There’s an esoteric magnetism wired deep inside Royal Thunder’s third full-length that sucks you into the very eye of their storm. With its dark, moody atmospherics, warm fuzzy guitars and soul-baring vocals, the Atlanta psych-rockers have never sounded so sublime, disguising infectious rock songs as mind-melting meditative trances.

From pop-punk to black metal, 2017 gave us a ton of killer albums. It wasn’t easy, but we’ve whittled it down to the 50 most essential you absolutely need to hear. And we crowned the best of the bunch…

Below, we made a Top 50 Albums Of 2017 playlist, featuring one track from each album. That’ll give you a little taster, before you dive into your own favourites. Give it a listen and give it a follow below: