It's hard not to view 2017 as a year of great reckoning; as a time in which the world is forced to contemplate consequences ranging from ugly political divides to environmental disasters to a wave of high-profile resignations and humiliations over decades of sexual misconduct. Though escapism will always have its place in pop culture, 2017 has been a year of complacency deferred and sleeping giants roused. So it's only natural that much of the year's best music would reflect that tumult, albeit in radically different ways.
As always, this list compiles the 10 favorite albums — not the 10 "best," mind you — of one subjective listener. If your favorite album of 2017 missed the cut, rest assured that it's nesting comfortably in a many-way tie for #11.
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