The 100 Best Songs Of 2017
40. Margo Price
"All American Made"
Margo Price's debut was full of fierily raucous drinking songs, but this year's All American Made digs far deeper, delving into America's dark underbelly and the tenuous survival of the country's strivers and margin-dwellers. The album's epic title track mourns a loss of belief in the values of American leadership, while closing with lines that sum up her disillusionment, her empathy and a generalized desire for escape: "I wonder if the president gets much sleep at night / And if the folks on welfare are making it all right / I'm dreaming of that highway that stretches out of sight / That's all American made." —Stephen Thompson
39. Kali Uchis feat. Jorja Smith
"Tyrant"
I found "Tyrant" during summer's sticky embrace, creeping its way into my song rotation. The soft, undulating rhythm matched the waves at Los Angeles' beaches; Uchis' achingly sweet voice mimicked the cherry popsicle syrup that ran down my hands. The moment I kept repeating, though, was her effortless slip into Spanish in the second verse — like sliding into an old fuzzy sweater and remembering how good you look in it. Fitting: A song about finding solace in love
