If 2016 was a year largely spent in anticipation of catastrophe, 2017 marked its arrival: chaos that threatened to settle into normalcy with whiplash speed. As always, musicians absorbed and interpreted the world around them, personally and politically, reflecting the year’s struggles and occasional glimmers of hope. There was plenty of futurism, both utopian and dystopian; throwback rock ’n’ roll with a fiercely radical heart; beautifully austere folk-pop; rap that railed against the system and raged at the club all night long, sometimes both within the same song. It was a difficult year filled with records that reminded us of our own humanity and the necessary fight to preserve it. Below you'll find our picks for the best music from 2017. We'll also be updating this page as we publish more reflections on the best, worst, or most important cultural happenings of the year.
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Illustration by Tara Jacoby[/caption]
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[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="271145" title="101 Best Songs of 2017" index="" image_id="271173"]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="271134" title="25 Best Metal Songs of 2017" index="" image_id="271136"]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="271465" title="Spin’s Favorite Overlooked Albums of 2017" index="" image_id="271466"]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="271590" title="Spin's 2017 Digital Cover Stories" index="" image_id="271593"]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="271588" title="The Year in Suck" index="" image_id="271589"]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="272022" title="Eight Insane Trump Stories We Should Still Be Talking About" index="" image_id="272025"]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="272066" title="<i>American Vandal</i>’s True-Crime Satire Perfectly Captured the Stupidity of the Trump Era" index="" image_id="272069"]
[featuredStoryItemBlock tile_id="272322" title="20 Rap Songs We Loved in 2017" index="" image_id="272327"]
