Best albums of the 2010s: #20-#1
Two great albums each from Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Miranda Lambert, and Taylor Swift
For a decade that started out with rebuilding and hope, it is set to end in deep division and rampant uncertainty.
With the global big picture so fuzzy, the best albums of the 2010s set out to provide a little bit of clarity. This isn’t the era for sprawling universal statements because there is so little everyone can agree on. Maybe that was always the case, but the rise of social media and the breakdown of popular culture into countless niches hammers that point home with every notification on your smartphone.
These albums, with rare exceptions, don’t offer new national anthems. They bond together tribes and seek to create new ones, in a quest to create a cultural center again.
Here’s a look at the best albums of the 2010s:
(You can listen to them on Spotify. And if you want this all in one long, video-filled list, click here.)
20. Afghan Whigs, “Do to the Beast” (Sub Pop, 2014): After 16 years, the much-anticipated reunion of Greg Dulli and John Curley did not disappoint, adding to the alt-rock pioneers' legacy.
19. Miranda Lambert, “Platinum” (RCA, 2014): Lambert's unique version of country started getting realized here, offering country swing, arena rock with Carrie Underwood, and tales from the bathroom sink.
18. Taylor Swift, “Red” (Big Machine, 2012): Her pop sensibilities reached their peak, while the emotional depth of “All Too Well” showed how much more Swift has to offer as an artist.
17. Robyn, “Honey” (Konichiwa/Interscope, 2018): She once again turns to dance music to heal her broken heart and the results are both poignant and groovy.
16. Jay-Z and Kanye West, “Watch the Throne” (Roc-A-Fella, 2011): When two cultural forces this big unite, they either get exponentially bigger or they cancel each other out. This uneasy collaboration was mostly the former.
15. Randy Newman, “Dark Matter” (Nonesuch, 2017): The timely commentary of “Putin” and “The Great Debate” may have gotten the most attention, but the wrenchingly beautiful ballads “She Chose Me” and “Wandering Boy” are timeless classics.
14. Lorde, “Melodrama” (Republic, 2017): Lorde's sharp lyrical observations play out across a huge musical backdrop, giving her intimate revelations grand importance.
13. Taylor Swift, “Lover” (Republic, 2019): This is the Swift album where her personal and artistic maturity starts to show, where her happy personal life allows her to think about how to help others achieve that happiness. That may be political. What isn't these days? It may also be human. You need to calm down.
12. James Blake, “Assume Form” (Republic, 2019): Blake offers his own indie-EDM spin on love songs, even joining forces with Travis Scott. But the most effective is the simplest, though “I'll Come Too” shows why love always gets complicated.
11. Kanye West, “Yeezus” (Def Jam, 2013): He lands so many sonic and lyrical punches early in the album that it's dizzying, the brashness extending through the comforting soul groove closer “Bound 2.”
10. Miranda Lambert, “The Weight of These Wings” (Vanner, 2016): The sprawling, two-CD collection is like a highlight reel of what can be possible in country music. “We Should Be Friends” will make you laugh. “Tin Man” will break your heart. And “Vice” will have you marveling at her cool.
9. Jay-Z, “4:44” (Roc Nation, 2017): This is the album where Jay finally allows himself to be truly vulnerable, offering apologies and showing what he truly cares about. The result is surprisingly sweet and personal, while still taking care of business, man.
8. Frank Ocean, “Channel Orange” (Island Def Jam, 2012): Everything about this debut is brave, whether it's Ocean's gorgeous falsetto or his tough rapping or his personal revelations and how he dealt with them – all done while reinventing neo-soul in his image.
7. Lizzo, “Cuz I Love You” (Atlantic, 2019): The way she makes her soulful self-empowerment anthems catchy and clever enough to launch a million memes and still truthful enough to tell her own story is a true wonder.
6. Carly Rae Jepsen, “Emotion” (Schoolboy/Interscope, 2015): She takes the pop style she perfected in the innocent “Call Me Maybe” and imbues it with heartfelt feelings time and time again to build an underrated classic.
5. Kendrick Lamar, “DAMN” (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope, 2017): Could Kung Fu Kenny boil his brainy, wildly ambitious hip-hop down enough to compete with radio-friendly bangers? Yup. Sit down, be humble.
4. Beyonce, “Lemonade” (Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia, 2016): Only Queen Bey could turn the lemons of marital problems into such sweet artistic lemonade, ushering in a new era of surprise releases and video albums, as well as showing her skill in indie-rock and country as well as R&B and hip-hop.
3. Adele, “25” (Columbia, 2016): While “21” may have been bigger, “25” is where Adele built her own lane of pop, where every song is fully formed, ready to break your heart and put it back together in the course of five minutes.
2. Kanye West, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Roc-A-Fella, 2010): This was when Ye's brilliance was at its unexpected peak, when his no-filter personal revelations were still real instead of self-serving performance art. All of his skills converged in stunners like “Runaway” and “Monster,” which was strong enough to unforgettably launch Nicki Minaj into superstardom as well.
1. Kendrick Lamar, “To Pimp a Butterfly” (Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope, 2015): Forged in the rage of the Ferguson riots, Lamar's masterpiece offers the protests a funky soundtrack, one that uses its jazz-steeped hip-hop grooves to deliver searing condemnations of racial inequality and effective encouragement to those suffering. When he declares, “We gon' be alright” it didn't seem like a foregone conclusion. It still doesn't, but that song shines brightly enough to keep going in hopes that K.Dot is right.