2017 was a wild year. Here are the albums that stuck through it with me.
4. Harry Styles - Harry Styles
Harry is one of two former members of One Direction that made my list this year. I truly wasn't expecting to like this album as much as I do, but there's no doubt that Harry knows what he's doing. This album is the perfect balance of fun and emotional, which is something I really appreciate. "Sign Of The Times" was one of the most popular songs of the year, but "Sweet Creature" is my #3 most played song on Spotify this year. Then, there's "Kiwi" and "Carolina," two songs that put me in a smiley mood almost every time.
I love watching the 1D boys flourish and make music that they want to make. Harry did a perfect job.
If you only listen to one song: Sweet Creature
3. Flicker - Niall Horan
I feel like I've been waiting four years for this album. And it was worth it.
In my not-so-humble opinion, everything Niall Horan touches turns to gold. 2017 was truly the year of Niall Horan — he flourished in every way, from his incredible sartorial choices to his musical ingenuity. I can't wait to see what he does in 2018, but I really am not sure how anything could top this year for him.
I love that Flicker called back to Niall's Irish roots in a way One Direction's music only tangentially did (with songs like "Act My Age," and "Through The Dark," which are underrated anyway). No one could get enough of "Slow Hands" this year, which came in as my #2 most played song on Spotify for 2017.
This is an album about heartbreak, change, and love. Lonely songs like "This Town" and "Too Much To Ask" are balanced by upbeat, hopeful ones like "Since We're Alone" and my personal favorite, "On My Own."
Niall Horan is, hands down, the member of One Direction who has impressed me most this year. I may be biased, but I'm also right.
If you only listen to one song: On My Own
2. Lovely Little Lonely - The Maine
If you told me this time last year (or ever) that The Maine would put out an album that meant something to me, I would've thought you lost your mind. Up until about mid-year, I was actively not a fan of The Maine; I found them pretentious, overrated, and uninteresting. Then, they dropped LLL in April. And I wanted to listen to it out of curiosity. And then I couldn't stop.
Lovely Little Lonely is without a doubt one of the most meaningful and moving albums I listened to this year. "Lovely" into "Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu," captured exactly how I was feeling in April and May, easily two of the strangest months this year. I've always said that I sometimes really admire the art of explaining a complicated feeling simply.
Sometimes, just saying "I'm sad," is more accurate than searching for a deep, pretty, obscure word that encapsulates every tiny twist and turn of your emotion — that's exactly what I think "I Only Wanna Talk To You" and "Don't Come Down" do.
While The Maine do sometimes border on that edge of getting too wordy, and, in my opinion, fake deep and pretentious, LLL walks the line perfectly. And perfectly captures everything I've felt this year. I think everyone who falls in love with The Maine does it at a strange time in their life. That's exactly what happened to me.
If you only listen to one song: Black Butterflies And Déjà Vu
1. Last Young Renegade - All Time Low
I mean, what can I say about All Time Low that I haven't already said a million times over?
Everyone already knows how much this band means to me, and how my abroad experience made this band my home.
LYR came out right after I graduated college. It dropped songs like "Good Times," (with lyrics like "I never wanna leave this sunset town, but one day the time may come") and "Nice2KnoU"(just guess what this song is about) on me just days after I left college for good, and left behind a whole lot. For that reason alone, this album feels like it was made for me this year. Even the title track relates to things I've gone through this year.
This album also has a really cool 80s vibe, which is so different to the other stuff I've listened to this year and to the other stuff ATL has put out. It's one of those albums that gives me nostalgia for something I've never even felt. I eternally love this band for the way they evolve and change their sound, but still always manage to sound like All Time Low.
All Time Low consistently feel like home and put out music that brings me home, and, in such a weird, scary, emotional year, both on a personal and worldwide level, they've helped to keep me grounded.
If you only listen to one song: Dark Side Of Your Room (my #1 most played on Spotify this year)
2017 was a year of music I didn't expect to love, and of music that seemed to be made just for me. My honorable mentions include Ed Sheeran's Divide (fight me). In 2018 I'm looking forward to new albums from 5 Seconds of Summer (oh my God??), and hopefully State Champs, Against the Current, Nekokat, Gavin James, and a million more.
2017 was a year of music I didn't expect to love, and of music that seemed to be made just for me. My honorable mentions include Ed Sheeran's Divide (fight me). In 2018 I'm looking forward to new albums from 5 Seconds of Summer (oh my God??), and hopefully State Champs, Against the Current, Nekokat, Gavin James, and a million more.
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