Interscope
This year in music saw a number of innovative album releases from acclaimed artists.
Rap great Kendrick Lamar started the year off strongly with "DAMN.," his third, critically lauded LP.
Artists like Lorde, SZA, and St. Vincent followed suit, with standout works that critics universally praised.
To get a full picture of the year's critical consensus in music, we turned to the reviews aggregator Metacritic to rank the most well-received albums of 2017.
Note: Metacritic's ranking excludes free albums, mixtapes, and reissues.
Here are the 25 best albums of the year, according to critics:
25. Rodney Crowell — "Close Ties"New West RecordsCritic score: 86/100
User score: 7.1/10
Sheryl Crow and Rosanne Cash appear alongside country legend Rodney Crowell on his poignant 17th studio album. The Observer called it "delicately sung and immaculately played," and "a high point in an impressive career."
24. Tinawiren — "Elwan"Epitaph
Critic score: 86/100
User score: 8.0/10
The seventh album from Tuareg band Tinawiren wraps rock and blues music up in a drifting, hypnotic sound influenced by the group's homeland, Mali. Exclaim called it "a can't-miss release" that makes "the geographically distant feel welcomingly familiar."
23. Paul Weller — "A Kind Revolution"Parlophone
Critic score: 86/100
User score: 8.2/10
Veteran British rock musician Paul Weller's 13th studio album is a crisp and melodically inventive collection. Record Collector called it "a proper major work, revealing an artist at ease with himself without resting on his laurels."
22. Magnetic Fields — "50 Song Memoir"Nonesuch
Critic score: 86/100
User score: 7.5/10
The sprawling yet inviting five-disc "50 Song Memoir" features one song for each of singer Stephin Merritt's first 50 years of life. The AV Club described it as a "good gimmick" that "has the power to transcend itself."
21. SZA — "CTRL"RCA
Critic score: 86/100
User score: 8.2/10
Kendrick Lamar labelmate SZA comes into her own as one of the most idiosyncratic and compelling songwriters in modern R&B on her debut LP. Pitchfork praised SZA's collection for being "in touch with love's fragilities" and the "tireless work" that love requires.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Here are Spotify's top 5 songs of the year — one of which is its most popular of all time
- The best TV show of every year since 2000, according to critics
- The 5 best new songs you can stream right now
SEE ALSO: Here are Spotify's top 5 songs of the year — one of which is its most popular of all time
