The 2010s are coming to an end in just a few weeks, and a lot of places are releasing Best of the Decade lists for all kinds of things. Best albums. Best movies. You know the drill. I’m a big fan of these lists, the debates surrounding them, and all that.
Since I became a dad just a few weeks ago, I’m taking a break from my usual writing habit to simply enjoy making Best of the Decade lists of my own. Unlike the lists you’d find in Paste, Pitchfork, or any of those other sites, these lists are more subjective to my tastes and how strongly they resonated with me. If you’re looking for opinions on cultural significance, well, there are plenty of other sites doing that.
I’m starting my list-making with music, since I’ve been seeing Best Albums of the 2010s lists popping up everywhere. Music is the closest thing we have to time-travel, I think, and I love how quickly these albums can take me back to years gone by.
25. James Blake
James Blake’s self-titled debut would’ve seemed like an unlikely choice to make my list when it first came out, but man, this album aged really well and it remains one of my favorite “moody vibe” albums. His cover of Limit To Your Love was my first impression of how classical piano and dubstep production could actually combine to make something pretty sweet.
24. Leon Bridges, Coming Home
It was so easy to instantly fall in love with Leon Bridges’ style– soul vocals with a style that took you back to its golden era. There’s a vintage, golden-toned sweetness to almost all of his music and that comes through strongly on Coming Home. His follow-up Good Thing could’ve just as easily made this list, and Beyond makes for one of my favorite slow jams of the decade.
23. Band of Horses, Infinite Arms
The early part of this decade came dangerously close to overdosing on the indie folk-rock that Band of Horses had a hand in bringing to popularity. Their 2010 release showed why their style caught on so well. Infinite Arms is an example of the subgenre at its finest. A tune like Evening Kitchen can paint a picture of a tender moment with brilliance.
22. Maggie Rogers, Heard it in a Past Life
I’ve been excited for how strong of a reception this album has gotten since its release earlier this year. This list is probably more biased towards older works, since they’ve had more time for me to see how well they’d age and hold up over time. I feel confident in Maggie Rogers debut to be convinced it’ll be looked back on fondly.
21. Anderson.Paak, Oxnard
The crowd will prefer Malibu, and I get why. But Oxnard was the album that cemented Anderson.Paak as one of my current favorites. The joy, ease, and funk in his flow creates a type of music that flies between genres and gives him a style of his own. Plus, the wordplay and energy are especially ripe on this album– Who R U? Makes for one of my top pump-up jams.
20. Jónsi, Go
Sigur Ros is wonderful, but I feel like Jónsi’s solo project allowed him to flex certain musical muscles that his more orchestral group projects often restrain. By hearing his signature eruptive sound packaged into more accessible pieces like Go Do or Animal Arithmetic, I think we got a gift of songs that created an instantly magical mood.
19. The Lone Bellow
By the time The Lone Bellow made their debut, I thought I had my fill of the stomp-clap type bands and was ready for something new. While they definitely did have those folksy, bluegrass inspired elements, their music was simply so sincere and symphonic that it felt like the style was secondary to their transportive storytelling.
18. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
Gimlet’s Dissect podcast is currently exegeting this entire album song by song, and its making me fall in love with it all over again. It’s hard to argue against vibing out to LOVE. or getting amped to HUMBLE., but some of this album’s real beauty comes from its nuanced songwriting- and it always feels like there are more layered meanings to be unearthed.
17. James Vincent McMorrow, Post Tropical
This album came out in very early January, 2014. I remember thinking- wow, one of my favorite albums of this year can’t be coming out this early, can it? (January is historically a dead zone for good music releases, though there are exceptions). I was blown away by the textures and freshness of just about every track of this album.
16. S. Carey, Range of Light
S. Carey’s second solo project was just stunningly beautiful. I have yet to come across an album that can pull off such textures and layers in such a delicate way. Alpenglow is a favorite song of the decade, and the simple, wistful melody made me want to talk our wedding singers into covering a very different soulful version of the beloved single.
15. The Civil Wars
The chemistry between Joy Williams and John Paul White went from intoxicating to toxic-feeling in such a fast and dramatic way that it’s easy to forget that their music collaboration for a few short years was actually really, really good. The dramatic rises and falls of Poison & Wine or C’est La Mort could’ve marked the beginning of something amazing. If only…
14. The War and Treaty, Healing Tide
During a difficult year in my own life, and a chaotic time politically and culturally, The War and Treaty’s album landed exactly the way you’d hope for an album with “healing” in its title. It’s main anthem, Love Like There’s No Tomorrow is a prayer, a battle cry, and an anthem all at once, and I frequently want to erupt in that refrain.
13. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly
If I were in charge of the list for Pitchfork or Paste or any other major culture publications, making a list of the top albums based on quality and cultural impact, this would be number one. From Alright to i to King Kunta- so much of this album presented a once-in-a-generation level of hip-hop storytelling that set Kendrick apart from anyone else.
12. William Fitzsimmons, Gold in the Shadows
Sweet. Melancholic. Tender. Heartfelt. There are so many ways to describe the softness of William Fitzsimmons’ vocals which have never been better supported than the way they were on this album. The contrast of somberness with light and beauty make this album feel like the rays of warm light that crack through on a pretty cold winter.
11. Sufjan Stevens, Age of Adz
This album wasn’t well received when it first came out. Not by the general population. Not by me. It wasn’t the Sufjan I was used to- it was some new, odd, robo-Suf. Then, I saw most of this album played live with added context and I loved it. And I played it so much, I gained a new appreciation for it. Ten years later, I must admit, it’s an album that gets much better over time.
10. Freelance Whales, Weathervanes
I tried looking up whatever happened to Freelance Whales, and it seems like they just unceremoniously stopped making music with no big announcement. I loved this album so much, I get a bit longing when I think of what could have been if they continued to put out stuff like this. I loved how each song could range from the pep of Kilojoules to the lament of Broken Horse.
9. Johnnyswim, Georgica Pond
We played Paris in June at our wedding and Diamonds was one of my top songs of 2014. So how does this album get ranked higher than the one that had both those tracks? It was just that high caliber all around. I loved the sweetness of Summertime Romance and the at-home sentiment of Touching Heaven. It’s an album for big life transitions and the sweet in-betweens.
8. Gallant, ology
I remember thinking that Gallant seemed like an odd choice to open Sufjan’s Carrie and Lowell tour. Then I heard him belt a splendid cover of Blue Bucket of Gold and instantly understood. Gallant has one of the most fantastic voices out there and his new releases are some of the ones that get me the most excited these days. ology was a fitting introduction to his talent.
7. Ben Howard, Every Kingdom
I respect Ben Howard for letting his style evolve and not getting stuck in the singer-songwriter box, but a big part of me wants him to head back that way because he was so good at it! Old Pine might just be my favorite tune from this decade, and his show at a small club in Santa Barbara remains one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen.
6. Chance the Rapper, Coloring Book
This was probably the most unique and original album of the past decade, and it deserved all the attention it got after its release. It brought to the surface so many things we needed desperately in 2016- joy, justice, and the unbridled spiritual hope that Chance the Rapper embodies.
5. Noah and the Whale, Last Night on Earth
There are albums lower on this list with much more nuanced and crafty songwriting, lyricism, and musical composition than this. So why so high? I think of tracks like Give It All Back and L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. and think, yeah, that put into words and music exactly how I feel and I can’t say it any better. Good music doesn’t always need to be cryptic.
4. The National, Trouble Will Find Me
The National may have been one of the most consistently outstanding bands this decade, and this album was them at their very best. (High Violet could have easily also made this list.) Few bands can strike the tone of playful and dead serious and romantic all at the same time. I Need My Girl and I Should Live in Salt hold up strong over time.
3. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell
The ultimate musical expression of vulnerability I’ve heard. I loved it. So many artists try to do what Sufjan does but it ends up just seeming like them looking for catharsis. Instead, Sufjan turns the personal into the universal, makes small moments into sweeping feelings, and turns several low-fi recordings into one of the best albums in a long time.
2. Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City
Few bands basically embody the 2010s quite the way Vampire Weekend does. Their witty, playful lyrics are underscored by more sincerity this time around, and the themes of faith, nostalgia, and mortality are addressed so perfectly with their tongue-in-cheek approach. Their other albums this decade were also strong, but this was them maturing into a top band.
1. Run River North
I am a bit surprised this took my number one spot, but after comparing it against other candidates, it makes perfect sense. Run River North was still a raw, relatively new band at the time of this release, but the truly magical ways they performed songs like Foxbeard and Fight to Keep were full of heart. Few songs can move me the way Growing Up does.
BONUS: My favorite songs of the 2010s
It would take way too long to share my thoughts on each one, but here’s a playlist of what I thought were the 100 tracks that stuck with me most throughout the past ten years.