2017 was an incredible year for music. Not only did we get some of the best tour lineups this year – some of the highlights being the Motionless in White Graveyard Shift tour, All Time Low’s Young Renegades tour, Waterparks Made in America and so many others. We were also blessed with some phenomenal albums this year. These artists did not come to play games, they delivered albums that slapped and they quickly became the most played songs in our music library. Whether these albums were guilty pleasures or they were played on repeat because you were just that obsessed – you loved them either way.

These were some of the albums that were released this year that I fell in love with. I cannot even begin to explain the love I have for some of the albums. The albums on my list feature genres from all across the board, which I feel accurately represents my music taste. I don’t want to get too wordy so I’m going to list the artist, the album and a standout track. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

As It Is- Okay

Top Track: "Okay"

Grayscale – Adornment

Top Track: "Atlantic"

Wage War- Deadweight

Top Track: "Stitch"

Lana Del Rey –Lust for Life

Top Track: "Cherry"

All Time Low- Last Young Renegade

Top Track: "Life of the Party"

Volumes – Different Animals

Top Track: "On My Mind (Ft. Pouya)"

Taylor Swift- Reputation

Top Track: "End Game (Ft. Future and Ed Sheeran)" (I KNOW but y’all, this was a guilty pleasure I’m SORRY).

Code Orange – Forever

Top Track: "No One is Untouchable"

The White Noise- AM/PM

Top Track: "Bite Marks"

Paramore- After Laughter

Top Track: "Fake Happy"

Sworn In - All Smiles

Top Track: "Make it Hurt"

The Used- The Canyon

Top Track: "Pretty Picture"

The Maine- Lovely Little Lonely

Top Track: "Bad Behavior"

PVRIS- All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell

Top Track: "Same Soul"

Motionless In White - Graveyard Shift

Top Track: "Not My Type: Dead As Fuck 2"

Movements - Feel Something
Top Track: "Colorblind"

The Birthday Massacre - Under Your Spell

Top Track: "Hex"

What were your top albums for 2017?

In April, I finally got the chance to see one of my favorite bands during their 15 year anniversary tour. The Used decided to hit the road and play two-nights in every city to celebrate the release of their Self-Titled album and their second album, In Love and Death. I was fortunate enough to see them during Night 2 (In Love and Death) in Baltimore, MD.

The Used have been one of the most important bands in my life for years, and In Love and Death is my favorite album so it only made sense that I saw them during this tour. It was my first time seeing them live and it everything I could have asked for and more. It was worth the traffic, the sweat, the tears, the bruises- everything, to stand in that audience and scream the lyrics that have meant so much to me for so long. Making eye contact with Bert McCracken and having him smile at me; I swear my soul left my body.

During the show, Bert recalls the times that fans have come up to them and confessed that In Love and Death is the album that helped keep them alive and went on to say how the album kept him alive as well while he was dealing with one of the most difficult times in his life. Someone in the crowd yelled “you saved my life,” to which he replied, “You saved mine.”

It was so surreal to experience. My first tattoo is a design inspired by the hanging heart from the cover of In Love and Death, featuring my favorite lyrics from my favorite song from their Self-Titled (my way of killing two birds with one stone). I got that tattoo in honor of making it through my own difficult time and the album that helped keep me alive throughout that time in my life. The album itself is one of the most influential albums in my life, each song more meaningful than the last. I have such strong memories assigned to each song, so many moments that each song have helped me through. It’s one of those albums that you listen to and everything just makes sense, you feel alive for the first time. You can literally feel every word, every emotion that the band is trying to convey. When this album came into my life, it was right when I needed it. To make a long story short, I was one of those people that this album helped keep alive. So to stand in the audience and hear them discuss this was like this surreal bonding experience. We were all sharing this moment, we were all brought together because this band and this album meant something to us and that’s one of the best things about music.

The Used delivered a hell of a show, as always, and I can’t thank them enough. They recently announced a second leg of their anniversary tour. I’ll be attending Night 1 (Self-Titled) night in Virginia.

Now for some of my favorite shots of the night: