The Best Memes of 2017

From the Cash Me Ousside girl and Spongebob Squarepants to Salt Bae, Roll Safe and the Migos, here are without a doubt the best meme moments of 2017

Best Memes of 2017
Complex Original

Image via Complex/Jonathan Fouabi

Best Memes of 2017

It's hard to keep track of all the memes that are out there. By the hour, depending on how up in arms the Internet is at that moment, there's always something that can be "memeable." Described as a humorous image, video, or piece of text that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, memes often go in and out of fashion faster than you can say I dOnT eVeN kNoW hEr LiKe ThAt.

Memes are used to express, enjoy, and most importantly, throw shade. Salt Bae stole our hearts, Roll Safe gave us invaluable advice, and yelling Meryl Streep gave us the confidence to shout our innermost thoughts, even if they were mostly just cheesy song lyrics. Here are, without a doubt, the Best Memes of 2017. How bout dat?

15. Trump's First Order of Business

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

It’s no surprise that Donald Trump is an unusual, and unfavorable, president. Just three days after being sworn in as the leader of the free world, Trump signed several executive orders in front of the press. He then made the rookie mistake of holding up the folder displaying his signature on the order, and a meme was born. As a guy who is easily and often made fun of, the Internet exploded with gifs of Trump and his folder displaying words like “anime is now illegal," an album of Pokemon cards, doodles that looks like they came straight from a preschooler, and even an order declaring the construction of a National Harambe Memorial. Trump’s first order of business is the meme that keeps on giving. —Elizabeth Gulino

13. Al Sharpton's Gym Selfie

12. Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN' Cover

10. Redbone Remix

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

What began as simply the strongest track on Childish Gambino’s latest album birthed one of the most creative memes of the year, the “Redbone” remix. An earworm of the finest degree, Gambino fans first started remixing the song the old fashioned way, but well-meaning arrangements soon gave way to artist-specific remixes, including my personal favorite: “Redbone” as performed by Lil Uzi Vert. From there, as the music minions of the Internet are wont to do, things got weird. First came the semi-charming, tumblr-esque twists like tracks replicating what “Redbone” might sound like from the inside of a bathroom at a house party. But it wasn’t long before other memes crossed with the song, spawning this fucking hilarious hybrid. Needlessly to say, the song was hit with countless other variations—even while Donald Glover stayed conspicuously silent. Music twitter, you’ve done it again. —Aubrey Page

7. Salt Bae

6. White Guy Blinking

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

The White Guy Blinking meme is so applicable because frankly, 2017 was a year that kept coming with terrible things and all just feigning shock at this point. What fresh hell awaits us tomorrow, President Trump? Not sure, but the White Guy Blinking will perfectly capture our feelings. Too dark? Fine, then White Guy Blinking meme never gets old because you will forever spend racks at the club and still manage to fool yourself into thinking you haven't made a dent in your bank account. —Lauren Zupkus

5. Tyrese Crying

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

A low-key heartbreaking video of Tyrese crying on Instagram Live about an ongoing custody battle quickly turned into a way for us to express our despair in the face of minor inconveniences, because apparently we’re all chill with going to Hell. Tyrese assured the world that he was okay a couple of days later, but for a brief, beautiful moment, we almost had a new-wave crying Jordan. There’s always next year. —Carolyn Bernucca

3. Cash Me Ousside

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

It’s kind of hard to know how we’re supposed to feel about this meme: the girl that inspired it is clearly unbalanced in some way or another—she’s 14, quit school in the 7th grade, and rose to fame by saying “cash me ousside, how bout dat?” on goddamn Dr. Phil. That’s it. That’s the meme. Now she’s charging people up to $40,000 for meet and greets, starred in a Kodak Black video, and has plans for her own reality show. Now she's signed to Atlantic Records and releasing music under the stage name Bhad Bhabbie. What the hell? All she really did was say something mildly funny on television. But, then again, she posted this fire Instagram totally destroying David Spade, so… —Julia Pimentel

2. Roll Safe

1. The Migos' 'Everyday Struggle' Interview

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

What was supposed to be a simple gray carpet interview at the 2017 BET Awards between the Everyday Struggle crew and the Migos quickly morphed into a triple-threat meme for the ages. As many learned later, there was friction (primarily from Migos' side, for the way Lil Yachty's interview on Everyday Struggle went), which ended up in a truly awkward exchange. That same interview ended up turning into meme gold, from Takeoff asking, “Does it look like I got left off of ‘Bad & Boujee?’” to the shot of Ak, Joe, and Nadeska staring quizzically at the Migos to shorty with the glasses taking in the whole situation in complete awe. You couldn't avoid the meme onslaught for a while, and six months later, they are still as funny (and necessary) as the first day they dropped. —khal

Latest in Pop Culture