How Rolling Stone's top 20 albums of 2017 fared with critics

Rolling Stone released their annual top 50 albums of 2017. This is the top 20 along with the album's Metacritic score, which shows how well each album was received by critics. A score of 80 or above indicates the album was critically acclaimed. A score from 61 to 79 indicates the album was positively received.

20. SZA - Ctrl
Ctrl has a Metascore of 86, a big improvement over her previous release Z, which had a score of 66.

19. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
Metascore 85. All Father John Misty releases have scores in the mid 80's 

18. St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION
Metascore 88. St. Vincent's lowest score is still an impressive 78. 

17. Harry Styles - Harry Styles 
Metascore 68. This is a pretty low score for top 20 on a best of list. It's positive but 13 points away from critically acclaimed.

16. Margo Price - All American Made
Metascore 82. Her previous album has a score of 86.

15. Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice 
Metascore 79. Courtney's previous album has a score of 88. Kurt's albums have ranged from 59 to 83. 

14. Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm 
Metascore 80. Previous albums were 81 and 79.

13. Randy Newman - Dark Matter
Metascore 82. Previous releases were 81 and 86. 

12. JAY Z - 4:44 
Metascore 82. That's a big improvement over a previous score of 60. Jay Z's scores have been very mixed with some in the 60's and others in the 80's. His career average is a respectable 74. 

11. The National - Sleep Well Beast
Metascore 85. Other than a score of 78, all of The National's albums are critically acclaimed.

10. Sam Smith - The Thrill of It All 
Metascore 72. This is another that I'm surprised to see so high on the list because it's critical reception was decent. 

9. Migos - Culture 
Metascore 79. That's a big improvement over a previous score of only 67. 

8. Queens of the Stone Age - Villains 
Metascore 81. The band's scores range from 75 to 89.

7. Taylor Swift - Reputation
Metascore 71. That's a decent score but the album likely made it this high on the list because Taylor's is such a big name. It's her most poorly received album critically. Her highest scores are two 77's.

6. Khalid - American Teen
No Metascore. The album didn't receive enough reviews from major publications to receive

a score. But considering the success he's having, his next album will likely have one.

5. LCD Soundsystem - American Dream
Metascore 86. Other than a score of 75, all of LCD Soundsystem's albums have been critically acclaimed.

4. Kesha - Rainbow
Metascore 81. Previous two releases were in the low 70's.

3. U2 - Songs of Experience 
Metascore 77. U2's albums range from 64 to 90. 

2. Lorde - Melodrama 
Metascore 91. Lorde managed to top her debut Pure Heroine, which scored 79, by 12 points.

1. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN
Metascore 95. Kendrick has had three albums with scores in the 90's and two in the 80's. His career score is a very impressive 90.