The 2010s are over. Finished. Done.
Well, not really. We carry our memories, our relationships into the future. And we also carry all of the amazing art that was created during this time, captured forever for us to revisit and for future generations to discover. I’m truly, truly grateful for the fact we live in a time when things can be recorded and documented. It seems like a small thing but for most of human civilization’s time on this planet, they haven’t been able to record sound. Compared to the thousands of years we’ve existed, this is still a relatively new invention, one which continues to enrich our lives.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the 2010s, what it means and how I feel about the decade. It’s strange to me because I’m at the age now where I’m not morphing into a completely different person every year like I was during my childhood. In the 2000s, I grew from a kid to an adult who could buy alcohol; every few years presented a new version of myself, accelerated by rapid growth and a plethora of mistakes I would learn from. But the 2010s? I was just an adult…who grew, yes, but not to the point where I wouldn’t recognize the person I was in 2010. The things I liked then are the things I still like now, you know?
So putting together this list was, quite frankly, a bit startling for me. It’s made me face my mortality in ways I didn’t expect. I can still picture myself listening to Beach House’s “Teen Dream” for the first time in 2010, which means I can still picture the place I was at in my life. Since then, I have progressed in so many areas, advances that I never take for granted, that truly make my life better. But I am also brought face-to-face with the losses occurred in the past decade. It’s a lot, and yet, it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago. It’s jarring, to say the least.
What’s incredible to me is how I can feel all of this by just THINKING about an album. This is the power of music (cliche, I know, I DON’T CARE). And look, I understand music may not have the same effect on others as it does on me. But the fact that it can absolutely happen to so many people out there is remarkable. We’re honestly lucky, when it comes down to it.
I could go on and on about coming to grips with a decade lost to the void of living, but instead, I’ll celebrate the 20 albums that have impacted my life the most. The ones I think about all the time, the ones tied to very clear memories, the ones that will continue to stick with me as the next decade draws to a close.
Here are my 20 favorite albums of the 2010s.
20.) Carly Rae Jepsen – Emotion
19.) The Flaming Lips – The Terror
18.) U.S Girls – In a Poem Unlimited
17.) Animal Collective – Centipede Hz
16.) Blanck Mass – World Eater
15.) The Flaming Lips – King’s Mouth
14.) Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
13.) Friendly Fires – Pala
12.) Carly Rae Jepsen – Dedicated
11.) Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
10.) Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder
09.) War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
08.) David Bowie – Blackstar
07.) Savages – Adore Life
06.) Robyn – Honey
05.) HEALTH – Death Magic
04.) Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
03.) Beach House – Teen Dream
02.) Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
01.) M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
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