The 52 Albums I Listened to in 2017, Part II: 31-11

I listened to 52 albums in 2017's 52 weeks. In my previous post, I explained everything and began my rankings and reviews of them. Here are numbers 31 through 11. From here on out, I include my two favorite songs from each album.

31. Era Vulgaris, Queens of the Stone Age

Favorite songs: "3s and 7s," "Misfit Love"

The first Queens of the Stone Age song I heard was probably 10 years ago, when "3s and 7s" appeared on both Guitar Hero III or Madden NFL 08. I liked it, but it wasn't for a few more years, after hearing "No One Knows" on the radio, that I became really interested in the band.

My freshman year of college, aware that ...Like Clockwork had been a recent success, decided to listen to it. It has since become possibly my favorite albums of the century, with the only real competition being Numbers 1 and 2 on this list. Songs for the Deaf, another exceptional album, soon followed; as did Josh Homme's super group side project, Them Crooked Vultures.

However, 2017 is the year when I decided to go a little deeper into the Queens of the Stone Age discography. First (or third) came Era Vulgaris, which features the familiar "3s and 7s" and is more or less okay beyond that. Few songs pack the same energy, creativity, or catchiness of other Queens of the Stone Age records, and there are not many tracks that catch the eye. But at the same time, never do I really feel like the album is wasting my time. Queens of the Stone Age have a high floor.

30. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Arctic Monkeys

Favorite songs: "When the Sun Goes Down," "A Certain Romance"

Arctic Monkeys' debut is basically a punk album, and the lyrics are pretty much all about teenagers getting into trouble. Despite a sheen of immaturity, the album manages to have some heart. It has a lot of bitterness, empathy, and nostalgia, which come through at its best moments. I cannot get into the entire album because I just do not like punk rock very much, but the highs were enough for me to say I liked it.

29. Blak and Blu, Gary Clark, Jr.

Favorite songs: "Third Stone From the Sun/If You Love Me Like You Say," "When My Train Pulls In"

I first found Gary Clark, Jr. performing as part of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Only knowing that he was a talented guitarist that had an appreciation for one of my favorite artists – and that he was a fellow Texan, which is no small thing – I looked into his work and have come away impressed.

Blak and Blu is a diverse album on which Clark more or less pays tribute to and blends the genres he likes: Vaughan-style blues rock ("Ain't Messin 'Round"); lengthy guitar anthems ("When My Train Pulls In"); rap and R&B ("Blak and Blu"); soul ("Please Come Home"), and traditional blues ("Next Door Neighbor Blues"). Sometimes, it does not totally work, but at its peaks, Blak and Blu is great.

28. Turn! Turn! Turn!, The Byrds

Favorite songs: "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),"

"The Times They Are A-Changin'"

Turn! Turn! Turn! disappointed me because I thought it was essentially the exact same album as Mr. Tambourine Man. Of course, even if it gets docked points for being unoriginal, being comparable to Mr. Tambourine Man is usually a pretty good thing.

27. Fragile, Yes

Favorite songs: "Roundabout," "Heart of the Sunrise"

The difficult thing about prog is that it can sometimes turn into an exhibition of musicianship rather than listenable music. Fragile walks that line dangerously; at its finest points, it is both impressive and focused, especially the bass work of Chris Squire. A lot of the time, however, it is an exhibition: five tracks basically are meant to be that. I was never bored, but I was not wowed.

26. Rumours, Fleetwood Mac

Favorite songs: "The Chain," "Go Your Own Way"

I didn't love Rumours, in part because it was a little soft for me and in part because I had seemingly heard half of it on the radio countless times before. There is no denying its strength though: I liked the elaborate harmonies and was surprised by how good the drumming was.

25. The Soul Album, Otis Redding

Favorite songs: "Cigarettes and Coffee," "The Chain Gang"

I had never heard an Otis Redding record before, and I was impressed by The Soul Album. It sounds pretty much exactly like what I think a classic soul record sounds like, which meant there weren't any surprises or moments that astonished me, but I liked it.

24. A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead

Favorite songs: "Present Tense," "Burn the Witch"

My best discovery of the year was Radiohead. I realize how dumb it sounds to say I've "discovered" one of the biggest, most critically acclaimed artists of the past 25 years, but I hadn't heard more than "Creep" until this April. I hate electronic music, but when Radiohead incorporates electronics, their spacey, sometimes angsty sound works very well for me.

A Moon Shaped Pool is hardly my favorite of their album that I've heard, but despite a lack of standout tracks, it's a solid work.

23. Born Under a Bad Sign, Albert King

Favorite songs: "Born Under a Bad Sign," "The Very Thought of You"

You can definitely hear what influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan in Born Under a Bad Sign: Albert King adds so much to a fairly simple blues record with his skilled guitar playing. His solos are what it means to make a guitar cry, a trick he does not overdo. I was not overwhelmed, but I was impressed and enjoyed the album.

(Of course, Vaughan ended up recording a jam session with King and recording a cover of King's "The Sky Is Crying," which was only released after his death.)

22. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye

Favorite songs: "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," "What's Going On"

What's Going On is carried by borderline hypnotic rhythms, good vocals, and elaborate arrangements. When it hits its highs at the beginning and end, it's brilliant. The rest of the time, it's fine, but it feels like it loses direction, with songs blending into each other.

21. Rated R, Queens of the Stone Age

Favorite songs: "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret," "I Think I Lost My Headache"

Rated R is often an ugly record, and that's what makes it work. Its repetitive choruses are downright devilish. It took me a few listens to fully appreciate it, but with time, I've come to recognize Rated R as a less refined version of Songs for the Deaf – which means it's still a quite strong record.

20. Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine

Favorite songs: "Killing in the Name," "Know Your Enemy"

Rage Against the Machine is an artist of whose work I've always been somewhat wary because it is often, essentially, rap with guitars. I don't consider rap an inferior form of music or anything; it's just not something I can really get into.

On their self-titled debut, there are moments where I can't get over that. That is offset, however, by Tom Morello's ridiculous guitar work. And I don't just mean his ability to make his instrument make unholy sounds during a solo. I was blown away by the riffs on this album. The sheer, focused aggression produced by this band is staggering. It's enough to get me into a moshing mood.

19. Villains, Queens of the Stone Age

Favorite songs: "Feet Don't Fail Me," "Domesticated Animals"

The second of two 2017 albums I listened to this year is remarkably catchy, probably the most accessible record of Queens of the Stone Age's career. It subsequently lacks the same punch as their earlier stuff, but it maintains a level of aggressiveness and occasional spaciness that reminds you that it is the same artist. The prevalence of keyboards adds interesting layering. The best riff on the album comes in "Feet Don't Fail Me," a blood-pumping jam of an opener.

18. Let It Bleed, The Rolling Stones

Favorite songs: "Midnight Rambler," "Gimme Shelter"

Let It Bleed provides what I think is my favorite Stones song ("Midnight Rambler"), but after an extraordinary top half (the two listed above, plus the title track and "You Can't Always Get What You Want"), the rest falls off a little. I find "Country Honk" a little weird to listen to compared to its more popular rock version, and the others, while not bad, are unremarkable. They are still good enough for this to be a strong album.

17. Strange Days, The Doors

Favorite songs: "When the Music's Over," "Love Me Two Times"

While Strange Days sounds pretty similar to The Doors, that is a pretty high bar, and there are songs on the former that certainly would not fit in on the latter. "People Are Strange," for example, has a certain circus-like quality sort of resembling the quirkiness of "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)," but it is a bit too eerie for the debut. Similarly, "Light My Fire" just would not work on Strange Days. The whole album follows a similar trend. It feels a little darker and weirder, and it works really well.

16. Lateralus, Tool

Favorite songs: "Parabola," "Schism"

No album should last almost 80 minutes, but Lateralus, with its many strong and heavy riffs, is a really good album. Like all prog, it can drift excessively; that did not kill the record. This was my first Tool experience, and I feel like it was worth it.

15. At San Quentin, Johnny Cash

Favorite songs: "The Wreck of the Old 97," "I Walk the Line"

I think a listener would have to work hard to find one song on At San Quentin he or she cannot at least kind of enjoy. I did not love this album, but I liked most of it. It has a high floor.

14. Superunknown, Soundgarden

Favorite songs: "The Day I Tried To Live," "Black Hole Sun"

I am positive a litany of butt-rock bands have taken inspiration from Superunknown, and it ran a little long without much variety, but it is several steps above butt-rock. Chris Cornell certainly carries the record, but I appreciated the way it rocks so hard while also leaving room for deceptively complex rhythms underneath Cornell's voice.

(For whatever reason, I cannot really get into the album until I hit the title track. From then on, however, I am fully locked in.)

13. Kid A, Radiohead

Favorite songs: "How to Disappear Completely," "Optimistic"

There are not as many songs that hook you as on other Radiohead records, and as a result, I did not immediately take to it, but Kid A is just as well crafted. It creates atmosphere incredibly well, and Thom Yorke's voice guides you through what often feels, essentially, like an extended suite. I like it a good bit now.

12. Brothers, The Black Keys

Favorite songs: "Tighten Up," "These Days"

Brothers is a few years removed from The Black Keys' first two (the others by them I have heard), so maybe they had evolved already, but for I was surprised at how different it is from their old blues-rock-in-a-garage sound. The album has a higher production quality; and it somehow feels both more concise and poppish, and more layered and expansive. At the same time, traces of blues remain. It is an impressive blend that makes for a really high floor. Even if the album is perhaps a couple songs too long, there are not any songs I definitely think do not belong.

11. Rubber Soul, The Beatles

Favorite songs: "In My Life," "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"

When I first made my dive into The Beatles, I somehow did not get to Rubber Soul. As a result, a good number of Beatles-related conversations I had included the other person telling me they really loved Rubber Soul and me having nothing to say.

I finally got to it over the summer, and I can report that it is indeed good. I do not think it is quite the pivot point in the band's career that it is often described as, but it has made it clear to me that Revolver (my favorite Beatles album) is not really that either. The transition starts with Rubber Soul, intensifies with Revolver, and is fully realized with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band – it is gradual.

The fact that said transition starts with Rubber Soul is what makes it much more interesting than what precedes it. There are still vestiges of the band's rock-and-roll early period, as demonstrated by "Drive My Car" and "Wait," but what is new is the introduction of folk elements, more complex arrangements, and entirely original material. It is not their best album, but it remains great and hugely important.

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In the final installment of this series, I run through my 10 favorite albums I listened to in 2017.