NPR Music's top five albums of the year. (Clockwise from upper left) Process by Sampha, DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar, Melodrama by Lorde, Crtl by SZA and Capacity by Big Thief. Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Best Music Of 2017 The year's essential songs, albums, videos and performances.
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Best Music Of 2017
NPR Music's best 100 songs of 2017. (Clockwise from upper left) Goldlink, Margo Price, IBEYI, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Tyler The Creator, Big Thief, SZA and Sharon Jones. Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Rainbow, Kesha's first album since the start of her legal battle with former producer Dr. Luke in 2016 after she accused him of sexual and emotional abuse, is a document of an artist taking reclaiming her story. Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images hide caption
Amelia Randall Meath and Nicholas Sanborn of Sylvan Esso perform at the NPR Music showcase during 2017's SXSW. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW hide caption
Overdoz's debut album 2008 is available now. Polo Ground Music/RCA Records hide caption
Clockwise from upper left: Rata Negra, Chuck Johnson, Chepang, Circuit Des Yeux. Miguel Martin Vargas, Andrew Paynter, Aaron Nichols, Michael Vallera hide caption
Damon Krukowski's book, The New Analog, and podcast, Ways of Hearing, explore the ways digital culture has changed how music is both heard and made. Naomi Yang/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Tatsuya Takahashi at his home workshop in early 2017, surrounded by a few of his signature machines. Akemi Kurosaka/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The premiere of "Folk Songs of Naboréa," a song cycle for seven voices and kora by Kavita Shah, presented at the Park Avenue Armory in New York in November, was one of Nate Chinen's gigs of the year. Da Ping Luo/Courtesy of the Park Avenue Armory hide caption
Cuban vocalist Danay Suárez's "Tú Serás" was among our picks of favorite songs from 2017. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
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The 50th anniversary edition of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band included a startlingly impactful stereo remix of the album. Courtesy of Universal Music Group hide caption
Rapsody released Laila's Wisdom, her sophomore album and first since partnering with Jay-Z's Roc Nation, in September. Roc Nation/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Kirk Knuffke's Cherryco was Francis Davis' top jazz album of the year. Ken Weiss/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Víkingur Ólafsson's album was a fitting tribute to the 80th birthday of composer Philip Glass. Ari Magg/Deutsche Grammophon hide caption
Katie Alice Greer of Washington, D.C.'s Priests. The band released its full-length debut, Nothing Feels Natural, in the early weeks of 2017. Katie Alice Greer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
A still from Angel Snow's "I Need You," a video found in this list of 20 songs from Nashville artists in 2017. YouTube hide caption
Kendrick Lamar performs in New York City on Sept. 14, 2017. Critic Ken Tucker says Lamar's album DAMN captured the collective mood of the year. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Clara Lionel Foundation hide caption
