Friday, June 26, 2020

Top 50 Albums of the 2010s

Coming into 2010, my obsession with progressive rock reached its peak. The cracks in my obsession made themselves present. The genre as a whole going forward wasn't...progressing. Dream Theater, a band I once championed to the rooftops, had fallen into a formulaic prog metal band. 10 minute song, guitar solo, keyboard solo. Rinse and repeat. Nothing was exciting me in a genre that once upon a time, had Peter Gabriel go up on stage in a Slipperman costume.


Exiting the decade, prog rock made the least amount of impact on my decade list. Or to be fair, prog rock that can be defined as 15 minute epics with as many time changes as you can fit. This isn't to say I abandoned my love of the genre. The classics still found a way into my playlist. As far as new music goes however, the one artist who maintained a consistency and willingness to play around within the genre was Steven Wilson.

Metal showed its multiple subgenres expanding in a forward direction. Liturgy and Deafhaven added new takes to the black metal genre. The latter smuggling in shoegaze. Vektor proved there was still blood left in thrash.

As much as I love the two aforementioned genres, no other music filled me with inspiration this decade as much as Hip Hop. A type of music I foolishly discarded in the past. I reached back into the past and put on 36 Chambers by Wu Tang Clan and that was it. An album now nestled in a top ten spot. It opened doors into newfound appreciation for the current scene. Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Kanye West.


Lastly, there were sorrowful goodbyes. 2016 claimed 2 music giants and personal heroes. Leonard Cohen released You Want It Darker in a year that was considered obsidian black in its darkness. David Bowie perfected the art of waving goodbye with Blackstar. Nick Cave suffered a devastating tragedy with the loss of his son. Recording his most personal albums in Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen.


50. The Body- No One Deserves Happiness (2016)
49. Bjork- Vulnicura (2015)
48. Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
46. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy (2011)
45. Swans- The Glowing Man (2016)
44. King Grizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Nonagon Infinity (2016)
43. Agalloch- Marrow of the Spirit (2010)
42. Beach House- Teen Dream (2010)
41. Vektor- Terminal Redux (2016)
40. Converge- All We Love We Leave Behind (2012)
39. Flying Lotus- Cosmogramma (2010)
38. King Grizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Flying Microtonal Banana (2017)
37. Ulver- The Assassination of Julius Caesar (2017)
36. Leviathan- Scar Sighted (2015)
35. A Tribe Called Quest- We Got It From Here...Thanks 4 Your Service (2016)
34. Mastodon- The Hunter (2011)
33. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Skeleton Tree (2016)
32. Steve Wilson- Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015)
31. Joanna Newsom- Have One On Me (2010)
30. Anna von Krauswolf- Dead Magic (2018)
29. Shining- Blackjazz (2010)
28. Behemoth- The Satanist (2014)
27. Queens of the Stone Age- Like Clockwork (2013)
26. Fiona Apple- The Idler Wheel... (2012)
25. Kamasi Washington- The Epic (2015)
24. Janelle Monae- ArchAndoid (2010)
23. Julia Holter- Have You In My Wilderness (2015)
22. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Ghosteen (2019)
21. Baroness- Purple (2015)
20. Kids See Ghosts- Kids See Ghosts (2018)
19. Tim Hecker- Ravedeath, 1972 (2011)
18. FKA Twigs- Magdalene (2019)
17. Deathspell Omega- Paracletus (2010)
16. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
15. David Bowie- Blackstar (2016)
14. Death Grips- Bottomless Pit (2016)
13. Run the Jewels- Run the Jewels 2 (2014)
12. Kendrick Lamar- Good Kidd, m.a.d.d. City (2012)
11. Danny Brown- Atrocity Exhibition (2016)

10. Swans- The Seer (2012)
9. Steve Wilson- The Raven That Refused to Sing (2013)
8. Lingua Ignota- Caligula (2019)
7. Father John Misty- Pure Comedy (2017)
6. Sun Kil Moon- Benji (2014)
5. The Knife- Shaking the Habitual (2013)
4. Death Grips- The Money Store (2012)
3. Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp A Butterfly (2015)
2. Daughters- You Can't Get What You Want (2018)
1. Swans- To Be Kind (2014)


TOP TEN FILM SCORES

10. It Follows by Disasterpiece

9. Sicario by Johan Jahannson

8. First Man by Justin Hurwitz

7. Uncut Gems by Daniel Lopatin

6. Dunkirk by Hans Zimmer

5. The Hateful Eight by Ennio Morricone

4. If Beale Street Could Talk by Nicholas Britel

3. Interstellar by Hans Zimmer

2. Under the Skin by Mica Levi

1. Phantom Thread by Jonny Greenwood



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