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[Rock And Roll]

We have found ourselves in a new decade which means it's time for some looking back, boys and girls. Gaming side is ripe with retrospective discussion but I want to know what were some of your favorite albums of the past decade. Lists can either be ordered or random, but I'm going to rank them myself.

1) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West

Pretty easy to take the number one spot and nothing even comes close for me. Sonically it sounds like nothing else in hip hop, before or after. Everyone who showed up had a great feature (minus the embarrassingly bad verse from Jay on Monster) and I think this album Kanye finally came into his own as a rapper/lyricist. The whole album flowed great and there was no doubt in my mind I was listening to a masterpiece the first time I gave it a listen (I wasn't too big on Kanye before this album, but goddamn he made me a fan). Easily the best album of the decade and it's probably in the discussion of top 10 albums of all time.

Spoiler

But he supported Trump reeeeeeeeeeeee

2) Blackstar - David Bowie

Bowie's final album summed up everything that made him great. He continued to push sonic boundaries by hiring top NY Jazz musicians which gave him a unique album that was like nothing he ever did. He also pulled the wool over our eyes one last time, as a great album became something entirely different just two days after it's release when we all realized what he was singing about. The hints were in the lyrics and the music as they always were and he left us with both sadness and admiration at one of his finest illusions.

3) SMiLE - The Beach Boys

It's kind of hard to decide what to do with this piece of music history. On one hand, it was recorded in 1967. On the other hand, it was released in 2011. I don't think we'll ever see it added retrospectively to the top albums of the 60s, so I think it's fitting it gets the credit it is due in the 2010s. Brian Wilson was truly onto something magical here, but the drugs, band/label/family problems and the pressure of keeping up with the Beatles ultimately led to his mental breakdown. I think if it weren't for the mental health issues he would have completed this album, as it really only needs a bit of editing to make it flow a bit better. As it stands (probably 80-90% finished), it is still a brilliant work that somehow managed to sound more musically advanced than most contemporary music 35+ years after being unearthed.

4) 21 - Adele

Let's just get this out of the way now, I'm a huge pop music guy. This is one of the best albums ever released front to back and in the age of rampant piracy and digital single sales, it managed to shift over 30 000 000 worldwide and go diamond (that's 10 million sales in the US). Those type of numbers were supposed to impossible to reach, yet somehow 21 achieved them with ease. This is most likely due to Adele's fantastic voice, great songs that had a lot of personal depth to them and a no nonsense approach to the production. Rick Rubin (who did production on the album) said it could have been released during any era and it would have had the same impact. I have to agree as an organic approach to instrumentation and songwriting is timeless, but I think if this album comes out before the digital age it probably would have doubled it's total sales and maybe give Thriller a run for highest selling record of all time. Critics did not give it any love at release (mainly because critics are stupid and have no idea what good music is) but the post accolades are well deserved.

5) ...Like Clockwork - Queens Of The Stone Age

A botched surgery left Josh Homme at death's doorstep unexpectedly. A near death experience is going to have a profound impact on anyone and it really shows on one of QOTSA's finest albums. After a long hiatus after the lacklustre Era Vulgaris, Queens returned with a haunting album packed with some of their most concise songs and a roster of guests, including Dave Grohl who makes his triumphant return and really beats the ever loving shit out of the drums. It might be Queens best album start to finish, which is even more impressive considering how much territory the songs cover from a sonic standpoint. I Appear Missing is one of the best songs Homme has ever penned and we're incredibly lucky we didn't lose him and in turn this record to the void.

6) Run The Jewels 3 - Run The Jewels

It was a bit of a toss up between any of the RTJ albums released this decade, but ultimately I went with RTJ3 as my choice. It's a bit longer and got a few more songs I skip than on the other albums, but it's highs are so much higher. The futuristic, dystopian beats cooked up by EL-P serve as a great backdrop for the albums lyrical content. Killer Mike continues to deliver great verse after verse and EL-P wisely does not try to outdo his bandmate which allows him to stick to his strengths. I think this album is still going to sound fresh in 2030 or even later due to the lyrics not tying into current events too directly and the futuristic vibes musically.

7) E Mo Tion - Carly Rae Jepsen

The danger of having a mega hit as your first single is the certainty you're going to end up as a one hit wonder. After Call Me Maybe had run it's course, it was clear Jepsen was never going to attain those heights again. So she did the smart thing and went to work on crafting a great album. Influenced by 80s Miami pop vibes, E Mo Tion is a fantastic album that caught a lot of people by surprise. Carly sticks to her strengths as a songwriter, continuing to write about being friendzoned by almost every guy she meets. It really makes her endearing and her voice fits her song content perfectly. It's a pretty solid album start to finish and if you like pop music but somehow didn't hear about this one I highly recommend giving it a listen, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

8) II - Metz

Toronto based Metz put out one of the decade's grungiest, stomach-churning rock albums. Signed by Sub Pop, they sound like they would have been right in place alongside Soundgarden and Nirvana in the 90s. Great punk vocals/lyrics/melodies being propped up by hard hitting drumming and awesome riffs covered in distortion. The album is only 30 minutes in length or so, and minus a quick 40 second noise track, it does not let up at all for the entirety of the album. It's just some loud, heavy music that is great to workout to, or get angry drunk.

9) Femme Fatale - Britney Spears

Another hidden pop gem that likely won't get any love. Britney was probably barely present for the recording process, most likely showing up just to do the vocals and fulfill her record contract. That does not diminish the fact that the songs are great, however. A wide array of songwriters/producers all had their hand in the creation of this album and I kind of get the feeling they were all trying to one up each other. What makes this album shine is the superb production and the beautiful melodies/hooks you would expect from a pop record. As I previously mentioned with E Mo Tion, if you enjoy solid pop music I would give this album a few listens.

10) White Women - Chromeo

Canadian pop/funk duo Chromeo hit it out of the park with White Women. With the lead single Jealous finally giving the duo some airplay, Chromeo made sure to have a solid front to back album to reel in anyone who decided to check them out based on the strength of that single. Chromeo continue to do what they have always done; write pop songs with 80s pop and funk influences, but they just made their songs noticeably tighter this time around. The melodies, song structures, hooks and everything else are vastly superior to anything they've ever done. Also calling your album White Women is a boss move and should be commended as so.

Honorable Mentions in no particular order
Good Kid M.A.A.D City - Kendrick Lamar
Sorry For Party Rocking - LMFAO
Animal - Ke$ha
Summertime 06 - Vince Staples
Royal Blood - Royal Blood
Morbid Stuff - PUP
Western Stars - Bruce Springsteen
Harverd Dropout - Lil Pump
Yours Truly - Ariana Grande


There you have it, my top 10 albums of the decade that will undoubtely be chirped and torn apart. I'd love to read what other people dug last decade, and as always, leave a comment in the comment section below, leave a like if you enjoyed this post, mash that subscribe button and send me a bunch of money and stuff through my patreon.

 

[Naibel]

Very interesting list. Some obvious choices and some less so, yet I appreciate your opinion about why you picked them. Here's mine.

1) To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar is easily my album of the decade. When I first listened to it, I knew it would be an absolute classic. I love over-ambitious "concept" albums, and this one absolutely fits the bill. This record among many others cemented rap's dominance on popular music during the 2010's.

2) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was the previous contender tho, and it still bangs to this day. Nothing to add to what you previously said. No best-of list can be legit without it.

3) Blackstar by Bowie : listened to it at launch, two days prior to Bowie's passing, and was already loving it. Of course, the insight we got from what happened very closely afterwards cemented this record as his best in nearly 40 years, but it's still a freakin masterpiece regardless.

4) You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen was also a fantastic and very moving parting gift from (one of) Canada's greatest songwriter.

5) The Money Store : Death Grips is a bit meymey nowadays, but back then, their music style was unlike anything at the time (well, maybe apart from one album that I'm gonna talk below). It's pure madness put into sound yet still catchy as hell ! It's their quintessential record, and I love'em.

6) The Archandroid by Janelle Monae : doing such an ambitious and conceptual record for a debut is no small feat, yet she did it with flying colors. Still sounds fresh to this day and her greatest release by FAR ! It's a shame she didn't continue her Metropolis Suites, that was some classy stuff. Thanks Trump I guess... /s

7) Art Angels by Grimes
Crazy shit that grew on me a lot since its release. If only modern pop music sounded more like this, I would be one hell of a poptimist. Looking to that new shit she gonna drop next Feb.

8) A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
and
9) We Got It From Here... Thank You 4
Your Service by A Tribe Called Quest

Two incredible comebacks, the former being Radiohead's greatest record in a decade, and the latter one being the perfect send-off to one of the most respected rap groups of all time. 2016 was sad and bleak, but it gave us incredible music as well.

10) A.M by The Arctic Monkeys : I listened to that shit all freakin' day when I was in college. It was a bit front-loaded sure, but what was there was the group's best set of songs since their debut. It's been a while since a rock album made such a mainstream impact. Maybe that's why I put it in here, whereas in other decades's top 10, this album wouldn't have made the cut.

Honorable Mentions :

Torches by Foster The People - I get nostalgic vibes from my late high school/early college years listening to this. I just lol at my younger self for banging to Pumped Up Kicks without getting the lyrics !

Lonerism by Tame Impala

El Camino by The Black Keys

E-MO-TION by Carly Rae Japsen - I mean wtf, Call Me Maybe was cool, but this just blew me away. Carly's the queen.

My Woman by Angel Olsen - I should listen to All Mirrors. I heard it's even better.

Yeezus by Kanye - That was some sick stuff !

Tales Of Us by Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain part 2, absolutely beautiful

m b v by My Bloody Valentine - thank God I didn't wait 22 years for it tho.

Futurology by The Manic Street Preachers - fantastic comeback album, their best since Everything Must Go.

Beyonce's self-titled and Lemonade - What a talented lady she is.

And last but not least :
ΛΛ Λ Y Λ by M.I.A
I hated this album back in the day, being the small little uncultured brat that I was. I thought it was noisy and confusing. Where was the new "Paper Planes" ?
Then Exmilitary came out and now I respect the hell out of this record. It's not a personal favorite for sure, but it was so ahead of its time, influencing so many groups and artists afterwards !

 

[EverydayBeast]

I'll give you one album I really loved from the previous decade

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

I feel like I’m the only one who prefers Early Kanye. I see My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy pimped in a lot of Best Of discussions but for me I think College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation are better.

Edit

though I guess those albums don’t apply here since we were talking 2010-2019 only, my bad

 

[DrJohnGalt]

Haven't really been impressed by bands in general this past decade.

I've had a man-crush on Dimash (my pick for vocalist of the decade for sure) for the past few years, but he doesn't really make albums; he's more of a live show guy.

Also I tend to spend most of my time listening to the music I grew up with, stuff from the WWII era, the 50s, the 60s, and especially the 80s.

But there was one album that does stand out: Galneryus' "Vetelgyus". This is one of those albums that found me at a particular time in my life (kind of like how I played FFVII at a particular time in my life and I may remember it more fondly than it deserves) and that might have something to do with my love for Vetelgyus. Most die-hards will say this is one of their weakest albums. Fuck them. I've been a fan of the group for years and like a lot of their other songs but this is probably the album I listen to most and love all but one of the songs. Has a different sound than their other stuff. Even power metal bands needs to change it up sometimes.

 

[Winter John]

They're not in order but these were some of my favorites -

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake. PJ's been around for a long time but I never really got her until this one came out. It's a collection of songs based around WW1 and has some great songs on it. A record about WW1 probably doesn't sound too inviting to most folk but if you haven't heard it, give it a try it might surprise you.

Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition. Great record. It sounds like nothing else. If you liked Cypress Hill you'll like Danny.

Behemoth - The Satanist. Polish death metal. Lots of grunting. Lots of buzzing guitars. Lots of drumming. Perfect for those early morning school runs.

A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It. It was a real surprise when Tribe came back, released this excellent record and showed today's kids how it should be done.

Spiritualized - Sweet Heart, Sweet Light. Jason Pierce has been going for decades now. I doubt Ladies And Gentlemen will ever be topped, but this is one of Spiritualized's catchiest records. If you want to see greatness go watch the promo video for Hey Jane.

Chromatics - Kill For Love. Probably the best synth pop band in existence. This one was clearly inspired by John Carpenter. Most of the tracks sound like they came from one of his movies.

Deafheaven - Sunbather. The purists like to sneer at this record but fuck those elitist idiots. This is a great record that got the attention of people like myself who ordinarily wouldn't have listened to black metal.

Daniel Avery - Drone Logic. Fantastic techno tracks from one of the UK's best producers. I wasn't a fan of his last record which was more ambient than the stuff he usually does, but anyone looking for some solid techno should check out this and his DJ Kicks compilation.

Sleep - The Sciences. Like Tribe Sleep came back from the olden days and showed the kids how it should be done.

Little Simz - Grey Area. I never heard of her until I watched Top Boy on Netflix but I'm glad I did. Grey Area is one of the best rap albums to come out the UK this decade.

 

[Southern Gentleman]

Here are some of my favorites:

1) Threads by Now, Now

Atmosphere. Band lost a member and switched genres after this--it was tragic.

2) I Am King by Code Orange

Again, atmosphere--but with breakdowns of the highest order.

3) Laugh Tracks by Knocked Loose

Deadringer slaps. And so does the rest of the album.

4) Everybody Is Going to Heaven by Citizen

Extremely dark. Yellow Love is one of the best songs they ever made or will make.

5) Arrows by The Lonely Forest

This and early Now, Now represent the best of indie rock for me.

6) New Bermuda / Ordinary Corrupt Human Love by Deafheaven

Imagine missing out on Honeycomb because of metal elitism.

7) What You Don't See by The Story So Far

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. These guys went from a near 10/10 album, to a complete faceplant (Proper Dose).

8) Voices by Wormrot

In my book, this is the best grind ever made. One guitarist, one vocalist, and one drummer--that's it.

9) Metallicity LP by Katharsys

Darkstep. Sci-fi. Brutal.

10) Matriarch by Veil of Maya

Them cleans.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I don't listen to enough music to make a credible list. But here are some albums from this decade that I listened to a lot.

Thank You Scientist - Maps of Non-Existent Places/Stranger Heads Prevail

Pendragon - Passion

Riverside - Shrine of New Generation Slaves/Love, Fear and the Time Machine

IQ - The Road of Bones

Steven Wilson - Hand.Cannot.Erase

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Beach Boys is the only album from that list I know. It was long in the making but the final release of “Smile” really is something special. So glad they were able to get it done.

 

[EightBit Man]

In no particular order, my 10 favorite albums of the last decade:

 

[Rock And Roll]

I feel like I’m the only one who prefers Early Kanye. I see My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy pimped in a lot of Best Of discussions but for me I think College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation are better.

Edit

though I guess those albums don’t apply here since we were talking 2010-2019 only, my bad

 

[EightBit Man]

This 2015 one was also great:


Check it out if you like the early stuff of The Cure.

 

[Urprobablyright]

Sorry this may well be pretty thin i cut myself off from contemporary music in 2003... I only discover new music by hearing it and liking it

1) syro (aphex twin) - i know real fans might scoff but this is the reboot album with the most enduring earworms for me
2) hardcore will never die, but you will (mogwai) - i genuinely think this is the best album they've ever done, rano pano would win over anyone~
3) fear inoculum ( tool ) love it hugely, just haven't played it as many times as the above two.. yet
4) plastic beach (gorillaz) one last gasp of 00s era production values and conviction with some great guests including MF DOOM
5) Write about love (belle and Sebastian) - just more of the same and i love their "same"
6) ritual union (little dragon) - this is really a placeholder for Machine Dreams from 2009, but also great
7) dream cave (cloud control) - a final hurrah from a great Australian group with some super earworms in it and one YouTube hit in "dojo rising"
8) rave tapes (mogwai) - possibly their greatest ever opening track, and another fantastic fan-winner in "remurdered"
9) modern English decoration (ulrika spacek) - like they just wanted to pay tribute to all the good Sonic Youth songs. One or two real great tracks.
10) melhor do que parece (o terno) - just a ton of nicely sung , arranged tracks, kind of a shame that the producer minimised the guitar sounds so hard that they avoid any chance of greatness

BTW i like rap, don't get me wrong, i just honestly haven't heard a rap album I've liked since madvillainy.

 

[Stouffers]

Besides TMBG, nothing decent have come out since 2002.

 

[down 2 orth]

Chronixx - Chronology
Beck - Morning Phase
Thievery Corporation - The Temple of I & I

 

[Dark Star]

 

[DonJorginho]

1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
2. Blonde - Frank Ocean
3. Flowerboy - Tyler, The Creator
4. IGOR - Tyler, The Creator
5. Currents - Tame Impala
6. A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
7. Yeezus - Kanye West
8. To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
9. Drunk - Thundercat
10. Once in a Long, Long While... - Low Roar

 

[AV]

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, m.A.A.d City
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Tool - Fear Inoculum
Death Grips - Bottomless Pit
Big K.R.I.T - 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
Against All Logic - 2012-2017
Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Swans - To Be Kind

Honorable mentions to Cosmogramma, Pinata, The Money Store, Atrocity Exhibition, Unsilent Death and some others I'm forgetting.

 

[DonJorginho]

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, m.A.A.d City
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Tool - Fear Inoculum
Death Grips - Bottomless Pit
Big K.R.I.T - 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time
Against All Logic - 2012-2017
Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Swans - To Be Kind

I think this is about right. Maybe swap K.R.I.T out but I listened to that album a lot.

One of the first times I have seen a DG album on a top 10 and it NOT be The Money Store.

Props to you good sir.

 

[AV]

i just honestly haven't heard a rap album I've liked since madvillainy.

You not heard Madlib x Freddie Gibbs? Genius.

One of the first times I have seen a DG album on a top 10 and it NOT be The Money Store.

It would have been there, until Bottomless Pit came out!

 

[DonJorginho]

You not heard Madlib x Freddie Gibbs? Genius.





It would have been there, until Bottomless Pit came out!

Love Freddie Gibbs + Madlib collabs, which one you prefer more, Bandana or Pinata?

 

[AV]

Love Freddie Gibbs + Madlib collabs, which one you prefer more, Bandana or Pinata?

Pinata personally but it's a pretty small margin. I was lucky enough to catch Madlib in my city last year which was great, I'm trying to see them do their thing together when I can though.