Hello again! I hope you all enjoyed my top ten albums of the year list, and are having a wonderful New Years Eve! With the decade wrapping up, I wanted to follow up my top ten albums of the year list with a list highlighting my top ten favorite albums from the 2010s. At the beginning of the decade, I was 13, and now I’m 23, so this decade has been an extremely vital formative period in my life. So I consider this list almost like the soundtrack to this chapter. The goal of this list is to highlight as much of the music I’ve loved this decade as possible, and to represent every period of it. And with that in mind, I have set a couple of parameters for this list: First off, the list will include one album from each year of the 2010s. Second, I will not be including more than one album from any artist. With this in mind, I would like to shout out a few honorable mentions, specifically highlighting albums that would be serious contenders, were it not for these rules:
Prequelle – Ghost (2018)
Some Nights – Fun. (2012)
Paramore – Paramore (2013)
Fear Inoculum – TOOL (2019)
Feel Your Feelings Fool! – The Regrettes (2017)
It was hard to exclude these albums from the final list, as they have all been very important to me in their own ways. But now, let’s get on with the list!
10. Dictator – Scars On Broadway (2018)
Kicking things off, we have Dictator, the second studio album by Scars On Broadway, the solo project of System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian. Sadly, the 2010s came and went, and still no new System album. But hey, a bunch of songs that Daron wrote for a potential System album, released under the Scars On Broadway moniker is really the next best thing. And damn, this thing is really good. On the one hand, hearing how great these songs are makes the fact that we’re probably never getting a new System album even more sad, but on the other, I’m really glad Malakian has Scars as an outlet to release his unused System ideas, that might not otherwise be heard. And these songs really do live up to the intensity, creativity, and unapologetic topicality we’ve come to expect from Malakian’s writing, so it’s really fortunate that Scars On Broadway has given fans an opportunity to hear them. Don’t get me wrong, a part of me will always hold onto hope for new System music, but as far as consolation prizes go, Dictator is a pretty good one.
9. Light Me Up – The Pretty Reckless (2010)
This list wouldn’t be a true representation of my favorite music of the decade without paying homage to my years as an awkward, angsty teenager with a massive crush on Taylor Momsen. I was that little classic rock kid that thought nobody understood me because I listened to Zeppelin and AC/DC, and I was thrilled to discover a new hard rock band with a sound that would’ve fit in perfectly with that era (and the fact that they were fronted by a pretty girl with a killer voice didn’t hurt either). Even though The Pretty Reckless have now largely become a nostalgia act for members of my generation, I still thoroughly enjoy Light Me Up every time I listen to it. In a decade full of classic rock throwback bands, some of which are too derivative for their own good, The Pretty Reckless have always managed to draw from rock and roll’s history, while keeping Momsen’s own personality and individuality at the center of it all. Light Me Up may not make many “best of the decade” lists, but it was an incredibly important album for me, and I’m proud to shout it out here.
8. Clockwork Angels – Rush (2012)
The final album from my favorite band of all time. Let’s face it, most bands from the 1970s who hung around into 21st century haven’t exactly given us much to write home about in terms of new music. They’ll tour every couple years, play the greatest hits, and occasionally release a mediocre album that only their diehard fans will buy. Rush, on the other hand, never lost their creativity, energy, or passion for what they did. And for their final outing? A dystopian steampunk epic about the importance of thinking for oneself. Because how else would Rush wrap up their nearly perfect catalogue of work? This album is seriously way better than it had any business being. It is one of the heaviest albums Rush have ever released, and the instrumentation and atmosphere provide an epic payoff that makes Clockwork Angels the most fitting and satisfying swan song Rush could have possibly given their fans. I won’t lie to you, I cried when my favorite band announced they were packing it in. But I’m so thankful that they went out on such a high note.
7. Everything Will Be Alright in The End – Weezer (2014)
One of my favorite albums of the decade, and one of the greatest redemption albums of all time. Following one of the most notoriously massive nosedives in music history, Weezer proved that they could still make great rock music with Everything Will Be Alright in The End. When some bands decide to attempt a “return to form” album, they tend to take the easy route, and basically create a carbon copy of their most beloved album. And while this album certainly calls back to the style of The Blue Album in many ways, it also stands on its own in Weezer’s discography. With epic hooks, thick track layering, and soaring lead guitar work, Everything Will Be Alright in The End is without a doubt the biggest sounding Weezer album to date. This truly is the album that Weezer fans held out hope that they would one day hear. And now that they’ve gone back down the toilet, we could sure use another album like this. But hey, Van Weezer certainly looks promising.
6. Magma – Gojira (2016)
It’s always risky when bands shake things up, but in the case of Magma, it paid off. With their most recent release, Gojira completely shed their death metal origins, and dove headfirst into the prog tendencies that have always laid beneath the surface of their complex and highly technical sound. Magma was a somewhat divisive release within the Gojira fanbase, but as an avid prog fan, I really loved the album. I would honesty commit the high crime of calling it one of my favorite Gojira albums to date. Gojira have always been very technically intricate in their writing and instrumentation, making them a perfect candidate to explore prog, and this effort truly did not disappoint. Who knows whether or not Gojira will continue in this direction in the future, but if Magma is any indication, I am eager to hear what Gojira come out with in the 2020s.
5. Save Rock and Roll – Fall Out Boy (2013)
Ever since Mania (which is admittedly one of the worst albums of the decade) came out, Fall Out Boy’s two previous albums have been lumped in with it as “the pop era,” and critically panned. I, for one, am not going to let this slide, as I clearly remember 2013, and refuse to let pop-punk elitists (which are a thing, for some reason) pretend we didn’t all love Save Rock and Roll when it came out. And you know what? I’ll just say it. This is my favorite Fall Out Boy album. In a decade that has been marked with some pretty egregious pop-rock releases, Fall Out Boy have given us easily one of the most successful demonstrations in recent years of how to write great pop-rock. Nearly every song from this album is highly infectious and memorable, and I still come back to it today. Features from Big Sean, Courtney Love, and of course, the incomparable Elton John, add stylistic dynamism and make Save Rock and Roll a defining album for this decade in pop and rock music.
4. STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS – FEVER 333 (2019)
If you read my top 10 albums of the year list, chances are you fully expected to see this album here. I’ll keep this brief, as pretty much everything I have to say about this album is in that post, but in short, this album is definitely worth your time, and FEVER 333 are one of the most memorable breakout rock acts in recent years. Keep a close eye on this band, as their aggressive rap-rock style and passionate lyrics are bound to change the rock world for the better.
3. After Laughter – Paramore (2017)
Aside from maybe hair metal, I can’t think of a rock subgenre that went from being the dominant style of popular rock to a decade party costume as fast as pop-punk. By the time the 2010s rolled around, it quickly became clear that the once immortal titans of pop-punk would either have to evolve with the times, or fade into obscurity. And while many of these bands would have probably been better off just going with the latter option, Paramore not only successfully evolved with the times, but in my opinion, their music got even better. After Laughter is undoubtedly my favorite Paramore album to date, for a number of reasons. While their emo colleagues Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco dove headfirst into millennial pop, Paramore took their sound in an 80s new wave inspired sound, peppered with spacious and bright production, and popping, almost whimsical guitar and percussion work. In the case of After Laughter, we hear this upbeat, delightful sound contrasted against frontwoman Hayley Williams’ most personal and vulnerable songwriting to date. Throw in the most irresistibly infectious batch of melodies Paramore have ever written, and you’ve got easily one of my favorite albums from the decade, from one of my favorite bands of the 21st century.
2. Meliora – Ghost (2015)
If I’m being perfectly honest, Ghost are the main reason I elected to implement a “no repeating bands” rule for this list. As I said, I want this list to represent as much different music that I have loved this decade as possible. The thing is, if this list were purely reflective of the albums I enjoyed and came back to the most from the decade, all four of Ghost’s studio albums would be contenders. But alas, I must pick only one. And I truly feel that Meliora is the album that best represents everything that people love about this band, and why they have become an undeniable staple for rock in the 2010s. The impeccably executed conceptual writing and mesmerizing theatrics that we’ve come to expect from Ghost are taken to the next level on Meliora, and complimented by the most epic and impressive instrumentation we’ve heard from them to date. Clean production, nu-metal bass tones, and even a dabble in balladry were a little bit more than some of the band’s purist fans could handle at the time of the album’s release, but as the band branched out and displayed their versatility, they saw notable growth in their fanbase. Ghost is without a doubt my favorite band to come out of this decade, and if you are even remotely curious about them, I highly recommend giving Meliora a spin.
1. Wasting Light – Foo Fighters (2011)
I had to make a lot of tough choices, while compiling this list. This, however, was not one of them. My number one favorite album of the 2010s is without a doubt the Foo Fighters’ 2011 masterpiece, Wasting Light. The Foo Fighters’ post-90s output has a reputation for being carried almost entirely by hit singles, rather than top-to-bottom enjoyable full albums. And while these criticisms aren’t exactly wrong, somehow, right in the middle of this string of critically lukewarm albums, the Foos managed to crank out what is in my opinion the best album of their career. Seriously, every song on this album is on par with the band’s greatest and most beloved hits. It’s very rare for a band to put out an album without even one lackluster song, but with Wasting Light, the Foo Fighters have done just that. From fist-pumping ragers such as “Bridge Burning” and “White Limo,” to moodier, more somber tracks such as “Miss the Misery” and “I Should Have Known,” to reflective, emotional cuts such as “These Days” and “Walk,” the quality and diversity of Dave Grohl’s songwriting are at their peak on Wasting Light. This is without a doubt my favorite album of the decade, and one of my favorite albums of all time.
Phil Klinker Music Reviews 