THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2017

1. Dispatch - American, Location 12
2. The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
3. Jack Johnson - All The Light Above It Too
4. John Mayer - The Search For Everything
5. Dan Auerbach - Waiting For A Song
6. Beck - Colors
7. Arcade Fire - Everything Now
8. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up
9. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice
10. The Shins - Heartworms
11. Josh Ritter - Gathering
12. Ryan Adams - Prisoner
13. Angus & Julia Stone - Snow
14. Haim - Something To Tell You
15. Mike Gordon - OGOGO
16. Margo Price - All American Made
17. JD McPherson - Undivided Heart & Soul
18. String Cheese Incident - Believe
19. Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Sopuvenir
20. SOJA - Poetry In Motion
21. The Dirty Heads - Swim Team
22. John Craigie - No Rain, No Rose
23. Matisyahu - Undercurrent
24. Zach Gill - Life In The Multiverse
25. The Lone Bellow - Walk Into A Storm
26. Conor Oberst - Salutations
27. The Killers - Wonderful Wonderful
28. Benjamin Booker - Witness
29. Chaz Bundick & The Mattson 2 - Star Stuff
30. Maroon 5 - Red Pill Blues

the playlist: DEC 2017

1. Dashboard Confessional - "We Fight"

2. Franz Ferdinand - "Always Ascending"

3. MGMT - "Little Dark Age"

4. Brandi Carlile - "The Joke"

5. Escondido - "Darkness"

6. The Alternate Routes - "Safe Haven"

7. Elizabeth & The Catapult - "Underwater"

8. Flobots - "Quarantine"

9. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong - "Somethin' For Ya"

10. Umphrey's McGee - "The Silent Type"

the playlist: NOV 2017

1. First Aid Kit - "It's A Shame"

2. Bahamas - "No Wrong"

3. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - "Over Everything"

4. Nahko - "Be Here Now"

5. Alice Merton - "No Roots"

6. Odesza (featuring Leon Bridges) - "Across The Room"

7. Empire Of The Sun - "On Our Way Home"

8. Walk The Moon - "One Foot"

9. Gary Clark Jr. - "Come Together"

10. Lauren Daigle - "Almost Human"

the playlist: OCT 2017

1. Phillip Phillips - "Miles"

2. Newton Faulkner - "Hit The Ground Running"

3. Gill Landry - "Denver Girls"

4. David Gray - "Hole In The Weather"

5. The National Parks - "Lights In The City"

6. Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes - "Paralyzed"

7. Roadkill Ghost Choir - "Classics (Die Young)"

8. Rubblebucket - "If U C My Enemies"

9. Joseph - "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"

10. Rudimental (featuring James Arthur) - "Sun Comes Up"

the playlist: SEP 2017

1. Anderson East - "All On My Mind"

2. Beck - "Dear Life"

3. Our Lady Peace - "Drop Me In The Water"

4. Mutemath - "War"

5. Andrew Belle - "Down"

6. Jessica Lea Mayfield - "Sorry Is Gone"

7. The Barr Brothers - "You Would Have To Lose Your Mind"

8. Margo Price - "Paper Cowboy"

9. The White Buffalo - "Avalon"

10. John Butler Trio - "Bully"

the playlist: AUG 2017

1. Jack Johnson - My Mind Is For Sale"

2. Josh Ritter - "Showboat"

3. JD McPherson - "Lucky Penny"

4. George Ezra - "Don't Matter Now"

5. Vance Joy - "Lay It On Me"

6. Lissie - "Boyfriend"

7. Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real - "Find Yourself"

8. X Ambassadors - "Ahead Of Myself"

9. The Dirty Heads - "Vacation"

10. Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley (featuring Stephen Marley) - "Medication"

the playlist: JUL 2017

1. Angus & Julia Stone - "Snow"

2. Flight Facilities (featuring Emma Louise) - "Arty Boy"

3. The Killers - "The Man"

4. Queens Of The Stone Age - "The Way You Used To Do"

5. Pickwick - "Turncoat"

6. Real Estate - "Darling"

7. Iron & Wine - "Call It Dreaming"

8. The Lone Bellow - "Time's Always Leaving"

9. Waker - "Pike"

10. Mike Gordon - "Steps"

the playlist: JUN 2017

1. Jamtown - "Fool In Love"

2. SOJA - "Bad News"

3. Pete Murray - "Take Me Down"

4. Foo Fighters - "Run"

5. The National - "The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness"

6. Arcade Fire - "Everything Now"

7. Alex Ebert - "Broken Record"

8. Dangermuffin - "Ancient Family"

9. Gov't Mule - "Sarah, Surrender"

10. Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo' - "Waiting On The World To Change"

the playlist: MAY 2017

1. Phoenix - "J-Boy"

2. Haim - "Want You Back"

3. The Night Game - "The Outfield"

4. Feist - "Pleasure"

5. Zach Gill - "Joy (Abbreviated))"

6. Moon Taxi - "Two High"

7. Portugal. The Man - "Feel It Still"

8. 311 - "Too Much To Think"

9. Royal Blood - "Lights Out"

10. The War On Drugs - "Thinking Of A Place"

the playlist: APR 2017

1. Matisyahu - "Step Out Into The Light"

2. Current Swell - "It Ain't Right"

3. Dan Auerbach - "Shine On Me"

4. Michelle Branch - "Best You Ever"

5. Benjamin Booker - "Witness"

6. North Mississippi Allstars - "Prayer For Peace"

7. Skip Marley - "Lions"

8. Gorillaz (featuring D.R.A.M.) - "Andromeda"

9. Jamiroquai - "Automaton"

10. Filous (featuring Mat Kearney) - "Goodbye"

the playlist: MAR 2017

1. Fleet Foxes - "Third Of May / Ōdaigahara"

2. Rob Drabkin - "Someday"

3. Satsang (featuring Nahko) - "Between"

4. Wild Adriatic - "Come Back Baby"

5. Nick Hakim - "Bet She Looks Like You"

6. Slow Dancer - "Don't Believe"

7. Future Islands - "Ran"

8. Maroon 5 (featuring Future) - "Cold"

9. Lorde - "Green Light"

10. The Chainsmokers (featuring Coldplay) - "Something Just Like This"

the playlist: FEB 2017

1. Dispatch - "Only The Wild Ones"

2. Ryan Montbleau - "Bright Side"

3. Chase McBride - "On The Other Side"

4. Guthrie Brown - "Stay Gold"

5. Allen Stone - "American Priviledge"

6. Robert Randolph & The Family Band (featuring Darius Rucker) - "Love Do What It Do"

7. ALO - "Bizarre Love Triangle"

8. Thievery Corporation - "Let The Chalice Blaze"

9. Chaz Bundick & The Mattson 2 - "Star Stuff"

10. The Weeknd (featuring Daft Punk) - "I Feel It Coming"

the playlist: JAN 2017

1. John Mayer - "Love On The Weekend"

2. The Shins - "Name For You"

3. Ed Sheeran - "Shape Of You"

4. Ryan Adams - "Do You Still Love Me?"

5. Old 97's (featuring Brandi Carlile) - "Good With God"

6. Craig Finn - "Preludes"

7. Madaila - "Nature"

8. Jim James - "Here In Spirit"

9. John Legend (featuring Brittany Howard) - "Darnkess And Light"

10. Childish Gambino - "Redbone"

Introducing... "the playlist"

This is a brand new feature which will replace the monthly "BURN THIS" series of tracklists which ended with the August 2016 mix. Those tracklists featured 20 songs (title and artist only) carefully arranged in order to be burned onto a mix CD 80 minutes in length, but you had to seek out the music, download it, and create the actual audio mix. The days of the mixtape/mix CD are pretty much a thing of the past, so I am transitioning this feature into an all new section known as "the playlist."

Each month THISisMODERN.net will compile a list of 10 songs and post them to this blog under the title "the playlist." The cool part is that each song will be accompanied by an embedded YouTube video featuring the song (either the music video itself, a lyric video, or just an audio-only video). Previously, audio/video didn't really have a place in this blog, and after having been writing this blog for over 16 years, it seemed only right to transition in a new feature.

The best part about this feature is that there will be no rhyme or reason to the music posted. It will purely be 10 of the best and newest songs available each month. While it may feature music you may hear played on the radio, THISisMODERN.net aims to make sure that the songs are the one you need to be hearing, paying attention to, and getting into.

Hopefully, THISisMODERN.net will continue to be a place where the cutting edge and innovative meets the classic and soulful; a place where the unknown and popular can receive equal exposure. Hopefully, this blog will continue to be a place where listeners seek out the best of what's new, the best new artists, and the best music that the industry has to offer. THISisMODERN.net promises to deliver the music you want to hear, before you even know you want to hear it!