Best Albums of the 2010s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 2010s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 2 hours ago).

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2010s decade summaryThe best artists of the 2010s were Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Tame Impala, Arcade Fire, Beach House, Frank Ocean, Sufjan Stevens, The National, Radiohead and Nick Cave.

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16.

Helplessness Blues

Fleet Foxes

""I was raised up believing I was somehow unique / Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see / And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be / A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me." So begins this album's fantastic title track,..." [+] Reply

buzzdainer | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

941 charts

Rank Score:

8,380

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

17.

"This is an interesting album. It is considerably different in tone than For Emma, Forever Ago. I actually had never heard of Bon Iver prior to seeing them featured on a cover of the Rolling Stone. I think I had heard of Justin Vernon though prior and the article had mentioned him working with Kan...""This is an interesting album. It is considerably different in tone than For Emma, Forever Ago. I actually had never heard of Bon Iver prior to seeing them featured on a cover of the Rolling Stone. I think I had heard of Justin Vernon though prior and the article had mentioned him working with Kanye, so that made me interested after seeing that. Gave a listen and Perth to me was an outstanding opener. I also got a chance to see them in concert and being five feet away from the speaker on this song was an awesome experience and really made me appreciate it even more haha. Minnesota, WI is another good song. I like the funky opening. A big problem though I have with the album is 1) A lot of it is hard to understand lyrically and I think that's the point. It is supposed to move you more through music. The lyrics are just a passenger on this album in the vehicle the music. And 2) Some of the lyrics like wtf do they mean. You need a theasaurus for some of it. In Minnesota, WI one of the lines is like Armour let it through borne the arboretic truth you kept posing...what's that mean? lol But some songs are beautiful with their words particularly Perth and Holocene. Holocene is one of the best songs I've ever heard. Might be a weird comparison but this to me is kind of like a indie folk version of Chrstopher Cross's song Sailing. Both are very soothing songs and hypnotic in their sound and make you appreciate living. The middle of the album is not fascinating and slows down a lot. Songs start to sound the same. Towers is good. I think it's about a relationship Justin had in college. Hinnom, TX, Wash. and Michicant probably the weakeest songs on the album. Calgary is by far Bon Iver's most underrated song and in looking at their catalog that could be the one that's most underappreciated. It's a good song especially when it picks up in the end. Lisbon, OH is a nice instrumenatal piece. It's a quiet song like you're walking in a downtown of some small town late at night. Vernon does a good job with the instrumental tracks. Team from For Emma is phenomonal and one of the best instrumental tracks I've heard. Lastly, the album closes with Beth/Rest, which is very hit or miss to listeners. I love it. It's got a very late 80's sound to it and I tend to like that kind of music. It reminds me of Bruce Hornsby and the song in theme actually reminds me a lot of his closing song the Red Plains on the Way it is. Lyrically, again it's a very tough song to decipher, but I think the ultimate message is that the memories you have with people will always be there, even if you're no longer in contact with the person. It's not for everyone, but I'm a fan of this album. It's a very soothing album and Vernon does a good job depicting place and time in his songs. This is the album that made me a fan of Vernon's. Bon Iver's future kind of looks up in the air now, but I'm looking forward to the rest of Vernon's career. " [+] Reply

- Ds0589 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

967 charts

Rank Score:

8,319

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

33.

"Best album I've heard so far this year, and a welcome return to greatness for P.J. Amazing." Reply

Norman Bates | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

766 charts

Rank Score:

5,843

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

278

Average Rating:

80 (963 votes)

Comments:

35.

The Smile Sessions

The Beach Boys

"Finally, after more than forty years, the Beach Boys' unfinished album "Smile" has been released in its entirety - to the extent possible. "Smile" was in 1966 Brian Wilson's most ambitious project, and he wanted to create music that was as innovative as that of the Beatles - a group which he both...""Finally, after more than forty years, the Beach Boys' unfinished album "Smile" has been released in its entirety - to the extent possible. "Smile" was in 1966 Brian Wilson's most ambitious project, and he wanted to create music that was as innovative as that of the Beatles - a group which he both admired and wished to match. Wilson dropped tour-life to concentrate on writing and recording music, while the other Beach Boys occasionally came in the studio and recorded vocals on the new songs. The amazing single "Good Vibrations" was an indication of directions Wilson's musical ideas took. The single became a huge hit and there were naturally great expectations for the album that would follow. Unfortunately, Wilson broke down under the stress of the high expectations and his own ambtions before the album was completed. In fact, a cover drawn with a charming beautiful colorful front and a back side with a preliminary tracklist. Some of the songs were practically finished, while others were under development when the project was dropped. However several of the Smile songs appeared on the next Beach Boys albums where the overall musical ambitions were lowered and the other Beach Boys began to take more part in the songwriting. The best of these are now well known classics, especially "Heroes and Villains," "Surf's Up," "Wind Chimes" and "Vegetables." In early 2000 years Brian Wilson re-recorded the Smile songs and also went on tour with them. Although these were fine and impressive performances, they also meant that the wishes the the original versions, with different beautiful Beach Boys voices, became even stronger. This 2 CD version contains the versions of the many Smile recordings which Brian Wilson believes are the best. CD 1 contains the finished versions of the songs, or in some cases as finished as possible. CD 2 gives a little insight into the work in the studio, and numerous recordings and overdubs behind these contemporary loose shots. Since there never was any final decision on tracklisting, anyone can try to put an album that may match or perhaps overpass the group's previous album "Pet Sounds" which is considered as the group's masterpiece. I have put such an album together which after the contemporary standards has14 songs and which lasts about 40 minutes. In fact, I think this "album" in respects in on the level of "Pet Sounds", which after all also does contain songs of lesser significance Side one of this imaginary vinyl version looks like this: Side one 1. You're Welcome / 2. Good Vibrations / 3. Surf's Up / 4. Wonderful / 5. Cabin Essence / 6. Child Is Father Of The Mon 7. Look (Song For Children) - Side two 1. Our Prayer / 2.Heroes And Villains / 3 Holidays / 4. Wind Chimes / 5. Vega-Tables / 6. Gee / 7. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock). I've played this compilation many times and am very satisfied with it, and I believe it would have received deserved recognition in its time, even if individual numbers may seem a little incomplete. In any rate, this bunch of beautiful songs constitute an important part in music history. " [+] Reply

- Rovers | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +15 votes (15 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

469 charts

Rank Score:

5,735

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

285

Average Rating:

85 (843 votes)

Comments:

44.

The King Of Limbs

Radiohead

"I've read some reviews describing this album as lacking in warmth, or too distant from their roots as a 5-piece rock outfit, or too much of a Thom Yorke project. Yet, I truly find KoL to be an incredibly intimate album that rewards full immersion with headphones. It is also a real tribute to the ..." [+] Reply

Strangel | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

885 charts

Rank Score:

4,538

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

54.

"None of the songs are bad at all. As a matter of fact, on its own merit this is a very very good album. The problem is that I just heard this album last year and back in 2008 also. You could put all the tracks from El Camino, Brothers, and Attack & Release in one playlist, hit random, and have th..." [+] Reply

ShaneSpear | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (4 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

637 charts

Rank Score:

4,113

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

403

Average Rating:

78 (1,090 votes)

Comments:

60.

Kaputt

Destroyer

"The melodies and the lyrics are good, but the jazzy instrumentation is what makes this album for me. Exquisitely tasteful." Reply

9999 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (7 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

502 charts

Rank Score:

3,760

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

450

Average Rating:

79 (601 votes)

Comments:

71.

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

M83

"OK so why do I feel this is a "music equivalent of Tree of Life". Both works can be described with the word "epic", they're lengthy, full of interesting ideas, exhilarating, techincally very impressive, and even the theme is somewhat similiar with constant nostalgic "looking back", to the time of..." [+] Reply

- 19loveless91 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

513 charts

Rank Score:

3,375

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

514

Average Rating:

77 (676 votes)

Comments:

77.

Adele

"Best Adele album,but still just good. She has a pretty voice and she can definitely sing,but not only does the album get extremely tedious after only a few tracks in,it's not really something interesting in the first place. There are some great songs on here,but everything else is lacking." Reply

- Wingman | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (8 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

517 charts

Rank Score:

3,114

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

550

Average Rating:

72 (939 votes)

Comments:

92.

Wasting Light

Foo Fighters

"Can't decide if I prefer this or The Colour And The Shape. The standout songs on The Colour And The Shape are better than those on Wasting Light, but Wasting Light is more consistent." Reply

- blackflag29 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2011

Appears in:

433 charts

Rank Score:

2,610

Rank in 2011:

Rank in 2010s:

Overall Rank:

656

Average Rating:

76 (787 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 122. Page 1 of 13

Best Albums of the 2010s composition

Year	Albums	%

2010	90	9%
2011	122	12%
2012	106	11%
2013	114	11%
2014	93	9%
2015	106	11%
2016	85	9%
2017	115	12%
2018	91	9%
2019	80	8%

Artist	Albums	%

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	8	1%
Drake	6	1%
Lana Del Rey	6	1%
Death Grips	6	1%
Taylor Swift	5	0%
Julia Holter	5	0%
Brockhampton	5	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	561	56%
	215	21%
	69	7%
	33	3%
	25	2%
	20	2%
	10	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	991	99%
Yes	11	1%

Live?	Albums	%
No	996	99%
Yes	6	1%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	997	100%
Yes	5	0%

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