Best Albums of 2017 on Vinyl: 15 Records Worth the Spin

Looking for the best albums of 2017 on vinyl? The year was unusually kind to record collectors. Streaming was clearly the default way most listeners found new music, yet vinyl kept climbing as the physical format with the most cultural pull. The 2017 RIAA year-end data showed revenue from paid subscriptions doing the heavy lifting in the broader market, while vinyl kept printing copies for the people who still wanted a sleeve, a side break, and a reason to clear the dust off the turntable [1]. That tension gave the year a particular character: the albums released in 2017 were made for a streaming world, but the ones that aged the best were the ones that also worked as records.

This list is a buyer's guide framed for the LP format, not a critic's ranking of cultural importance. The picks below lean on sequencing, sleeve design, pressing quality, and how much the album gains from being heard as a complete record. Some entries are famous. A few are quieter favorites that survive precisely because they reward a slower listen. All of them are still worth tracking in your What's Spinning collection because they earn repeat plays.

One scope note before the list: this is not a Discogs price guide, and it is not an exhaustive list of every pressing variant. The goal is fifteen 2017 albums that justify pulling the sleeve off the shelf rather than tapping a playlist.

The best albums of 2017 on vinyl

1. 

   DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar (2017)

   Released through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath, and Interscope in April, Kendrick's fourth studio album is the 2017 record most critics agreed on. The Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, NPR, and Stereogum year-end lists all placed it near the top, and the album went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018, a first for a non-jazz, non-classical work [2]. On vinyl, the sequencing matters more than the singles. The titles are short, the production moves between Mike Will Made It, DJ Dahi, Sounwave, James Blake, Steve Lacy, and BadBadNotGood, and the closing parable in "DUCKWORTH." reframes everything that came before. The Collector's Edition includes the album played in reverse, and the original red cover reads almost like a warning label. The quieter rhythmic details sit deeper in the mix than they do on streaming, which is exactly why the LP format suits it.

2. 

   4:44 by Jay-Z (2017)

   The companion album to Beyoncé's Lemonade, released as a Tidal exclusive in June and then physically through Roc Nation, is the rare late-career record that resets an artist's reputation. Producer No I.D. handled every track, building a dusty soul palette from samples of Hannah Williams, Sister Nancy, Nina Simone, and others [3]. The vinyl is lean: ten tracks, no skits, the kind of record that feels purposeful from the first groove to the run-out. The original pressing had some quiet-surface complaints, but later runs cleaned up, and the album's depth, the silence around Jay's voice, the way the bass holds the room together, is easier to hear on a properly set-up turntable. Worth keeping next to Reasonable Doubt and The Black Album.

3. 

   Melodrama by Lorde (2017)

   Few pop albums from the decade feel as deliberately shaped for two sides as Lorde's second record. Released in June on Lava and Republic, written after her retreat from the immediate fame of Pure Heroine, the breakup narrative becomes a single night that keeps curving back toward solitude. Jack Antonoff's production is often praised for the big drums and glassy synths, but the LP's quietest move is the negative space. "Liability" and "Writer in the Dark" need room around the voice, while "Green Light" and "Supercut" reward a system that can keep bright digital textures from becoming brittle. The blue cover painting feels like a bedroom mirror after midnight, and the world it builds begins before the needle lands.

4. 

   Ctrl by SZA (2017)

   SZA's debut studio album, released by TDE and RCA in June, sounded like private thought left in the room with the microphone still on. The guest features (Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, James Fauntleroy, Isaiah Rashad) and production credits (Frank Dukes, Carter Lang, ThankGod4Cody, Scum) sit lightly enough that the record keeps its pacing. The LP format is generous to that pacing, especially the way interludes and family voice notes frame the songs without turning them into decoration. It is not an audiophile spectacle in the classic rock sense, and that is part of its collector value. A clean pressing lets the drums sit low, the guitars shimmer at the edge, and SZA's phrasing stay close enough to feel improvised even when the writing is sharp.

5. 

   Pure Comedy by Father John Misty (2017)

   Josh Tillman's third Father John Misty album, released in April on Bella Union in the UK and Sub Pop elsewhere, is the 2017 pick for anyone who wants a record that invites argument while it spins. It is long, ornate, occasionally exasperating, and unusually committed to its own thesis about entertainment, technology, religion, and self-delusion. On vinyl, that length becomes a feature because the side changes give the satire natural pauses. The arrangements lean on piano, strings, and folk-rock patience rather than the more immediate Laurel Canyon pop of I Love You, Honeybear. Produced by Tillman with Jonathan Wilson, engineer Trevor Spencer, and composer Gavin Bryars [4], the album asks for shelf space and rewards a system that can hold a low male voice without smearing.

6. 

   Flower Boy by Tyler, the Creator (2017)

   Tyler's fourth studio album, released by Columbia in July, was the record where the rapper stopped pretending. The guest features (Jaden Smith, Kali Uchis, Frank Ocean, Estelle, Rex Orange County, A$AP Rocky, Lil Wayne) sit lightly, and the production from Tyler himself plus credits from Frank Dukes, Dev Hynes, and others reframes his usual abrasive palette into something close to pastel [5]. The 2LP vinyl edition sequences the album as four deliberate sides, and the bright green gatefold sleeve sets a tone the music carries. Worth picking up if you keep oddball hip-hop in your collection.

7. 

   A Deeper Understanding by The War on Drugs (2017)

   Adam Granduciel's fourth War on Drugs record, released by Atlantic in August, was the band's commercial breakthrough and one of the quietest rock albums to win Album of the Year at the 2018 Grammys [6]. The vinyl treats the long, layered songs the way they were mixed: guitars stacked deep into the mix, drum machines and live drums blurring together, the voice pushed back enough to feel like weather. The 2LP pressing gives each song room, and the side breaks fall in places that feel like deliberate breaths. For collectors who came up on Springsteen's E Street catalog or My Morning Jacket's louder work, this is a 2017 LP that earns the system.

8. 

   MASSEDUCTION by St. Vincent (2017)

   Annie Clark's fifth album, released on Loma Vista in October, was recorded in quick sessions with producer Jack Antonoff and a smaller cast of collaborators than her earlier records. The lyrics lean autobiographical in ways her previous records only hinted at, and the music is bright, jagged, and short, almost every song clocking under four minutes. The vinyl pressing picks up the snap of the drum machines and the way Clark's guitar cuts against the synths. The cover art, an Annie Clark photograph with the title in small caps across her face, is one of the year-end lists' most reproduced images, and the 2LP gatefold carries it cleanly. Worth picking up if you collect contemporary guitar records that actually use the studio as an instrument.

9. 

   Process by Sampha (2017)

   The debut studio album from the South London singer and producer, released through Young Turks in February, won the Mercury Prize in 2017 on the strength of its restraint [7]. Sampha built the record around home recordings made during his mother's illness and his years as a collaborator on records by Drake, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Solange. On vinyl, the room tone matters: the production leaves wide gaps between the synths and Sampha's voice, and a quiet pressing gives the album its full emotional register. The double-gatefold sleeve, with photography by Rolland Jackson, gives the visual side the same weight as the music. A 2017 LP that is more about what is left out than what is added.

10. 

    Crack-Up by Fleet Foxes (2017)

    The Seattle band's third studio album, released on Nonesuch in June, came six years after Helplessness Blues and felt like a deliberate test of patience. Robin Pecknold structured the songs around transitions and suite-like passages that blur verse and chorus, with strings arranged by the band and case/lang/veirs collaborators [8]. On vinyl, the layering pays off: the harmonies and the strings share the same space, and a flat transfer loses too much of the texture. The 2LP sleeve, with its 19th-century engraving aesthetic, makes the whole package feel like a piece of old furniture you keep around. Worth picking up if you collect harmony-led folk-rock records that respect the listener's attention.

11. 

    American Dream by LCD Soundsystem (2017)

    James Murphy's fourth LCD album and first since 2010's This Is Happening, released on Columbia and DFA in September, came after a five-year retirement and the death of founding member Alan Doyle. The album's longer tracks, "How Do You Sleep?" and the title cut, give the 2LP pressing its real reason to exist. The pressing carries the synth layers and the live drums without smearing them, and the gatefold sleeve by Murphy's longtime collaborator Warren Fu does for the album what its predecessor sleeves did for the band's earlier output. The 2017 LP pick for anyone who collects post-punk-adjacent dance records that still remember what guitars sound like.

12. 

    Take Me Apart by Kelela (2017)

    Kelela's debut studio album, released on Warp in October, finished what her earlier mixtapes had been working toward. The production credits (Arca, Jam City, DJDS, Kingdom, Bok Bok) handle the album's R&B-meets-deconstructed-club palette, and the lyrics keep the songs human enough that the electronic frames never feel academic [9]. The 2LP sleeve uses Kelela's face in a softened close-up that mirrors the album's tone. Worth tracking if you collect contemporary R&B records that take their time across both sides of an LP.

13. 

    Sleep Well Beast by The National (2017)

    The National's first album recorded largely with guitarist Aaron Dessner producing, released on 4AD in September, took the band's moody baritone rock into stranger territory. Songs like "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" and "Turtleneck" pushed Bryce Dessner's guitar parts into noise, with electronic edits and tape loops sitting alongside the piano. The 2LP pressing keeps the dynamics in proportion, especially the quiet-loud passages that the band's later work relies on. Sleeve and inner-sleeve photography by Graham MacIndoe gives the record a settled, late-2017 feeling. Worth the pickup if your collection already includes Boxer or Trouble Will Find Me.

14. 

    Science Fiction by Brand New (2017)

    Brand New's fifth and final studio album, released on Procrastinate! Music Traitors in August, was the band's first record in eight years and arrived as a surprise drop. The album leans on darker textures than The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, with Vin Accardi and Kevin Devries' guitar work trading post-hardcore edges for a stranger, slower palette. The pressing was a small first run with limited distribution, which makes the original LP a meaningful collector piece. Worth picking up if you keep post-2000s emo-adjacent records that aged into something heavier than their original context.

15. 

    I See You by The xx (2017)

    The London band's third album, released on Young Turks in January, opened up their sound after two records of close-mic'd minimalism. Producer Jamie xx brought in modular synths, samples, and a wider drum palette, and the band's songwriting used the extra room without losing the intimacy. The 2LP sleeve, with its bright pink and white typography, contrasts the album's mood cleanly. On vinyl, the low-end weight on tracks like "On Hold" and "Say Something Loving" translates better than on streaming, especially through a system with a sub or larger speakers. A 2017 LP that is more layered than the band's first two records suggest.

16. 

    Turn Out the Lights by Julien Baker (2017)

    Baker's second solo record, released on Matador in October, continued her run of confessional songwriting with arrangements that lean toward post-rock. Strings, woodwinds, and the National's Bryce Dessner contribute, and the album's quiet-loud passages ask for a system that can keep the piano and the electric guitars from clashing. The 2LP sleeve uses a single Baker photograph that mirrors the album's title. For collectors who keep bedroom-indie records that push toward classical dynamics, this is a 2017 LP that keeps paying back on the turntable.

17. 

    Slowdive by Slowdive (2017)

    The English shoegaze band's fourth album and first since 1995's Souvlaki, released on the Dead Oceans label in May, picked up where they had left off two decades earlier. The guitar layers stay wide and warm, and the songwriting has aged in the same way the band members did: less bright, more settled, still in love with the pedalboard [10]. The 2LP sleeve uses a blurred Neil Krug photograph that matches the album's haze. For collectors who came up on Creation Records or 4AD releases from the early 1990s, this is a 2017 LP that earns its place next to the originals.

What to buy first

If you are starting from zero, the cleanest way into the year is Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. and Lorde's Melodrama. Both records benefit enormously from the LP format, both reward repeat listens, and both have stayed in print across multiple pressings, which means the entry price is reasonable. After those two, the rest of the list is a matter of taste: Ctrl if you collect contemporary R&B, A Deeper Understanding if you collect 1980s-revival rock, Slowdive if you collect shoegaze, and Process if you collect singer-songwriter records that lean electronic.

Frequently asked questions

Were vinyl sales really strong in 2017?

Yes. RIAA's 2017 year-end data showed that revenue from paid subscriptions and streaming access was driving the broader recorded music business, while vinyl remained the strongest physical format by both unit sales and revenue. BPI in the UK was reporting that vinyl sales had returned to levels not seen since the early 1990s. The combination of streaming-led growth and steady vinyl demand is part of why 2017 was a particularly friendly year for collectors.

Which 2017 album is the most important for a new vinyl collector?

For most people, DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar. It is the consensus critical pick for 2017, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018, the standard LP pressing has been in print at a reasonable price for years, and the music benefits from the LP format. The Collector's Edition, which plays the tracks in reverse sequence, is also worth picking up if you already own the standard pressing.

Are any of these 2017 LPs expensive or hard to find?

Brand New's Science Fiction had a small first pressing that is hard to track down at cover price, and Slowdive's self-titled record had limited early editions. The other fifteen entries on this list have all had multiple repressings, and most can still be found at standard retail. If a price on Discogs looks unusually high, it usually means a specific colored variant or first pressing rather than a record that has gone out of print across the board.

What should I look for when buying a 2017 LP today?

Check the pressing run (most of these records have been pressed multiple times), the country of manufacture (US, EU, and Japanese pressings tend to have different masters and plating), and the seller's return policy. The Discogs grading scale is reliable but conservative; a "VG+" sleeve from a high-reputation seller often plays cleaner than the grade suggests.