Allan's Favorite Record From the Decade
I really didn't start reviewing music until 2016, so I really can't come out with a full list of favorite decade releases. However, I can still say some things about my favorite records from each year from the decade. |
| 1 |  | Flying Lotus
Cosmogramma
2010:
IDM/jazztronica/experimental/wonky
What is there to say that hasn't been said about this absolute masterpiece of a record that came out in 2010. It's experimental yet accessible. The production is top-notch and the features are unforgettable. Flying Lotus really showed us what he was going to be capable of in the coming years with this project. |
| 2 |  | Fleet Foxes
Helplessness Blues
2011:
indie folk/avant-folk
There isn't an album on this list that better defined the 2010's then helplessness blues. The feelings and emotions of the human race that were being felt are captured on this unforgettable folk record. It's boosted by the very soothing yet mesmerizing instrumentals that capture my imagination and play with it for years and years. |
| 3 |  | Periphery
Periphery II: This Time It's Personal
2012:
progressive metal/djent/pop metal
A lot of people hate this record and this band...and a lot of people will probably persecute me that this is over: good kid, maad city. However, the reason that I am putting this album over Kendrick's is simple, at the time I couldn't get enough of this record. I was so mesmerized by the instrumentals, the vocals, and just the way the band played with this pop and metal fusion. I wasn't as mesmerized by Kendrick album until later. However, the memories I have attached to this gem run deeper than Kendrick's album ever will. |
| 4 |  | A Lot Like Birds
No Place
2013:
post-hardcore/indie rock/art rock
I honestly prefer "No Place" over 2011's "Conversation Piece" because the latter is less cohesive and the songs are pretty all over the place stylistically. This record is one of the best ideas that I have ever seen come up in a record. The haunting memories of different rooms in one's childhood home. For most of us, these memories are fun and lighthearted. But, what if it is filled with neglect, abuse, and trauma that you fear the day you ever have to go back to it. This album is that and more. |
| 5 |  | Hail the Sun
Wake
2014:
post-hardcore/math rock/experimental
My favorite album from the band and I honestly still have a hard time explaining why this album is so special. Maybe because the way this album approaches death and dying is so important and amazing. Maybe it's the political message it holds and its take on modern society. Maybe it's because the instrumentals hit hard. Who knows...
Honorable Mentions: The Contortionist's "Language" and Flying Lotus's "You're Dead" |
| 6 |  | Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly
2015:
jazz-rap/hardcore hip-hop
This is honestly my favorite year for music this decade. There are so many honorable mentions during this year: Julia Holter's "Have You In My Wilderness", Kaddisfly's "Horses Galloping on Sailboats", and Earthside's "A Dream In Static". However, Kendrick hit his way out of the park with TPAB. There is no better rap album that has come out in the last 20 years then this masterpiece. |
| 7 |  | Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool
2016:
art rock
There is really nothing more that I can say about this album. Is it Radiohead's best...NOOOO! but it's one hell of a statement to make during the decade and this album gets better and better every time I listen to it. |
| 8 |  | Julien Baker
Turn Out The Lights
2017:
slowcore/singer-songwriter
I can really only listen to this record when I am really sad, or I want to be sad. However, this album has such a strong connection to me and was my album of the year in 2017. The way that Julien talks about heartbreak, depression, and sadness is beyond any other record I have heard. This album will always hold a special place in my heart since it was there when no one else was.
Honorable Mentions: Oceans Ate Alaska "Hikari", "The Contortionist "Clairvoyant", and "Tyler the Creator "Scum Fuck Flower Boy" |
| 9 |  | Rolo Tomassi
Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It
2018:
mathcore/post-hardcore/metalcore/experimental
Really I can't say anything that hasn't been said about this masterpiece of a record. From front to back, it just tells a great story and you have to hear it for yourself if you have not done so already.
Honorable Mentions: Sophie "Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides", "Vicious Pleasure" by Endless Heights, VOLA "Applause of a Distant Crowd" |
| 10 |  | clipping.
There Existed an Addiction to Blood
2019:
horrorcore/industrial hip-hop/abstract hip-hop
Such a great idea. Talk about the drug problems in the world by giving it this horror movie edge that reinvents a dying (if not already dead) genre. Clipping nail the sound and then expand it to new highs. It's my personal favorite of there record to date and really the only one that has stuck with me so well. The beats are wak, the flows are persice, and the idea is tasteful. |
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