Top 10 Albums of 2017

10. MILANO - Daniele Luppi and Parquet Courts (Starring Karen O)

Like fellow New York transplant Aziz Ansari, Parquet Courts had a smash hit in 2016 and followed it up in 2017 by getting really into Italy. A collaboration with Italian composer Daniele Luppi and Yeah Yeah Yeahs vocalist Karen O wasn't the natural next step for a group known for chronicling Brooklyn gentrification, but the band formerly known as Parkay Quartz has always enjoyed throwing critics a curveball. MILANO is apparently Luppi's tribute to Milan in the 80s. Judging by O's vocals on "Talisa" and the instrumental closer "Cafe Flesh," Milan in the 80s was pretty sexy. Best track: Parquet Courts' jerky guitars, O's playfulness, and Luppi's ... Italianess?... blend perfectly on "Flush."

9. Dedicated to Bobby Jameson - Ariel Pink

Following up his two most polished and popular albums to date, Ariel Pink returns to his first love: artfully disheveled pop that sounds like Beach Boys outtakes. The maturity first seen on Mature Themes and the darkness that crept into pom pom are still there, but nearly every song on this album still manages to be certifiably catchy. I'd give Pink a lot of credit for his hard work if he weren't so adamantly anti-effort. "Feels Like Heaven" and "Another Weekend" are quintessential Pink, and probably the ones you should check out, but my fave is the manic "Bubblegum Dreams."

8. The French Press - Rolling Blackouts C.F. (AKA Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever)

For my money, the best thing to come out of Australia since Tame Impala. This is great music to throw on when you just want to zone out and gaze out the window, but Rolling Blackouts C.F. is a bit edgier and has a bit more to say than a lot of similar indie rock acts. Case in point: if you can avoid getting sucked into the pleasant whirlpool of the title track, you'll notice the lyrics are a dialogue between two brothers engaged in a long-distance conversation made difficult by spotty wifi.

7. I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone - Chastity Belt

Chastity Belt's early work is punky and full of titles like "Cool Slut" and "Giant Vagina," and I was totally into that, but Used to Spend finds success with a mellower approach. Kim Gordon vibes, complemented by jangly guitar reminiscent of 90s shoegaze. No disrespect to Julia Shapiro, a wonderful vocalist, but my favorite song is "Stuck," where drummer Gretchen Grimm takes over lead vocal duties and the result absolutely entrances.

6. american dream - LCD Soundsystem

James Murphy ended LCD Soundsystem with much fanfare in 2011 and felt very, very conflicted about getting the band back together. It was worth it. More pensive than Murphy's earlier albums (which is saying something), american dream sees him return to his electro roots while also acknowledging the bruises, regrets, and losses he's experienced over a long career. Best track: "Call the Police" is a 7-minute synth-driven ballad about a party gone wrong. It would have fit on any of LCD's previous albums, but it also felt extremely on-message in 2017.

5. Brutalism - Idles

I was angry a lot in 2017, and so were Idles. Musically and lyrically abrasive. Laced with condemnations of Tory social policies and snearing references to Exeter and Basquiat. I think this is what Vampire Weekend would write if they were English, and also on meth. Best track: "Well Done," in which lead singer Joe Talbot roars that he'd rather cut his nose off than get a degree and talks shit about The Great British Baking Show.

4. Apocalipstick - Cherry Glazerr

Colorful, upbeat, deceptively soulful, and honest in its depiction of millennial femininity, Apocalipstick reminds me of Broad City more than anything else, although maybe that's just because they admit to wearing their underpants three days in a row on "Trash People." Like Ilana Glazer, Cherry Glazerr is boisterous but at times ("Nuclear Bomb") downright sweet. Best track: "Humble Pro," Clementine Creevy's kitchen-sink ode to a significant other who knows how to "burn that shit on low."

3. In Mind - Real Estate

Released on March 17, this album hit me as a seriously bleak winter finally gave way to spring. Flowing, naturalistic, laid-back, intricate. And before you ask, In Mind was recorded entirely after Mark Mondanile was kicked out of the band for alleged sexual misconduct, so you can listen guilt-free. Best track: The opener, "Darling," is, to me, the sonic equivalent of the first warm day of spring, right up there with "Blue Sky" by the Allman Brothers. Also, don't miss the interactive music video for "Stained Glass."

2. It's a Myth - Sneaks

Sneaks' Eva Moolchan is the new David Byrne. Groovy basslines, clipped lyrics consisting almost entirely of non-sequitors, and a stage presence as artful and technically proficient as it is endearingly geeky. Guaranteed to make whatever you're doing more fun. This album is like nothing else that came out this year, but with a total runtime of 18 minutes it's also utterly accessible. Just listen to the whole thing, please. (If you really only have time for one song, make it "Look Like That")

1. Half-Light - Rostam

Oh, wow.

When they broke out, Vampire Weekend drew praise for their inventive vocals and unorthodox instrumentation. They went on to refine their sound and become one of the most acclaimed bands of the last decade. It's incredible, then, that former VW member and producer Rostam Batmanglij has made all that look like mere prologue with his debut solo effort.

Half-Light is sprawling. Rostam calls to mind Appalachia in one song, the Caribbean in the next, while the instrumentation ranges from sitars on "Wood" to some kind of freaky voice modulator on "When." And while his influences are plain to see, the sound is something entirely new. I don't know what genre this is, nor do I know how to describe the talent of someone who can play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, double bass, slide guitar, drums, synthesizer, glasser (what?), shaker, piano, and harpsichord while coming up with heavenly arrangements for horns and string sections, all of which Rostam is credited with doing on this album. Oh, and there's his vocals, enunciated with such joie de vivre that you can see the singer grinning when you close your eyes. I don't care that it didn't make "Best New Music," this is a fucking masterpiece, the culmination of a decade of work but also, I hope, just the beginning for Rostam as a solo artist.

Best tracks: "Bike Dream" for getting up in the morning, "Sumer" for chilling, "EOS" for going to sleep, "Gwan" for the catharsis we craved in 2017.