Best Albums of the 2010s
 

Keeping score as the decade progresses...

TEN BEST ALBUMS OF THE 2010s (so far)
1. SING THE DELTA (2012), Iris DeMent
2. OLYMPIA (2010), Bryan Ferry
3. LOST SIRENS (2013), New Order
4. ECHOES (2011), Will Young
5. WATCH THE THRONE (2011), Kanye West & Jay-Z
6. MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY (2010), Kanye West
7. VOYAGE (2011), Sound of Arrows
8. ELYSIUM (2012), Pet Shop Boys
9. WORDS AND MUSIC BY SAINT ETIENNE (2012), Saint Etienne
10. A JOYFUL NOISE (2012), Gossip

IYD and the FM EP is the only two I have.

I can really only make a preliminary list, as I rarely listen to full new albums anymore, I mainly just stream Pandora/I Heart Radio these days. Anyway, here's what I like thus far this decade:

1. Joseph Arthur: Graduation Ceremony
2. Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues
3. Beirut: The Rip Tide (the title track off this album might just be my fav song of the decade thus far)
4. Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams
5. Bonnie Raitt: Slipstream
6. Ray Lamontagne: God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise
7. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs
8. Foster The People: Torches (it's catchy house cleaning music, so shoot me! :laugh: )
9. Band Of Horses: Infinite Arms

I'm really displeased with this list at the moment, I'll probably come back and edit it as I think of more appropriate selections. :)

Ooh, I'll make a list. Not gonna put them in 'best' order, though, I sort of see them all equally.

Brothers: The Black Keys - 2010
God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise: Ray LaMontagne - 2010
Love and Its Opposite: Tracey Thorn - 2010
Mission Bell: Amos Lee - 2011
The Awakening: James Morrison - 2011
Velociraptor!: Kasabian - 2011
In Your Dreams: Stevie Nicks - 2011
Moving Up Living Down: Eric Hutchinson - 2012
What We Saw From The Cheap Seats: Regina Spektor - 2012

I guess I really prefer the 'singer/songwriter' type.

Nothing on my list yet for 2013 - but there are a few albums I need to get which are already out, and a few more expected later this year that may be great; particularly Neko Case's upcoming release in September.

Bonnie Raitt- Slipstream (2012)
Diane Birch- Bible Belt (2010)
Vanessa Carlton- Rabbits on the Run (2011)
Stevie Nicks- In Your Dreams (2011)
Joss Stone- LP1 (2011)
Tedeschi Trucks Band- Revelator (2011)
Lindsey Buckingham- Seeds We Sow (2011)
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals- Grace Potter & the Nocturnals (2010)
Florence + The Machine- Ceremonials (2011)
Dave Stewart- The Ringmaster General (2012)
Caitlin Rose- The Stand In (2013)

Just realized we both listed this. Great album!

Cave Singers - No witch.
Alberta Cross- Songs Of Patience
Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
J. Mascis - Several Shades Of Why
Heartless Bastards - Arrow
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - idem
Elliott Brood - Days Into Years
Drivin' n' Cryin' - (Whatever Happened To) The Great American Bubble Factory
Lindsey Buckingham - Seeds We Sow
Kevn Kinney & The Golden Palominos - A good country mile

Drake-Take Care
Alabama Shakes-Boys & Girls
Taylor Swift-Speak Now
The Civil Wars-Barton Hollow
Kanye West-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Britney Spears-Femme Fatale
Kanye West and Jay Z-Watch the Throne
Stevie Nicks-In Your Dreams
Nicki Minaj-Roman Reloaded
Lana Del Rey-Born to Die

This list makes me look musically deprived, but I honestly love these albums so much. Especially Take Care by Drake, as a huge 90s R&B fan (namely Keith Sweat) that album was exceptional in my opinion.

A very interesting and eclectic mix of tastes we have here. :) Louie, I'm glad to see an Arcade Fire fan in the house!

I won't answer the question as a serious evaluation of what the "best" albums are. I simply haven't heard enough new albums in full to make that kind of statement. But these are my clear favourites. Leaving out Mac-and-Mac-adjacent albums, to keep things a bit more interesting.

Anais Mitchell - Young Man in America (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
David Bowie - The Next Day
Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
Tegan and Sara- Heartthrob
Emeli Sande - Our Version of Events (I know this gets a lot of flack for massive overhype, but I can't not adore it)
Patty Griffin - American Kid

Nice choices- I have to be in the right mood for Tegan and Sara, but it is a solid album. I have not listened to Patty Griffin's latest yet, and I have never really listened to her, but I want to start.

For me.... (in no particular order):

Tedeschi Trucks Band - Revelator
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Everybody's Talkin' (live)
Derek Trucks Band - Roadsongs
Dwight Yoakam 3 Pears
Eric Clapton - Old Sock
Gary Clark, Jr. - Blak & Blu
The Black Keys (2 albums) - El Camino and Brothers
Heart - Red Velvet Car
Bonnie Raitt - Slipstream
Paul McCartney - Kisses On The Bottom
Bob Dylan - Tempest
Fleetwood Mac - Extended Play EP
Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams
Lindsey Buckingham - Songs From The Small Machine

The most anticipated album that was the biggest disappointment:

ZZ Top - La Futura

A couple of artists I really like but haven't heard their latest albums (which have been mentioned in this thread):

Bryan Ferry
David Bowie

Really love Heartthrob. "I Couldn't Be Your Friend" is my favorite track--it's Mac worthy--but every single song shimmers.

I wish Kate Bush--possibly the greatest female music artist of all time--had stayed retired, but there was a thread on here back in the day with discussion surrounding 50 Words for Snow.

Glad to see love for Tegan and Sara on here! Right on, you guys!

Oh do get into Patty if you can. She's one of the most rewarding recording artists I can think of. American Kid is great, but I don't think anything will ever surpass the sublime 1000 Kisses. How familiar are you with her work generally?

She never really retired though. She always said she was "working on an album" even back in the mid-90s. She'd just started a family and had gone down to part-time hours, so to speak. Aerial and 50 Words are departures for her in some ways, and certainly not to every fan's taste, but then, every Kate release has been like that. She's had a fairly high fan-turnover ever since Never For Ever, I think people just forgot that as the fanbase settled during her 12 year hiatus. I certainly couldn't blame anyone for disliking 50 Words. It's absolutely replaced The Dreaming as her most wtf!? album (actually I think The Dreaming stopped being "difficult" years ago, though), but I think it's among her best work, and I've heard enough people concur to be confident I'm not just some wacky outlier. ;)

I'm surprised Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel hasn't been mentioned here yet. It usually pops up on these threads by this point. I often feel like the only person on the entire planet who doesn't connect with Fiona at all... I'm kind of enjoying its absence, to be honest. :laugh: Although I do recognize its greatness on an objective level.

Not very familiar at all- I'll start with 1000 Kisses though :thumbsup:

Kate Bush does what she wants to and always has..that and idiosyncratic raw talent is what makes her "possibly the greatest female recording artist of all time."If anyone had ever come to her insisting she record Bon Jovi and Poison covers or whatever the UK equivalent might be her response would have been one for the ages.

Wonderful. Although my partner has said Flaming Red is the better choice. And sometimes I hear people say Children Running Through is her masterpiece... Basically you can't really go wrong with Patty. ;) I think you could probably start with anything except for Living With Ghosts, but then that one has its fans too. :shrug:

Hope you enjoy!

Yes! She's carved such a uniquely uncompromising path for herself. Can't say enough good things about her. I know 50 Words for Snow was released under her own label, but I'm inclined to think that the very commercially-minded EMI would still have just let the album out unscathed, just because she's Kate Bush. They did so with Aerial, anyway, which is almost equally un-commercial. And that, to me, is insanely cool. Especially for a woman who is still referred to as a "pop star" and enjoys chart success.

I'm not sure who the "UK equivalent" of Bon Jovi would be, actually. :laugh: That's got me scratching my head. I just figured they liked Bon Jovi over here... But I don't hear anything about him so that could be wrong. Watch this space!

Albums:
Allen Stone LP
Ashley Monroe - Like a Rose
The B-52s With the Wild Crowd Live in Athens GA
Delta Goodrem - Child of the Universe
Lady Antebellum - Golden
Laura Marling - Once I Was an Eagle
Passenger - All the Little Lights (The fake foreign accent he sings in is a little annoying sometimes, but wow - he is a great lyricist)
Stevie Nicks - In Your Dreams
Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob
Train - California 37

EPs
Fleetwood Mac - Extended Play (For me, the most highly anticipated new release this year. It really did surprise me and honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed it and still do.)
Lewis Watson - Four More Songs EP
Matt Corby - iTunes Session EP (Brother is a breathtaking experience - great song. Wonderful to see an Aussie artist create something so beautiful)

Honorable mention to Bob Dylan's album "Tempest".

Fiona Apple pops up a lot, when her albums are good. Her first three were great albums, historic, if I may say so.

'Idler Wheel'...is just not up to par. It could be great, but pales when compared to her previous work. It's like Portishead's 'Third'. Highly anticipated, largely disappointing.

A very interesting response. You're honestly the first person who enjoys Fiona that I've heard say negative things about this album. Not that I can comment as a decided non-fan. ;) it's just refreshing to see a different opinion.

:laugh: I'm a total fanboy when it comes to my favorite artists, but a spade is a spade and I don't mind calling it out.

I understand than every recording artist needs to branch out, grow, try new things and that every album cannot sound the same. With Extraordinary Machine, she presented incredible growth both sonically and lyrically. But Idler Wheel, while lyrically brilliant, lacks the sonic appeal of her earlier work. Often, to me, the music seems disjointed from the lyrics - like they clearly weren't written to go together. It's like...in dance, when a dancer is told they have great musicality, it's because the routine fits the song. These arrangements on Fiona's latest album don't fit the lyrics. It's like dancing a paso doble to a hip hop track. That's a performance that just won't have any musicality. Idler Wheel leans too heavily on percussion instruments that clash with Fiona's admittedly sublime vocals. This one just didn't do it for me.

That's when i realize most of my favourite albums were released in 2009 :D.

But i love these :

"Let England Shake", PJ Harvey (2011)
"Bon Iver", Bon Iver (2011)
"Visions", Grimes (2012)
"Good kid, m.A.A.d city", Kendrick Lamar (2012)
"Overgrown", James Blake (2013)
"Forever" (EP), Haim (2012)
"Oshin", DIIV (2012)
"Grownass man", The shouting matches (2013)
"Within and without", Washed out (2011)
"Camp", Childish Gambino (2011)

My memory is embarrassing but (it helps that other people went before me):

ALGIERS (Calexico)
OLD IDEAS (Leonard Cohen)
DJANGO DJANGO (Django Django)
BLUNDERBUSS (Jack White)
TEMPEST (Bob Dylan)
SLIPSTREAM (Bonnie Raitt)
THE IDLER WHEEL ... (Fiona Apple)
PSYCHEDELIC PILL (Neil Young)
FOLILA (Amadou et Mariam)
CHANNEL ORANGE (Frank Ocean)
BEEN LISTENING (Johnny Flynn)
LET ENGLAND SHAKE (PJ Harvey)
HELPLESSNESS BLUES (Fleet Foxes)
EL CAMINO (The Black Keys)
BROTHERS ( The Black Keys)
HIGH VIOLET (The National)
HOW I GOT OVER (The Roots)
LISBON (The Walkmen)

I liked I SPEAK BECAUSE I CAN by Laura Marling and WRECKING BALL by Springsteen too but not as much as I wanted to, if I recall correctly. I haven't heard Bowie's or Griffin's latest, or Kanye's. Well, there's always a lot I never get around to :distress:

:blob2: I wore out my copy. That might be my favorite one of all so far.

**** i forgot these ones. i love these albums too.
I can't wait to hear Yeezus!

"Let England Shake" is one of my favorite albums of all time. It's magnificient. It should be on everyone's list :p

I agree. I actually feel like kind of an asshole for not including it. But I can't decide if it's one of those pesky records that I admire more than actually enjoy. Need to give it a few more good listens, perhaps. :)

THERE it is! Fewf! Thanks redbird. ;)

Fiona was one of a handful of women very important to my musical adolescence (plus she's done the best in the long run).

Kate bush-50 words for Snow
Donald Fagen- Sunken Condos
John Mayer- Born and Raised
Leonard Cohen Old Ideas
Green day-Uno
Heart-Fanatic
Mika-Origin of Love

And my Fav.....kicking the crap outta nearly everybody

Amanda Palmer Theater is Evil.

Mick

[QUOTE=Dex;1096235]Wonderful. Although my partner has said Flaming Red is the better choice. And sometimes I hear people say Children Running Through is her masterpiece... Basically you can't really go wrong with Patty. ;) I think you could probably start with anything except for Living With Ghosts, but then that one has its fans too. :shrug:

I agree with your partner. Flaming Red is in my top 10 of all time. I'm really enjoying American Kid too. I've only seen her live once a couple of years ago. I missed her recent Chicago show, because I was seeing Fleetwood Mac two days later, and I couldn't pull that off!

Oh, i understand that. But this one is actually very enjoyable, to me at least. The melodies are beautiful, and pretty simple. It's maybe PJ's "poppiest" record.

I just recently understood the appeal of Foster the People and now i'm definitely adding this album to my list. Songs like "Waste", "Houdini", "Pumped up kicks", "Miss you", are so pretty and nostalgic that it makes my heart melt. It's not house cleaning music :p.

Patty Griffin--American Kid
Ray Lamontagne--God Willin' And The Creek Don't Rise
Mumford and Sons--Babel
Adele--21
Kings of Leon--Come Around Sundown
Jamey Johnson--The Guitar Song
Miranda Lambert--Four The Record
Julie Roberts--Good Wine and Bad Decisions
David Gray--Foundling

I re-quote myself and update.

Nothing new here since then ,Except truckloads of old vinyl.

While Patty has said that the sound on LWG is not what she really "was" or wanted to be as an artist, I would never recommend skipping it. The songwriting is superb, and the title track remains my favorite Patty song more days than not.

Obviously I am not going to include any FM related releases because they are always included in my bests.

1. Jason Mraz- Love is a Four Letter Word
2. John Mayer-Born and Raised
3. Train-Save Me Sanfranisco
4. Alterbridge -ABIII
5. Kris Allen- Thank you Camillia
6. Bonnie Raitt-Slip Stream

I know my list could go on for miles but this is just a few.