It's that time of the year again - end of the year Best Of list time! It's always a difficult task to pick albums for one of these lists. But it's also fun because I get to sort through a bunch of music and it's definitely cool to have a look at other lists and discover a ton of things I missed.
There is no way these lists are close to being definitive. A lot of ambient releases can tend to blur from one into the next and the difference between making the list and not making it can boil down to what mood I was in when I first heard the album. There's so much excellent music being released on a weekly basis it's impossible to keep up so this list and mix is just a bunch of stuff that I liked this past year.
Here are a few other good year in review lists:
http://www.astrangelyisolatedplace.com/blog/2017/12/5/asip-reflection-on-2017
https://irregularcrates.com/2017/12/12/end-of-2017-a-list-and-mix-by-harry-towell/
http://ambientmusicguide.com/best-of-year/best-albums-of-2017/
https://www.popmatters.com/best-ambient-instrumental-albums-2017-2513144740.html?page=2
My best of list is more of a best instrumental music list than just straight ambient. The mix is mostly ambient but the list contains jazz, instrumental & ambient. According to my Spotify data I played a lot of 36 last year so it's appropriate that he's got two albums in the top ten. I guess I'm too lazy to write up comments about all the music except to say that there's a lot of good stuff there. So take some time and hunt down these releases, you won't be disappointed.
BEST INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMS 2017:
1. 36 - Tomorrow’s Explorers
2. Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society - Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society
3. Colin Stetson - All This I Do For Glory
4. Bing and Ruth - No Home of the Mind
5. Joseph Shabason - Aytche
6. Ruven Nunez - Altar of Sunlight
7. Benoit Pioulard - Lingnin Poise and Slow Spark, Soft Spoke
8. Chuck Johnson - Balsams
9. 36 - Black Soma
10. Bibio - Phantom Brickworks
11. Dungen - Haxan(versions by Prins Thomas)
12. Vijay Iyer Sextet - Far From Over
13. Penguin Cafe - The Imperfect Sea
14. Arovane & Hior Chronic - Into My Own
15. Christopher Willits - The Art of Listening
16. Vermont - II
17. High Plains - Cinderland
18. Roedelius and Arnold Kaspar - Einfluss
19. Tonepoet - N/E/W/S
20. Halftribe - Daydreams in Low Fidelity
21. Taylor Dupree - Somi
22. Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference
23. Loess - Pocosin
24. Hior Chronic - Our of the Dust
25. Tale of Use - Endless
26. Saltland - A Common Truth
27. Quatuor Ebene - Eternal Stories
28. Aware - The Book of Wind
29. Grails - Chalace Hymnal
30. The Prairie Lines - Eyes Down Slowdown
If you have a list of your own feel free to leave it in the comments. Or if you just have a favorite or two that you want to recommend please let us know in the comments.
Here's to a, musically, great 2017 & a better 2018. Cheers!
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