Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2017

Exile in the Outer Ring is a cry of pain and a lament that filters in just enough hope.

Haiku From Zero is fine filler for a late-night dance party, but we can't fathom reaching for this album as often as those prior-too much of it borders on forgettable.

With This Old Dog, his distinctly DeMarco brand of baroque-infused folk is still built for the pauses in life but it feels a little steadier, and a little more self-aware.

With an evolved new collection of tracks that are both hot and smart, Little Dragon has set themselves further apart.

The Weather still ends up being a satisfying psych-rock listen, mostly because the band successfully plays with so many different flavors.

Such complexities not only make RTJ3 the most accomplished chapter in the duo's trilogy of LPs, but will also leave fans eagerly awaiting the next installment in what's proving to be one of hip-hop's most boldly distinctive discographies.

Goths is vivid and light on its toes, as it runs the gamut of various "goth" personalities both historical and fictional, showcasing one of Darnielle's greatest carnal sins—his ability to glean color from unexpected places.

Home Counties has much to offer in the way their greatest records always have-infectious hits, interesting soundscapes, nods to musical history, all under the sprawling umbrella of pop.

Girlpool base their songwriting around tenderness, vulnerability, and a complete disinterest in pretending not to embrace those things, and Powerplant finds them at their most transparent.

The Weather Station inhabits the intersection of personal and polished like few albums can.

Ununiform finds Tricky blending his Guyanese influences together with R&B, reggae, house, and Russian hip-hop, creating an experience that transcends most contemporary listening experiences.

It's a good sign when the opening seconds of an album sound cool enough to just loop and repeat, and Deerhoof pull that off on Mountain Moves, their fourteenth album. 

Beyond the hushed sounds of the record, Byrne, for the most part, is not timid but in possession of a rich confidence.

The funneled, slow churning, sample drum-loop rhythms and translucent sheets of filtered guitar, horns, and keys deepen the dimensions where reflections can loiter.

Complex layered production and funky beats jump off in different directions mixing autotune with tracked voices, everything zeroing back in on the trauma of love lost and love obliterated.

Expectations for Sampha's first full-length album proper have been sky high. Previous collaborative efforts have in fact been nigh-on flawless, so much so that it's hard to imagine one of modern soul music's most talented voices featuring on anything less than above average. It's unfortunate then that Process, bar some stand-out moments, proves to be somewhat underwhelming.

Ultimately, Danilova uses Okovi to disclose the trauma and pain that has encircled her. At times it feels like confession, but whatever the purpose it's a deeply emotive and enthralling journey. It's one we are all the better for being part of.

In the scheme of things, Weather Diaries may only be the band's third best LP; however, when it's coming in behind Nowhere and Going Blank Again, two of the most worshiped discs of the shoegaze era, deserving mention within the same breath is no small feat.

Semper Femina is powerful display of Marling's craft and, the album's driving force, love.

Godspeed continue to prove they are masters of fashioning sonic atmospheres, no matter how quiet, no matter how huge.

Melodrama's swirls of strings and bursts of glimmering synths show a pop star in her prime.  Between rage, elation, and all of the mistakes in-between, Lorde is more self-aware than she's ever been.

Their latest, Volcano, practically sheds the skin of their earlier approach, with the band leaning on their melodic strengths to emerge with a largely new identity that also seems a surprisingly natural fit.

If last year's Singing Saw had the pace and feel of going down river, City Music has that of heading down the avenue. Morby vacillates in both settings comfortably, claiming them as his element.