alright guys, let’s do this. yes, it’s my favorite time of the year: best of list season.

here’s the lineup for the week:

monday: new music discoveries
tuesday: cover songs
wednesday: songs
thursday: albums

2017 was one of the best music years in awhile. there was really great new music from start to finish. it was a bit of a mixed bag, though, for discovering new artists. the top half of my list is comprised of bands and artists that have instantly become music i love (and already anticipate new music from). the bottom half of the list is good, but not necessarily artists who just blew me away.

nevertheless, it’s still a strong list throughout. hopefully there’s a number of artists and bands you’ve never heard of. my goal with my year-end lists is always, first and foremost, to help people discover great new music. this list shouldn’t be any different.

editorial note: a clarification i offer every year with this list is that these aren’t necessarily brand new artists. artists in this list fall into one of four categories:

• 1. they’re a brand new artist
• 2. they released their first full length album this year (as opposed to only an EP).
• 3. they’re a first-time solo artist (for example, liam gallagher has been making music with oasis and other bands for decades, but this year he released his debut solo album)
• 4. i just discovered them this year (for example, propaganda has put out several albums, but i’d just never given him a listen until this year).

so, let’s get to it. here’s my top 27 new music discoveries of 2017:

27. jasper sloan yip: post meridiem
26. wild cub: closer
25. partner: in search of lost time
24. pale honey: devotion
23. sarah walk: little black book
22. rostam: half-light
21. khalid: american teen
20. kacy hill: like a woman
19. harry styles: harry styles
18. jorja smith: project 11
17. charlotte cardin: main girl
16. the rural alberta advantage: the wild
15. king’s kaleidoscope: the beauty between
14. muna: about u
13. bully: losing
12. marika hackman: i’m not your man
11. mr. jukes: god first

10. julien baker: turn out the lights

9. propoganda: crooked

8. overcoats: young

7. knox hamilton: the heights

6. sampha: process

5. maggie rogers: now that the light is fading

4. lo tom: lo tom

3. liam gallagher: as you were

2. amber coffman: city of no reply

1. charly bliss: guppy



charly bliss came out of nowhere and blew me away. there’s no doubt that i’m a sucker for 90s nostalgia, particularly musically. so when charly bliss put out an album that sounds like it’s straight out of the 90s, but still somehow managed to sound incredibly now and relevant, i was hooked. i’m already looking forward to what they do next.

so, who did i miss in 2017? let me know who i should go and check out before 2018 gets here.

as a bit of a end-of-the-year gift, you can download a mix with a track from each artist.

download the zip