The 2010s have proved to have amazing music in all genres. New breakout artists like Billie Eilish and Frank Ocean have dominated the charts, as well as some classic artists like Kanye West, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. This list compiles the best 100 albums of the decade in my own opinion. I am fully aware this list does not include country music. These are an amalgamation of my opinion and opinions of individuals around me.
100. Neotheater by AJR – My Favorite Song: “Wow, I’m Not Crazy”
99. Disco-Overy by Tinie Tempeh – My Favorite Song: “Written In The Stars”
98. Badlands by Halsey – My Favorite Song: “Castle”
97. The Truth About Love by Pink – My Favorite Song: “Try”
96. 1000 Forms of Fear by Sia – My Favorite Song: “Elastic Heart”
95. SweetSexySavage by Kehlani – My Favorite Song: “Piece Of Mind”
94. Drones by Muse – My Favorite Song: “Psycho”
93. Chaos and the Calm by James Bay – My Favorite Song: “Let It Go”
92. Back From The Edge by James Arthur – My Favorite Song: “The Truth”
91. The Good & The Bad by Anthony Ramos – My Favorite Song: “Figure It Out”
90. Illuminate by Shawn Mendes – My Favorite Song: “Mercy”
89. Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae – My Favorite Song: “So Afraid”
88. Evolve by Imagine Dragons – My Favorite Song: “Rise Up”
87. X by Ed Sheeran – My Favorite Song: “Don’t”
86. Intimo by Nicky Jam – My Favorite Song: “Te Robare”
85. Awaken My Love by Childish Gambino – My Favorite Song: “Stand Tall”
84. Catch These Vibes by PnB Rock – My Favorite Song: “Lovin’”
83. Sounds Good Feels Good by 5 Seconds of Summer – My Favorite Song: “Jet Black Heart”
82. Red by Taylor Swift – My Favorite Song: “22”
81. The Bigger Artist by A Boogie wit da Hoodie – My Favorite Song: “Say A’”
80. Crenshaw by Nipsey Hussle – My Favorite Song: “Blessings”
79. Sing To Me Instead by Ben Platt – My Favorite Song: “Run Away”
78. What a Time To Be Alive by Drake and Future – My Favorite Song: “Diamonds Dancing”
77. Coloring Book by Chance the Rapper – My Favorite Song: “All We Got”
76. The Pinkprint by Nicki Minaj – My Favorite Song: “The Night Is Still Young”
75. Beautiful Trauma by P!nk – My Favorite Song: “For Now”
74. beerbongs & bentleys by Post Malone – My Favorite Song: “Psycho”
73. Born To Die by Lana Del Rey – My Favorite Song: “Dark Paradise”
72. don’t smile at me by Billie Eilish – My Favorite Song: “idontwannabeyouanymore”
71. Know It All by Alessia Cara – My Favorite Song: “Wild Things”
70. Goodbye & Good Riddance by Juice Wrld – My Favorite Song: “Wasted”
69. Post Traumatic by Mike Shinoda – My Favorite Song: “Promises I Can’t Keep”
68. After Laughter by Paramore – My Favorite Song: “Fake Happy”
67. Teenage Dream by Katy Perry – My Favorite Song: “The One That Got Away”
66. the way we used to love by eli. – My Favorite Song: “disappear.”
65. There’s Alot Going On by Vic Mensa – My Favorite Song: “There’s Alot Going On”
64. Made In The A.M. by One Direction – My Favorite Song: “History”
63. Death Race for Love by Juice Wrld – My Favorite Song: “Robbery”
62. 11:11 by Maluma – My Favorite Song: “HP”
61. A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships by The 1975 – My Favorite Song: “Give Yourself a Try”
60. Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato – My Favorite Song: “Sorry Not Sorry”
59. Dreamchasers 2 by Meek Mill – My Favorite Song: “Big Dreams”
58. Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die by Panic! At the Disco – My Favorite Song: “Nicotine”
57. One More Light by Linkin Park – My Favorite Song: “Halfway Right”
56. Harry Styles by Harry Styles – My Favorite Song: “Sign of the Times”
55. 24K Magic by Bruno Mars – My Favorite Song: “Perm”
54. Pure Heroine by Lorde – My Favorite Song: “A World Alone”
53. Therapy Session by NF – My Favorite Song: “Real”
52. Joanne by Lady Gaga – My Favorite Song: “Perfect Illusion”
51. America by Thirty Seconds to Mars – My Favorite Song: “Hail To the Victor”
50. Hell’s Kitchen Angel by MAX – My Favorite Song: “Gibberish”
49. A Thousand Suns by Linkin Park – My Favorite Song: “Waiting For The End”
48. Blue Neighborhood by Troye Sivan – My Favorite Song: “Suburbia”
47. Thank u, Next by Ariana Grande – My Favorite Song: “in my head”
46. The Greatest Showman album by Various Artists – My Favorite Song: “Come Alive”
45. Night Visions by Imagine Dragons – My Favorite Song: “Tiptoe”
44. Fate & The Furious album by Various Artists – My Favorite Song: “Horses”
43. This is Acting by Sia – My Favorite Song: “The Greatest”
42. Victory Lap by Nipsey Hussle – My Favorite Song: “Million While You Young”
41. Purpose by Justin Bieber – My Favorite Song: “Purpose”
40. Smoke + Mirrors by Imagine Dragons – My Favorite Song: “I’m So Sorry”
39. The Search by NF – My Favorite Song: “Nate”
38. Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco – My Favorite Song: “LA Devotee”
37. The Hunting Party by Linkin Park – My Favorite Song: “Rebellion”
36. Divide by Ed Sheeran – My Favorite Song: “Dive”
35. American Beauty/ American Psycho by Fall Out Boy – My Favorite Song: “Novocaine”
34. Blackstar by David Bowie – My Favorite Song: “I Can’t Give Everything Away”
33. Hoodie SZN by A Boogie wit da Hoodie – My Favorite Song: “Odee”
32. KOD by J. Cole – My Favorite Song: “KOD”
31. Championships by Meek Mill – My Favorite Song: “Trauma”
30. ANTI by Rihanna – My Favorite Song: “Love on the Brain”
29. 21 Adele – My Favorite Song: “Someone Like You”
28. EL MAL QUERER by Rosalia – My Favorite Song: “Pienso En Tu Mira”
27. DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar – My Favorite Song: “Element”
26. 1989 by Taylor Swift – My Favorite Song: “Style”
25. Channel Orange by Frank Ocean – My Favorite Song: “Pink Matter”
24. 4:44 by Jay Z – My Favorite Song: “Caught Their Eyes”
23. ASTROWORLD by Travis Scott – My Favorite Song: “Skeletons”
22. 4 Your Eyez Only by J. Cole – My Favorite Song: “Neighbors”
21. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar – My Favorite Song: “The Blacker the Berry”
20. The Life of Pablo by Kanye West – My Favorite Song: “Wolves”
19. Beyonce by Beyonce – My Favorite Song: “Partition”
18. Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande – My Favorite Song: “Into You”
17. Black Panther by Various Artists – My Favorite Song: “King’s Dead”
16. Sweetener by Ariana Grande – My Favorite Song: “no tears left to cry”
15. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Album – My Favorite Song: “Wait For It”
14. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight by Travis Scott – My Favorite Song: “through the late night”
13. Mailbox Money by Nipsey Hussle – My Favorite Song: “A Miracle”
12. Lemonade by Beyonce – My Favorite Song: “Freedom”
11. Pray For The Wicked by Panic! At The Disco – My Favorite Song: “Old Fashioned”
10. Bloom by Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan blossomed this decade into the person he is. He began the decade as a young person on YouTube making funny collaboration videos with Tyler Oakley and prank calling his mother on camera. Sometime in the past ten years, he grew to make an album that charted across the globe. My Favorite Songs: “Postcard” and “Lucky Strike”
9. Born This Way by Lady Gaga
Gaga is timeless. Despite this album being released in 2011, many of her songs are often played today. Born This Way gave us so many gems and Gaga even performed some of these songs at her Superbowl performance in 2018. My Favorite Songs: “The Edge of Glory” and “Born This Way”
8. Perception by NF
Despite his success in breaking through the popular music environment, NF somehow remains one of the most underrated rappers of our time. He is not talked about enough. His music—not only in this album but in his entire discography— strikes the listener in special ways. He discusses real issues from mental illness to family issues, to personal limitations in such a poetic way in songs like “Outcast”, “Intro III”, and “Dreams”. My Favorite Song: “Destiny” and “10 Feet Down”
7. Daytona by Pusha T
Pusha T went solo in 2010 after his duo, Clipse, went on a short pause so both singers can perform solo work. Daytona is a product of this hiatus and is, arguably, the best hip-hop album of 2018. It is brief, but heavy and hard hitting—the quality of this album does not hold back. But, the quantity does. This seven-track album left listeners wanting more. My Favorite Song: “Hard Piano” and “The Games We Play”
6. WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? By Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish broke the internet when this album was released. The highly anticipated album topped the charts in 2019. This album gave us some of the top songs of the year. My Favorite Song: “when the party’s over” and “bury a friend”
5. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
This album was released at the turn of the decade in 2010. It touches so many distinct tastes in one album, it could not be absent in the top five. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy holds so many classic Kanye songs like “Monster” and “Power”. My Favorite Song: “Lost in the World” and “Runaway”
4. good kid, m. A. A. d. City by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s storytelling abilities in this album surpasses that of any other album on this list. Each song tells a different story and gives a different vibe. It is a film solely through music. My Favorite Song: “Backseat Freestyle” and “The Recipe”
3. AmeriKKKan Bada$$ by Joey Bada$$
I firmly believe Joey Bada$$ is one of the three most underrated rappers of the decade (along with NF and J. Cole). This album breathes perfection. After its release in 2017, this album was not hyped enough. There is not a single bad song one can find in this album. The way it takes a political stance is beautiful. It discusses racism, freedom, happiness, the presidency, economic inequality, social inequality, and everything in between. My Favorite Song: “Rockabye Baby” and “Land of the Free”
2. Blonde by Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean changed the music game with this album. Blonde will continue to be played well into the 2020s. It is the type of album where someone can predict it’s timelessness. Frank Ocean has so much going for him in the next decade and I am most excited to see what he will release next. My Favorite Song: “Ivy” and “Nikes”
1. 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole
At #1 is 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J Cole. This album gave up gems like “No Role Modelz”, “Love Yourz”, and “A Tale of 2 Citiez”. Despite the fact that this album was released six years ago, it is still played like it was released last week. My favorite song: “Note to Self” and “No Role Modelz”
The 2010s was a decade of great music—specifically hip-hop. Hip-hop came back into the limelight after a pop-filled 2000s. What was given to us this decade makes me excited to see what is in store for music in the decade to come.
Check out the Spotify playlist for all of the albums mentioned here.