My Favorite Albums of 2017-2020

On today's episode of "opinions you didn't ask for," I decided to list my 2 favorite albums from each year, for the past 4 years, and then tell you why. 2 albums from 2020, 2 from 2019, etc. If you haven't listened to any of these, you just gotta. So sit back, and hear my unsolicited recommendations.

2020 - Public Life, Joshua Lee Turner

There is a reason I am listing this album first. Not only is it the best of 2020, I think this is the best album of the decade, hands down. If you don't listen to anything else on this list, listen to this album. Joshua Lee Turner is basically Paul Simon if he had Instagram.

2020 - To Let a Good Thing Die, Bruno Major

This is only the second album from Bruno Major, and he hits it out of the park. Dreamy, harmonic, and super romantic all the way through. If you like Randy Newman, you'll like Bruno Major.

2019 - First Place, The Brook and the Bluff

Funky pop-rock with a side of oohs and ahhs? Count me in. Crystal clear in its production and uber calculated in its execution, this groovy collection of earworms will never leave your head. Or maybe it will. No refunds.

2019 - Guess I'm Grown Now, Stephen Day

My boy Stephen Day just keeps on getting better. Every song on this record is either a bop or a swoon, and every one is great. "All Because of You" is the best song on the album, and of the year in my opinion.

2018 - AM Waves, Young Gun Silver Fox

Somebody call England Dan and John Ford Coley, because yacht rock is back! Young Gun Silver Fox takes extreme care to make sure their music sounds like it's right out of 1978, and they nail it. When this stuff comes on your shuffle, you're gonna do a double take to make sure it's not, like The Doobie Brothers or something.

2018 - Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves

You all knew this would be here, right? Everybody likes this album, and for good reason. It's just the best. There is nothing else like this album in recent memory. Thank you, Kacey.

2017 - Solid State, Johnathan Coulton

Of all the albums I've listed, this one has the most, uh, personal flavor. This is a very "Zephram" album as far as taste is concerned, and boy I love it. A Sci-Fi concept album with a coherent story, a comic book tie in, and a whole lotta bops, you have to sit and listen to this one all the way through.

2017 - Landmark, Hippo Campus

"We get it, you're Gen Z." Look, Every college student and their dog listens to Hippo Campus now, but don't let that dissuade your hipster sensibilities. Hippo Campus is probably the best active Indie-rock artist, and they've never had a bad song. Landmark is their magnum opus in my opinion, and it's worth listening to on repeat for the rest of your life. It's like funk from outer space, who doesn't want that?