If you know us, you know our studio speakers *always* on. We even have a dedicated slack channel just for sharing the music we’re into. So, yeah— music is a huge part of our culture here at Workhorse. While we are definite devotees of well-crafted playlists, we also love being able to dig into one album from start to finish. And what a year it’s been for new albums! From brand new artists to long-time favorites bringing back the magic, a few of us have got long-running lists of our favorite new releases. For your purposes, we’ve trimmed them down as best we could (it was painful) and shared here for posterity. Check out our lists below, and hop on our playlist above for the highlights from each. Happy listening, y’all!

Abe Partner, Strategy and Technology Director

2017 was another great year for rap and r&b. It’s an interesting time for the genre—Soundcloud rappers are treated like they’re rock stars and west coast acts like Kendrick Lamar, which in the past would be considered “gangster rap,” are acclaimed in the mainstream like it’s god damn prestige television. What a time to be alive.

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Ash Project Manager

My life changed when Spotify, and NPR tiny desk concerts, became a thing. Enjoy the random breadth of music that I listen to, because it doesn’t disappoint.

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Julia

2017 was an undeniably huge year for women in music, and I know I’m not alone when I say it’s about damn time! So my list of faves is dedicated to women this year. And yes, I am aware that “Bodak Yellow” is not an album, so do not @ me. 

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Michelle 

Can’t stop, won’t stop. Each of these albums has been on hard repeat since their release. Sorry to everyone that’s given me control of their aux chord, but also, not sorry.