While dance music is certainly a singles-driven market, the album format saw a lot of good play in 2017. ODESZA and Bonobo were both nominated for Grammys, and we thought they had the two best dance albums of the year. We also really loved Mura Masa‘s big debut. He was directly inspired by Cashmere Cat, another kingpin who took his time on his first album and gave the world a new side of pop in 2017.
Some old favorites returned strong this year. The xx picked up the groove, Emancipator had lots of fun with noise, and Four Tet was stunning, as usual. Illenium followed his successful first LP with a broader breadth of instrumentation. Petit Biscuit burst onto the scene with a big hello, and Calvin Harris gave us soft rock funk for the summertime.
Which of these albums do you think stole the show? Is there one you think we overlooked? Let us know in the poll below.