Music that moved me in 2017

Top song …

My most-played song released in or not terribly far from 2017 is "Mistakes" by Avec Sans, which finishes at #2 overall in my top 100 of the year as monitored by last.fm. This kind of ethereal, melancholy electronic bliss leaves me drooling. It's the closer on their really good debut album, Heartbreak Hi.

Other notables …

• "Up the Creek," Tori Amos' best single in years, at #29
• "Losing Touch," a new synth masterpiece by Empathy Test, at #20
• Sia had a big year on my chart, finishing at #3 with "The Greatest," #4 with "Never Give Up" and #11 with "Move Your Body."

Oldies …

My most-played song overall was Billy Joel's somber and reflective ballad "I've Loved These Days" from Turnstiles. The most-played album overall, by a substantial margin, was the very good super deluxe release of Fleetwood Mac's 1987 classic Tango in the Night.

Posthumously …

• George Michael finishes at #6 with "Something to Save," #7 with "White Light," #29 with "Heal the Pain" and #66 with "Shoot the Dog."
• Prince lands at #73 with "Strange Relationship," #87 with "The Morning Papers" and #95 with "P Control."
• Leonard Cohen is at #67 with "Hallelujah."

Most-played new album …

With 2017 releases from Erasure and Goldfrapp sadly underperforming, the door opened for Depeche Mode to sneak in with the politically charged Spirit. It's the only DM album I've wanted to listen to all the way through since Violator.

What's so hot about the Hot 100 …

There is, per usual, minimal crossover between my year-end chart and that of popular consumption. Here are the two miracle compositions:

• "I Feel It Coming" by The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, #34 Billboard, #56 me
• "Chained to the Rhythm" by Katy Perry Featuring Skip Marley, #73 Billboard, #20 me. I'm skeptical of everything to do with Katy Perry, and I think she's one of the most commercially and critically overrated forces in popular music, but there is no denying that this is a successful stab at mature and sophisticated electronic pop music. The same is true of "Roulette," which sounds like it could have been released in 1996, and lands at #60 on my year-end chart.

Click here for 2016 and prior years.