Wednesday, January 01, 2020

Best Albums(non-ambient) of the Decade


The lists just keep coming. I know this blog focuses on mixes of ambient & electronic music but we all listen to other stuff too, right?

It was around 2008 - 2010 that I started listening to more and more non-ambient music. I have listened to a lot of music, mostly indie/alternative, for my whole life. But during the 90s & 00s I listened to so much ambient, new age, electronic, instrumental music that I let the other stuff slide. It wasn't until my daughter was in high school and she introduced me to the Avett Bros that I started to balance out my listening habits.

Now I listen to an absolute shit ton of "normal" music. I create a playlist of albums each year, like my 2019 Albums playlist with 5008 songs in it. I also make a playlist of songs of the year and a playlist of the best albums of the year, which made it easier to create these decade lists.

So here it is, my top 50 albums of the decade, in chronological order:

  1. Vampire Weekend - Contra (2010)
  2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver (2011)
  3. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (2011)
  4. Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow (2011)
  5. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing (2011)
  6. Yacht - Shangri-La (2011)
  7. Beirut - The Rip Tide (2011)
  8. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead (2011)
  9. Amateur Love - It's All Aquatic (2012)
  10. Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal (2012)
  11. Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself & Hands of Glory (2012)
  12. Best Coast - The Only Place (2012)
  13. Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams (2012)
  14. Phosphorescent - Muchacho (2013)
  15. Jon Hopkins - Immunity (2013)
  16. Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park (2013)
  17. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City (2013)
  18. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt (2013)
  19. The National - Trouble Will Find Me (2013)
  20. Bill Callahan - Have Fun With God (2014)
  21. Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (2014)
  22. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream (2014)
  23. Phox - Phox (2014)
  24. Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso (2014)
  25. Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal - Songs Of Time Lost (2014)
  26. The Decemberists - What A Terrible World... (2015)
  27. Public Service Broadcasting - The Race for Space (2015)
  28. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think... (2015)
  29. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell (2015)
  30. Beyonce - Lemonade (2016)
  31. David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)
  32. Deep Sea Diver - Secrets (2016)
  33. Andrew Bird - Are You Serious? (2016)
  34. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
  35. The Lumineers - Cleopatra (2016)
  36. Kiasmos - Blurred (2017)
  37. The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding (2017)
  38. Roger Waters - Is This The Life We Really Want? (2017)
  39. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy (2017)
  40. Diet Cig - Swear I’m Good At This (2017)
  41. Cigarettes After Sex - Cigarettes After Sex (2017)
  42. Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo (2018)
  43. Frank Turner - Be More Kind (2018)
  44. Snail Mail - Lush (2018)
  45. Damien Jurado - The Horizon Just Laughed (2018)
  46. Camp Cope - How to Socialise & Make Friends (2018)
  47. Low - Double Negative (2018)
  48. Wye Oak - The Louder I Call (2018)
  49. Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel (2019)
  50. Strand of Oaks - Eraserland (2019)


Here's the corresponding Spotify playlist:



Here's my list of the songs of the decade, in alphabetical order:


  1. Adele - Someone Like You
  2. alt-J - Tessellate
  3. Alvvays - Archie, Marry Me
  4. Amen Dunes - Blue Rose
  5. Andrew Bird - Bloodless
  6. Andrew Bird - Pulaski at Night
  7. Andrew Bird - Give It Away
  8. Angelique Kidjo - The Great Curve
  9. Bedouin - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
  10. Beirut - Santa Fe
  11. Best Coast - California Nights
  12. Best Coast - The Only Place
  13. Beyonce - Freedom
  14. Beyonce - All Night
  15. Bon Iver - Perth
  16. Bon Iver - Holocene
  17. Bonobo - Cirrus
  18. Brandy Carlile - The Joke
  19. Bruce Springsteen - Hello Sunshine
  20. Camp Cope - How to Socialize & Make Friends
  21. Chris Staples - Dark Side of the Moon
  22. Cigarettes After Sex - K.
  23. Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless
  24. Colin Stetson - Spindrift
  25. Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian at Best
  26. Damien Jurado - Over Rainbows and Rainier
  27. David Bowie - Blackstar
  28. David Bowie - Lazarus
  29. David Bowie - Sue(Or in a Season of Crime)(jazz version)
  30. Dawes - All Your Favorite Bands
  31. Declan McKenna - Brazil
  32. Diet Cig - Harvard
  33. Elephant Revival - Season Song
  34. Elephant Revival - Spinning
  35. Father John Misty - When the God of Love Returns
  36. Fleet Foxes - Blue Spotted Tail
  37. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
  38. FONTAINES D.C. - Big
  39. Frank Bretschneider - Sputnik
  40. Frank Turner - 1933
  41. Frank Turner - Be More Kind
  42. Frank Turner - Sand in the Gears
  43. Gregory Alan Isakov - Suitcase Full of Sparks
  44. Grouplove - Tongue Tied
  45. Hardwell - Spaceman
  46. Icona Pop, Charli XCX - I Love It
  47. Janelle Monae - Screwed
  48. Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
  49. Judah & the Lion - Quarter-Life Crisis
  50. Just A Human - Breathe
  51. Kacey Musgraves - Merry Go 'Round
  52. Kate Bush - Snowflake
  53. Kevin Morby - City Music
  54. Kiasmos - Zebra
  55. Kishi Bashi - Bright Whites
  56. Lana Del Rey - Love
  57. Lana Del Rey - Videogames
  58. Leonard Cohen - Going Home
  59. Leon Bridges - Coming Home
  60. Lissie - Love Blows
  61. Lo Moon - Loveless
  62. Lucy Dacus - I don't wanna be funny anymore
  63. Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math
  64. Michael Kiwanuka - Black Man in a White World
  65. Moderat - Running
  66. Moon Tapes - Desire
  67. Muncie Girls - Isn't Life Funny
  68. My Morning Jacket - Wonderful
  69. Neil Young - Walk Like A Giant
  70. Nonkeen - Animal Farm
  71. Oddisee - That's Love
  72. Of Monsters and Men - Dirty Paws
  73. Olafur Arnalds - Particles
  74. Paul Simon - Getting Ready for Christmas Day
  75. Phantogram - Black Out Days
  76. Phoebe Bridgers - Motion Sickness
  77. Phosphorescent - Song For Zula
  78. Phox - Slow Motion
  79. Piers Faccini & Vincent Segal - The Closing of Our Eyes
  80. Porches - Be Apart
  81. Public Service Broadcasting - Go!
  82. Radiohead - Burn the Witch
  83. Radiohead - Daydreaming
  84. Remember Sports - Saturday
  85. Rival Consoles - Unfolding
  86. Roger Waters - The Last Refugee
  87. Ryan Gosling - City of Stars
  88. Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield - Fond Farewell
  89. Sex Bob-Omb - We Are Sex Bob-Omb
  90. Sjowgren - Seventeen
  91. SOAK - Sea Creatures
  92. Snail Mail - Pristine
  93. St. Vincent - New York
  94. Strand of Oaks - Forever Chords
  95. Strand of Oaks - JM
  96. Sufjan Stevens - Fourth of July
  97. Sufjan Stevens - Blue Bucket of Gold
  98. Sun Kil Moon - Sunshine in Chicago
  99. Sylvan Esso - Kick Jump twist
  100. Sylvan Esso - Play It Right
  101. Sylvan Esso - PARAD(w/m)E
  102. Tame Impala - Let It Happen
  103. The Antlers - Parade
  104. The Apache Relay - Happiest Day of Your Life
  105. The Blow - Get Up
  106. The Chemical Brothers - Wide Open
  107. The Cranberries - In The End
  108. The Decemberists - Ben Franklin's Song
  109. The Decemberists - Once In My Life
  110. The Decemberists - Rise To Me
  111. The Goon Sax - Make Time 4 Love
  112. The Head & The Heart - Down In The Valley
  113. The Living Statues - All My Girls
  114. The Lumineers - Gun Song
  115. The National - I Need My Girl
  116. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Tornado '87
  117. The Rural Alberta Advantage -Barnes Yard
  118. The War On Drugs - Thinking of a Place
  119. The War On Drugs - Under The Pressure
  120. The xx - Angels
  121. Underworld - Always Loved A Film
  122. Vampire Weekend - Cousins
  123. Vampire Weekend - Holiday
  124. Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers
  125. Versio Curs - Fourth of July
  126. Waxahatchee - Summer Of Love
  127. Wilco - One Sunday Morning
  128. Wye Oak - The louder I call, the faster it runs
  129. YACHT - Dystopia

Here is the Spotify playlist for the songs of the decade:



What are some of your favorite non-ambient albums of the decade?


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