Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.' Named Best Album of 2017 by Rolling Stone
King Kendrick reigns on Rolling Stone’s “50 Best Albums of 2017” list. Released today, the coveted top 10 features Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. in the peak position with rave reviews.
“Rap’s most powerful voice at the absolute top of his game, with nothing left to prove but his staying power,” the magazine proclaims. “Where 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly and 2016’s Untitled Unmastered exploded rap formally with disparate flows, kaleidoscopic Flying Lotus beats, and Afro-delic Kamasi Washington jazz-funk jams, DAMN. shows how dazzling the man can be simply spitting verses.”
Khalid’s breakout debut American Teen comes in at No. 6, while Migos’ Culture arrives at No. 9. Elsewhere, Sam Smith’s The Thrill of it All rounds out the top 10, JAY-Z’s 4:44 appears at No. 12, and SZA’s Ctrl pops up at No. 20.
“After a trio of promising EPs and a prominent feature on Rihanna’s Anti the budding alt-R&B star showed what she could do on a full-length LP,” reads the Ctrl recap. “SZA unravels through largely improvised meditations on love and sex and all the promise and abandonment that can result from both.”
Drake’s More Life also earns a spot at No. 27 and Vince Staples’ Big Fish Theory swims in at No. 28. See the top 10 below and the full list here.
Rolling Stone Best Albums of 2017 – Top 10
1. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
2. Lorde – Melodrama
3. U2 – Songs of Experience
4. Kesha – Rainbow
5. LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
6. Khalid – American Teen
7. Taylor Swift – Reputation
8. Queens of the Stone Age – Villains
9. Migos – Culture
10. Sam Smith – The Thrill of It All