Disclaimers: Rankings 50-11 are in no particular order, but I did try and put them in a super rough order of where I thought they fit, but I didn't put much thought into it. This list is also objective and not up for debate.
50. Chinese Fountain - The Growlers (2014)
A quintessential album for the genre of beach goth that helped define what indie music is today. A very nice blend of what is almost country with surfer rock.
49. Veteran – JPEGMAFIA (2018)
An incredibly abrasive project that sounds like a fever dream, using beats produced from grotesque oral sounds, Veteran is an incredible experimental rap project with deep undertones.
48. The Phosphorescent Blues – The Punch Brothers (2015)
The best damn mandolin player in the world accompanied by some of the best string players in the world made a groundbreaking bluegrass album that is more than just lounging country music but an ambient experience using all of their instruments to the fullest extent.
47. You Won’t Get What You Want – Daughters (2018)
If you want to audibly experience a panic attack, this album will do it. Absolutely glooming and abrasive guitars with jaw jarring drums drowning out vocals with a deep message.
46. Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1 – Calvin Harris (2017)
An astounding compilation of the day's biggest rappers on amazingly produced funk beats that is easy to listen to cover to cover. This album definitely helped bring in the wave of funk in pop music today.
45. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late – Drake (2015)
The last good Drake project, every song is replayable.
44. Floral Shoppe – Macintosh Plus (2011)
Vaporwave would not be nearly as prominent as it is today without this outlawed project. Samples of corporate music that crash feelings of nostalgia and psychedelics over you.
43. Doris – Earl Sweatshirt (2013)
Earl has one of the best flows and lyricism in rap music today and he showcases it excellently on his debut full-length album with thorough production that allowed him to be one of the few members of OFWGKTA to make it as a solo artist.
42. Faces – Mac Miller (2014)
An absolute nose-dive into what it is like to be depressed dealing with addiction. Mac delivers very dark tracks, allowing for a few breaths of fresh air through less somber songs, with top-notch lyricism, sampling, and very raw production.
41. Summertime ’06 – Vince Staples (2015)
It's just a really good rap album.
40. Flume – Flume (2012)
Flume's debut album was a game-changer for the genre of EDM, with his complete remixes of classic rap songs, borrowing only vocals from legends like Ghostface Killa and Freddie Gibbs. This album birthed the blend of EDM and hip-hop.
39. Corpus I – Show Me The Body (2017)
One of the boldest projects of the decade, a New York noise rock band creating a very abrasive project that is heavily featured from people like Denzel Curry and Moor Mother that surprisingly works incredibly well.
38. Random Access Memories – Daft Punk (2013)
Another huge influence on the comeback of funk music today from a pair of the greatest producers to ever live.
37. Oxymoron – Schoolboy Q (2014)
Clear and concise and full of bangers.
36. Drive OST – Cliff Martines (2014)
With the original scores being beautiful ominous synth beats and the supplemental borrowed tracks being amazing synth-rock/pop tracks, Drive has one of the best soundtracks of the decade.
35. A Moon Shaped Pool – Radiohead (2016)
It's Radiohead, orchestral rock with great lyrics and vocals.
34. Dedicated – Carly Rae Jepsen (2019)
Carly proved on this album that you can still make good and original pop music without using the same 4 producers everyone else uses. Lots of bangers and tones of love here.
33. The Life of Pablo – Kanye West (2016)
A very thorough project with one of the best productions on any rap album. Flush with beautiful tracks, bangers, and comedy.
32. Nothing Great About Britain – SlowThai (2019)
My favorite rap project of this year, the debut full-length album from the British rapper brings grime to the front stage with contempt for the United Kingdom but love and respect for the people living in it. Ty brings revolutionizing production and more references to the UK than you can count.
31. 2 – Mac Demarco (2012)
This album single-handedly defined what indie music was in this past decade, twang and minimalism with minuscule themes laid the blueprint for mainstream indie for years to come.
30. Currents – Tame Impala (2015)
Typically when an already successful band changes their sound it is for the worst, but Tame Impala's switch from psych-rock to synth sounds works out beautifully.
29. Apricot Princess – Rex Orange County (2017)
A very childish and innocent love album from a guy obsessed. self-produced with great features. The only thing wrong with Rex is that all of his albums sound the same.
28. Culture – Migos (2017)
Southern clout rap wouldn't be the same today if it weren't for the Migos and the catalog of bangers this project. Migos walked so Carti, Uzi and every other Soundcloud rapper could run.
27. Bandana – Madlib/Freddie Gibbs (2019)
One of the best rap producers teaming up again with an astounding lyricist, it's just really good.
26. Swimming – Mac Miller (2018)
A top easy listening album of the decade with amazing instrumentals coming with support from Thundercat. Very meaningful lyrics about maturity, coming a very long way from the Faces mixtape.
25. Saturation 2 – Brockhampton (2017)
Bangers and tracks to sob to! The best part about Brockhampton is how bad they are, but homemade beats and lyrics that nearly everyone can relate to on a deep level makes them the world's greatest boyband.
24. Die Lit – Playboi Carti (2018)
Mumble rap is good if done right, blow me.
23. Plastic Beach – Gorillaz (2010)
A big mish-mash of rap and rock and indie that comments on climate change long before it was a hot topic. Plus, the fact that one person alone can make an album this good deserves its own merit.
22. B4.Da.$$ - Joey Badass (2016)
It's good.
21. Fine Line – Harry Styles (2019)
One of the best albums of 2019 where Harry is able to mimic the sounds of the Beatles and other UK rock legends while still making it an original project of his own. Great drums, guitars, vocals, nice.
20. TA13OO – Denzel Curry (2018)
Denzel's mixture of new wave rap with grunge from the 90s and hooks and flows inspired by the early west coast rap scene is done so amazingly well it's hard to comprehend. This is one of the rap albums that will still be played in 10 years.
19. When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish (2019)
Best Production of the year, and for all of the flak that Billie gets, she and her brother have set the tone for mainstream pop music in the coming decade.
18. In Return – Odesza (2014)
It's ambient music but also more than just background music, idk how but good job Odesza.
17. Daytona – Pusha T (2018)
This album makes me want to commit crimes, Kanye's production with Push throwing down some of the best lyrics of the decade earns this album a spot on the list. Not to mention how satisfied it leaves you after only 21 minutes of music.
16. Money Store – Death Grips (2012)
Death Grips was huge for the experimental rap scene and no one has been able to match their execution as of yet. The thick layering of all of the instruments shows you something new with every listen. The lyrics also point a finger at the rest of hip-hop glorifying violence with its very real description of obscene acts.
15. To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar (2015)
Just listen to it.
14. Hi This Is Flume – Flume (2019)
Very refreshing to see an EDM artist push boundaries and try something new, I hope that other big names will reach outside of their comfort zone after listening to this. The features on this album are perfect as well, giving a new platform to rising names like JPEGMAFIA and SlowThai.
13. DiCaprio 2 – J.I.D. (2018)
J.I.D. will undoubtedly be one of the top rappers of the next decade, his unique voice never gets old and with Dreamville backing his records he cannot fail.
12. channel ORANGE – Frank Ocean (2012)
An R&B album that isn't boring *clap clap* It also incredibly easy to see how many other artists used this album as a blueprint for their own and the bar has not been reached yet. Bonus points for a John Mayer feature on this.
11. Flower Boy – Tyler, The Creator (2017)
This album solidified Tyler's status as not only one of the best producers, but best creators of the decade. It is bold and original, but not so much that it makes casual listeners shy away from it.
10. Assume Form – James Blake (2019)
The most beautiful album of the decade, it is light and progresses so smooth. James' ability to compliment the features displays just how talented he is, not to mention his own vocal performances throughout with amazing vocal ranges and changes of tone.
Favorite Tracks: I'll come too, Where's the Catch? Mile High
9. 1000 gecs – 100 gecs (2019)
They said, let's make an album with every genre mashed into one. And they did it so amazingly well. The songs are so catchy, and the lyrics are actually quite good once you decipher their scene vocals. The perfect album to sum up the decade with heavy house and ska influences.
Favorite Tracks: Money Machine, 800Db Cloud, Gec 2 U
8. good kid, m.A.A.d city – Kendrick Lamar (2012)
Not a single bad track, it is original but still brings nostalgic feelings from 90s west coast rap. The best rapper of the decade.
Favorite Tracks: Money Trees, Backseat Freestyle, The Art of Peer Pressure
7. Rodeo – Travis Scott (2015)
Every mainstream clout rapper today owes hommage to this album, the album essentially invented psychedelic rap which progressed into mumble rap. Its ability to blend blues with rap was groundbreaking.
Favorite Tracks: 90210, Oh My Dis Side, Maria I'm Drunk
6. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West (2010)
Beyonce had one of the best music videos of all time, but Kanye had THE best rap album of the decade. Kanye fucked his whole life up at the VMAs, then the radio was playing POWER and All of the Lights every hour, people still won't shut up about how good Runaway is, and Devil in a New Dress is the best rap song of all time. Kanye is somehow apologetic and cocky on this album and it is perfect.
Favorite Tracks: Devil in a New Dress, Runaway, Dark Fantasy
5. Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts (2018)
It's a whole album with nothing but Kanye and Kid Cudi on it. Coming back from his mental breakdown, Kanye was able to make a perfect album that is easy to listen to from cover to cover, commenting on his mental health on the way.
Favorite Tracks: Freeee, Feel the Love, Reborn
4. Depression Cherry – Beach House (2015)
Who needs drugs when you can just listen to this album in the dark on your bed? Really all I can say about this album is that it is breathtaking.
Favorite Tracks: Space Song, PPP, Bluebird
3. IGOR – Tyler, The Creator (2019)
No album better portrays the feelings of love and heartbreak than this album. From obsession to resentment and finally acceptance, Tyler beautifully expresses himself through an alter ego that he saw himself as in his episode.
Favorite Tracks: NEW MAGIC WAND, A BOY IS A GUN*, EARFQUAKE
2. Wolf – Tyler, The Creator (2013)
The jazz beats, the manic verses, the hooks that make you question who you are. Not a single song is bad and it is a perfect album through and through. The fact that this album has tracks like Colossus, IFHY, and Answer, but also tracks like Trashwang and Tamale without making the progression Awkward is astounding. My personal top rap project of the decade.
Favorite Tracks: Cowboy, Answer, colossus, Tamale
1. 6 Feet Beneath The Moon – King Krule (2013)
I can't even begin to describe how good this album is, first of all, he wrote all of the songs when he was only 16, initially released under the alias of 'Zoo Kid' where the album was titled 'U.F.O.WA.V.E' (It came out in 2010 so it still counts) and then remastered it to perfection 3 years later. A truly original album keeping blues alive today with craft guitar riffs and plenty of jazz influence. Not to mention the most outstanding baritone voice you've ever heard. And the album progresses so well, keeping themes throughout despite a rapid change of pace in certain parts. He wails and gets so emotional throughout and despite the somber mood, listening to it never feels depressing thanks to the crafty drums and entertaining guitar. Best album of the decade.
Favorite Tracks: Out Getting Ribs, The Krockadile, Baby Blue.
Argue with me.
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