It must have been a great year for music.
Here at Helping Hands Rock Reviews headquarters, we had a hard time narrowing our annual best album list down to just 10. In fact, we had to go to a fourth tie-breaker to fill the last two slots!
But we did it! So, without further ado, here are our top 10 albums of 2017!
#10. Freddie Nelson - Shake The Cage. With a throwback sound and a captivating voice, this Pittsburgh-bred rocker proved his music was capable of hanging with the industry's heavyweights in 2017.
#9. Santa Cruz - Bad Blood Rising. Combining modern, bone-crushing power with hair metal sensibilities, Santa Cruz commanded attention with a killer release.
#8. Halestorm - Reanimate 3.0. In what's become a mid-album cycle tradition, Halestorm again surprises and delights with an eclectic and fun collection of cover tunes.
#7. Falling In Reverse - Coming Home. As irreverent as ever, Falling In Reverse delivers another screaming record that you want to listen to over and over.
#6. Biters - The Future Ain't What It Used To Be. Resurrecting power pop, Biters have put out some of the catchiest music of the year...or perhaps even the decade.
#5. Fozzy - Judas. With a title track worth of song-of-the-year accolades, Fozzy - led by wrestling legend, Chris Jericho - reaches new heights.
#4. Ed Sheeran - Divide. Regarded as a pop star, the red-haired Brit demonstrated that his appeal could be felt far and wide as he became the undisputed king of the singer/songwriter genre.
#3. Butch Walker - Over The Holidays and Under The Influence. It's kind of rare for a Christmas album to make a top 10 list. But, as usual, Butch Walker succeeds where others fall short by sharing a loose, fun and creative take on holiday classics.
#2. Art of Dying - Nevermore (Acoustic). They rock hard and heavy. But give Art of Dying acoustic guitars and they can craft an emotive performance that broadens their already strong appeal.
#1. Sleeping With Sirens - Gossip. Groove-laden pop/rock songs with sugary-sweet hooks is not what you'd expect from a band once associated with the post-hardcore and screamo genres. But Sleeping With Sirens turned down the guitars and laid down radio-friendly beats on an album that features track after track after track of songs that stick in your brain as if they were coated with thick maple syrup.
