ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2017

It worked for me finally. Now it doesn't again but at least I had the experience xxp

amazingly i have 2 of the albums : BICEP and GAS.
both of which were top of my own personal list.
the rest means little, but still, this rundown was ace.
oh, and that animated GIF thing was insanely good gr8080

This was lots of fun (even if my computer won't display the gif). Thanks to the pollrunners as always.

Interesting that Miguel appeared on 10 different ballots and only appeared at 94. It started a lot higher on my ballot when I first put it together, but in the end slid right down. At least he did better than other previous winners Haim.

ta to gr8080 & co., this was v good. I voted for 6 out of the top 20; feels like the 77 has come closer to me rather than the other way round but idk

both of them did better than Big Boi (who i didn't remember won the albums poll a few years ago until just now.)

many thanks to seandalai for crunching the numbers and fielding ballots

big ups to forks for the insane amount of time spent in Spotify compiling playlists for noms and top 77s

thank you to everyone who voted - this year could have been a bummer due to a dip in participation, but you all made up for it with a pair of really fun, cool, and weird lists

and a special shout-out to my counterpart Johnny Fever - most people don’t know that seandalai keeps us both in the dark with regards to the top 77 we’re not rolling out, and it’s been a pleasure sharing that dynamic with him for the last four years.

As JF is stepping away from poll-running starting next year, we’ll be in need of someone to do the album rollout next year - photoshop skills a plus but by no means mandatory. hit up sean or myself if you’re interested!!

back atcha grady

thanks for running the poll guys. amazing work.
have to say, I found this year's results to be a little lacklustre and not really to my tastes. A fruit salad of reedy experimental electronic music, standard issue indie rock, plus the usual ILM staples. I enjoyed a lot of albums this year but as this was the first full year of having a Spotify account, plus learning to DJ properly I've been more interested I individual tracks and/or albums with a big immediate sound, which seems to be the opposite of this poll bar a few exceptions.

looking at this list overall, a lot of the electronic and dance music is reminding me, texturally, of how indie music started to sound around 10 years ago - blurry and indistinct, lacking in bold colours, which is just not where my head is at rn.

still, a great poll and good to see some faves in there including Migos and Chino Amobi. See you on the other thread

What a cool fun list, good job ilm

great list, but sad there's no jane weaver

Thanks gr80, it's been a pleasure indeed. Looking forward to enjoying the polls (for at least one year) as a regular voter.

btw, I'd nominate Moka as a poll partner, but she may be way too busy.

not enough emo in the top 77

thanks guys for all the hard work. wasn't able to follow along as closely as in previous years but i'm looking forward to catching up on the playlists.

another thanks here

do u like drums

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 1 February 2018 19:21 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah? well me too

― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 1 February 2018 19:21 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

<3 you all

Really complex feelings about Susanne this year it's a mix between TOO HIGH and THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ARTIST OF THE DECADE

haha what that gif was awesome!

thank you poll runners!

work has been very busy this week so have not been able to follow but look forward to listening through the albums I'm not familiar with

For no real reason, I had stopped keeping up with sad computer music. The Four Tet is sounding very satisfying and comforting so far. I think There Is Love in You was the last one I heard by them.

― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Wednesday, January 31, 2018 5:00 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think you will enjoy his Morning Side 12" immensely, masterpiece alert

btw, I'd nominate Moka as a poll partner, but she may be way too busy.

― Johnny Fever, Friday, February 2, 2018 3:13 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Would endorse.

69 THE NATIONAL "Sleep Well Beast"
Did not listen too much to this but the times I did it sounded great, Day I Die a highlight, I'm certain this will have a long afterlife, just like TWFM

60 WILEY "Godfather"
Guy's in great shape, v enjoyable

49 JULIEN BAKER "Turn Out the Lights"
Hurt Less a standout, but this whole album is so good - it's no Sprained Ankle, but why should it be? Only reason I didn't listen to it more is because... feelings ;_;

38 FOUR TET "New Energy"
Guy just keeps getting better, whoever mentioned that (at least in hindsight) Rounds can seem a bit busy otm - he seems really comfortable in his style by now, and I always have time to listen to his drums

37 THE CLIENTELE "Music From The Age Of Miracles"
A beautiful surprise, got me through the autumn

35 ST VINCENT "Masseduction"
Long time fan, for some reason I never sat down to listen to this one. Unrelated, I think the Byrne collab is p good.

19 DESTROYER "ken"
We will all be better off when we stop expecting Destroyer to recreate/top Kaputt. This was a good record indeed.

7 RICHARD DAWSON "Peasant"
I'm not sure if imago likes this

Wiley album charts but Dizzee's doesn't?

Thank you amazing poll runners g80808080 and seandalai! I enjoyed this roll-out immensely.

Tim I'm amazed you hadn't heard the Japanese Breakfast album given its such Tim catnip.

I voted for both Wiley and Dizzee but Wiley's is better. They're both comfortably into the dreaded Return To Form segment of their career now. Difference with Wiley is that this is actually his best album and the record that people had been crying out for all along. Obviously the J Hus record makes them both look like dinosaurs.

I like all the comments about blurry, low-key, indistinct saddo music. you'll all be old one day, fuckers.

I think I got 16 or 17 votes into the Top 77 (J Hus, Kendrick, Japanese Breakfast, Hannah Peel, Wiley, Sacred Paws, the Weather Station, Chino Amobi, Charly Bliss, James Holden, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Bicep, GAS, Wolf Alice, Julie Byrne, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, maybe Slowdive and Future). Probably my indiest ballot yet, which is the polar opposite of my tracks list.

btw in the U2 topped the list

in the end*

I like all the comments about blurry, low-key, indistinct saddo music. you'll all be old one day, fuckers.

― bizarrer Gandhara (Noodle Vague), Friday, February 2, 2018 8:53 AM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hah! I think I had more tolerance for this kind of thing in my 20s. Maybe it's a sign of my hearing declining that I'm asking for more distinct sounds that get to the GODDAMN POINT as I inch towards the 40 mark

I just want to be gently lulled into my eternal slumber

plus, y'know, life = blurry, low-key, indistinct

If you're waiting for something to get to the point you've probably missed what the point is.

NV I'd be really interested to see your ballot because I really have no idea what you like except for Gangnam Style and Schoenberg and I don't think either of them were eligible this time round.

NV should vote !

Thanks for all the hard work poll runners

xxp to Matt DC, oh sure, i agree. but increasingly i'm starting to relate to Lex's complaint from a few years ago about 'music for music journalists to listen to while staring at into the screen at 2am. Not that there isnt' a time and place for that kind of thing, there just seems to be an abundance of it. See you on the soca thread ;-)

I'm surprised Stormzy didn't place. I thought he was just as popular as J Hus round here

paolo, we are closest neighbours. great ballot, if i do say so myself.

Weirdly feels like Stormzy's time in the sun is already passing (or at least that's the impression I get) while J Hus is at peak hype. Wiley's work is impressive for a vet

xp thanks! I liked yours too

Stormzy's headlining a day at Wireless that sold out in record time, I'd say he's fine. Grime in general is old-hat compared to what J Hus and friends are doing but everyone knows that anyway.

I think I don't listen voraciously to enough new albums to be a viable music-poll voter. things I've been into this year include Wiley, GAS, Migos, Kehlani, did TQD even make it?, Kendrick...maybe the Vince Staples but I'm not half as into it as Summertime '06 at the moment, JLin. I need to hear the J Hus album but I know that would be my bag, and I was unaware of Wednesday Campanella but I'm keen to listen to that, suspect i'll be all over it.

Also Zaytoven's Trapping Made It Happen but I don't even know if that's an "album". Probably other things I can't remember at work, dancewise especially. I tend to shove the things I like into big random playlists with stuff from earlier years so I don't think much about albums as albums nowadays, and most of what I'm into is about sound and texture as much as artistic definition maybe.

anyway it's handy when these lists come up with even a few suggestions that I can be late to in 2018, it's just a bit of fun.

what i'm getting from the few times i've delved deeper is that most of J Hus's cohorts sound very very similar to J Hus, even down to the tonality of their voices. could be wrong as i've only scraped the surface. Also I'm getting very confused about the term 'Afrobeats' now.

J hus was robbed

Grime in general is old-hat compared to what J Hus and friends are doing but everyone knows that anyway.

Agreed. The old guard in grime (eg Wiley, Skepta, JME, Ghetts, P Money etc) are still good at what they do but there's very few new MCs and producers coming through to get excited about. It's going to be interesting to see if anyone else from the afro-bashment/afro-swing scene (or indeed from the drill scene) can do a J Hus this year

never heard of uk drill. need to investigate

Ghetts' 'Know My Ting' was excellent from last year

Can anyone do me a quick breakdown of the different sub-genres of the UK grime/afrobeats/bashment/swing/drill scene? If I didn't know better, I'd have lumped J Hus in with the grime scene, or a continuation of the grime scene at least, but it seems they're counted as quite separate

Grime - Wiley, Stormzy, JME, Skepta etc. You know what this sounds like
Afrobeats - catch-all term for modern pop music from Africa at this stage but especially Ghana/Nigeria
UK drill - mostly what used to be called Road Rap - Giggs, Krept & Konan etc
Afrobashment - the newer stuff that takes in elements of all three, much younger artists and listeners involved on the whole - J Hus is the standard bearer but also Mostack/Kojo Funds/AbraCadabra etc. Some of this stuff has gone mainstream very quickly (eg Not3s 'Addison Lee', Yungen & Yxng Bane 'Bestie') to the extent that J Hus could be said to have genuinely changed the sound of British pop already

Okay, makes more sense. I've heard J Hus be described as 'Afrobeats' and broke into a sweat. Afrobashment makes more sense, but yes I've heard a bit of these guys (Mostack etc) and it's definitely a THING isn't it? Looking at Spotify playlists it looks like there's a lot of crossover with afrobeats in Nigeria and dancehall in Jamaica, with collabs with Burna Boy, Alkaline etc