Uncovering the Next Generation's Hall of Fame

| ⇦ 1996 | 1998 ⇨ |
The Best Music of 1997
Here is a selection of the best albums and songs from 1997. Hall of Famers are highlighted in orange.
For a list of the top artists who made their debut recording in 1997, check out this list.
| Albums (?) | Wikipedia | |
| Björk | Homogenic | ☆ |
| Blur | Blur | ☆ |
| Bob Dylan | Time Out Of Mind | ☆ |
| Buena Vista Social Club | Buena Vista Social Club | ☆ |
| Built to Spill | Perfect From Now On | ☆ |
| Chumbawamba | Tubthumper | ☆ |
| Crystal Method | Vegas | ☆ |
| Daft Punk | Homework | ☆ |
| Deceased | Fearless Undead Machines | ☆ |
| Depeche Mode | Ultra | ☆ |
| Diana Krall | Love Scenes | ☆ |
| Elliott Smith | Either/Or | ☆ |
| Erykah Badu | Baduizm | ☆ |
| Everclear | So Much for the Afterglow | ☆ |
| Foo Fighters | The Colour and the Shape | ☆ |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor | F♯ A♯ ∞ | ☆ |
| Green Day | Nimrod | ☆ |
| Incubus | S.C.I.E.N.C.E. | ☆ |
| James Horner | Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture | ☆ |
| Janet Jackson | The Velvet Rope | ☆ |
| Jay-Z | In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 | ☆ |
| Kylie Minogue | Impossible Princess | ☆ |
| Mariah Carey | Butterfly | ☆ |
| Missy Elliott | Supa Dupa Fly | ☆ |
| Modest Mouse | The Lonesome Crowded West | ☆ |
| Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds | The Boatman's Call | ☆ |
| Nobuo Uematsu | Final Fantasy VII: Original Soundtrack | ☆ |
| Notorious B.I.G. | Life After Death | ☆ |
| NSYNC | 'N Sync | ☆ |
| Oasis | Be Here Now | ☆ |
| of Montreal | Cherry Peel | ☆ |
| Old 97's | Too Far to Care | ☆ |
| Paul McCartney | Flaming Pie | ☆ |
| Portishead | Portishead | ☆ |
| Primus | The Brown Album | ☆ |
| Radiohead | OK Computer | ☆ |
| Robbie Williams | Life thru a Lens | ☆ |
| Sarah McLachlan | Surfacing | ☆ |
| Savage Garden | Savage Garden | ☆ |
| Shania Twain | Come On Over | ☆ |
| Sixpence None the Richer | Sixpence None the Richer | ☆ |
| Sleater-Kinney | Dig Me Out | ☆ |
| Spice Girls | Spiceworld | ☆ |
| Spiritualized | Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space | ☆ |
| Stereolab | Dots and Loops | ☆ |
| The Chemical Brothers | Dig Your Own Hole | ☆ |
| The Offspring | Ixnay on the Hombre | ☆ |
| The Prodigy | The Fat of the Land | ☆ |
| The Verve | Urban Hymns | ☆ |
| Third Eye Blind | Third Eye Blind | ☆ |
| Ween | The Mollusk | ☆ |
| Whiskeytown | Strangers Almanac | ☆ |
| Wu-Tang Clan | Wu-Tang Forever | ☆ |
| Yo La Tengo | I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One | ☆ |
| Songs (?) | Wikipedia | |
| Alabama 3 | Woke Up This Morning (Theme from The Sopranos) | ☆ |
| Aqua | Barbie Girl | ☆ |
| Backstreet Boys | As Long as You Love Me | ☆ |
| Backstreet Boys | Everybody (Backstreet's Back) | ☆ |
| Belle and Sebastian | Lazy Line Painter Jane | ☆ |
| Ben Folds Five | Brick | ☆ |
| Björk | Bachelorette | ☆ |
| Bjork | Hunter | ☆ |
| Black Lab | Wash It Away | ☆ |
| Blink-182 | Dammit | ☆ |
| Blue Meanies | Smash the Magnavox | ☆ |
| Blur | Song 2 | ☆ |
| Blur | Beetlebum | ☆ |
| Brad | Circle and Line | ☆ |
| Buena Vista Social Club | Chan Chan | ☆ |
| Celine Dion | My Heart Will Go On | ☆ |
| Chumbawamba | Tubthumping | ☆ |
| Daft Punk | Around The World | ☆ |
| Daft Punk | Da Funk | ☆ |
| Depeche Mode | It's No Good | ☆ |
| Eagle-Eye Cherry | Save Tonight | ☆ |
| Elliott Smith | Between the Bars | ☆ |
| Elliott Smith | Angeles | ☆ |
| Everclear | Father of Mine | ☆ |
| Foo Fighters | Everlong | ☆ |
| Foo Fighters | Monkey Wrench | ☆ |
| Foo Fighters | My Hero | ☆ |
| Forest For The Trees | Dream | ☆ |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor | The Dead Flag Blues | ☆ |
| Green Day | Good Riddance (The Time Of Your Life) | ☆ |
| Green Day | Hitchin' A Ride | ☆ |
| Guided By Voices | I Am A Tree | ☆ |
| Hanson | MMMBop | ☆ |
| Harvey Danger | Flagpole Sitta | ☆ |
| Headstones | Smile and Wave | ☆ |
| Janet Jackson | Together Again | ☆ |
| K-Ci & JoJo | All My Life | ☆ |
| Kenny Wayne Shepherd | Blue on Black | ☆ |
| LeAnn Rimes | How Do I Live | ☆ |
| Lisa Loeb | I Do | ☆ |
| Marcy Playground | Sex and Candy | ☆ |
| Mariah Carey | Honey | ☆ |
| Mazinga Phaser | Diamond In Shrink Wrap | ☆ |
| Meredith Brooks | Bitch | ☆ |
| Mighty Mighty Bosstones | The Impression That I Get | ☆ |
| Missy Elliott | The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) | ☆ |
| Natalie Imbruglia | Torn | ☆ |
| Nerf Herder | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme | ☆ |
| Next | Too Cloose | ☆ |
| Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds | Into My Arms | ☆ |
| Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds | (Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For? | ☆ |
| Nightwish | Elvenpath | ☆ |
| Nine Inch Nails | The Perfect Drug | ☆ |
| Notorious B.I.G. | Hypnotize | ☆ |
| Notorious B.I.G. feat. 112 | Sky's the Limit | ☆ |
| Notorious B.I.G. ft. Puff Daddy and Mase | Mo Money Mo Problems | ☆ |
| NSYNC | Tearin' Up My Heart | ☆ |
| Oasis | D'You Know What I Mean? | ☆ |
| Oasis | All Around the World | ☆ |
| Pavement | Stereo | ☆ |
| Pilfers | Climbing | ☆ |
| Primus | South Park Theme | ☆ |
| Puff Daddy feat. Faith Evans and 112 | I'll Be Missing You | ☆ |
| Radiohead | Karma Police | ☆ |
| Radiohead | No Surprises | ☆ |
| Radiohead | Paranoid Android | ☆ |
| Radiohead | Exit Music (For A Film) | ☆ |
| Radiohead | Let Down | ☆ |
| Rammstein | Du Hast | ☆ |
| Robbie Williams | Angels | ☆ |
| Robyn | Show Me Love | ☆ |
| Sarah McLachlan | Angel | ☆ |
| Sarah McLachlan | Building a Mystery | ☆ |
| Sarah McLachlan | Adia | ☆ |
| Sarah McLachlan | Sweet Surrender | ☆ |
| Savage Garden | Truly Madly Deeply | ☆ |
| Savage Garden | I Want You | ☆ |
| Save Ferris | The World is New | ☆ |
| Shania Twain | You're Still The One | ☆ |
| Shania Twain | Man! I Feel Like A Woman | ☆ |
| Shania Twain | That Don't Impress Me Much | ☆ |
| Shania Twain | Come On Over | ☆ |
| Sister Hazel | All For You | ☆ |
| Sixpence None the Richer | Kiss Me | ☆ |
| Sixpence None the Richer | There She Goes | ☆ |
| Sleater-Kinney | Dig Me Out | ☆ |
| Smash Mouth | Walkin' On the Sun | ☆ |
| Spice Girls | Spice Up Your Life | ☆ |
| Spice Girls | Stop | ☆ |
| Sugar Ray | Fly | ☆ |
| The Chemical Brothers | Block Rockin' Beats | ☆ |
| The Chemical Brothers | Setting Sun | ☆ |
| The Offspring | All I Want | ☆ |
| The Offspring | Gone Away | ☆ |
| The Pietasters | Out All Night | ☆ |
| The Prodigy | Smack My Bitch Up | ☆ |
| The Verve | Bitter Sweet Symphony | ☆ |
| The Verve | The Drugs Don't Work | ☆ |
| Third Eye Blind | Semi-Charmed Life | ☆ |
| Third Eye Blind | Jumper | ☆ |
| Third Eye Blind | How's It Going to Be | ☆ |
| Trisha Yearwood | How Do I Live | ☆ |
| Usher | You Make Me Wanna… | ☆ |
| Will Smith | Men in Black | ☆ |
| Will Smith | Gettin' Jiggy wit It | ☆ |
| Will Smith | Miami | ☆ |
| Yo La Tengo | Sugarcube | ☆ |
| ⇦ 1996 | 1998 ⇨ |