition, but thanks. I like (and have) each of Thundercat's records. But they aren't ridiculously innovative. Why would they review him and not (for example) Victor Wooten? Wooten's done projects down the same vein since the 1990s, and is a broadly more influential player to boot.

 

It's because the editors have to be ESPECIALLY ironic. Regular everyday ironic simply won't do. Nothing could be more hipster ironic than not sporting the usual hipster ironic beard. The fact that they don't have them only make them more steeped in irony than usual.

As for me, I own nothing on the list. In addition, I'm tired of being force fed Kendrick Lamar's genius all the time. I listen to it and get bored instantly. Yeah...I get he has more to his message than a lot of rappers but still...it's boring and all sounds the same.

 

I have heard of 12 artists on the list, but I own none of these albums. I usually go through a lot of the "best of the year" lists and check out stuff I've never heard.

 

I physically own five albums here and can say Ive heard/streamed/checked out another ten or so. Genuinely at least twenty Ive never even hard of...

This is no bad thing I couldn't possibly keep up with or afford to be that well informed.

 

Pretty good list, Kendrick's album is absolutely superb and fully deserves it.

Sick of that Kelea record keep being rammed down the throat though, both in the pre and post release hype. FKA Twigs for me

Out of the albums I own from that list, I would of put Big Thief's album in the Top 10, along with St Vincent and Arca. I'm also glad King Krule was up there, ignored on the other lists.

 

Amen...I want to know how good the hooks are. Because in my opinion, that's the number one thing missing in most modern rock. I too listen to music the way you do...it's not just you.

 

I have only twelve of them, but I don’t buy hip hop. I saw Sampha warm up for the xx and enjoyed it, so I may pick that one up. I don’t find fault with Pitchfork’s list. It’s been a weak year for pop/rock/indie in my view.

 

Yep, me too. Not a one. Only a handful I've even heard of. The current scene has clearly passed me by as well. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it or it's bad. It's simply passed me by.

 

I'm with you, man!

 

Nobody can mess up a list like Pitchfork. They have a talent.

This years list looks just like every other list from other sources. No one is taking a chance.

I would like to see a rap free list. I don't know how you are comparing Kendrick Lamar to Lana del ray. that doesn't even make sense. I don't like either one for the record.

 

Are you an ostrich?

 

That's right. Haha.

 

That's really how I feel about it.

 

I think you are on to something here. Not wide enough net is really an accurate statement, but I guess they decide who they want to be as a website.

 

Glad to see that King Krule album at number 3. Was my favourite album of the year.

Also from the reddit AMA they did, this list was voted on by 70 people that write and work for the site. And this from a site that reviews hip hop, rock, pop, classical, jazz, ambient, etc. Seems like a lot of people that make fun of Pitchfork are stuck with an outdated idea of just what the site has become.

 

Looking at the 2017 list, I've heard of 15 or so of the artists (enough that I could tell you genre, etc.) and haven't heard a single album. I might hear one or two at some point.

Compare this to Pitchfork's Top 50 in 2007 where I had owned about half the list and was familiar with all in the top 10 except #9 and #10. Gosh, I feel old.

 

Looking at the list and following their reviews it seems they've moved the goalposts a bit on what they want to review and promote. Rock music, unless it's a long established act, is pretty much ignored in favor of rap and electronic music. Most of the stuff that shows up on their site I have no interest in.

 

I have seven (War On Drugs, LCD, St. Vincent, Priests, Slowdive, Del Rey, Fleet Foxes), have wantlisted three more and am a lapsed fan on another. Those numbers're halved from, say, a decade ago. The even-bigger shift's in the upper reaches of the list where I really deviate from the consensus. In 2008 I had eight of P4K's top ten. This year, none.

But I've bought 65 "new" records this year and P4K reviewed 90 per cent of 'em. A fortysomething post-punk/new wave adherent with enthusiastic leans toward Beach Boys, Stax and Sinatra, P4K and I coexist peaceably because I browse it like I would a supermarket or a Barnes & Noble. Two-thirds of the aisles I mightn't wander down, but I look forward to each visit.

P4K's a daily read but ultimately just a loud voice contributing to the more valuable aggregators (Meta, AOTY, ADM) nowadays.

 

I have three of these albums, all great - The xx, St. Vincent, Big Thief but most of my favorites of the year didn't make this list like Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Wolf Alice, Sharon Jones, just to name a few.

I consider myself pretty up to date when it comes to new music but I can't understand the fascination with War On Drugs. I swear every song I've heard from them sounds the same. I'm willing to accept that it's just me.

 

It's not just you. I don't get the hype either.

 

Ditto.

 

Please nobody tell them. Some of the best unintentional comedy on this site comes from people using state-of-1998 cliches about Pitchfork's editorial staff and target demographics. Mentioning that it's owned by the same company that publishes Vanity Fair and the New Yorker might cut down on the bearded hipster in Mom's basement cracks, and then where would we be?

{Own about a dozen, most of my favorites not listed, don't care, not my list.)