Best Year For Music- Round 1-Part 6: The 2010's - Music

AAL2014

The final decade before we see the top vote-getters pit against each other. I for one am looking forward to that. But again, there is a final decade to get through. The 2000's saw 2001, 2006, and 2007 moving on.

Now since we've only had 8 full years of music in this decade, only the top 2 vote-getters will move on.

2010

-The Suburbs- Arcade Fire, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy- Kanye West, High Violet- The National, Teen Dream- Beach House, This Is Happening- LCD Soundsystem, Brothers- The Black Keys, Halcyon Digest- Deerhunter, Plastic Beach- Gorillaz, The Age of Adz- Sufjan Stevens, Innerspeaker- Tame Impala

2011

-Bon Iver, Bon Iver- Bon Iver, Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes, The Smile Sessions- The Beach Boys, The King of Limbs- Radiohead, El Camino- The Black Keys, Let England Shake- PJ Harvey, 21- Adele, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming- M83, Wasting Light- Foo Fighters, Kaputt- Destroyer

2012

-Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City- Kendrick Lamar, Lonerism- Tame Impala, Channel Orange- Frank Ocean, An Awesome Wave- (alt-j), Bloom- Beach House, The Money Store- Death Grips, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do- Fiona Apple, The Seer- Swans, Born To Die- Lana Del Rey, Visions- Grimes

2013

-Modern Vampires Of The City- Vampire Weekend, Reflektor- Arcade Fire, AM- Arctic Monkeys, Random Access Memories- Daft Punk, ...Like Clockwork- Queens of the Stone Age, Yeezus- Kanye West, Trouble Will Find Me- The National, Sunbather- Deafheaven, m b v- My Bloody Valentine, Acid Rap- Chance The Rapper

2014

-Lost In The Dream- The War On Drugs, To Be Kind- Swans, Benji- Sun Kill Moon, Run The Jewels 2, Salad Days- Mac DeMarco, St. Vincent (s/t), Black Messiah- D'angelo and the Vanguard, LP1- FKA Twigs, This Is All Yours- (alt-j), Royal Blood (s/t)

2015

-To Pimp A Butterfly- Kendrick Lamar, Carrie & Lowell- Sufjan Stevens, Currents- Tame Impala, I Love You, Honeybear- Father John Misty, Art Angels- Grimes, Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit-Courtney Barnett, In Colour- Jamie xx, Hand. Cannot. Erase.- Steven Wilson, Vulnicura- Bjork, Divers- Joanna Newsom

2016

-A Moon Shaped Pool- Radiohead, Blackstar- David Bowie, Blonde- Frank Ocean, Teens Of Denial- Car Seat Headrest, Atrocity Exhibition- Danny Brown, 22, A Million- Bon Iver, Skeleton Tree- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Lemonade- Beyonce, We Got It From Here....Thank You 4 Your Service- A Tribe Called Quest, Untitled Unmastered.- Kendrick Lamar

2017

-DAMN.- Kendrick Lamar, A Deeper Understanding- The War On Drugs, Melodrama- Lorde, American Dream- LCD Soundsystem, A Crow Looked At Me- Mount Eerie, Sleep Well Beast- The National, Flower Boy- Tyler The Creator, Slowdive (s/t), Crack Up- Fleet Foxes, Saturation II- Brockhampton
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Gender: Female
Age: 38

not super psyched on the consensus stuff at all, but this is my favorite decade. it's down to 2012 vs 2016 for me, I'll have to think on this one.

Fischman
RockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMaster

Gender: Male
Location: Land of Enchantment

I gave serious consideration to '11, '14 and '15, but in the end had to settle on 2012. Interestingly much of the year's highlights for me came in the form of lat or final albums by classic artists from long ago, who I had given up on based on their more recent efforts. But something magical must have happened in '12 as they all seemed to get back into excellent, yet updated form, all at the same time.

My top 10:

1. Rush--Clockwork Angels; their best in a couple decades... by a long shot. Possibly their most progressive ever. It now looks as though this will be their last studio outing, and it is indeed a great way to go out... right on top.

2. Asia--XXX; This one was a shock to me in light of all the dreck they released since their 1982 debut. The level of surprise cam in my finding this one not only the best since then, but even far better than that debut! Every last song is a winner. The songwriting is solid throughout, sometimes brilliant, the sound is magnificent, and music is continually engaging, and John Wetton's voice is more compelling than ever.

3. Flying Colors--Flying Colors; Supergroups almost always disappoint--this one exceeded expectations. I would have never thought to combine Steve Morse and Mike Portnoy, but it turns out they compliment each other exceptionally well.

4. Ian Anderson--Thick as a Brick 2; this one had more than just Ian's age and the lack of Tull backing him going against it. It would also be impossible to do a follow up worthy of the original no matter how good you are. Plus the inclusion of the spoken word interludes would normally be a huge turn off for me. But it works, and it works well. Another almost shocking surprise.

5. Spectrum Road--Spectrum Road; Another bad on paper but brilliant in execution supergroup, this time with rockers laying down some awesome jazz fusion. For my money, Vernon Reid's very best work and the teaming with Jack Bruce and longtime jazz master John Medeski proves to be superb.

6. Brad Mehldau--Ode; positively beautiful modern jazz trio outing from one of the greatest keyboard masters of our time.

7. Bela Fleck and Marcus Roberts--Across the Imaginary Divide; this time, the eclectic jazz banjoist teams up with another of jazz' great modern piano masters to deliver a positively mind-blowing blending of styles. A genuine delight for the ears and spirit.

8. Joe Walsh--Analog Man; the classic rocker delivers what I find to be his best overall album in his long and storied career. In addition to the the title cut, the other big highlight is Lucky That Way, a more mature and much more delightful epilogue to his greatest hit from decades earlier, Life's Been Good.

9. Walter Trout--Blues for the Modern Daze; a perfectly titled album. What you read is what you get and it works perfectly.

10. Pat Metheny--Unity Band; Pat assembled an absolutely top-flight ensemble of musicians, and gave them exceptionally strong and varied material to work with, and the results do not disappoint.

10 more honorable mention:
Xandria-Neverworld's End
Brad Mehldau-Where Do You Start
Vijay Iyer-Accelerando
Lacuna Coil-Dark Adrenaline
The Cult-Choice of Weapon
Kevin Eubanks-The Messenger
Lee Rittenour-Rhythm Sessions
Lionel Loueke-Heritage
Lettuce-Fly
Mark Knopfler-Privateering

LedZep

2016

Top picks:

1. Blackstar - David Bowie
2. Skeleton Tree - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3. Magma - Gojira
4. Sorceress - Opeth
5. Nonagon Infinity - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
6. The White Album - Weezer
7. You Want It Darker - Leondard Cohen
8. Gore - Deftones
9. A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
10. Dissociation - The Dillinger Escape Plan
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

CharlieBarley

Gender: Male
Age: 48
Location: Mount Olympus

2010 for me, no contest

Tha1ChiefRocka
Yeah, well hey, I'm really sorry.

Location: Kansas

2013, with 2014 close behind. I was going through a lot of personal problems at that point in my life, and music was something that I could focus on besides the crappy stuff that was happening. I dislike most of the top 10 that year, but the rest is pretty great.

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

I probably shouldn't vote because I haven't really earnestly given the 2010s a fair shake and the decade isn't over.

I'm sure I'll have more 2017s in my chart when I'm done reviewing the year, and in 2016 I did my 2010 chart based on listening to something like 248 albums from the decade. But that was kind of earlier in the year, so probably didn't do 2016 justice at all. Then I got busy and in October got back to the rating game.

Anyway:
Year Albums %

2010 22 22%
2011 20 20%
2012 13 13%
2013 13 13%
2014 18 18%
2015 6 6%
2016 7 7%
2017 1 1%
2018 0 0%

2011 had 43 albums of a rating 75 or higher
Yeah... this 2011 list isn't what I'd expect it to be... just not sure about it...

Wasting Light Foo Fighters
The King Of Limbs Radiohead
The Smile Sessions The Beach Boys
Collapse Into Now R.E.M.
Major/Minor Thrice
I'm With You Red Hot Chili Peppers
Build A Rocket Boys! Elbow
Neighborhoods Blink-182
So Beautiful Or So What Paul Simon
21 Adele
El Camino The Black Keys
Bangarang Skrillex
Mylo Xyloto Coldplay
Suck It And See Arctic Monkeys
Bon Iver, Bon Iver Bon Iver
Never Trust A Happy Song Grouplove
Section.80 Kendrick Lamar
Gimme Some Peter Bjorn And John
w h o k i l l tUnE-YaRdS
Odd Soul Mutemath
Twin Fantasy Car Seat Headrest
Burst Apart The Antlers
The King is Dead The Decemberists
Angles The Strokes
Megalithic Symphony Awolnation
Torches Foster The People
Lulu Lou Reed & Metallica
The Hunter Mastodon
+ Ed Sheeran
Ceremonials Florence And The Machine
David Comes To Life Fucked Up
Father, Son, Holy Ghost Girls
Making Mirrors Gotye
Watch The Throne Jay-Z and Kanye West
Dust Bowl Joe Bonamassa
Simple Math Manchester Orchestra
My Head Is An Animal Of Monsters And Men
Let England Shake P.J. Harvey
Strange Mercy St. Vincent
The Color Spectrum The Dear Hunter
Goblin Tyler, The Creator
The Year of Hibernation Youth Lagoon
Yuck Yuck

Luigii

Gender: Male
Age: 28

Honestly my favorite year of this decade of music ironically 2017. Even though what I consider my top 3 records from 2015 smoke a lot of albums from this decade.

AAL2014

Fischman wrote:

1. Rush--Clockwork Angels; their best in a couple decades... by a long shot. Possibly their most progressive ever. It now looks as though this will be their last studio outing, and it is indeed a great way to go out... right on top.

3. Flying Colors--Flying Colors; Supergroups almost always disappoint--this one exceeded expectations. I would have never thought to combine Steve Morse and Mike Portnoy, but it turns out they compliment each other exceptionally well.

You listed some great records but I want to echo these sentiments the most. First of all, Clockwork Angels is their best in a very long time no doubt. I would say easily since Grace Under Pressure and it's probably just a smidge better than that one. I'm a huge Rush fan and Rush fans tend to love Snakes & Arrows, but I feel Clockwork Angels was a huge step up from that album. Snakes & Arrows to me has 4-5 very good songs and the rest is forgettable making it an album that I've never returned to all the way through since my first obligatory listen. Clockwork not only features some very progressive moments, but some damn heavy ones as well. It's Rush on steroids in a few instances. And as you mentioned, it's more than likely their last. If that is the case, what an album to close the curtain with. Especially with The Garden being the record's final track. "It's a measure of a life". Neil could not have penned a more poignant literary farewell. Applause

Flying Colors is an album I loved from the first time I laid eyes on the album cover. A friend recommended it to me and I was already a fan of Mike Portnoy, but some records A.) you know you will love even before pressing play and B.) are summed up perfectly by the album cover itself. Beautiful album cover.

Oh and there's music on it to. There is a great balance through the record with the ballads, heavier stuff, and more progressive material. It's truly a colorful album. Blue Ocean is a damn good opener, Infinite Fire is phenomenal closer. I don't absolutely love Casey McPhereson's vocals but I like them enough and he has soul. I've never been a fan of Neal Morse's vocals (fairy vocals as the friend who turned me on to FC put ever so delicately) but they compliment Casey's in the well arranged Beatles/Turtles/Queen-esq harmonies. Portnoy is a great backing singer but I wish he'd never take lead. To me this is one of the very last records to feature foreword-pushing, non-predictable drumming from Mike. It was kind of the tail end of his prime. This album was a huge influence on me as a drummer and some of the drumming is absolutely stunning. Love this record.

Some other 2012 favorites for me:

Good Kid- Kendrick Lamar
King Animal- Soundgarden (Listen to the closer, Rowing, if you have not)
The Money Store- Death Grips
No Love Deep Web- Death Grips
Alone Together- Karriem Riggins
Wrecking Ball- Bruce Springsteen
Life Is People- Bill Fay
_________________
Attention all planets of the solar federation: We have assumed control.

bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

Fischman wrote:

I gave serious consideration to '11, '14 and '15, but in the end had to settle on 2012. Interestingly much of the year's highlights for me came in the form of lat or final albums by classic artists from long ago, who I had given up on based on their more recent efforts. But something magical must have happened in '12 as they all seemed to get back into excellent, yet updated form, all at the same time.

My top 10:

1. Rush--Clockwork Angels; their best in a couple decades... by a long shot. Possibly their most progressive ever. It now looks as though this will be their last studio outing, and it is indeed a great way to go out... right on top.

2. Asia--XXX; This one was a shock to me in light of all the dreck they released since their 1982 debut. The level of surprise cam in my finding this one not only the best since then, but even far better than that debut! Every last song is a winner. The songwriting is solid throughout, sometimes brilliant, the sound is magnificent, and music is continually engaging, and John Wetton's voice is more compelling than ever.

3. Flying Colors--Flying Colors; Supergroups almost always disappoint--this one exceeded expectations. I would have never thought to combine Steve Morse and Mike Portnoy, but it turns out they compliment each other exceptionally well.

4. Ian Anderson--Thick as a Brick 2; this one had more than just Ian's age and the lack of Tull backing him going against it. It would also be impossible to do a follow up worthy of the original no matter how good you are. Plus the inclusion of the spoken word interludes would normally be a huge turn off for me. But it works, and it works well. Another almost shocking surprise.

5. Spectrum Road--Spectrum Road; Another bad on paper but brilliant in execution supergroup, this time with rockers laying down some awesome jazz fusion. For my money, Vernon Reid's very best work and the teaming with Jack Bruce and longtime jazz master John Medeski proves to be superb.

6. Brad Mehldau--Ode; positively beautiful modern jazz trio outing from one of the greatest keyboard masters of our time.

7. Bela Fleck and Marcus Roberts--Across the Imaginary Divide; this time, the eclectic jazz banjoist teams up with another of jazz' great modern piano masters to deliver a positively mind-blowing blending of styles. A genuine delight for the ears and spirit.

8. Joe Walsh--Analog Man; the classic rocker delivers what I find to be his best overall album in his long and storied career. In addition to the the title cut, the other big highlight is Lucky That Way, a more mature and much more delightful epilogue to his greatest hit from decades earlier, Life's Been Good.

9. Walter Trout--Blues for the Modern Daze; a perfectly titled album. What you read is what you get and it works perfectly.

10. Pat Metheny--Unity Band; Pat assembled an absolutely top-flight ensemble of musicians, and gave them exceptionally strong and varied material to work with, and the results do not disappoint.

10 more honorable mention:
Xandria-Neverworld's End
Brad Mehldau-Where Do You Start
Vijay Iyer-Accelerando
Lacuna Coil-Dark Adrenaline
The Cult-Choice of Weapon
Kevin Eubanks-The Messenger
Lee Rittenour-Rhythm Sessions
Lionel Loueke-Heritage
Lettuce-Fly
Mark Knopfler-Privateering

I just cannot believe all these 70s people released albums in the 2010s. It blows my mind. I had no idea.