Not everything is a homerun, every competition has a second place finisher, or someone left lingering off to the side of the podium. But just because someone got a silver medal or fourth place, doesn’t mean they weren’t worth paying attention to. On the runner up list of 2017, we’ll see the musical equivalent of just that. A group of ten albums that are more than worthy of your time, but were just ever so slightly outside of the top fifty. They may not have been first, but I promise you that not a single one of these albums was anywhere close to being last.

Most tapes aren’t quite so aptly named as Without Warning which dropped, predictably, without warning on Halloween night. Given the time of release the album could have easily been a silly gimmick, another way for some of the biggest stars in hip-hop to release some loud, uninspired tracks, and go “here’s a spooky Halloween album.” Instead the trio takes the opportunity to create one of the slickest, most forceful hip-hop records of the year. The production from Metro Boomin is clean and bassy as always, though now it has a hint of horror elements in keeping with the Halloween theme. Offset’s contributions are much appreciated as they break up the inevitable monotony of 21 Savage with his staccato triplet flow. Each piece in the record fits together just right, leaving listeners with a wonderful surprise that will be finding its way into Halloween party playlists for as long as trap stays relevant.

If you listen to enough music you’ll eventually come across something you’ve never heard before. I promise you that Amnesia Scanner is one of those groups. I have no conceivable clue as to how they make any of the noises they do. As far as we should be concerned they have a torture chamber where sentient robots dangle from the walls in various states of disrepair. There’s sounds on here that can come from no earthly origin, it positively puts most noise artists to shame in terms of sheer creativity. Sure, sometimes the electronic wails are shrill to the point of being unbearable, but he masterful composition of AS TRUTH will keep you hanging on for the next shift, regardless of the abuse levied upon you by the previous one. If you’re down to get weird, you honestly can’t get weirder than Amnesia Scanner, and they don’t seem apt to let us forget that anytime soon.

Cherry Glazerr is the undisputed winner of 2017’s most improved artist. Their 2014 album Haxel Princess clearly showed a lot of potential, but with Apocalipstick the Secretly Canadian label darling demonstrated what they’re really capable of. They released a better Best Coast album than Best Coast has for the past five years, while still managing to sound like their own creation. It has everything from the dreamy guitars of Dream House, all the way to the chunky riffs of Wavves, “Apocalipstick” is one hell of an album closer, sounding more like amplifier worship than beach rock and “Told You I’d Be With The Guys” shows great improvement in both vocals and songwriting. “Trash People” manages to be scummy and relatable without stepping into the territory of obnoxiousness. There’s a lot here worth unpacking and if beach rock is a dying genre, Cherry Glazerr will make sure they don’t go down without a fight.

I’m not sure if there’s just not that many great metal albums coming out or if I’m just doing a really bad job of keeping up with them. While the answer is more than likely the second one, I’m lucky to have caught onto Nightmare Logic relatively early into its buzz. The album begins with a rush of clattering static more befitting of Sunn 0))) or Earth rather than a balls to the wall thrash album. From that moment on, not a single punch is pulled, Nightmare Logic is content to be grimy, aggressive, violent thrash metal. Guitars pound with numbing consistency, driving deeper and deeper while the throaty screams echo around the mix, occasionally blending with chants that no doubt make for a compelling live show. Each song drives further into the madness with no sign of slowing, “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Ax)” is fierce but “Firing Squad” is unyieldingly fast. It only goes further off the rails after that, this is thrash metal at its absolute best, and is a release that can’t be missed for anything.

I love groundbreaking albums. Looking back on the indie landscape now, it’s easy to see how xx was one of the most important and influential albums of the 2000’s. I See You on the other hand is none of those things, yet it still manages to be one of the most compelling listens of the year. Largely acting as a return to form with additional flourishes, I See You sees the group handing over large chunks of control to Jaime XX after his rousing success as a solo artist with In Colour. As a result the album regains much of the icy electronic tinge that made xx such and exciting listen. The brighter UK club sounds of In Colour also find their way into singles like “On Hold” and “A Violent Noise” while tracks like “Say Something Loving” push into foreign territory with energetic jungle drums that add an extra element of excitement to a band that has often been accused of being a bit too onenote. I See You may not push the envelope at every turn but it does just enough to make every moment truly enjoyable, whether that be charting new territory, or perfecting elements of past albums.

Is there anything better than finding someone new you like? If there is, at least as far as it pertains to music, then I’m unfamiliar with what that could be. Thx is a culmination of almost all the things I like in an album. It’s got disproportionately loud guitars, it’s got effective, almost amateurish vocals, yet, despite all these seemingly bad things, it’s presented with the utmost confidence. Parts of the record recall early albums from The Microphones, from the janky guitars to the shaky vocals, “Ba Sha Klam” is the closest that Lomelda has ventured to “Samurai Sword” a task which just about every band to attempt has whiffed on hilariously. Thx is just about as simple as you can get in an album without it becoming a bad thing. Despite all of the simplicity, the task undertaken here is shockingly difficult, yet Lomelda makes it look easy.

Sometimes an artist does something that doesn’t make sense. In this case, Prurient released an album that is as long as Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, luckily for Prurient Rainbow Mirror is just as engaging. Not everyone will find something for this album, it’s unapproachable, its unyielding, it’s borderline unlistenable at moments, but it all adds up to one of the most compelling listening experiences of the year. From the massaging bass thrum of of “Walking on Dehydrated Coral” to the navel gazing undulations of “Blue Kimono Over Corpse” and the shrieking dissonance of “Naturecum.” The album is meditative as much as it is maddening and every second toes the line of escape into rapture. Quite honestly the album is frustrating as much as it is enlightening, it doesn’t fit within the boundaries of what typically constructs good albums. By all accounts it is too long and too weird to be anything beyond grandstanding, but it somehow all works, and it drives me absolutely insane. Prurient has created an eldritch labyrinth that soothes and terrifies all at the same time, and with his latest run of albums, he’s continuing to bat one-thousand.

Yes, I know, shocking that Bjork made a great album. It’s not like she’s made five hundred of these through her career. Even still, with all her acclaim, Utopia is a special piece of work within her own catalog. Last year’s Vulnicura went into great detail over the painful loss of a life changing relationship. Utopia is, somewhat predictably, about picking up the pieces and life after death, for lack of a better term. As always, the singing is weird, and will surely be off putting to those without a taste for adventure, those who can handle it absolutely should, for within Utopia they’ll find a verdant canopy of lush experimentation typically reserved for only the deepest cuts of avant-garde music. Synths burble and pulsate through the centerpiece “The Gate” while sizzling rushes of static blast across your speakers on the closing moments of “Loss.” It’s an unhinged ride through a mad house of musical influence, so strap in.

Harmonies are fantastic things. They can take a simple song and elevate it to the level of a masterpiece. When someone knows how to take a simple vocal melody and harmonize to it, you know you’ve found a special artist. Gordi is one of those artists. At first I struggled to think of who she reminded me of, then I realized it was Bon Iver. If that’s not a big enough compliment to sell you on Gordi then I’m not sure it’s possible to get you interested. For those of you that had your ears perk up at the mention of Bon Iver, Gordi is someone you need to pay attention to. Instrumentally they even share a lot of similarities, there’s a light electronic tinge to everything on the record, from the husky vocals of Gordi to the light tapping of the drums. Each portion of the album feels very meticulous, a fantastic sign for a debut full length. The fact that she had the ambition to not only emulate one of the most important artists in the indie movement, but also play with his formula by adding calculated noisy and glitchy flourishes shows a confidence that spells great things for Gordi’s future.

Some bands are just always so damn good all of the time. The Mountain Goats are one of those bands. While at this point it seems unlikely that they’ll release something in the running for album of the year, you can bet it all that if they release something it’s going to be good, it’s going to get talked about, and it’s going to be somewhere on most top albums of the year lists. Goths is the second step in an evolution that began last year with the release of Beat the Champ a startlingly emotional album that centered around loosely linked vignettes about professional wrestlers. Goths then must deal with the titular goths, and if that was your guess, I’m happy to tell you you’re right. Goths signifies an unexpected change for the band by eliminating the guitar for which they are known in favor of drums and piano. The result is impressively successful for a band that has released more or less the same style of music for the past ten years. Lead singer John Darnielle’s storytelling is as strong as ever and with a renewed focus on concept, Goths pushes itself towards the front of the pack in The Mountain Goats stellar discography.