Although Cornershop’s 1997 album When I Was Born For The 7th Time was not my favorite album at the time it was released, it did have three or four songs that I listened to religiously. “Sleep on the Left Side” is a great song, and “Funky Days are Back Again” is a fun little song. However, twenty-five years later, the song “Brimful of Asha” still gets played all of the time at the Faux household, and both the original and the incredible Norman Cook remix are now universal favorites with almost twenty million video views on YouTube. The song itself is catchy as hell with a fantastic guitar riff, and “Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow” is one of those once-in-a-band’s-life lyrics. Add in the fact that it is a song dedicated to Bollywood’s greatest playback singer, Asha Bhosle, and it has even more appeal. It is a perfect culture clash of music, lyrics, theme, and indie-rock ethos.

I tend to leave metal artists off of the Faux Shows, but I am a fan of all sorts of metal music. 1997 was a good year for metal, but the classic metal albums of the late ’90s were mostly released before or after this year. For this reason, my choice for best metal album of 1996 goes to an album that wouldn’t make my best of the decade list. However, there is no denying that this is an important album by one of the best symphonic metal bands. This is Dimmu Borgir’s third album, and is often named as their best.

The best rap album of 1997 was an underground album by Company Flow called Funcrusher. Unfortunately, this album is not available on streaming platforms. It is on YouTube though, if you want to listen.

Rap Album of the Year Runner-Up: Busta Rhymes When Disaster Strikes

Busta Rhymes’ second album is part two of his apocalypse trilogy and features a couple of his most popular songs. None of the tracks are as good as “Woo Hah,” but as a complete album it surpasses his debut The Coming.

The fourth album by The Sea and Cake isn’t their best, but it firmly establishes the sound they would maintain for the next twenty years. If you don’t know them, this four-piece band from Chicago create gentle yet dense alt-rock. Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt are the main songwriters and vocalists, and drummer John McEntire is one of the best drummers in rock and the heart of the band.

Number 19: Daft Punk Homework

Number 18: Erykah Badu Baduizm

Number 17: Spiritualized Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space

Number 16: Green Day Nimrod

Number 15: Foo Fighters The Colour And The Shape

Number 14: Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club

Number 13: Yo La Tengo I Can Feel The Heart Beating As One

Number 12a: Labradford Mi Media Naranja

Number 12b: Mogwai Young Team

Number 11: Godspeed You! Black Emperor F# A# Infinity

Number 10: Sigur Ros Von

Adding to the abundance of post-rock in 1997, the debut by Icelandic band Sigur Ros is another great recording by a second-generation post-rock band. It doesn’t sound like any other Sigur Ros album – it is much more noisy and experimental – but it is still a great piece of post-rock music by a band ready to breakout internationally. Their next album, Agaetis Byrjun is a post-rock masterpiece and one of my favorite albums of all time, but this debut is very solid and could easily be released this year and still sound new.

Number 9: Oasis Be Here Now

Number 8: Blur Blur

If you are going to select these records in a best of 1997 list then you have to put them side-by-side. 1997 was the year that both bands thought they had taken over the world, but in reality they were both about to become ’90s rock and roll trivia. The Oasis album received some critical and much sales success, but is now looked upon as the album that pushed them past the breaking point. They released several more successful albums in the 21st century, but this was their last album of any sort of quality. Similarly, Blur’s international success exploded with this album, and then they never released another album of this quality again. Their earlier albums were full of raw punk energy, Kinks-like British songwriting chops, and great song after great song. This record has its moments, but they just weren’t cut out to be international superstars. Even though their followup, 13, is still highly regarded, their 1997 self-titled album is the last of their great recordings. Looking back now, it is difficult to understand how these two bands almost achieved a new British invasion, and 1997 was the year it should have happened. Other bands like Supergrass, Suede, Stereophonics, Super Furry Animals, and dozens of others were all given their moments of glory due to the work of Blur and Oasis, but now it all seems like either smoke and mirrors or a failed opportunity to cash-in on a ridiculous amount of media attention. God save the Queen.

Number 7: The Mountain Goats Full Force Galesburg

The fourth album by The Mountain Goats is the first of John Darnielle’s transitional phase from an acoustic solo act to a more full-fledged band. It is still very lo-fi, and much of it is just Darnielle recording himself on a boom box, but there are enough songs with multiple instrumentation and added effects to start to see where the band was heading. It is also the first Goats album to feature current bassist Peter Hughes (although he plays guitar on this record), Darnielle’s longest lasting band member and collaborator. The trademark Darnielle songwriting style is in full force on this one, but in many ways this album is for fans only so start with All Hail West Texas or Tallahassee if your are one of the uninitiated.

Number 6: Pavement Brighten the Corners

After the disappointment of their third album, Wowee Zowee, a lot of Pavement fans were afraid that the best band in indie rock may have passed their prime. Their fourth album put that doubt to rest. Brighten the Corners is arguably the most complete album the band ever released. It doesn’t have any songs as good as “Summer Babe” or “Don’t Cut Your Hair,” but there isn’t a weak moment all the way through. The lyrics are great, the riffs are solid, and the production is the tightest they ever produced. Within a couple of years, Pavement were done – a sad ending to the band that ruled indie rock in the ’90s. Now, when I want to listen to Pavement, this is the record I turn to. Their older albums sound more and more dated each time I listen, but this one still sounds like it was just released.

Number 5: Steve Earle El Corazon

Steve Earle’s return in 1995 with his acoustic post-prison release Train a Comin’ was a surprise to all of his old fans who weren’t sure if he would ever be able to return from all of his troubles. It wasn’t like anything he had ever recorded before, and if he had continued down the acoustic bluegrass road he could have probably carved out a nice little niche for himself in the folk world. Instead, his 1996 album I Feel Alright presented yet another side of Earle. His mastery of the songwriting craft was back in full force, and the production by the Twang Trust gave him a new sonic landscape with which to create. I had barely listened to that record when his 1997 masterpiece, El Corazon, was released. This album pulls together all of his past sonic experiments and combines them with his strongest songwriting up to that point to produce what is still his best album. Every song on the record is a masterclass in a specific style of American music and the quality doesn’t waver from beginning to end. Earle lays out a rich world of characters and stories that present America as he has experienced it – mean, ugly, gritty, painful, and unforgiving – but also hopeful and full of love for those lucky enough to find it. This is quite simply one of the greatest singer/songwriter albums ever made.

Number 4: Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind

Looking at this Top Twenty list so far, it is filled with a lot of indie rock, alt-rock, and post-rock. Clearly, I was listening to a lot of this type of music twenty five years ago. So, it should be no surprise that the rest of this list is going to follow in that vein, starting with this pick for Number Four. The debut by pop/emo band Third Eye Blind was the album of the Summer of ’97 for me, and “Semi-Charmed Life” was the song of the summer. I listened to this CD in my car stereo everywhere I went. I even ended up giving my copy to a friend of mine and buying another copy. Then I lost that copy on an airplane (with the CD player it was in) and bought a third copy. I stuck with the band for about three or four albums, but this debut is still their best. It is pure pop bliss that still sounds fresh today. I don’t play it near as much anymore, but whenever I hear the opening drum riff to “Semi-Charmed Life” I break out a smile and start bobbing my head.

Number 3: Ben Folds Five Whatever and Ever, Amen

In 1997 I knew about Ben Folds Five. I had seen them live and had listened to some tracks from their 1995 debut, but I hadn’t become a fan just yet. Then one day in March 1997 I was driving to work and the local alt-rock station played a new song from their new album. It was the first single “Battle of Who Could Care Less,” not even the best song on the record, and I went out that night and bought the CD. Before that night was over, I was a lifelong fan. Everyone knows “Brick,” but I was much more impressed by the rock numbers like “One Angry Dwarf” and “Song for the Dumped.” Who was this guy with a piano trio making music that sounded like Look Sharp! era Joe Jackson without guitars? The fuzz bass, the Billy Joel styled piano attack – it sounded old and new all at the same time. After several listens, I fell in love with the slower ballads like “Cigarette” and “Selfless, Cold, and Composed.” And, of course, the song “Brick” made an immediate impact. It is one of the best songs ever written about abortion and one of the best pop songs of the ’90s. In January 1998 “Brick” entered the Top 40 (why the hell did it take everyone so long to realize?), and then that was the end of the band’s hits. Looking back, this song and Wilco’s “Can’t Stand It” are the two songs that represent the end of Top 40 music being relevant. Ben Folds should have been a Top 40 hit machine, but he was born too late, and Britney Spears and the rest of the Major Label Production Machine were already getting geared up to destroy Top 40 radio forever. Luckily for all of us, before Ben Folds gave up on his dream of being a pop star he made this and several more albums before going solo.

Number 2: Everclear So Much For The Afterglow

If I had to guess, the 1997 album I have listened to more than any other is this one. I was not a fan of a lot of grunge and alt-punk bands in the ’90s. I didn’t like Bush, Collective Soul, Stone Temple Pilots, 311, Blink-182, and many similar bands of this period. However, there was something about the introspective lyrics and guitar riffs of Everclear’s frontman Art Alexakis that set them apart from the rest of these bands. I always liked the band’s first hit, “Santa Monica,” but I didn’t pay much attention to them beyond hearing that song on the radio now and then. After I heard the first single “Everything to Everyone” off of this record, I bought the CD (because back then was what you did) but didn’t expect much. I figured it would be another CD where I would set a song or two on repeat and ignore the rest, but I was hooked from the opening vocal phrase through to the end. I stuck with this band for many more albums, up until the original band fell apart in 2003, and I have to admit I liked every album more than I should have. Even so, this 1997 release is by far their best and I still listen to it more than any other record on this list except for Number One.

Album of the Year: Radiohead OK Computer

This one is too obvious and a no-brainer. I’m sure a lot of people would choose a different Album of the Year, but I can’t ignore two simple facts.

1. I have loved it since the moment I have heard it and continue to listen to it all these years later.
2. This is one of the most important albums ever recorded.

This was my favorite album of 1997 back then and it still is. The future of rock music was birthed by this record. It bridged the gap between alt-rock and grunge, which had already worn out its welcome by 1997, and the electronic music that all of rock would become in the 21st century. The musical ideas presented in the album are incredibly dense and diverse. All of these years later, each listen presents some new piece of sonic invention that was missed before, and that is always the sign of a classic album. Radiohead helped shape modern music and it all started here.