My Favorite Album of 2017

My Favorite Album of 2017

Photo Credit: Columbia Records

Alex Smith, Editor

In the year 2017, there were many records that stood out to me, but The Search for Everything by John Mayer stood out the most. Keep in mind, this isn’t the “best” album of the year; everyone has different tastes and music is not to be ranked. The album itself was a minor change in John’s sound from his last couple records, filled with catchy hooks and incredible production, and the public seemed to accept it very well. Although it may not get the credit deserves, I believe this album had some of the best songs of this year. However, it’s also fair to say that you can’t really compare these songs to cuts from, for example, Culture by Migos. Either way, this album had my favorite songwriting of 2017. John Mayer always had an astonishing insight on real life situations, and it’s really seen throughout The Search for Everything, which in itself is a killer title.

The album kicked off with “I Still Feel Like Your Man”, which had a beautiful guitar track, not to mention the haunting lyrics. Throughout the record, there was a constant theme of hope. Maybe “hope” isn’t the best word to use in the case, but it’ll do. It’s hard to name the best song off this album, but “In the Blood” is definitely in that range. The song is about family lines, and is a great song to ponder about. Personally, “Helpless” is my favorite song on the record. There is a great sense of desperation in the song, and John kicked off every show of his tour with the song, with its up-beat tempo.  The most underrated song on the album was “Roll It on Home”, a song about moving on in life. There are many songs underrated like this one, which is why I put the Informer readers up to the task to listening to some of them.

The Search for Everything was John Mayer’s first project since 2013, and it really shows. To me, John’s never been repetitive in his music; every album has been different then the last. His previous album fell under the genre of “Americana”, but The Search for Everything shouldn’t have a genre. It’s simply unique to Mayer, and doesn’t fall within typical genre lines.

John’s only 40 years old, and although this may be his most recent project, it might as well be his best. Without a doubt, John will have many more great albums to come, and I highly recommend you listen to this one. You may even find a few songs to relate to, not to mention the anthems these songs could become. And again, this isn’t the only good music of the year, there’s a lot else out there worth hearing.