My 2018 MLB Picks

This isn't my typical baseball preview post that I leave for late March or early April. Instead, this is a straight up, no-nonsense, basic explanation listing of my predictions for the upcoming baseball season based on the rosters as they currently stand and my own biases (Jason Heyward is still bad & Jorge Soler is right on the doorstep of being great again). This blog will return to it's regularly scheduled programming once I restructure my schedule in a way that properly accommodates my desire to write more for Andy Todd's Bla Blog. Until then, I have a post in the works and the upcoming WRBL 2017 Season In Review to work on and some opinions on some Major League Baseball teams to share with everyone right now...

AL East
Boston Red Sox 96-76 (Their starting pitching is still deeper and the offense is just as good as New York's once Dustin Pedroia returns)
New York Yankees 89-73 (As long as Luis Severino is more 2017 Severino than 2016 Severino, this is a playoff team)
Toronto Blue Jays 81-81 (Any potential addition-by-subtraction was negated by replacing Jose Bautista with Curtis Granderson, an identical hitter.)
Baltimore Orioles 76-86 (The Alex Cobb signing was the only clear sign that this team isn't taking Manny Machado's likely final season in Baltimore)
Tampa Bay Rays 65-97 (Chris Archer and Alex Colome will bring back plenty of prospects when the timing is right for deals to be made)

AL North
Cleveland Indians 98-64 (With only one challenger in-division, Cleveland has plenty of leeway for injuries and slumps to not affect them in any way)
Minnesota Twins 85-77 (A revitalized pitching staff and no suspension for Miguel Sano returns the Twins to Wildcard contention)
Chicago White Sox 71-91 (The Sox are now in the "Prospect Arrival" portion of their rebuild and that tends to be the most unpredictable year of a team with this many enticing prospects)
Kansas City Royals 69-93 (Letting go of Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Jason Vargas would not have put this team behind the White Sox but, losing Salvador Perez to a torn MCL does significant damage to Ned Yost's chances of returning in 2019)
Detroit Tigers 66-96 (If it weren't for Miguel Cabrera and Michael Fulmer, this would be the worst team in baseball)

AL West
Houston Astros 95-67 (They only lost a couple of bullpen arms and the leadership of Carlos Beltran so, a repeat is very much in play)
Oakland Athletics 84-78 (Strangely enough, the team with one of the weakest parks for hitters is going all in on power hitting with a trio of Davis-Olson-Chapman that is sure to make Oakland an entertaining watch for the first time in years)
Los Angeles Angels 84-78 (Too much of the Angels' success relies upon Shohei Ohtani but, adding Ian Kinsler, Zack Cozart and full seasons from Garrett Richards and Justin Upton should keep them above .500 whether the Japanese prospect struggles or not)
Seattle Mariners 79-83 (The lineup is great now that sadly Felix Hernandez is not)
Texas Rangers 70-92 (Nomar Mazara could put up MVP-caliber numbers and it will not help save this aging squad)

NL East
Washington Nationals 105-57 (With Dusty Baker out as manager and Bryce Harper in a contract year, this has to be the Nationals biggest season to date)
Philadelphia Phillies 79-83 (The prospects have arrived and now it's time for Rhys Hoskins, J.P. Crawford and Nick Williams to improve into winners)
Atlanta Braves 77-85 (Dansby Swanson will bounce back but, the pitching is still a year away and they need one or two more bats to show up before they can contend for anything)
New York Mets 75-87 (Big names don't always equal big production and the disappointment caused by this pitching staff since their 2015 World Series appearance has my expectations low)
Miami Marlins 61-101 (Starlin Castro and J.T. Realmuto are very good baseball players and the lineup isn't THAT bad but, this is by far the worst, least proven pitching staff in baseball)

NL North
Chicago Cubs 94-68 (The curse-breaking hangover is now gone and Yu Darvish replaces Jake Arrieta so, expect a similar result to last season)
St. Louis Cardinals 88-74 (If Marcell Ozuna continues to bat .300 with 30+ homers and the young duo of Jack Flaherty/Alex Reyes sticks in the rotation, the redbirds will outdo expectations again)
Milwaukee Brewers 85-77 (One of the bigger surprises of 2017, the Brewers now have some form of expectations and should contend for the Wildcard)
Cincinnati Reds 75-87 (Nobody has thought about the Reds in five years outside of Joey Votto's Hall of Fame candidacy and their pitching is going to keep them irrelevant for at least one more year)
Pittsburgh Pirates 72-90 (Every veteran will be on the trading block and the only hope they have is Colin Moran becoming a star so, that's less than 1% hope)

NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers 100-62 (Clayton Kershaw's ERA might actually go up for the first time in his career but, there's nothing stopping the Dodgers from repeating as NL West champs once Justin Turner returns)
Arizona Diamondbacks 88-74 (J.D. Martinez is one hell of a tough loss but, their pitching staff should get them within five games of their 2017 W-L record)
Colorado Rockies 84-78 (Re-signing Carlos Gonzalez and letting Ryan McMahon and Raimel Tapia sit in AAA will prove to be a crucial error for a team that is finally sorting out their pitching)
San Francisco Giants 74-88 (I wanted to love this team as a sleeper with the additions of Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen but, losing Jeff Samardzija and Madison Bumgarner to injury already does not bode well for the even-year Giants to return to prominence)
San Diego Padres 71-91 (I pat them on the back for trying with the Eric Hosmer signing but, that's it)

POSTSEASON PICKS
Wildcard Games
Yankees over Twins
Cardinals over Diamondbacks
First Round
Yankees over Indians
Astros over Red Sox
Nationals over Cardinals
Dodgers over Cubs
Second Round
Astros over Yankees
Nationals over Dodgers
World Series
Washington over Houston in 6.

Sports Illustrated
In my crystal ball, I have the Astros going 2-0 with Justin Verlander on the mound and 0-4 without him in their World Series loss to the Nationals.

Maybe it's just foolish optimism but, I'd like to see one of the lesser-discussed northeastern baseball teams do something unforgettable before their star walks away for a record-breaking payday and the Orioles are not going to be that miracle team. In the postseason, you only need four good starters to succeed and advance and both Washington (Scherzer-Strasburg-GioGonzalez-Roark) and Houston (Verlander-Keuchel-McCullers-Cole) have that. On paper, the Astros are stronger with more players on track for Hall of Fame careers (Altuve, Correa, Verlander) but, the Nationals have had incredible results from their lineup these past two years and with Adam Eaton returning to lead-off after only playing one month last season, I foresee another All-Star being added to Washington's lineup alongside Anthony Rendon, Daniel Murphy, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper. Gerrit Cole is good, not great and I have yet to see Lance McCullers Jr. show any type of consistency with his health so, give me Dave Martinez and the Nationals. After all, everybody thought the Cubs would repeat too and look at how that turned out.

The One Time Bill Belichick's Ego Got In The Way

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the enemy. New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick appears to have chosen the latter path as his decision to straight up bench starting cornerback Malcolm Butler is the moment where Belichick officially let his ego get in the way of improving his already GOAT-esque head coaching legacy and a sixth championship win. Yes, Nick Foles was on fire these playoffs in a way we had only previously seen in him when coached by Chip Kelly but with how enormous a difference the slightest tip of the football or misplayed drop (see: Tom Brady's one target resulting in a drop), there is no way that Butler's presence in the defensive backfield over Eric Rowe (his replacement on every snap of this game) would not have made a difference in the final outcome of the most offensive game in Super Bowl history (yardage-wise).

The undrafted 27-year old from Western Alabama University was forced into action due to poor play from those above him on the depth chart and was barely even known by Bostonians until the biggest game of the season and his career, Super Bowl XLIX. Butler barely played in the Super Bowl until the Seattle Seahawks began lining up with 4 or 5 wide receivers on the field (a formation they rarely used due to mediocre receiving depth in 2015). With the Patriots leading 28-24, Seattle's Russell Wilson threw a bomb of a pass toward Jermaine Kearse and the current Jet made one of the greatest catches in NFL history, only to be pushed out at the 5-yard line by Malcolm Butler.

After a short gain on the ground by Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks shocked the world by deciding to pass the ball at the 3-yard line and the only player with any hopes at preventing a Seattle win in that moment was Malcolm Butler and he made what is widely regarded as a play belonging on the Mount Rushmore of Super Bowl plays right next to David Tyree's 2008 Helmet Catch. Seattle's hopes of a dynasty were abruptly erased and the Belichick-Brady duo began a second dynasty together.

"What have you done for me lately?" is a question that is deservedly asked quite often in the NFL but, the benching of Butler in last night's game was not the moment for Belichick to put his foot down. Malcolm Butler made drastic improvements in his game over the next two seasons after that Super Bowl, making a Pro Bowl the next season and being named Second Team All-Pro just last season, as he helped New England win their fifth Super Bowl in 16 years after completing a 25-point comeback over Atlanta. The man had become a bonafide shutdown corner and a major trade asset for New England to shop around this past offseason. As a restricted free agent, the Patriots signed Butler for considerably cheaper money than they would have had he been out on an open, decent cornerback free agent market and instead of signing him for big money and keeping him satisfied, the Pats signed him to a one-year deal with a tender offer of a first-round draft pick being required in return for any team offering him more money. Ultimately, nobody took the bait and Butler stayed on board for a 13-3 season that saw New England's worst defensive performance in years with Butler regressing to league-average at his position.

Even with his struggles, Eric Rowe was still not ready for the stage of Super Bowl LII and there are no circumstances under which Johnson Bademosi and Jordan Richards should currently be slated in a defensive backfield instead of Butler. Zero snaps in a half is inexcusable and once Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia (who will now likely move on to coach the Lions) saw how well Nick Foles was throwing the ball through tight windows to his receivers, the Patriots should have at least attempted to close those windows a bit tighter with a man that's done it consistently on big stages for them in the past. Instead, Nick Foles looked like Carson Wentz in Minneapolis with 373 yards passing and an MVP label next to his name at the conclusion of the event. Butler played zero defensive snaps during the game and will now go into free agency with his price tag slightly lowered thanks to his "failure to show up when it mattered most".

Eric Rowe did not know he would start before kickoff and Butler did not know he would be benched. Bill Belichick made his first mistake of his career on the field by letting his ego get in the way and now the first cracks in the Patriots' armor are beginning to show. Only one month ago, ESPN's Seth Wickersham dropped a surprising story at a strange time (the beginning of the NFL playoffs, when New England was on bye and coming off another strong regular season) detailing the tense work environment that had developed between Belichick, Tom Brady and owner Robert Kraft as they all seemed to have differing opinions on personnel, most notably the eventual trading of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second round draft pick. Ultimately, the team denied everything and America was highly skeptical of the report (myself included). There was one quote that kind of stuck out as odd where Robert Kraft stated that Brady and Belichick "need to get their egos checked in" and that confirmed at least part of the report's belief that Brady and Belichick are strictly business partners and not exactly friends once off the field. Hearing that must have made Belichick at least a tiny bit bitter as a result and instead of checking his ego in, he made sure to make his biggest "I don't need anybody to tell me how to do my job" statement on Sunday when he refused to put Malcolm Butler on the field for a single defensive package despite his starting 17 and playing in 18 of the 15-3 Patriots' games up until Super Bowl LII. Tom Brady should not lose any game where he throws for 505 yards, no interceptions and the Patriots earn one penalty. Tom Brady should be irate at a franchise wasting the 40-year old GOAT's possibly final chance at a ring (after 40, every chance at a ring is your last chance at a ring because football is one hell of a rough sport). The defense may have been terrible but, it wasn't "Nick Foles is the best player in football now" terrible until last night. Now, the Eagles are victorious and the What If? list is long...

What if that catch by Zach Ertz weren't actually a catch?
What if Tom Brady wouldn't have dropped that wide open pass from Danny Amendola?
What if Brandin Cooks didn't try to hurdle a guy?
What if that Corey Clement touchdown weren't actually a catch?

and so on...

But above all of those one-off instances of fluky plays going in the Eagles' favor, not playing a regular starter and former All-Pro of your defensive lineup for every single defensive play of the game is baffling and might just be the one mistake big enough to make the greatest dynasty in the history of football come crumbling apart. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is already scheduled to head the Colts' coaching staff and Matt Patricia to the Lions is agreed upon so, what's next? Dante Scarnecchia re-retires? Rob Gronkowski retires? or are the largest of dominoes to fall sooner rather than later? Luckily for Robert Kraft, he has six months to figure this all out and that is somehow more interesting than the Super Bowl MVP that is about to get traded.

AP/Jeff Roberson
Best of luck to you in Cleveland, Arizona or New York, Nick Foles!

Previewing The 60th Annual Grammy Awards

Award Season is already in full swing with the weak SAG Awards and the overrated Emmy's out of the way and with Oscar Nominations now unveiled, it's time to focus on my favorite show of them all... The 60th Annual Grammy Award Ceremony. Of course, these music awards are just as messy and inconsistent as the other award shows... even more so (Still upset about the AOTY snub for Blackstar last year) but, that's what makes predicting them so fun. There are always a few categories that make one stop and ask "what would these people do if in a bar together?" For example... Michael Buble', Seth McFarlane, Bob Dylan, Sarah McLachlan and technically Tony Bennett are nominated for Best Traditional Pop Album and just... what the fuck? Also, there's the constant debate over what is most important in deciding the eventual victors of the major categories, popularity or acclaim? Chris Cornell received the annual "in honorary remembrance of..." nomination for Best Rock Performance of his song "The Promise" alongside also-deceased Leonard Cohen but, that category simply is not notable enough for me to cover this season as the rock genre has been in memorial for years at this ceremony.

Despite the slowly fading relevancy of the Grammy Awards, there are still a few categories that will have everyone debating this Sunday evening as the academy actually did a decent job at finding nominees this year, keeping the Grammy's as a hot topic for one more year at the very least. After all, Taylor Swift and Adele weren't eligible so IT IS ANYBODY'S GAME THIS YEAR. It's time to pick apart who SHOULD win each of the big awards and who ultimately WILL be crowned as Grammy winners for eternity.

Record of the Year

And the nominees are...

- "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
- "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar
- "Redbone" by Childish Gambino
- "The Story of O.J." by Jay Z
- "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars

Who should win? Childish Gambino
Who will win? "Despacito"

I have never seen the Record of the Year category looking more relevant and fun as it does this year. "Despacito" was an obvious nominee by it's chart dominance (#1 for 16 weeks on the Hot 100) and worldwide appeal (bilingual lyricism over a fun beat? Jackpot). In another corner, we have "Humble", the worst Kendrick Lamar song that I'd be okay with winning the award because it would be the Grammy committee's way of apologizing for To Pimp A Butterfly's robbery two years ago at the hands of Taylor Swift. "The Story of O.J." is the deepest track nominated as the richest man nominated raps about how no matter what, many will still just see him as a black man and whatever stereotypes one might associate with that basic label that would diminish all of Shawn Carter's accomplishments. "24K Magic" is another party-starter that combines some of the most upbeat genres on a song performed by one of the most charismatic people in the game right now to perform on the Grammy stage multiple times. The curveball here is also my personal favorite as the slower, smoother "Redbone" by Childish Gambino (AKA: Donald Glover). I cannot remember a song this psychedelic ever being nominated and it's pretty damn cool that the dude scheduled to play Simba in the live-action remake of The Lion King coming next year, star as Lando Calrissian in the next Star Wars movie AND the creator of one of the best shows on television, Atlanta, is the genius behind this really cool song that also opened the Oscar-nominated film, Get Out last year. It's anybody's game but, I think "Despacito" wins because it was just too dominant to ignore and maybe the voters felt like giving a song with such a heavy Spanish influence the biggest award of the night when our country has decided to keep building walls instead of bridges.

Album of the Year

And the nominees are...

- 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
- 4:44 by Jay Z
- "Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino
- Damn by Kendrick Lamar
- Melodrama by Lorde

Who should win? Lorde
Who will win? Kendrick Lamar

Good As I have already posted at the end of 2017, Masseduction by St. Vincent was my favorite album of the past year but dammit, I LOVE that Lorde album almost just as much. Every song is pop perfection with only "Green Light" seeming at all like a desperate attempt at being a pop hit. Unfortunately, Ella Yelich O'Connor (AKA: Lorde) was unable to grab any mainstream attention prior to her nomination for this award with no other songs having any serious Billboard or radio impact and that has held her down to just one lone nomination on the evening when "Writer In The Dark" should absolutely be nominated for Song of the Year. Ultimately, these are still the Grammy voters we're looking at here and they'll go for a slightly inferior (still a top-20 album of 2017 so, still pretty fucking great) album to make sure the casual music listener (AKA: Your grandparents that still watch CBS) take this Lamar guy seriously by handing him the most awards on the evening when they couldn't do that in the past because of some weird debt they probably owed to Taylor Swift and/or Macklemore and/or Adele.

Song of the Year

And the nominees are...

- "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
- "4:44" by Jay Z
- "Issues" by Julia Michaels
- "1-800-273-8255" by Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid
- "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars

Who should win? "1-800-273-8255"
Who will win? Julia Michaels

The Song of the Year takes every bit and piece of the song into consideration while the Record of the Year category listens more to the vocal performance than anything else. Ultimately, "Despacito" is probably more likely to win this award than Record of the Year but, it is neither that creative an idea for a song nor is it phenomenally performed. "1-800-273-8255" is a pretty safe bet to win due to it's direct and dark subject matter but, the committee seems to just adore one-hit wonders that fade away due to sounding too similar on all of their tracks and Julia Michaels fits that mold perfectly as a performing artist. She deserves a reward for being as busy and successful a songwriter as she is but, that doesn't mean "Issues" is anything more than a mediocre song about how she's just a crazy girl looking for love over one of the most boring beats of the past year. This will be the one to upset Twitter as that's a guarantee for at least one announcement annually.

Best New Artist

And the nominees are...

- Alessia Cara
- Julia Michaels
- Khalid
- Lil Uzi Vert
- SZA

Who should win? SZA
Who will win? Alessia Cara

SZA first caught my attention when I heard that an artist from Kendrick Lamar's Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) label out of California had a female singer put her vocals over the psychedelic electronic vibes of XXYYXX's "About You". That song turned into SZA's first prominent single, "Child's Play" and featured Chance The Rapper as he was on the rise in the industry. In other words, she is not the newest of new artists but, she did just release her first proper album in Ctrl and in a field of nominees with nice yet forgettable albums and singles, she has the most memorable album along with a promising future. Lil Uzi Vert easily has the most prominent song of any of the nominees with "XO Tour Llif3"and he could easily win the song off of one major hit song as many new artists have done in the past, although not recently. Ultimately, Alessia Cara had the most consistent mainstream success with her songs "Here", "Scars To Your Beautiful" and her cameos on Zedd's "Stay" and Logic's "1-800-273-8255". I'm not against an Alessia Cara win here but, I'd bet on SZA for longevity.

Best Pop Solo Performance

And the nominees are...

- "Love So Soft" by Kelly Clarkson
- "Million Reasons" by Lady Gaga
- "Praying" by Kesha
- "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran
- "What About Us" by P!nk

Who should win? Kesha
Who will win? Ed Sheeran

In life there are very few guarantees... Death, taxes and Kelly Clarkson getting nominated for a Grammy despite her faded relevancy in the mainstream pop radio waves. For real though, the first American Idol winner (that happened 17 years ago!) has been nominated for this award four times in the seven years it has existed with three bad songs and this song, "Love So Soft" that is nice but, saw zero impact on the charts and never got the national push that it might have five years ago when the pop music genre was thriving far more than it is today. "Million Reasons" was a very good piano ballad that feels like it was a million years ago, "What About Us" is the politically conscious song that so many in music failed to make this year (Katy Perry received zero nominations, by the way) and "Praying" was my #1 song of 2017 as it continues to grow after it was the first major domino that has resulted in the change in the Hollywood culture that has kept assault accusations under wraps since popular culture became a thing. This should not be that hard but, the Grammy's voters may still see Kesha as the rich blonde pop star that used autotune for nothing but fun club hits. Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" was #1 on Billboard for 12 weeks and it was EVERYWHERE and the unavoidable hit song is a pretty safe bet to win at least one award no matter how lame that hit actually is at it's core.

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

And the nominees are...

- "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
- "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man
- "Something Just Like This" by The Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay
- "Stay" by Zedd featuring Alessia Cara
- "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons

Who should win? "Stay"
Who will win? "Despacito"

"Stay" (performed by the above pictured Alessia Cara and Zedd) is the strongest contender in an unusually weak category. However, "Despacito" still has too many numbers to not come out victorious.

Best Pop Vocal Album

And the nominees are...

- Divide by Ed Sheeran
- Evolve by Imagine Dragons
- Joanne by Lady Gaga
- Kaleidoscope EP by Coldplay
- Lust For Life by Lana Del Rey
- Rainbow by Kesha

Who should win? Lana Del Rey
Who will win? Ed Sheeran

Again, my personal choice for winner would be known simply by looking at my Top 20 Albums of 2017 list as Lust For Life made that list and no other nominations under this category did. It was another album of subtle yet brilliant transformation in the career musical trajectory of Lana Del Rey as she got a bit political, made new interesting duet partners and continued to have one of the best voices in pop music today. Frankly, Coldplay should not be nominated here as there are typically only five nominees and their EP was not even a full album and their inclusion in the list is a bit of a slap in the face to every other pop act that was ignored by the Grammy's this year and even those that received nominations in other categories (Lorde, for instance). Ed Sheeran will win this award because he still holds that crossover appeal that pop fans, dad-rockers and the elderly all seem to have a favorable opinion of the singer from overseas.

Best Alternative Music Album

And the nominees are...

- American Dream by LCD Soundsystem
- Everything Now by Arcade Fire
- Humanz by Gorillaz
- Pure Comedy by Father John Misty
- Sleep Well Beast by The National

Who should win? Father John Misty, but it's a seriously close contest
Who will win? Father John Misty

The Alternative Music category had a bit of an odd year where legacy acts like four of the five nominated here made a return to mixed reviews. LCD Soundsystem's album is an acquired taste yet, more of the same from a band off a seven year hiatus that only seemed to make them stronger. Arcade Fire took a whole bunch of criticism for making a sloppy album that jumped into ska music right at the center of the album, an unforgivable mistake, and still had some fun songs that can be played for years and years down the road at festivals everywhere ("Creature Comfort", "We Don't Deserve Love", "Everything Now"). The album by Damon Albarn's Gorillaz side-project was extremely hit or miss on a track-by-track basis with memorably weird cameos (Mavis Staples, Grace Jones, Benjamin Clementine and Popcaan, to name a few). Meanwhile, The National experimented with the electronic genre a bit while still making an epic good alt-rock record and yet, a newcomer has outdone them all with his first nomination after four solo albums as Father John Misty provided a whole bunch of social commentary and sarcasm galore on his "THESE ARE THE END TIMES... or maybe not." album, Pure Comedy. I'm a fan of all five nominated records but, FJM won me over just a tad more and with all of the critics seemingly agreeing on him this past year, it's likely he'll take home the Grammy.

Best R&B Song

And the nominees are...

- "First Began" by PJ Morton
- "Location" by Khalid
- "Redbone" by Childish Gambino
- "Supermodel" by SZA
- "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars

Who should win? Gambino
Who will win? Gambino

An obvious winner based on who's nominated for record of the year (Childish Gambino) and yet, Bruno Mars gets a shout out here as it is obvious that "That's What I Like" was the more successful song based on chart performance and name recognition (everyone likes Bruno Mars). The two up-and-comers (SZA and Khalid) will have their chances at this award again as long as they stick to their genres (if not, that'd be even cooler) and PJ Morton is the annual "who's this guy?" nominee as has become common in the lesser-recognized genre categories. PS: He's the black guy in Maroon 5. Yeah, there's someone other than Adam Levine in Maroon 5, who knew?

Best Urban Contemporary Album

And the nominees are...

- American Teen by Khalid
- "Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino
- Ctrl by SZA
- Free 6lack by 6lack
- Starboy by The Weeknd

Who should win? The Weeknd or Gambino
Who will win? Childish Gambino

The Childish Gambino album was one hell of a feat for an actor-turned-rapper that suddenly turned into an experimental singer with some throwback vibes, wild vocal tricks and one of the greatest album covers EVER.

EVER.

Ultimately, the third Gambino album will win the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album but, The Weeknd is still my slightly preferred album as it is just pop/hip hop goodness that The Weeknd has become famous for. It may have run a bit long but, Starboy stays interesting throughout even when Abel Tesfaye seems to be staying in his same lane while Donald Glover spreads his creative wings.

Best Rap Performance

And the nominees are...

- "Bad and Boujee" by Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert
- "Bodak Yellow" by Cardi B
- "Bounce Back" by Big Sean
- "4:44" by Jay Z
- "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar

Who should win? Jay Z
Who will win? Kendrick

In a year where rap music dominated unlike any other, this would be the most exciting announcement of the night if only the nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year weren't known beforehand. "Humble" received a Record of the Year nomination and Kendrick has seven nominations in total, while Jay Z has a top-of-the-class eight nominations with "4:44" already nominated for Song of the Year. "Bad And Boujee" may have dominated the first half of the past Grammy season and "Bodak Yellow" dominated #ListSeason2017 but, the respect that has been widespread for Lamar and Jay Z shows that it is ultimately down to which performance the voters preferred between the two. I'm still not big on "Humble", the worst song on Damn but, it is a great performance of bad material by the biggest rapper in the universe in the late-2010s. I might prefer "4:44" but, Lamar is in his prime and this is his Grammy to lose.

Best Rap/Sung Performance

And the nominees are...

- "Crew" by GoldLink ft. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy
- "Family Feud" by Jay Z ft. Beyonce'
- "Love Galore" by SZA ft. Travis Scott
- "Loyalty" by Kendrick Lamar ft. Rihanna
- "Prblms" by 6lack

Who should win? Kendrick & Rihanna
Who will win? Bey & Jay

Jay Z has won this award seven of the ten times he's been nominated and he's now been nominated for a third time alongside his wife, Beyonce' (another person that probably has an entire cabinet full of awards. In other words, it seems like this category was created just for them and that's perfectly fine as both have had lengthy careers worthy of music awards. SZA and Travis Scott have a case for winning this award as well with "Love Galore" being right up there with "Family Feud" and "Loyalty" as very good songs but, both seem too young for a committee that seems to reward longevity over early sparks of success (see Arcade Fire winning Album of the Year for The Suburbs, while Funeral received no nomination two albums prior). Again, this category comes down to Kendrick versus Jay on two songs that would sound extremely underwhelming without their female counterparts contributing their singing voices. It all comes down to personal preference and I prefer "Loyalty" as a song despite "Family Feud"'s stronger subject matter and dope music video.

Best Rap Album

And the nominees are...

- Culture by Migos
- Damn by Kendrick Lamar
- Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator
- 4:44 by Jay Z
- Laila's Wisdom by Rapsody

Who should win? Tyler
Who will win? Kendrick

All five nominees allegedly have amazing albums and I can confirm that for four of these but, exclusivity be damned, I still have not heard 4:44 and I must knock it for that because I am a flawed individual with my own personal biases (Hey, maybe the committee thinks that way too!). Culture LITERALLY changed the culture of rap music in 2017, the year mumbled autotuning took over but, it was nothing more than one of the more fun yet extensive listens of the year. The three remaining nominees were all on my Top 20 Albums list and ranked as follows...

#19. Laila's Wisdom by Rapsody
#16. Damn by Kendrick Lamar
#7. Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator

So, it's already been determined that the album originally referred to as Scum Fuck/Flower Boy should win Best Rap Album as Tyler did a majority of the production for his own album and as has become the expectation for Tyler's albums, the production is fucking amazing. He has matured dramatically as a musician and deserves to take home at least one Grammy but again, the committee still needs to make up for choosing Taylor Swift over Kendrick Lamar. Kung Fu Kenny has this one in the bag.

Tune into CBS this Sunday evening at 7:30 PM EST as it will be hosted by LL Cool James Corden (They should really try a bit harder with their hosting choices) with performances by the following...

- Lady Gaga

- Pink

- Childish Gambino

- Little Big Town

- Ben Platt

- Patti LuPone 

- Bruno Mars and Cardi B 

- DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller 

- Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee 

- Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid 

- SZA

- Kesha with Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels and Andra Day 

- Kendrick Lamar

- U2

- Elton John and Miley Cyrus

- Sam Smith

- Eric Church, Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne

- Sting

- Jon Batiste

- Zuleyka Rivera

- Chris Stapleton and Emmylou Harris

Enjoy the festivities and personally, I hope I top 50% on my picks this year because, this is always a labor of love of music.

WRBL Award Voting Is Now Open!

Did you enjoy reading about the escapades of the 2017-18 season of the Wisconsin Rapids Bro League (WRBL)? If so, then now is the time to vote for the league's award winners! Just as was true last season, voting is now OPEN to anybody who chooses to vote at this link for Rookie of the Year, Biggest Draft Bust, Waiver Wonder, Comeback Player of the Year and Zero of the Year. The winners will be announced in this year's WRBL Year In Review and voting closes whenever the hell I feel like it.

Use the final "As The WRBL Turns" as a guide for scoring leaders.

Rookie of the Year

- RB Leonard Fournette (203 points after getting drafted in the second round by Darrin Aschebrook, only went 3-11 in the WRBL but, carried the Jaguars on his back to the postseason)
- RB Kareem Hunt (Third in RB scoring with 264 points, including a 44-point week 1 and a 39-point performance to send Andy Todd to the Championship. Was drafted prior to the Spencer Ware injury in the fourteenth round)
- RB Alvin Kamara (Second Team All-Bro, 225 points helped Darrin avoid the MoonBak Bowl and he outscored his Saints' teammate Mark Ingram, despite never starting over him)
- RB Christian McCaffrey (Quietly put up 183 points for Scott Aschebrook after being Scott's sixth-round pick and was a big part of Scott's run to the postseason)

Draft Bust of the Year

- RB David Johnson (Suffered an eventual season-ending injury after 1.5 games for Darrin's 3-11 team. Johnson was the #1 overall draft pick and a vote for him means that you're okay with kicking a player while they're down/injured. Johnson only scored 12 points.)
- WR Jordy Nelson (The last pick of the first round suffered severely with Brett Hundley throwing him the ball on an infrequent and inconsistent basis for nine games of the WRBL season. Nelson scored 95 points for Scott and he scored 7 points or fewer from week 7 onward.)
- RB Jay Ajayi (The second-rounder was so underwhelming early on that Miami dealt him to the Eagles, where he entered a four-headed running back timeshare that killed most of his fantasy value and all of Nick's faith/trust in Ajayi. Nick Zurawski only got 57 points from Ajayi despite his being active for 14 NFL games).
- WR Amari Cooper (Was traded prior to opening day after being taken 23rd overall with QB DeShaun Watson to Cole Walters from Nick Zurawski for QB Derek Carr, who also underwhelmed, and photos of Cole's nipples. Cooper dropped his way to just 54 points and only one memorable game on a Thursday night on Cole's bench).

Waiver Wonder (Best Waiver Addition)

- TE Evan Engram (Once Martellus Bennett betrayed Cole's trust and Odell Beckham Jr. plus Brandon Marshall went down with injuries, Cole Walters grabbed the Giant rookie tight end and despite some down weeks, Engram racked up 105 points, good enough for fifth in WRBL scoring at his position.)
- RB Alvin Kamara (Darrin picked up Kamara after week 3 when the rookie was still the Saints' third-string running back. After Adrian Peterson was traded to the Cardinals, Kamara became an every-week starter for Team ChowHounds and 225 points later, Darrin may have found his offseason keeper.)
- WR Adam Thielen (After a 24-point showing in week one, Darrin added the Vikings' slot receiver and rode his 178 points to a not-last-place finish. Of all the players nominated for the Waiver Wonder award, Thielen's ascent to dominance was the most surprising.)
- QB Carson Wentz (The Eagles' second-year quarterback was only healthy and rostered in the WRBL from weeks 5 through 14, Ryan enjoyed that 9-game span [his bye week was week 10] as it seriously helped catapult the WRBL rookie Ryan Dougherty into the Championship while Drew Brees was surprisingly inconsistent on Team Easy Breesy's bench. Wentz dropped 127 before tearing his ACL.)

Comeback Player of the Year

- WR Keenan Allen (After playing just one game due to a Torn ACL in 2016, Allen came back with a punch and a WRBL Championship as his 222 points were a big reason Ryan was crowned league champion.)
- RB Todd Gurley (Despite a top-10 finish in RB scoring for 2016, nobody saw Gurley becoming league MVP behind a league-leading 332 points with 92 of those coming over two WRBL playoff games for Ryan.)
- WR DeAndre Hopkins (Even though DeShaun Watson was only healthy enough to toss the pigskin to Houston's #1 wideout for six games, Hopkins was still an entirely different football player with Brock Osweiler gone to Denver. Hopkins gave Nick the top-two scoring receivers in the WRBL with Antonio Brown at #1 and Hopkins' 287 points at #2.)
- QB Russell Wilson (A sore lower body caused by horrendous offensive line play kept Wilson in a battle with Marcus Mariota for a starting spot in the SNEEN MACHINE's 2016 lineup. Despite more terrible offensive line play in 2017, Wilson was able to stay healthy and turn in his best statistical season to date with a WRBL-leading 312 points for Alec Swanson.)

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Russell Wilson was born a scramblin' man.

Zero of the Year

- Cole Walters (The owner of the Colieveland 96ers team lived up to his Cleveland inspiration by running a team just poorly enough to finish in last place and get MoonBak honors. He went from worst to first, back to worst and did not attend the final season meeting, only to complain about rule changes made at the meeting he knew rule changes would be discussed and decided upon during).
- QB Brett Hundley (Killed the value of Jordy Nelson, convinced Martellus Bennett to leave after less than half a season in Green Bay and was not Aaron Rodgers. Hundley also cost Nick $20 on his Packers +9 bet made with Scott in week 16).
- WR Terrelle Pryor (Completely disappeared in Washington after a 1,000 yard contract season for Cleveland in 2016.)
- Hue Jackson (Coached an 0-16 team, has a 1-31 record over two seasons, has yet to coach anyone not named Terrelle Pryor to a successful season despite being an offensive coordinator in his previous life).

Have a suggestion for a new award? Leave a comment with your suggestions and I might add a new category at some point between now and next season. Until then, vote as you may, vote as you might, just please do not turn this into a voters' fight.

Andy Todd's Top 20 Albums of 2017

ICYMI: Here is my review of the year in music + My top 40 songs of 2017.

Coming into 2017, I was expecting far fewer A+ albums compared to the onslaught of amazing records that were released in 2016 and in review, I was sort of right that there weren't going to be any albums to blow me away the way that Car Seat Headrest's Teens In Denial did but, music did not suffer this year. Sure, the quality of the album went down a tad over these past twelve months but, I look at the past two years worth of Top 40 songs lists and there is a very good case to be made that the singles of 2016 are wildly inferior to that of 2017 while the inverse is true for albums. Were musicians just making more coherent records while the world was still a bit more coherent early on in 2016? Is pop music having a moment or has it just turned into the lovable underdog? Do artists even focus as hard on making consistent-sounding albums now that all music is free at any moment if you're not a member of the Thronedashian clan? I don't know the answers to any of this but, that's just the way these past two years have me theorizing. There was just as much great music unveiled in 2017 as in 2016, it just happened to be spread around more evenly from artist to artist (For example: Lil Uzi Vert's "XO Tour Llif3", Linkin Park's "One More Light" and Beck's "Up All Night" are all really good songs from very bad albums while Perfume Genius's No Shape, Knox Fortune's Paradise and Broken Social Scene's Hug Of Thunder are examples of very good albums with little-to-no top 40-caliber tracks). In total, I listened to 257 new albums in 2017 and graded them all.

Here all of those grades, followed by my Top 20 albums of 2017.

KEY: Artist/Band - Album Title Grade (Date Released)

A-

Little Comets - Worhead A- (3/10)

Knox Fortune - Paradise A- (9/22)

Grandaddy - Last Place A- (3/3)

Roy Blair - Cat Heaven A- (12/8)

Thundercat - Drunk A- (2/24)

N.E.R.D. - No One Ever Really Dies A- (12/15)

Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Love A- (1/27)

Tei Shi - Crawl Space A- (3/31)

The World Is A Wonderful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Always Foreign A- (9/29)

Perfume Genius - No Shape A- (5/5)

Portugal. The Man - Woodstock A- (6/16)

Father John Misty - Pure Comedy A- (4/7)

B+

Wolf Alice - Visions Of A Life B+ (9/29)

Feist - Pleasure B+ (4/28)

Declan McKenna - What Do You Think About The Car? B+ (7/21)

LCD Soundsystem - American Dream B+ (9/1)

Phoenix - Ti Amo B+ (6/9)

Laura Marling - Semper Femina B+ (3/10)

Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory B+ (6/23)

Daniel Caesar - Freudian B+ (8/25)

Goldfrapp - Silver Eye B+ (3/31)

Alex Lahey - I Love You Like A Brother B+ (10/6)

Sampha - Process B+ (2/3)

James Vincent McMorrow - True Care B+ (5/26)

Migos - Culture B+ (1/27)

Sir Sly - Don’t You Worry, Honey B+ (6/30)

Gorillaz - Humanz B+ (4/28)

Homeshake - Fresh Air B+ (2/3)

BROCKHAMPTON - Saturation 2 B+ (8/25)

Arcade Fire - Everything Now B+ (7/28)

The Mountain Goats - Goths B+ (5/19)

Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time B+ (10/27)

Nelly Furtado - The Ride B+ (3/31)

The National - Sleep Way Beast B+ (9/8)

Alex Cameron - Forced Witness B+ (9/8)

Waxahatchee - Out In The Storm B+ (7/14)

Dan Auerbach - Waiting On A Song B+ (6/2)

B

Alvvays - Antisocialites B (9/8)

Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister - Planetarium B (6/9)

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest B (11/17)

Baio - Man Of The World B (6/30)

CyHi The Prynce - No Dope On Sundays B (11/17)

The Districts - Popular Manipulations B (8/11)

Lupe Fiasco - Drogas Light B (2/10)

Ásgeir - Afterglow B (5/5)

Faye Webster - Faye Webster B (5/12)

Joywave - Content B (7/28)

Willow - The 1st B (11/3)

Kacy Hill - Like A Woman B (6/30)

Surfer Blood - Snowdonia B (2/3)

Mutemath - Play Dead B (9/8)

Mura Masa - Mura Masa B (7/14)

Macklemore - Gemini B (9/22)

Frances - Things I've Never Said B (3/17)

The xx - I See You B (1/13)

Lucy Rose - Something’s Changing B (7/7)

Kesha - Rainbow B (8/11)

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice B (10/13)

Paramore - After Laughter B (5/12)

Little Dragon - Season High B (4/14)

Daughter - Music From Before The Storm B (9/1)

Jason Isbell & The 400 Club - The Nashville Sound B (6/16)

Michelle Branch - Hopeless Romantic B (4/7)

Oh Wonder - Ultralife B (7/14)

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Soul Of A Woman B (11/17)

Aimee Mann - Mental Illness B (3/31)

Majid Jordan - The Space Between B (10/27)

Algiers - The Underside Of Power B (6/23)

Weaves - Wide Open B (10/6)

Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black B (11/17)

Milky Chance - Blossoms B (3/17)

Hater - You Tried B (3/10)

Lydia Ainsworth - Darling Of The Afterglow B (3/31)

Jonnycatland - All Good Friends B (6/15)

Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now B (2/17)

Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens B (3/24)

Vic Mensa - The Autobiography B (7/28)

B-

Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights B- (10/27)

Craig Finn - We All Want The Same Things B- (3/24)

Big Boi - Boomiverse B- (6/16)

Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound B- (1/27)

SZA - Ctrl B- (6/9)

Angus & Julia Stone - Snow B- (9/15)

Princess Nokia - 1992 B- (9/4)

Nicole Atkins - Goodnight Rhonda Lee B- (7/21)

Tove Lo - Blue Lips B- (11/17)

John Mayer - The Search For Everything B- (4/14)

Soley - Endless Summer B- (5/5)

Drake - More Life B- (3/17)

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Choir Of The Mind B- (9/15)

BROCKHAMPTON - Saturation III B- (12/15)

White Sea - Tropical Odds B- (5/12)

Ryan Adams - Prisoner B- (2/17)

Benjamin Gibbard - Bandwagonesque B- (7/28)

Amber Coffman - City Of No Reply B- (6/2)

Jamiroquai - Automaton B- (3/31)

Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog B- (5/5)

Aminé - Good For You B- (7/28)

Sundara Karma - Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect B- (1/6)

Real Estate - In Mind B- (3/17)

Dams Of The West - Youngish American B- (2/24)

Wavves - You're Welcome B- (5/19)

Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins B- (8/18)

Elbow - Little Fictions B- (2/3)

The Killers - Wonderful Wonderful B- (9/22)

Blondie - Pollinator B- (5/5)

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Flying Microtonal Banana B- (2/17)

Sam Smith - The Thrill Of It All B- (11/3)

LANY - LANY B- (6/30)

Kasabian - For Crying Out Loud B- (5/5)

Depeche Mode - Spirit B- (3/17)

Tennis - Yours Conditionally B- (3/10)

Young Thug - Pretty Thugger Girls B- (6/16)

Rostam - Half-Light B- (9/15)

Destroyer - Ken B- (10/20)

C+

Dia Frampton - Bruises C+ (3/3)

King Krule - The Ooz C+ (10/13)

Dan Black - Do Not Revenge C+ (7/7)

Future Islands - The Far Field C+ (4/7)

Hiss Golden Messenger - Hallelujah Anyhow C+ (9/22)

Fever Ray - Plunge C+ (10/27)

Foster The People - Sacred Hearts Club C+ (7/21)

Halsey - Hopeless Fountain Kingdom C+ (6/2)

Day Wave - The Days We Had C+ (5/5)

Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me C+ (9/29)

The Shins - Heartworms C+ (3/10)

Katy Perry - Witness C+ (6/9)

Rag’N’Bone Man - Human C+ (2/10)

Pokey LaFarge - Manic Revelations C+ (5/19)

Elizabeth & The Catapult - Keepsake C+ (10/20)

Mary J. Blige - Strength Of A Woman C+ (4/28)

Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream C+ (9/15)

Jhene Aiko - Trip C+ (9/22)

2 Chainz - Pretty Girls Like Trap Music C+ (6/16)

Khalid - American Teen C+ (3/3)

P!nk - Beautiful Trauma C+ (10/13)

The New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions C+ (4/7)

Foo Fighters - Concrete And Gold C+ (9/15)

Kevin Morby - City Music C+ (6/16)

JMSN - Whatever Makes U Happy C+ (4/28)

Logic - Everybody C+ (5/5)

Erasure - World Be Gone C+ (5/19)

Uncommon Nasa - Written At Night C+ (8/4)

Liam Gallagher - As You Were C+ (10/6)

Toro Y Moi - Boo Boo C+ (7/7)

Syd - Fin C+ (2/3)

Sohn - Rennen C+ (1/13)

Joan Shelley - Joan Shelley C+ (5/5)

MisterWives - Connect The Dots C+ (5/19)

Jidenna - The Chief C+ (2/17)

Bleachers - Gone Now C+ (6/2)

Haim - Something To Tell You C+ (7/7)

Jay Som - Everybody Works C+ (3/10)

LP - Lost On You C+ (5/5)

Big Sean - I Decided. C+ (2/3)

TLC - TLC C+ (6/30)

Allison Crutchfield - Tourist In This Town C+ (1/27)

Blackbear - Cybersex C+ (11/27)

C

DJ Khaled - Grateful C (6/23)

Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark? C (6/16)

Fergie - Double Dutchess C (9/22)

Beach Fossils - Somersault C (6/2)

The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding C (8/25)

Blond Ambition - Slow All Over C (5/26)

Angel Olsen - Phases C (11/10)

Will Joseph Cook - Sweet Dreamer C (4/14)

Sorority Noise - You're Not As ___ As You Think C (3/17)

James Blunt - The Afterlove C (3/24)

London Grammar - Truth Is A Beautiful Thing C (6/9)

Niia - I C (5/5)

Charlie Wilson - In It To Win It C (2/17)

Taylor Swift - reputation C (11/9)

Zara Larsson - So Good C (3/17)

Lights - Skin&Earth C (9/22)

Electric Guest - Plural C (2/17)

Sheryl Crow - Be Myself C (4/21)

Jessie Ware - Glasshouse C (10/20)

Sevyn Streeter - Girl Disrupted C (7/7)

Cold War Kids - LA Divine C (4/7)

Iron & Wine - Beast Epic C (8/25)

Wale - Shine C (4/28)

Freddie Gibbs - You Only Live 2wice C (3/31)

Milo - Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?! C (8/11)

Ed Sheeran - ÷ C (3/3)

Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness C (1/27)

Cashmere Cat - 9 C (4/28)

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Who Built The Moon? C (11/24)

NAV - NAV C (2/24)

Rick Ross - Rather You Than Me C (3/17)

Hoops - Routines C (5/5)

Trey Songz - Tremaine The Album C (3/24)

Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa C (6/2)

Kelela - Take Me Apart C (10/6)

Hazel English - Just Give In/Never Going Home C (7/14)

ZZ Ward - The Storm C (6/30)

Photay - Onism C (8/11)

Alex Clare - Tail Of Lions C (1/20)

U2 - Songs Of Experience C (12/1)

C-

French Montana - Jungle Rules C- (7/14)

Beck - Colors C- (10/13)

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Zombies On Broadway C- (2/10)

Washed Out - Mister Mellow C- (6/30)

Walk The Moon - What If Nothing C- (11/10)

Alt-J - Relaxer C- (6/2)

Goldlink - At What Cost C- (3/24)

Bell Biv DeVoe - Three Stripes = C- (1/27)

Linkin Park - One More Light C- (5/26)

Niall Horan - Flicker C- (10/20)

Jake Bugg - Hearts That Strain C- (9/1)

Miley Cyrus - Younger Now C- (9/29)

Passion Pit - Tremendous Sea Of Love C- (7/28)

Jaden Smith - Syre C- (11/17)

Chase and Status - Tribe C- (8/18)

Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up C- (6/16)

Anna of the North - Lovers C- (9/8)

Weezer - Pacific Daydream C- (10/27)

D+

Young Dolph - Thinking Out Loud D+ (10/20)

Colony House - Only The Lonely D+ (1/13)

Maroon 5 - Red Pill Blues D+ (11/3)

Stormzy - Gang Signs & Prayer D+ (2/24)

Lil Yachty - Teenage Emotions D+ (5/26)

J.I.D. - The Never Story D+ (3/10)

Allan Rayman - Roadhouse 01 D+ (2/24)

D

Minus The Bear - Voids D (3/3)

The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody D (1/13)

21 Savage - Issa Album D (7/7)

The Chainsmokers - Memories… Do Not Open D (4/7)

Machine Gun Kelly - Bloom D (5/12)

Jonah & The Lion - Folk Hop N’ Roll D (2/17)

Morrissey - Low In High School D (11/17)

Kodak Black - Painting Pictures D (3/31)

Wyclef Jean - J’ouvert D (2/3)

Foxygen - Hang D (1/20)

D-

Eminem - Revival D- (12/15)

Bjork - Utopia D- (11/24)

Kehlani - SweetSexySavage D- (1/27)

F

Lil Uzi Vert - Luv Is Rage 2 F (8/25)

The Top 20 Albums of 2017

#20. Calvin Harris - Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1

Standout Track: "Slide (ft. Frank Ocean and Migos)"
Other Must-Hears: "Cash Out (ft. Schoolboy Q, PartyNextDoor and D.R.A.M.)" & "Rollin (ft. Future and Khalid)"

Perfect for a Summer day at the pool, the DJ's fifth album sees many odd pairings (Ariana Grande & Young Thug, John Legend & Takeoff, etc.) turn into exquisite matches for dance-floor bliss.

#19. Rapsody - Laila's Wisdom

Standout Track: "Nobody (ft. Anderson .Paak, Black Thought and Moonchild)"
Other Must-Hears: "You Should Know (ft. Busta Rhymes)" & "Black & Ugly (ft. BJ The Chicago Kid)"

Named after her grandmother, Marlanna Evans' second rap album sees her break through with a little help from her friends (Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes, Anderson .Paak, etc.) and some quality wordplay.

#18. Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life

Standout Track: "13 Beaches"
Other Must-Hears: "God Bless America - And All The Beautiful Women In It" & "Lust For Life (ft. The Weeknd)"

The queen of retro vibes and sadness combines ballads, politics and trap music on her fifth record as she continues to make subtle changes to her music from one album to the next. Tune in for A$ap Rocky, Stevie Nicks and The Weeknd, stay for the wonderful production of it all.

#17. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism

Standout Track: "Lonely World"
Other Must-Hears: "Doomed" & "Don't Bother Calling"

This debut album introduces the listener to one of the more intriguing and at times odd new artists around in Moses Sumney. While this album lacks in length, Sumney makes up for that with relaxing yet complex vocal performances.

#16. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

Standout Track: "XXX. (ft. U2)"
Other Must-Hears: "DNA." & "ELEMENT."

In Kung-Fu Kenny's hardest attempt at dominating the radio waves, Lamar made the most commercial album of the year with no real standout tracks despite what "HUMBLE." did on the charts. Compared to 2015's To Pimp A Butterfly, DAMN. is his VMAs record while the prior record should have won him more Grammys.

#15. Charly Bliss - Guppy

Standout Track: "DQ"
Other Must-Hears: "Percolator" & "Julia"

90's Grunge Rock meets Grimes' vocals on the debut record as vocalist Eva Hendricks leads the most fun 29 minutes I had listening to an album this year. It has just enough unique lyrics and a vintage sound that Guppy shows plenty of promise for many more great tracks coming from this Brooklyn-based band.

#14. Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger In The Alps

Standout Track: "Funeral"
Other Must-Hears: "Motion Sickness" & "Smoke Signals"

A softly delivered gut-punch of a record from an LA 23-year old folk singer. If "Funeral" doesn't fuck you up, then the catchy choruses of "Motion Sickness" or "Would You Rather" should be more in-tune with what you're looking for.

#13. Broken Social Scene - Hug Of Thunder

Standout Track: "Stay Happy"
Other Must-Hears: "Please Take Me With You" & "Gonna Get Better"

The indie superband with an endlessly rotating roster introduces a new voice in Ariel Engle that shines on the best song of the album, "Stay Happy". Hopefully, it doesn't take another seven years for them to drop album #6 although, I gladly welcome more solo work from Kevin Drew and maybe even Engle.

#12. Spoon - Hot Thoughts

Standout Track: "I Ain't The One"
Other Must-Hears: "Hot Thoughts" & "Do I Have To Talk You Into It"

The rock band's ninth album sees them leaning poppier than ever before with some tracks meant for dancing and one in particular sounding very Beatles-like with "Do I Have To Talk You Into It". Twenty years in and Spoon has yet to show any signs of slipping.

#11. Charli XCX - Pop 2

Standout Track: "Lucky"
Other Must-Hears: "Porsche (ft. MØ)" & "Out Of My Head (ft. Tove Lo & ALMA)"

If it was not made clear by my album grades above, I grew tired of autotune beginning to dominate the rap scene. In the pop races, autotune is being used in a much more discreet manor but not with this mixtape! Charli XCX experimented with so many different, unique artists and sounds on this "album" (it's longer than some of the actual albums already mentioned on this list so, I'm putting it on here) that the aesthetic is set somewhere 100 years in the future. She may never release anything but mixtapes and random singles like the catchy "Boys" again because she keeps switching up her style from one surprising release to the next.

#10. Joey Bada$$ - All-Amerikkkan Bada$$

Standout Track: "Temptation"
Other Must-Hears: "Rockabye Baby (ft. Schoolboy Q)" & "Land Of The Free"

Plenty of artists threw their hats into the ring of discussing politics in their music this year and plenty of that was dull nonsensical ramblings but, Joey Bada$$ dropped the most underrated album of 2017 in early April when he continually expressed his displeasure with the status of black lives in America under our latest leadership. The cover of the album really sells the three main topics of the record, America, Joey being pissed off and oh by the way, it's great music to cruise around in your car to.

#9. Harry Styles - Harry Styles

Standout Track: "Sign Of The Times"
Other Must-Hears: "Sweet Creature" & "Two Ghosts"

With Ed Sheeran off making dancehall tracks, Justin Timberlake still preparing for a potentially huge 2018 after a Super Bowl performance and the psychedelia of the sixties and seventies long gone in our rearview mirrors, it was impressive to see Styles cover for all three in a ten-track span on his debut solo record. I've still never listened to One Direction beyond their biggest hits but, this album makes me think I should because Styles is clearly a superstar with some cool ideas about the past/future of music.

#8. Miguel - War & Leisure

Standout Track: "Told You So"
Other Must-Hears: "Pineapple Skies" & "Sky Walker (ft. Travis Scott)"

Miguel continued his own trend of being the coolest dude on the planet as he now has a second Top 20 Album to add to his resume. For as sexual and Prince-like as 2015's Wildheart was, this album is just as fun, smooth and yes, he's still making music for sexy times. In a surprising move, Miguel dropped the guitar but, the production on this record is at a higher quality than nearly anything else I listened to in 2017. A late entry with it's December 1st release, I just hope that America recognizes how fun an ad lib "SPLISH" is and that this album gets some recognition as most publications decided upon their lists before December.

#7. Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy

Standout Track: "I Ain't Got Time!"
Other Must-Hears: "911/Mr. Lonely (ft. Frank Ocean and Steve Lacy)" & "Garden Shed (ft. Estelle)"

Tyler, The Creator has changed his lyrical content quite a bit as he's matured this decade and yet, his production has stayed equally impressive across all of his four albums. One of the most unique voices in the rap game, Tyler Okonma went for a much gentler sounding album than the lead single, "Who Dat Boy? (ft. A$AP Rocky)" would have one believe.

#6. Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors

Standout Track: "Keep Your Name"
Other Must-Hears: "Little Bubble" & "Up In Hudson"

The #1 song of 2016 ("Keep Your Name") kicks off an extremely unique album that blends R&B and pop. This is the band's first record as a solo act as Dave Longstreth seems like the loneliest man on earth over these ten songs with Amber Coffman off doing her own solo music now.

#5. Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds From Another Planet

Standout Track: "Diving Woman"
Other Must-Hears: "12 Steps" & "Till Death"

Michelle Zauner's second album somehow lives up to the hype created by 2016's Psychopomp by expanding her musical boundaries with autotune on "Machinist" and a slightly heavier rock sound on her longest song yet, "Diving Woman". I don't know if she'll be able to keep up this one awesome record per year pace but, Soft Sounds From Another Planet certainly makes it seem like she could.

#4. Lorde - Melodrama

Standout Track: "Writer In The Dark"
Other Must-Hears: "Liability" & "Perfect Places"

An album that was well worth the four-year wait, Lorde enlisted upon Jack Antonoff to help create one of the most fun pop records of the decade. Don't get fooled by all of the hype surrounding the banger of a track that is "Green Light", there is real depth to this album as well on a moving track like "Liability" and the Kate Bush-inspired "Writer In The Dark". There's a reason Melodrama is universally agreed upon as an Album of the Year candidate and the Grammy's even agreed to nominate it.

#3. (Sandy) Alex G - Rocket

Standout Track: "Proud"
Other Must-Hears: "Sportstar" & "Bobby"

24-year old Alex Giannascoli expands his musical boundaries from his previous comfort zone of lo-fi indie rock and hops from one genre to the next over the first nine tracks on his fascinating seventh album, Rocket. Rarely does a headbanger of a song like "Brick" fit on the same album as an autotuned piano-piece like "Sportstar" and a folk ballad like "Bobby" but somehow, it all just makes sense on this record.

#2. Sylvan Esso - What Now

Standout Track: "Song"
Other Must-Hears: "The Glow" & "Kick Jump Twist"

One of the few albums I actually purchased a physical copy of in 2017, the synthpop duo goes twice as heavy on the synths and the pop on their second album, What Now. At times, this album is a party that demands the listener to dance like they've never danced before while at other times, songs like "Song" and "The Glow" kick in a layer of instant nostalgia that make me believe this album will be in my rotation for years to come.

The #1 Album of 2017               

St. Vincent - Masseduction

Standout Track: "Happy Birthday, Johnny"
Other Must-Hears: "Young Lover" & "Sugarboy"

On her fifth studio album, Annie Clark took her alternative rock sound and mashed it together with Jack Anotonoff's successful pop production and made one of the quirkiest albums of 2017. There were concerns that Antonoff would lead St. Vincent down the wrong path and that this might be her first dud of an album but, this album is still pure Annie Clark with a higher price spent on production and more pianos than any previous St. Vincent record. I seriously doubted she would ever top 2011's Strange Mercy or even the Talking Heads-inspired dive into a more electronic sound that was 2014's St. Vincent but, Masseduction tops them all with a record that makes Clark sound like a dominatrix with a broken heart after her relationship with actress Cara Delevingne ended in the three years since her last album. Clark has now entered the tier of elite musicians that are deserving of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors.