Decade End List
There were many albums that came out this decade that are very important to me, but these 10 albums have been so profound they've left me speechless at times. |
| 10 |  | Anna von Hausswolff
Dead Magic
Incredible mix of genres as well as emotive on a vocal and compositional front. Dead Magic is easily Anna von Hausswolff's most realized artistic statement as a result of progressing from gothic singer songwriter to droney, neo-folky, shoegazey experimental rocker whose command of atmosphere and presence rivals that of Swans. |
| 9 |  | Slauson Malone
A Quiet Farwell, 2016–2018
Incredibly dense and detailed, Slauson Malone brings in the worlds of lo-fi music and vaporwave among many others to create one of the most disorientating and deconstructed album the world of hip-hop has seen this decade and ever. |
| 8 |  | Kanye West
The Life of Pablo
Kanye's best album and overall the better version of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The messy production and flow compliments Kanye's dichotomy between wanting to be this egotistical life of the public conversation and wanting to be a good friend, a good husband, a good father, a good person. |
| 7 |  | Bon Iver
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
At least to me, Bon Iver's discography works in seasons. His second official album sees him shed the cold, lo-fi music of his debut album for lush and beautifully arranged folk music. Like a sun parting away the cold, overcast clouds just in time for spring. |
| 6 |  | Swans
To Be Kind
In the midst of a third wave of creativity in their third decade of activity, Swans strips rock music down to tight, gargantuan grooves and stretches their possibilities out to astronomical proportions. It's very easy to get lost in the sea of guitars, abrasive backing instrumentation, and the primal ramblings of Michael Gira. |
| 5 |  | The Mars Volta
Noctourniquet
One of the most experimental rock albums this decade has to offer stylistically. The Mars Volta completely abandon their long winded compositions in favor of dense sound play through the worlds of noise rock, math rock, shoegaze, electronic and even industrial music. Fantastic release that would leave me satisfied if they never release another album. |
| 4 |  | Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly
An easy pick, but definitely one of the most important albums of this decade. Kendrick ups his storytelling abilities by tying issues of corporatism, racism, and art into a triumphant tale of self importance and rediscovery all while celebrating the genres of hip hop, funk, and jazz. |
| 3 |  | Deafheaven
Sunbather
Melodic, overwhelming, and one of the boldest metal albums by the choice of a pink album cover alone, Deafheaven assists in recontextualizing the isolation of black metal for a generation searching for peace with the modern world with the refinement of the post rock, shoegaze, and screamo blend of black metal known as blackgaze. |
| 2 |  | The Caretaker
Everywhere at the End of Time
Over the course of 6 stages released every 6 months, Jack Leyland Kirby buries the listener in the tragic circumstance of dementia through 20s ballroom samples, glitchy manipulations, and despondent dark ambience. One of the most existential, terrifying, and heartbreaking works of music anyone could listen to. |
| 1 |  | Swans
The Glowing Man
Whereas To Be Kind stripped rock music to grooves and riffs, The Glowing Man breaks it down single notes and chords that build up and release energy like post rock supernovae. Minimalist yet grand, this album stands, to me, as not only one of many artistic conclusions to the genres of rock and punk but a mind numbing, hypnotic, and transcendental experience that will leave any listener feeling powerless. |
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