Joel Atkinson – Music Director
Mountain Movers – s/t
Chuck Johnson – Balsams
Hand Habits – Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void) LP / yr heart 7″
Land of Talk – Life After Youth
Bing And Ruth – No Home Of The Mind
Jens Lekman – Life Will See You Now
Slowdive – s/t
Happyness – Write In
Destroyer – ken
Alvvays – Antisocialites
Darlene Guzman – Assistant Music Director
Tyler the Creator – Flower Boy
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
SZA – CTRL
Kailey Townsend – General Manager
DJ Kale’s Favorite Albums of 2017 (in no particular order)
SZA – ctrl (Ok, but this is my album of the year)
Julien Baker – Turn Out the Lights
Tyler, the Creator – Flower boy
Real Estate – In Mind
Toro y Moi – Boo Boo
Nicotine’s Famous Honey – An Open Letter
BROCKHAMPTION – Saturation II
King Krule – The Ooz
Mac DeMarco – This Old Dog
Hoops – Routine
Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked at Me
…and the ultimate guilty pleasure album that I don’t like admitting that I purchased goes to
Harry Styles – Harry Styles
Bobby Bickley – Program Director
1) Four Tet – New Energy
2) Iglooghost – Neō Wax Bloom
3) Lunice – Ccclx
4) Tyler, the Creator – Flower Boy
5) Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – The kid
6) sampha – process
7) gila – pick six (g-sides)
8) bonobo – migration
9) vince staples – big fish theory
10) alt-J – relaxer
Bonus round:
death grips – steroids (crouching tiger hidden gabber megamix)
Todd Boudreau (Tangled Roots)
Tangled Roots 10 Favorite Americana Albums of 2017
1. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit “The Nashville Sound”
2. Margo Price “All American Made”
3. JD McPherson “Undivided Heart and Soul”
4. Amanda Anne Platt and The Honeycutters “Amanda Anne Platt and The Honeycutters”
5. Turnpike Troubadours “A Long Way From Your Heart”
6. Chuck Prophet “Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins”
7. Will Hoge “Anchors”
8. Chris Stapleton “From A Room Vol 1”
9. Band of Heathens “Duende”
10. Emi Sunshine “Ragged Dreams”
Cole Crawford
ALBUMS
this old dog – mac demarco
soft sounds from another planet – japanese breakfast
in mind – real estate
fm 2030 – reptaliens
the weather – pond
antisocialites – alvvays
somersault – beach fossils
city music – kevin morby
lotta sea lice – courtney barnett & kurt vile
capacity – big thief
SONGS
dum surfer – king krule
list of people (to try and forget about) – tame impala
lil thing – knox fortune
some – steve lacy
chronic sunshine – cosmo pyke
rolling stoned – king gizzard and the lizard wizard & mild high club
moonlight on the river – mac demarco
saint ivy – beach fossils
saturday – real estate
paint me silver – pond
Michael DeMarco
ALBUMS
- Nudy Land – Young Nudy
- No Shape – Perfume Genius
- Crack-Up – Fleet Foxes
- Everybody Works – Jay Som
- Meeting of the Waters – Animal Collective
- Flower Boy – Tyler, the Creator
- Brick Body Kids Still Daydream – Open Mike Eagle
- Capacity – Big Thief
- Big Fish Theory – Vince Staples
- Boo Boo – Toro y Moi
SONGS
- Hurry Along – Trap Ketchum
- Wild Life (Let Me Know) – Matthew Lee Coltrane
- Diorama – Choker
- The French Press – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
- Provider – Frank Ocean
- Did You See Nav? – Nav
- Wild Irish Roses – Smino
- Sorcerer – Milo
- The Weather – Pond
- Mystery – Fabiana Palladino
Matt Dube
1. Idles – Brutalism
2. Clowns – Lucid Again
3. Iron Reagan – Crossover Ministry
4. The Priceduifkes – Goathorse
5. Dead Bars – Dream Gig
6. The Lillingtons – Stella Sapiente
7. Iron Chic – You Can’t Stay Here
8. Power Trip – Nightmare Logic
9. Pissed Jeans – Why Love Now
10. Flatfoot 56 – Odd Boat
Honorable Mention – The Eradicator S/T for taking a 5-minute comedy sketch and making a hardcore album about it.
Kyle French (The Hip Hop Enthusiast)
Saturation by Brockhampton
Saturation II by Brockhampton
DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar
Flower Boy by Tyler the Creator
All Amerikkkan Badass by Joey Badass
Laila’s Wisdom by Rapsody
The Saga Continues by Wu-Tang Clan
4eva Is A Mighty Long Time by Big KRIT
The Never Story by J.I.D.
4:44 by Jay Z
Kyle Jackson (DJ KJ)
Humanz (Gorillaz)
DAMN. (Kendrick Lamar)
Quiet Ferocity (The Jungle Giants)
Sacred Hearts Club (Foster the People)
Funk Wave Bounces Vol.1 (Calvin Harris)
Ti Amo (Phoenix)
Antisocialites (Alvvays)
Young Detectives (Satellite Stories)
NAV (NAV)
Blossom (Milky Chance)
Danny Katz (DJ Bootsnkatz)
1. Bicep – Bicep
2. Honey Dijon – The Best of Both Worlds
3. Octo Octa – Where Are We Going
4. Call SupeRr – Arpo
5. Moon Boots – First Landing
6. Cut Copy – Haiku from Zero
7. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – The Kid
8. Chicago Afrobeat Project feat Tony Allen – What Goes Up
9. Maya Jane Coles – Take Flight
10. Kelala – Take Me Apart
Amy Orlomoski (Bluegrass Cafe)
For what it’s worth, here is a completely subjective list of my favorite Bluegrass releases of 2017. The selections are not ranked but are listed alphabetically.
Eddie Adcock – “Vintage Banjo Jam” (Patuxent Music)
Big Country Bluegrass – “Let Them Know I’m From Virginia” (Rebel)
Feller & Hill – “Brothers And Heroes” (Rural Rhythm)
Gibson Brothers – “In The Ground” (Rounder)
Mark Kuykendall, Bobby Hicks & Asheville Bluegrass – “Forever And A Day” (Rebel)
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver – “Life Is A Story” (Mountain Home)
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers – “The Long-Awaited Album” (Rounder)
Mile Twelve – “Onwards” (Delores The Taurus Records)
Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers – “The Story We Tell” (Rebel)
Mac Wiseman – “I Sang The Song (Life Of The Voice With A Heart)” (Mountain Fever Records)
Daniel Ruskin
Brazil – Declan McKenna
Too Young – Ayokay, Baker Grace
Rendezvous – DEAMN
Too Close – Prismo
Walls – Quinn XCII
Girls Like Me – Will Joseph Cook
Turn It Up – Penguin Prison
Our City – TRXD, Emilie Adams
I Still Wanna Know, Goldroom Remix – RAC, Rivers Cuomo
Bad Habit – December Streets
Erik Schweitzer
1. Milo – Who Told You to Think ? ? ! ! ? ! ? ! ? !
2. Natalia Lafourcade – Musas
3. Bell Witch – Mirror Reaper
4. King Krule – The Ooz
5. Tyler, the Creator – Flower Boy
6. Neil Cicierega – Mouth Moods
7. Foxygen – Hang
8. Big K.R.I.T. – 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
9. Bedwetter – Volume 1: Flick Your Tongue Against Your Teeth and Describe the Present.
10. Jon Wayne – Rap Album Two
Ryan Sterling
ALBUMS
1. Saturation by Brockhampton
2. DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar
3. Antisocialites by Alvvays
4. The Way Through by Deca
5. Apocalipstick by Cherry Glazerr
6. Promise Everything by Basement
7. ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ by Joey Bada$$
8. Gracie and Rachel by Gracie and Rachel
9. Pizzaface by Hammydown
10. Sultan’s Curse by Mastodon
SONGS
1. This Old Dog by Mac DeMarco
2. HEAT by Brockhampton
3. See You Again by Tyler the Creator
4. Pizzaface by Hammydown
5. Diving Woman by Japanese Breakfast
6. DUCKWORTH. by Kendrick Lamar
7. Doubt by Charlotte Day Wilson
8.. The Lord of Lightning by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
9. MOTHER by IDLES
10. This Year by Beach Fossils
Shira Tall
SONGS
Mercury – Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister
Remember That Night – Grouplove
Perfect Places – Lorde
Don’t Let It Get To You – Rostam
So Close – Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness
Don’t Take the Money – Bleachers
The Breakup – LANY
Raining – The Front Bottoms
Magic – Wild Cub
Suit and Jacket – Judah & The Lion
Johnny Timewarp (Dark Side of the Highway)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
-“The Valley” by The Whiskey Charmers
OTHER FAVORITE ALBUMS (ALPHABETICAL BY ARTIST):
“Americana” by Ray Davies
“So You Wannabe an Outlaw” by Steve Earle and the Dukes
“Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead” by The Grateful Dead
“Ubiquitous Postmortem” (EP) by Tony Jones and the Jerktones
“Greetings from Mars” by LugNaut
“Lost Vegas Hiway” by Jeff Mix and the Soundhearts
“Big Wow” by Mod Hippie
“Surface to Air” by Chris Murphy
“God’s Problem Child” by Willie Nelson
“This Highway” by Zepaniah OHora with the 18 Wheelers
Alexia Williams
SONGS
1. Kiwi – Harry Styles
2. Sorry Not Sorry – Demi Lovato
3. Slow Hands – Niall Horan
4. Back In The USA – Green Day
5. Feels – Calvin Harris
6. At My Best – Machine Gun Kelly ft. Hailee Steinfeld
7. Too Good At Goodbyes – Sam Smith
Josh Young
Mountain Movers – Mountain Movers
Oneohtrix Point Never – Good Time
Jlin – Black Origami
Shirese – Very Sexy Carsick
Liars – TFCF
Throttle Elevator Music – Retrorespective
Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Luciferian Towers
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Vietnam War
Xiu Xiu – Twin Peaks Soundtrack