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?