KRCL DJs Best of 2017

While the news this year may have left many feeling off balance, 2017 was filled with great music.

Check out some KRCL DJs favorite releases from soul to comedy, indie to blues, Americana to electronic and everything in-between.  

Ebay Hamilton's Favorite 17 Albums of 2017 (in order of release date):
Elbow / Little Fictions - Feb 3
Ryan Adams / Prisoner - Feb 17
Laura Marling / Semper Fermina - March 10
Spoon / Hot Thoughts - March 17
Kendrick Lamar / Damn - April 14
Feist / Pleasure - April 28
Sylvan Esso / What Now - April 28
Slowdive / Slowdive - May 5
Mac Demarco / This Old Dog - May 5
Dan Aurbach / Waiting On A Song - June 2
Benjamin Booker / Witness - June 2
Big Thief / Capacity - June 9
Fleet Foxes / Crack Up - June 16
Broken Social Scene / Hug of Thunder - July 7
Grizzly Bear / Painted Ruins - Aug 18
The War On Drugs / A Deeper Understanding - Aug 25
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings / Soul of a Woman - Nov 17

Ebay's Favorite Soul Albums of 2017 (and one Jazz album, in no particular order):
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings / Soul of a Woman
Sampha / Process
Son Little / New Magic
Mavis Staples / If All I Was Was Black
Nai Palm / Needle Paw
Thundercat / Drunk
Daniel Ceasar / Freudian
Moses Sumney / Aromanticism
Syd / Fin
Kamasi Washington / Harmony of Difference

Eugenie’s Favorite Women Who Rock Albums of 2017
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings / Soul of a Woman
St. Vincent / Masseduction
Feist / Pleasure
Hurray for the Riff Raff / The Navigator
Laura Marling / Semper Femina
Mavis Staples / If All I Was Was Black
Ibeyi / Ash
The Wild Reeds / The World We Built
Waxahatchee / Out in the Storm 
Valerie June / The Order of Time
Beth Ditto / Fake Sugar
Margo Price / All American Made
Samantha Fish / Belle of the West
Ani DiFranco / Binary
Big Thief / Capacity
Sleater-Kinney / Live in Paris
Rhiannon Giddens / Freedom Highway

Shannalee host of Saturday Breakfast Jam
Sampha / Process
Khalid / American Teen
Childish Gambino / Awaken My Love (released first of December last year, but I had already chosen my favorites by then)
Leif Vollebekk / Twin Solitude
Charles Ellsworth / Cesarea
Josaleigh Pollett / Strangers
LANY / Self Titled
Laura Marling / Semper Femina
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit / The Nashville Sound
Manchester Orchestra / A Black Mile to the Surface

Courtney host of Afternoon Delight Best of 2017
Slowdive / Slowdive
Priests / Nothing Feels Natural
Zola Jesus / Okovi
Jay Som / Everybody Works
Alvvays / Antisocialites
Beach Fossils / Somersault
Waxahatchee / Out in the Storm
Aldous Harding / Party
Rose Elinor Dougall / Stellulat
Froth / Outside (briefly)
Omni / Multi-task
Protomartyr / Relatives In Descent
Fever Ray / Plunge
SZA / Ctrl
Sampha / Process
Kendrick Lamar / DAMN.
The War On Drugs / A Deeper Understanding
Perfume Genius / No Shape
St. Vincent / MASSEDUCTION
Sharon Jones / Soul of a Woman
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard / Polygondwanaland
Bully / Losing
Chelsea Wolfe / Hiss Spun
Japanese Breakfast / Soft Sounds from Another Planet
LCD Soundsystem / american dream
The xx / I See You
Bonobo / Migration
Cymbals / Light in Your Mind
Childhood / Universal High
Frankie Rose / Cage Tropical
Pond / The Weather
Charlotte Gainsbourg / Rest
The Horrors / V
Lowly / Heba
Big Thief / Capacity
Cherry Glazerr / Apocalipstick
Anna of the North / Lovers
Molly Burch / Please Be Mine
Land of Talk / Life After Youth

Brian Kelm host of Red, White & Blues Top Blues CD's in 2017 (chronological by date) (Disclaimer - it should be noted that these are simply some of my favorite CD’s that came into KRCL and/or I otherwise came across. There are simply too many good blues CD’s out there for me to buy them all up! And actually, here’s a baker’s dozen because I haven’t finalized the last 7 to choose yet!)
John Mayall / Talk About That (Forty Below Records 1/27/17)
Randy McQuay / My Kind Of Blues (Long Beach Entertainment 1/31/17) I always include an acoustic CD!
Scott Ramminger / Do What Your Heart Says To (Arbor Lane Music 2/17/17)
Peacemakers / Peacemakers (Self released 4/19/17)
Monster Mike Welch & Mike Ledbetter / Right Place, Right Time (Delta Groove 4/21/17)
The Exciting Sounds of the Dylan Bishop Band (Espanada Records 5/9/17)
AJ Crawdaddy / Slow Cookin’ (Renown Records 5/31/17)
Andy T Band / American Showplace Music (6/16/17)
Chris Cain / Self-titled (Little Village Foundation 6/23/17)
Cash Box Kings / Royal Mint (Alligator 6/30/17)
Altered Five Blues Band / Charmed & Dangerous (Blind Pig/Orchard 8/11/17)
Kim Wilson / Blues and Boogie Vol 1 (Severn 10/20/17)
James Armstrong / Blues Been Good To Me (Catfish 10/20/17)

Michelle Tanner host of Night Train
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit / The Nashville Sound
The Band of Heathens / Duende
Alison Krauss / Windy City
Jerry Douglas Band / What If Molly
Tuttle / Rise
Chris Stapleton / From a Room, Vol. 1
Sammy Brue / I Am Nice
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers / The Long Awaited Album
Mike Barnett / Portraits in Fiddles
Noam Pikelny / Universal Favorite
Tim O'Brien / Where the River Meets the Road
The Hollering Pines / Mansion of Heartbreak
FY5 / The Way These Things Go
Eilen Jewell / Down Hearted Blues

Braidan Weeks host of Living The Circle of Life
Frank Waln feat Kodi Denoyer & Melody Mckiver "Runaway"
Quantum Tangle "Tiny Hands"
Josh Halverson "Thunderbird Sky"
Northern Cree "Cree Cuttin' "
Mob Bounce "Vision Quest"
Honey "Key To Reality"
Frank Waln feat Nake Nula Waun "Basement" *Explicit
Trixie Mattel "I know You All Over Again"
Boogy the Beat "Hoka"
Rollie Raps feat Gunner Jules "Talk About It"
Trans-Pacific Noise Club feat Deya "#Shanghai"
Gunner Jules feat Prolific the Rapper & Let it Be "Stuck in Your Ways"
Callie Bennett "Rise Up"
Nataanii Mean "God Bless America" *Explicit

Eric Nelson of Knock Knock Comedy Hour Top 17 of '17
Ali Wong / Baby Cobra
Shane Torres / Established 1981
Michelle Wolf / Nice Lady
Sasheer Zamata / Pizza Mind
Pete Holmes / Faces and Sounds
Patton Oswalt / Annihilation
Glenn Wool / This Road Has Tolls
Fern Brady / Male Comedienne
Maria Bamford / Old Baby
Neal Brennan / 3 Mics
Mike Birbiglia / Thank God For Jokes
Sarah Silverman / Speck of Dust
John Mulaney and Nick Kroll / Oh Hello on Broadway
Norm MacDonald / Hitler's Dog, Gossip, and Trickery
Dave Chappelle / The Age of Spin/Deep In The Heart of Texas
Chris Gethard / Career Suicide
"Weird Al" Yankovic / Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic