I just turned 20, and as the Aquarius I am, I spent the week leading up to my birthday revisiting albums that I listened to relentlessly during different time periods of my life. It made me realize that music can not only make someone feel nostalgic, but also proud of how far they have come. These are my 5 favorite albums, and why they are the 5 best albums ever!
6. Guts by Olivia Rodrigo
This is an honorable mention album, and is the most recently released of the bunch. Rodrigo’s sophomore effort is arguably stronger than her freshman work. This is one of those albums that I know will continue to stand the test of time. It will always remind me of college and my experiences, and I relate to many of the songs on a personal level. Some highlights of this album for me include the rock-influenced “love is embarrassing”, the longing of “pretty isn’t pretty”, and the slay that is “all-american b*tch”. I love this album and I cannot wait to see it live this summer!
5. Lemonade by Beyoncé
When I was entering junior high school, the rollout of Lemonade began, starting during Super Bowl weekend in 2016. I remember watching the Halftime Show and thinking how different this performance felt compared to the energy of past songs like “Single Ladies”. This album opened my eyes to what an album really is. The differences in genre that Beyoncé toys with and executes successfully were and still are refreshing. Lemonade tells the story of her grappling with the effects of discovering her husband Jay-Z’s infidelity, and the different chapters that came with this discovery. It’s one of her most mature, memorable, and concise works yet, and it baffles me how it did not win “Album of the Year” at the 2017 Grammys. I love “Don’t Hurt Yourself”, as this song proves how she can really cross genres to create true art. The anger behind the song, especially the message of not crossing someone after you’ve already crossed them, is incredible. I love screaming this song in the car with the windows down and my roommate by my side – especially this quarter after the midterms we experienced. It’s extremely cathartic. I also have loved “Daddy Lessons” ever since the release of the album, and I even bought the song on iTunes when Lemonade was finally released on streaming. The surprise releases of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” fulfilled the need of country Beyoncé that I didn’t know I needed for so long. I am elated to hear Act II of the Renaissance next month. :)
4. Melodrama by Lorde
While this album was released in 2017, I didn’t truly get into Lorde as a whole until my sophomore year of high school. I had just listened to Lover, was extremely disappointed, and turned to “Green Light” for that songwriting prose I was missing from Taylor at the time. I had listened to Pure Heroine, and obviously knew the radio hits, but Melodrama is just THAT girl. It is the perfect indie pop record, and besides the Jack Antonoff storyline (which I read about late at night in the height of my hyperfixation on the album via the infamous powerpoint presentation), it just makes me so happy to listen to whenever I revisit it. “Supercut” is one of those rare songs that still makes me feel like I’m hearing it for the first time. I also love “Liability”, as this is one of the songs that helped me navigate personal insecurities my sophomore year. The allusion of Lorde going home to the arms of the girl that she loves, only for it to twist to being about her and how she may have disappointed herself in the past but she will always be there for herself is beautiful. I try to practice self-love as best as possible by embracing this idea of being a liability but also someone who is loved, even if you are too much sometimes.
3. Harry Styles by Harry Styles
As someone who labeled Harry Styles as public enemy #1 after Haylor broke up, this would have appalled 10 year-old me, especially considering that One Direction is still on “hiatus” (come back please). I remember being shocked when I watched the music video for “Sign of the Times” for the first time when it premiered in 2017. He had changed so much in such a short amount of time. Watching him grow as a solo artist since then (and as someone who has now seen him live 3 times to make up for never seeing One Direction live)has been so exciting. This was the album that deserved the Grammy for Album of the Year. Nobody has released such an experimental debut solo album fresh out of a boyband since Justin Timberlake. One of my favorite songs of all time, “Woman”, is on this album. I also love the vulnerability on “Ever Since New York”, which references his experience grappling with the cancer diagnosis of his now late stepfather. “Kiwi”, another one of my favorites, is just one of those songs that everyone needs to experience live at least once. This album is both versatile and an iconic moment in his career for both him and fans to look back on.
2. IGOR by Tyler, the Creator
I know I keep saying this about all of these albums, but IGOR is truly rap perfection. I started to get into Tyler’s music in 2018, just in time to experience his album cycle for this record. I remember thinking how cool I was listening to this in my new Airpods I had just gotten for Christmas. Some highlights for me include “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” which is arguably one of my favorite songs off the album but also one of the best closing songs of all time for a record. The beginning notes of the song alone send a shiver down my spine; it’s production is truly that good. I also love “A BOY IS A GUN” and “EARFQUAKE”, both of which are just excellent in terms of both lyrics and production value. It’s one of those albums that needs to be listened to front to back, no skips, with headphones, so that Tyler’s artistic ability can truly be appreciated. I went to the Golf Wang store in 2019 on my spring break and immediately walked out because I did not realize how expensive his merchandise was. Now, with my grownup money, I may actually buy something.
1. 1989 by Taylor Swift
My favorite Taylor album and literal pop perfection! This is an album that has stood the test of time for me since it was released almost ten (10!!!!!) years ago. It has such an emotional chokehold over me that when Taylor said the letter “I” four times in a row during the acoustic set of her LA show for the Eras Tour, I fell to my knees. This was my first ever favorite album and will forever be my favorite album. The re-release of 1989 was also extremely cathartic for me, especially because I was 10 years older than I was when I originally heard the album. This experience relates to the lyrics from “Clean”, my favorite Taylor song. I also love all of the vault songs that came with the re-release, including “Now That We Don’t Talk” and “Is It Over Now?”. 1989 also has some of my favorite Taylor singles, with “Out of the Woods” being one of them. It truly is one of my favorite pieces of pop music that is representative of the era that it was released in. It feels like a throwback to me dancing in my room after school listening to the album on my Hello Kitty CD player. I just love this Grammy award winning album so much.