My top 5 albums of 2017. What are yours?

When the year comes to an end, I like to check my Google Play stats and see which songs and albums I listened to the most. It typically lines up with my favorite albums of the year (duh), but sometimes I surprise myself. For example, this year I listened to George Michael's "Faith" more times than any album that came out in 2017 ... I had a hard time getting over his death, apparently. RIP, George.

Anyway, here are my top 5 of 2017. Agree? Awesome. Disagree? Even better, tell me what I missed below or why my choices suck :)

The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding

Adam Granduciel keeps the dream alive with the War on Drugs' latest release. This record topped them all for me, one of my favorites to drive to in particular. Turn this baby up, spark up a doobie, and let Granduciel take you on his musical journey.

"The obsessive studio work of Adam Granduciel creates a hermetic experience like no other. A Deeper Understanding is his most layered and meticulous album, a twilight world in which to lose yourself." - Pitchfork

Liam Gallagher - As You Were

While perhaps not critically acclaimed by most, I thought this album was nasty! I feel like it really sounds like classic Liam. Songs like "Greedy Soul" and "You Better Hide" stand out as well as the singles "Wall of Glass" and "For What It's Worth." If you're looking for something closer to the classic Oasis sound from a Gallagher brother, this is definitely the way to go.

"Big, beefy tunes like gospel groover ‘Wall Of Glass’ and sassy Primrose Hill hoedown ‘You Better Run’ are more than capable of blowing the roof off your local arena and slaying next summer’s festival season. The record shines a light on Liam’s softer side too, with lilting love songs ‘When I’m In Need’ and ‘I’ve All I Need’ as fragile and open as they are bold. Welcome back Liam – never leave us again." - NME

The Killers - Wonderful Wonderful

I really, really like this album. It's the best release since Sam's Town with excellent songwriting, classic Killers sound, and a song about Mike Tyson that is actually really fucking good.

"On the band’s first album for five years, the frontman sounds as if he is howling in the face of an oncoming hurricane of mid-career panic, cheating senators and “fake news”. Guitars rage, electronic noises shriek. The Calling and the defiantly swaggering The Man come armed with a new funk chassis. However, beneath the epic gloss, vulnerability fires their best songs in a decade. The keyboard-driven, poppy Tyson vs Douglas positions Flowers as a fading champion. Rut and the title track channel his wife’s battles with PTSD. Then, Brian Eno co-write Some Kind of Love finds the Killers at their most beautifully ethereal. Finally, Have All the Songs Been Written? (a title knowingly suggested by Bono) finds Flowers confronting self-doubt to emerge as a latter-day Roy Orbison. This is certainly big music, which is all the better for its more intimate, touching soul." - The Guardian

Todd Rundgren - White Knight

Todd is all over the place on this album, highlighted by collaborations with Trent Reznor, Robyn, Daryl Hall, Dam Funk, and more. This is definitely Todd's most "user-friendly" release in years, which is partially why I like it so much. There is certainly a track for everyone on this album.

"Rundgren’s latest album seeks to represent him in a more holistic, reflective light. White Knight is a genre-spanning collection that finds him pairing up with artists new and old to highlight his myriad gifts and to demonstrate the reach of his influence. But even if *White Knight *makes for Rundgren’s most marketable album in ages, it’s characterized by the cozy, homemade sound that’s defined all his work since 2004’s Liars. This is not the music of an artist attempting to prove himself to a new audience or to reacquaint himself with old fans. Instead, it’s the sound of one of music’s most restless listeners inviting others into the world he built—playing off them like instruments at his disposal." - Pitchfork

Kurt Vile / Courtney Barnett - Lotta Sea Lice

I usually put this record on in the mornings while sipping my coffee and while my energy and optimism are high. It is a feel-good collab that feels like it is just meant to be. Like, can the start a band or something? The lyrics are fun, smart, and the entire album will have you smiling whether you're a fan of Vile's/Barnett's or not.

"The transcontinental pairing of Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile makes an immediate, intuitive kind of sense. Both are wry, casually thoughtful songwriters with immediately recognizable singing voices, hers arriving in clipped Aussie syllables and his a wispy Philly drawl. They exude an almost supernatural relaxation on record, coming off like the kind of characters who have both the chutzpah to ask for your last cigarette and the charm to bum it successfully. With their pointed features and mats of thick brown hair, they look like long-lost cousins." - Spin