End of the year. Closing out the decade. Done and done and so much to talk about. The politics, the films, the technology, the change, the golden age of television, and so on.
For me, to break it down into how I felt about it all, here’s my list of 12 albums that defined the last 10 years:
Kendrick Lamar, DAMN (2017)
The War On Drugs, A Deeper Understanding (2017)
Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (2010)
Beyoncé, Lemonade (2016)
Lana Del Rey, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019)
Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell (2015)
LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening (2010)
Run the Jewels, RTJ3 (2017)
SZA, Ctrl (2015)
Grimes, Art Angels (2015)
Beck, Colors (2017)
Bruce Springsteen, Western Stars (2019)
The best of the best, no more, no less. These albums made the time spent so much more layered, rich, energetic, contemplative, and enjoyable. Whenever something felt off, one of these albums went on and everything started to make a little bit of sense. Whenever an extra boost was needed, these albums delivered. And whenever feelings of loneliness crept in, these albums assured us that we are all in this together.
Into the next decade, here we go.
