It’s not until you actually start combing through the hundreds of records you’ve listened to over a decade that you realize how daunting the task really is.

It was, honestly, a pretty lousy year for music. This list of Best Metal, Country and Hard Rock of 2017 highlights five exceptions, and some key honorable mentions.

Very much rooted in the sludgy swamp metal of Down and Crowbar, there’s also a heavy influence of Southern and stoner rock about White Light Cemetery.

Sometimes, it’s the whole experience that will make a show you’ll never forget. That was certainly the case when I saw Jackson Taylor and the Sinners for the first time.