Listed below are the best albums of the 2010s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 1 hour ago).
"If you have listened to this album once or twice.... you need to listen to it maybe 5 more times in order to get it! It will grow on you I promise!! This is probably the Saddest album I've heard in my life. I have. to say it's my Top 3 albums of all time.... Like I said in the review on "The Rave...""If you have listened to this album once or twice.... you need to listen to it maybe 5 more times in order to get it! It will grow on you I promise!! This is probably the Saddest album I've heard in my life. I have. to say it's my Top 3 albums of all time....
Like I said in the review on "The Raven", I've only started listening to SW's music 4 months ago. This is the second SW solo album I bought after "The Raven". I can tell you my first impression on the album wasn't as great as his other works like "The Raven" and "Fear of a blank planet", I found the first few tracks are too "Poppy" for my likings, the 2nd half of the album was more enjoyable than the first half. However, after giving it a few more listen, this album has become my favourite prog-rock concept album of ALL TIME, high above Dark Side of the Moon, and I'll tell you why.
To be able to fully appreciate this album, you need to know the concept behind and read the fictional story that SW wrote for the album booklet. I'm sure many of us who bought the album know it's inspired by the real-life story of Joyce Carol Vincent whose body was found in her apartment in London after she's been dead for nearly 3 years. Next to her body were wrapped presents to her family that never got delivered. People wondered how come no one missed her in 3yrs? This album is about urban alienation, and the state-of-mind of a deeply depressed woman who chose to cut herself off from her family, friends and the society eventually.
This album actually has a lot more heart & depth compared to "The Raven". Even though The "Raven" successfully emulated the 70's prog rock sound with tight drumming from Marco, Scorching guitar solo from Guthrie Govan, to me it's more of a Tribute Album to King Crimson/Genesis/Jethro Tull. It's pleasant/euphoric to listen to, but you wouldn't think much about it after.
Versus Hand Cannot Erase, I feel my stomach churned every time I listened to it. Adam Holzman's keyboard work is definitely the highlight of this album. I could hear the emotion pouring out of every key he pressed. The flow of the album is my favourite, each track is carefully placed in order, it's like reading the diaries of the main character and you could feel her emotional state each step of the way. It is meant to be listened from the beginning to the end to get the full picture.
Track List and my own interpretation:
1. First Regret - It starts off with Adam Holzman's gloomy keyboard sound and SW's brooding soundscape. It's calling for your attention.
2. 3 Year Older - It's your typical pop rock song, it gives you the first glimpse of the main character's state-of-mind. She's starting to relate to someone who she once knew before... someone who disappeared from her life and she didn't understand why... but now she does..."I can feel you more than you really know.... I can love you more than I'll ever show"
3. Hand Cannot Erase - This is a stellar pop track! It showcases SW's ability to create different type of music. It expresses the desire of the main character that she just wanted to be left alone. It's something we can all relate to...."Writing lying emails to our friends back home...feeling guilty if we sometimes wanna be alone" "It's not you, forgive me if I find I need more space..." I'm sure we all feel that way sometimes.... some days we just want to be left alone
4. Perfect Life - Pure Electronica piece, one of my favourite tracks. It's the monologue of the main character talking about the foster sister that she once had. She's 3 years older and she disappeared from the main character's life. Now we know the track "3 Year Older" is about that long lost friend
5. Routine - This is one of the saddest songs I've heard in my life. It has nothing to do with the story of this album. It's more like a side story about a woman's grief after the lost her children. She had to maintain her daily routine in order to keep sane. The highlight was Guthrie Govan's guitar solo and Ninet's heart-wrenching vocal. I've listened to this song many times, and I cried every time when I heard the line "Don't ever let go.... try to let go....", it's a struggle everyday.... you know you need to move on, but when is it OK to move on?
6. Home Invasion - It's one of the heaviest tracks on this album, it has some Metal riffs. This song talks about the social detachment people have due to Internet and Social Media. Technology brings us closer and further at the same time. We get on line, we know everything that's happening around the world at the comfort of our own home. People don't even interact with each other any more because Texting/Tweeting/Facebooking is easier...everyone has a different visage on the internet, you can be anything, anyone you want...
7. Regret #9 - This one is an instrumental track showcasing each members' musicianship. The opening sounds very RUSH. If you didn't know, you would think you are listening to Rush. This is one of the best and heavier tracks of the album.
8. Transience - Another favourite track of mine. This is the most melodic track in the album. I could definitely hear the influence of Pink Floyd especially the harmonies. It's very folksy & melodic, you just want to sing along. It's simply beautiful.
9. Ancestral - This is probably the best track in the album. It's a 13-min long journey packed with tons of goodies including SW's lush and brooding guitar sound and haunting vocal; Adam's magical keyboard/organ works and Guthrie's sky-scorching guitar solo. Definitely cannot be missed.
10. Happy Returns - This is definitely THE saddest song I've ever heard in my life. I thought there's no song that can top the sadness of 'Routine", but this song did it. I have to say the first 20 times when I heard this song, I just find it very sad, but it never got me to the point that I had to weep uncontrollably like 'Routine". I only truly experienced how sad this song actually is when I saw it performed live at the SW's concert. The song is a letter she wrote to her brother after she cut herself off from her family for years. She tried putting up a strong front so people would think she's ok, but she's actually very broken. It almost seemed like it's her way of crying for help, she's in the verge of breaking down. Her train-of-thoughts were very scattered... one moment she expressed her helplessness "I feel like I'm falling once again... but there's no one left to catch me..." Another moment she's talking about her financial trouble and suddenly asked if her nieces & nephews remember her... "I've got trouble with the bills... do the kids remember me?... I got gifts for them and for you... and sorrow.... but I'm feeling kinda drowsy now... so I'll finish this tomorrow..." Even though the song never implied the fate of the character, but we all know those gifts never got delivered and she's never waking up again. (Joyce Carol Vincent died in her apartment with undelivered wrapped presents around her.) I lose it every time when I thought about how she died alone and no one missed her for years.......
11. Accident Here One - It's all Adam Holzman's emotional keyboard work!! I'm a true fan of him now after seeing him performed this album live. I saw big guys weeping at the concert when Adam concluded the show with this gloomy piece of art.
I have to say there's no other albums I've listened to in my life made me feel that touched and emotional. This is an essential collection for music fans across all genres... not just Pop Rock and Prog Rock fans... but music fans with good ears in general. It is sad... but like Steven Wilson said "I find sad music uplifting!". This album is truly a masterpiece!
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"Visions is a contagion. An album I "should" have grown tired of after the hundredth listen. How an album with such rudimentary arpeggiated sounds and hard to discern vocals can devour my brain like the myth of the carnivorous earwhig is beyond me. Maybe I should just enjoy the album and not overt...""Visions is a contagion. An album I "should" have grown tired of after the hundredth listen. How an album with such rudimentary arpeggiated sounds and hard to discern vocals can devour my brain like the myth of the carnivorous earwhig is beyond me. Maybe I should just enjoy the album and not overthink it, but maybe part of my enjoyment comes from the enigma itself. Regardless, "Visions" remains on repeat years later."[+]Reply
"Okay, gave it a couple more listens. This is as sleek and deceptive a record as one could want from The National. It's like the band listened to FKA twigs's LP1 over and over, and thought, "What if we did our version of this?" It's hard to tell if anything will stand with the rest of The National...""Okay, gave it a couple more listens.
This is as sleek and deceptive a record as one could want from The National. It's like the band listened to FKA twigs's LP1 over and over, and thought, "What if we did our version of this?" It's hard to tell if anything will stand with the rest of The National's highlights, or even where this will fit into their air-tight discography--because, really you could make a case for any of their albums Alligator forward as being their strongest work. I'll tell you, though--I don't mind a glitchy version of The National. Not one bit. The songwriting is still there. The emotional punch still hits hard. The consistency is as in tact as ever. Maybe it's lacking in dynamic range, but all of these songs are terrific in one way or another.
God, what a damn fine year for music."[+]Reply
"Update: a man with a top hat and a cane has showed up in my room. He is offering me money, fame, and all the women in the world. All I have to give him in return is my soul. It's a shame this album already took it."Reply
"An eccentric, melodic, ethereal, and overall gorgeous pop record. Whereas other dreampop bands like Beach House have achieved an immersive sound through serene synthesized production and sparkling guitars, this album finds its heavenly sound through more organic instrumentation. A lot of the text...""An eccentric, melodic, ethereal, and overall gorgeous pop record.
Whereas other dreampop bands like Beach House have achieved an immersive sound through serene synthesized production and sparkling guitars, this album finds its heavenly sound through more organic instrumentation. A lot of the textures on this record are created by layered vocals, harpsichord, and double bass.
While it might not be as tight of a soundscape as Loud City Song (a highly thematic record) it makes up for this in its diversity from track-to-track. Even when Julia is trading bubbly pop songs like "Feel You" with dense mystical soundscapes like "Night Song", the album is consistently beautiful and the variation gives the album really great pacing.
I cannot find a single noticeable flaw with this record; every single song feels vital to the overall whole and each tidbit is an enjoyable listen (although "How Long?" and "Vasquez" could be a bit of a challenge when heard outside the context of the record).
10/10.
Favorites: Betsy on the Roof, Feel You, Night Song, Have You In My Wilderness, Lucette Stranded on the Island "[+]Reply
"Most sonically interesting album I've heard in a while. Jazz influence mixed with an experimental dance vibe (IDM if you will). Thom Yorke feature is the cherry on top for me. It has its flaws, main one being that it builds and builds to a climax which sometimes only tends to last less than a min...""Most sonically interesting album I've heard in a while. Jazz influence mixed with an experimental dance vibe (IDM if you will). Thom Yorke feature is the cherry on top for me. It has its flaws, main one being that it builds and builds to a climax which sometimes only tends to last less than a minute before moving onto the next build-up which at times left me wanting more and feeling shorthanded. But this can be forgiven due to the captivation I felt when listening and the amount of unique ideas done in such a refined way."[+]Reply
"Just slowly falling out of love with Beach House... it's a pretty album (like everything they've done), but it feels like slowly bungee-cording over a very wide net rather than a true plunge into the beautiful abyss. They're talented composers but they need to develop some edge, it's all starting...""Just slowly falling out of love with Beach House... it's a pretty album (like everything they've done), but it feels like slowly bungee-cording over a very wide net rather than a true plunge into the beautiful abyss. They're talented composers but they need to develop some edge, it's all starting to get a bit too trite. "[+]Reply
"The latest album from my favorite band is yet another high mark in a career full of them. How many artists can say their 15th album was this great? Not many. Favorite tracks: "Jubilee Street", "Higgs Boson Blues", "Push the Sky Away", "We No Who U R""Reply
"Lana's strongest record. Although Born to Die and Lust For Life are solid albums, her distinct 'noir-Americana' persona that others have mentioned gets muddled by the heavyhanded poppy electronic rhythm sections on those two. This one (despite the heavy use of reverb) sounds far more organic than...""Lana's strongest record. Although Born to Die and Lust For Life are solid albums, her distinct 'noir-Americana' persona that others have mentioned gets muddled by the heavyhanded poppy electronic rhythm sections on those two. This one (despite the heavy use of reverb) sounds far more organic than the others.
Here, I think we get the pure melancholic extract of her sound. It's an album with an old soul, but also veers on the edge of being straight-up dream pop. While the tracklisting loses a bit of steam in the second half, it pulls itself together at the end with a strong finish. The end result is a strong album that almost sounds timeless.
Perhaps it is simply my addiction to this sound, but I love this record. Something about the way her voice effortlessly shifts timbres from line-to-line and shimmers alongside those guitars...Like the chorus to 'Shades of Cool'...Damn. Perhaps it is not the most -adventurous-, but man do I find this album irresistible.
Highlights: Shades of Cool, Brooklyn Baby, Black Beauty, Cruel World
Least Favorite: Money Power Glory"[+]Reply
"I've been listening to this non-stop since it leaked 2 days ago and I think I made up my mind. Some are saying this is their best, but I honestly don't think it tops Sound of Silver; Sound of Silver was their peak and I don't think they'll make something better than that. However, I think it mana...""I've been listening to this non-stop since it leaked 2 days ago and I think I made up my mind. Some are saying this is their best, but I honestly don't think it tops Sound of Silver; Sound of Silver was their peak and I don't think they'll make something better than that. However, I think it manages to be better than their other 2 records.
This statement will become the most common one when talking about American Dream, but it's their darkest album to date, and you can feel throughout the record an evolution to their sound. Of course there are still over-the-top dance songs like "Tonite", "Call the Police" and the post-punk-ish "Other Voices", "Change Yr Mind" and "Emotional Haircut", but even then (especially the latter), they sound "heavier" in some way than their first 3 albums.
The bookend tracks as well as the title track are beautiful. They provide a very emotional side of LCD that I think hadn't been fully explored before (except for "New York I Love You"). And even "How Do You Sleep?" which is the best song in American Dream and provides one of the best buildups ever in their discography, sounds much darker than similar songs in previous records. "I Used To" on the other hand sounds a lot like a Joy Division / goth era The Cure song and I fucking love it.
I really really enjoyed this. Definitely one of the best albums of 2017. I had high expectations and even then, it managed to be even better than I ever expected. 3/4 of my favorite tracks weren't released as singles which was a good thing considering this year many bands decided to nuke us with singles. As a whole, American Dream simply blows my mind.
Best songs: "oh baby", "how do you sleep?", "american dream", "black screen""[+]Reply
HoldenM | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Cargusbralem | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +16 votes (16 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Sometype | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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badseed | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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lleon79 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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