When I first thought about doing a top songs of 2017 post, I was a bit underwhelmed. I felt like my list focused two much on late career albums from artists I already liked, and there was a dearth of full albums that really blew me away. Still I made a list anyway and realized I wasn’t completely right in my assessment. My top ten included tracks by Portugal. The Man, Alvvays, and Ed Sheeran. Plus, some of those late career albums are really good, especially Sparks and Noel Gallagher. In the end, when I listened to the playlist, I really enjoyed it.
I also realized that 2017 was very much a year of pop music discovery for me, even if it wasn’t always new. I read Bob Stanley’s Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!, as well as a third of Scott Miller’s Music: What Happened? Both of these unearthed lots of older songs that I hadn’t heard before. 2017 was also my Year of the Bee Gees, and I can’t think of any two albums I enjoyed so much as Mr. Natural and Main Course. So I added a “side 2” to my playlist that includes my top ten new-to-me tracks for the year. With that in place, it felt better, fuller representation of my year.
So here are my top tracks of the year, along with one-sentence mini-reviews for each one. The Spotify links are for expanded playlists that include my top 20 in each category.
Best New Songs of 2017
1. Portugal. The Man “Feel It Still”: Commercial but deserving, “Feel it Still” was instantly identifiable as a hit — and it makes me happy to know that a hit song can still be a good song.
2. Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie “Feel About You”: There’s a lot to love, but possibly the best touch is the little two-note guitar build up to the chorus (runner up: marimba solo).
3. Alvvays “Dreams Tonite”: The line “Counting motorbikes/On the turnpike/One of Eisenhower’s” evokes a wistful blend of nostalgia and infrastructure.
4. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds “She Taught Me How to Fly”: I’m still obsessed with the melody on the lines “It doesn’t matter what your faith is/I see you praying all the time” — it’s also classic atheist Noel singing about God.
5. Sparks “I Wish You Were Fun”: Super catchy and humorous, but with a hint of darkness that bubbles up in a few minor key piano notes.
6. Wesley Stace “The Wilderness Years”: The line “Open your eyes up to love” achieves a musical opening up that feels like the heart of the song.
7. Josh Ritter “Showboat”: Josh Ritter is simply a pro; witness the hooks, the conceit, and the powerhouse coda on “Showboat” if you have doubts.
8. Circa Waves “Stuck”: This is a great, angry pop vocal, especially the snarl on the line “I fucked it up so much.”
9. Ed Sheeran “Galway Girl”: Cheesy, maybe, but Ed Sheeran has a way of connecting with the listener on each and every song, and that’s probably the key to his success.
10. Morrissey: “Spent the Day in Bed”: “Life ends in death/So there’s nothing wrong with being good to yourself/Be good to yourself for once.” Thanks for the reminder, Morrissey.
Best New-To-Me Songs of 2017
1. The Bee Gees “Mr. Natural” (1974): The Bee Gees have pretty much ruined me for harmonizing by most other groups — just listen to the word “again” in the chorus of this song.
2. The Isley Brothers “Summer Breeze” (1973): I love the Seals and Crofts version, but the Isley Brothers electrify it literally and metaphorically.
3. Danny Wilson “Mary’s Prayer” (1987): The start of the second verse sounds like the clouds parting and the sun streaming in.
4. Steely Dan “My Old School” (1973): Among the many, many achievements Steely Dan should be lauded for is their excellent use of backup singers — the “whoa no” at the start of the chorus is tremendous.
5. Gilbert O’Sullivan “Out of the Question” (1972): O’Sullivan has a way with phrasing that really comes through on lines like “Don’t think that I don’t know/I do” — you can absolutely picture that line accompanied by raised eyebrows and a tilt of the head to one side.
6. Barry Ryan “Eloise” (1969): So emotional that’s it’s embarrassing, but glorious nonetheless.
7. Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson “I Know Him So Well” (1985): This song makes me want to pound my chest like Celine Dion while singing along.
8. The Bee Gees “Come on Over” (1975): I’ve really grown to love a Robin lead vocal: weird, tenuous, beautiful.
9. Prefab Sprout “Appetite” (1985): Super smooth, great backing vocals, and evocative lyrics: “Wishes she could call him heartache/But it’s not a boy’s name.”
10. Kylie Minogue “Step Back in Time” (1990): More than just nostalgia, this song celebrates the fact that our musical past is always there for us; the lines “Remember the old days/Remember the O’Jays” have real warmth and joy to them.