Thread by @02arcadia02, ARCADIA’s TOP 100 ALBUMS OF THE 2010s Today I will be revealing [...]

ARCADIA’s TOP 100 ALBUMS OF THE 2010s

Today I will be revealing my 25 honourable mentions
Tuesday: 100-76
Wednesday: 75-51
Thursday: 50-26
Friday: 25-11
Saturday: 10-1

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Vampire Weekend - Contra
Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Fetti
Kamasi Washington - The Epic
Kanye West - The Life of Pablo

Mach-Hommy & Tha God Fahim - Dollar Menu 2
Sampha - Process
Childish Gambino - “Awaken, My Love!”
Noname - Room 25

Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies
Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city
The Avalanches - Wildflower
A$AP Rocky - http://LIVE.LOVE .A$AP

Daughters - S/T
Joanna Newsom - Divers
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon

JPEGMAFIA - Veteran
FKA twigs - MAGDALENE
First Aid Kit - The Lion’s Roar
Lingua Ignota - All Bitches Die

James Blake - Assume Form
Earl Sweatshirt - Solace
Hop Along - Get Disowned
Benny the Butcher - Tana Talk 3

100. Alvvays - Antisocialites (2017)

A bright, sunny dream-pop album with a really endearing sense of optimism and youthful innocence.

99. The Comet is Coming - Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery (2019)

Space party.

98. MGMT - Congratulations (2010)

MGMT at their colourful, kaleidoscopic best.

97. Grouper - Ruins (2014)

Perhaps Grouper’s most direct, accessible effort of the 2010s, with achingly beautiful, airy communications of solitude and desolation.

96. Twin Shadow - Forget (2010)

Bright synths and thrilling grooves.

95. Portico Quartet - Portico Quartet (2012)

A compellingly atmospheric jazz fusion album, effortlessly blending electronic and acoustic sounds.

94. Perfume Genius - Learning (2010)

Perfume Genius’ debut remains his most intimate and entrancing effort as of yet.

93. Jai Paul - Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) (2013/2019)

One of the most forward-thinking, vibrant collections of pop and new-wave R&B songs of the decade.

92. Billy Woods - Known Unknowns (2017)

One of the most consistently dark and gritty explorations of Billy Woods’ warped, mysterious world to date.

91. Little Simz - GREY Area (2019)

‘I’m Shakespeare on a bad day, Jay Z on my worst days.’

90. Four Tet - There is Love In You (2010)

Perhaps Four Tet’s most immediate album yet, this is a mind-bending blend of electronic and world music elements.

89. Blood Orange - Negro Swan (2018)

Soulful, familial and spiritually comforting.

88. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Soul of a Woman (2017)

R.I.P. to one of the most charismatic, powerful vocalists of all time

87. Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy (2014)

An inexhaustibly witty, creative project - consistently immersive and thought-provoking song concepts.

88. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Soul of a Woman (2017)R.I.P. to one of the most charismatic, powerful vocalists of all time 87. Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy (2014)An inexhaustibly witty, creative project - consistently immersive and thought-provoking song concepts.

86. Solange - A Seat at the Table (2016)

A deservedly celebrated, stirring expression of black identity.

85. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy (2017)

A reflective, therapeutic walk through a gorgeous field of sunflowers. One of the best arranged and best produced records in rap.

84. Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything’s Fine (2017)

Perfectly balanced humour and social commentary, with exceptional chemistry and wit.

83. Lori McKenna - The Bird & the Rifle (2016)

Beautiful, endearing country/folk music - a charming amount of personality on display.

82. Mavi - Let the Sun Talk (2019)

I’m clutch I’m clutch I’m clutch I’m clutch

81. Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up (2017)

This album, Fleet Foxes’ most expansive and ambitious to date, feels like watching beautiful landscape as you pass on a long train journey.

80. NxWorries - Yes Lawd! (2016)

Charisma and old-school charm encapsulated, Yes Lawd is relentlessly entertaining.

79. Anna Meredith - Fibs (2019)

Anna is heavily under-appreciated, please give this remarkable, larger-than-life electronic album a listen.

78. Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion (2015)

77. Lingua Ignota - CALIGULA (2019)

These two albums could probably not be much more different in mood and tone

but here they are together on my list.

78. Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion (2015)77. Lingua Ignota - CALIGULA (2019)These two albums could probably not be much more different in mood and tone but here they are together on my list.

76. Sons of Kemet - Your Queen is a Reptile (2018)

This album from London jazz trio Sons of Kemet is one of the most creative, hilarious and vibrant albums in the genre I’ve ever heard - it oozes with character from start to finish.

Tune back in tomorrow for the next instalment of my countdown, 75-51

75. Mike - May God Bless Your Hustle (2017)

One of the most therapeutic releases in hip hop this decade, Mike’s best album is a soulful, hazy tapestry.

74. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)

Radiohead’s most eerie and subtle record to date. Thoroughly chilling.

73. Captain Murphy - Duality (2012)

Psychedelic, surreal lyrical themes over some of the most textured and immersive production in hip hop ever. Flying Lotus’ hidden gem.

72. Playboi Carti - Playboi Carti (2017)

Atmosphere. Just listen to Location.

71. Beach House - Teen Dream (2010)

Beach House’s most fully realised album to date, Teen Dream feels completely intoxicated in its carefree world.

70. FKA twigs - LP1 (2014)

Mind-bending production quirks, chilling vocal performances and vulnerable, sensual lyrics.

69. Death Grips - Ex-military (2011)

Death Grips at their most raw, at their most natural and at their brilliant best.

68. Hermit & the Recluse - Orpheus vs. The Sirens (2018)

Ka effortlessly weaves his dense, layered narratives over Animoss’ cinematic and dreamy production.

67. Avantdale Bowling Club - Avantdale Bowling Club (2018)

One of the most intensely personal, honest and revealing albums in hip hop of the decade. A real tear-jerker.

66. Todd Terje - It’s Album Time (2014)

An endlessly addictive dance album with irresistible grooves.

65. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.

Kendrick’s murky and mysterious compilation of what are surely some of the best ‘throwaways’ of all time.

64. Playboi Carti - Die Lit

This decade’s psych-trap magnum opus. Can’t wait for the next’s one.

63. Mabe Fratti - Pies Sobre La Tierra (2019)

Ambient cello porn.

62. James Blake - James Blake (2011)

James fuses chilling vocal effects, electronic glitches and haunting minimalist piano balladry on one of the decade’s most fantastic debut albums.

61. Westside Gunn - FLYGOD (2016)

WSG’s ear for curation of beats and features is immaculate. FLYGOD is this lane of 2010s New York underground rap’s defining masterpiece.

60. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (2010)

Dance Yrself Clean.

59. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Hiding Places (2019)

Billy’s chemistry with Kenny Segal is electric. Hiding Places feels in its own bizarre, dilapidated world.

58. Bon Iver - 22, A Million (2016)

Bon Iver’s most compelling, textured and beautiful blend of folk and electronica.

57. Richard Dawson - Peasant (2017)

This twisted folk album consists of some of the most original and well-executed conceptual music I have ever heard.

56. Against All Logic - 2012-2017 (2018)

Relentless dance music with an intoxicating, futuristic edge.

55. Armand Hammer - Paraffin

A nightmarish dystopian hip hop project with some of the most creative, witty writing of Billy Woods and Elucid’s respective careers.

54. Slauson Malone - A Quiet Farwell, Twenty Sixteen to Twenty Eighteen

‘Smile at the past when I see it.’

53. Hop Along - Painted Shut (2015)

Hop Along’s distinct, beautifully written and uniquely performed indie rock music at its most effective.

52. Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai (2016)

Perhaps Ka’s most menacing project, as well as his tightest lyrically to date.

51. KIDS SEE GHOSTS - KIDS SEE GHOSTS (2018)

Kanye and Cudi’s explosive chemistry yields incredible, therapeutic results on this otherworldly, colourful journey through both the darkest and the most resilient corners of their psyches.

That’s it for today, back to festivities. Back tomorrow for 50-26

Have a great day everyone.

50. Anna Meredith - Varmints (2016)

A bright, forward-thinking electronic album, where exciting ideas elegantly glide over each other as they jump out at you. A powerful, energetic exercise in maximalism.

49. Rafael Anton Irissari - Solastalgia (2019)

Solastalgia is an incredibly cohesive, singular ambient journey, with a harrowing, almost apocalyptic bed of drones, its minimal approach giving the album a gripping sense of isolation.

48. DJ Koze - Amygdala (2013)

DJ Koze creates a completely intoxicating soundscape with a loose, drunk happiness to it. The album feels like casting all of your worries away, with its colourful synth-work and cushioning drums.

47. Frank Ocean - Endless (2016/2018)

Overlooked thanks to the timing of its release, this phenomenal album progresses as one smoothly meandering, holistic piece, within an empty-feeling, minimal frame. Endless creates a gripping sense of atmosphere and ambience.

46. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (2011)

Fleet Foxes’ sound on Helplessness Blues is wonderfully rich, the instrumentation detailed and arranged to perfection. The album remains their best-written to date, with beautiful meditations on adapting to the world around you.

45. Ka - The Night’s Gambit (2013)

Marginally his best work to date - this album consists of the most immediate beats the wordsmith has rapped on and many of the most compelling tracks he has written, despite the lack of overall conceptuality relative to his other projects.

44. Julia Holter - Loud City Song (2013)

Julia’s first masterpiece. Loud City Song sounds completely shrouded in the night time, with smoky jazz and soul elements enhancing a mysterious ambient backdrop. A typically ethereal album from her, but with an unsettling edge.

43. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (2011)

This album from one of the most eccentric hip hop acts of the 2010s is bursting with creativity - witty, abstract observations and concepts, textured and bizarre instrumental tones and just immensely forward-thinking tracks.

42. Travis Scott - Rodeo

The way hedonism is conveyed and accentuated on this album is thrilling. The heavy psychedelic uses of guitar and warped vocal effects create a sense of drugged-out ignorance to victorious effect. A loud, futuristic and immersive experience.

41. Billy Woods - History Will Absolve Me (2012)

Incredibly written and produced, this mind-blowing, gritty album showcases everything brilliant about Billy Woods’ utterly unique approach to abstract lyricism and rapping - the most well-rounded project he has released to date.

40. Clarence Clarity - NO NOW (2015)

NO NOW sounds like its most colourful and addictive pop music influences were thrown into a blender with high doses of sugar and cocaine, blended, then microwaved. It is an explosive rollercoaster of an album.

39. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors (2019)

All Mirrors is presented as an expansive art-pop epic and is executed virtually to perfection, shifting from gorgeously intimate moments to tracks which feel massive and transcendent, Angel’s vocals adapting to both approaches perfectly.

38. Open Mike Eagle - BBKSD (2017)

Aided by perfect sequencing (My Auntie’s Building after 95 Radios...wow) and fantastic metaphors, this album, dissecting resilience and heroism is perhaps, aside from the obvious pick, the best executed concept album in hip-hop this decade.

37. The Knife - Shaking the Habitual (2013)

No compromises are made whatsoever on this remarkably ambitious effort from the genre-blending, experimental duo. The tracks on this album are electric and seem to veer almost to the point of losing control, a masterful balancing act.

36. Perfume Genius - No Shape (2017)

Mike Hadreas’ foray into a more expansive and rich brand of his intimate, ethereal art-pop yields breathtaking results. His most ambitious and indeed best album so far.

35. Mid-Air Thief - Crumbling (2018)

The world created on this electronic album sounds almost fragile, like it could be toppled in an instant. For that fleeting moment before it collapses, it is magnificently beautiful.

34. Björk - Vulnicura (2015)

Björk somehow delivered yet another masterpiece in her third decade of releasing music. Vulnicura is achingly heartbroken and the electronic flourishes and glitches really help to add character and unpredictability to the sweeping strings and synths.

33. Danny Brown - XXX (2011)

Showcasing Danny at his most outlandish, infectious and outright hilarious, XXX is an inexhaustibly entertaining and unique, refreshing listen, evocatively highlighting the highs and lows of a rollercoaster lifestyle.

32. Daughters - You Won’t Get What You Want (2018)

A horrifying thrill ride. YWGWYW is like one of the most captivating horror films where what unfolds before you is so intense that you almost can’t bare to look, but so edge-of-your-seat that you wouldn’t dare to look away.

31. Tyler, the Creator - IGOR (2019)

I’ve talked about IGOR too much this year already so no need to repeat myself again, but yes, this album is spellbinding.

30. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid (2010)

A kaleidoscopic, conceptual pop masterwork. This album brilliantly takes influence from and warps too many incredible sub-genres of pop, soul and rock music to mention in one tweet. With them, Janelle creates her own magical world.

29. Mac Miller - Faces (2014)

Mac balances a harsh, nihilistic worldview and a charming sense of humour in such an alluring way on this blog-era classic. Faces overflows with character and is the most affecting, personal project he gave the world. It’s also the best. RIP Mac

28. Grouper - AIA: Alien Observer (2011)

Alien Observer, a lesson in creating ambient atmosphere, has a compelling sense of distance to it, like you’re listening to somebody sing from behind a wall, or reliving an old conversation in your head that you can’t quite remember.

27. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata (2014)

Hardened, gritty street talk meets vintage, glistening soul sampling. Freddie and Madlib have seamless, legendary chemistry across Piñata and the album is already a hip-hop classic just half a decade on from its release.

26. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (2010)

The video game-esque glitches and frantic beats on Cosmogramma make it one of the most exciting, textured and disorientating sonic adventures of the 2010s. Possibly Flying Lotus’ most artistry-defining moment.

And that concludes today’s instalment of the countdown. I’m back tomorrow to walk through albums 25-11

25. Rina Sawayama - RINA (2017)

Strictly a ‘mini-album’ rather than an EP and therefore eligible for my list, RINA is a virtually inch-perfect exercise in explosive and impossibly infectious pop music. The production from Clarence Clarity is some of the most vivid and dynamic...

...of the decade and a huge amount of personality shines through in Rina’s lyrics and vocal performances. The songs, effectively balancing forward thinking and influence-wearing qualities are in your face, immediate and just incredibly...fun. This puts a massive smile on my face.

24. A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here...Thank You 4 Your service (2016)

Tribe returned this decade for a final goodbye after a 18 year hiatus and remarkably, dropped what could very well be their best album. Their sound on WGIFH is more adventurous than ever before...

...an update of their traditional style which implements modern production quirks whilst still maintaining their jazzy, soulful charm. Aided by typically nimble and catchy flows, the songs are bright and thought-provoking throughout. A life-affirming, endlessly charming album.

23. Tim Hecker - Virgins (2013)

Virgins, Tim Hecker’s most incredible album to date is feverish and apocalyptic. The album glides seamlessly through oppressive and dark yet also beautiful, kaleidoscopic soundscapes - finishing the album feels like waking up from a vivid dream.

22. Frank Ocean - Blonde

Blonde hides a massive emotional gut punch in a tiny fist. Frank finds a great deal of power in quiet, patient moments on an album that is one of the most intriguingly vulnerable and naked in music’s mainstream ever. Frank’s writing is abstract...

...and often takes a stream-of-consciousness approach, with only fleeting moments of real clarity - a trait which only adds to the album’s mystery. Blonde made a bigger splash than almost any album this decade and will go down as one of the most important works of art ever.

21. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear (2015)

Few, if any writers are as fantastic as Father John Misty at humourously dissecting the human condition. This album is one of the most nuanced and, in its unique way, touching concept albums about love of all time...

...with songs that’ll either have you rolling your eyes, laughing or crying, or all at the same time. FJM’s sarcastic, specific humour is not for everyone, but if this album hits you, it’ll hit hard. On top of this, ILYH is simply gorgeously and elegantly performed and produced.

20. Kate Tempest - The Book of Traps & Lessons

This album feels like an important, continuous sermon. The spoken word format taken on by Kate on here, assisted by the bare bones instrumentation, gives the perfect amount of breathing space for her to weave her weary, wise poetry.

The album’s sound ranges from sparse and haunting to cosy and heart-warming as Kate details both her defeated sense of pessimism in the face of the state of the United Kingdom, and the glimmers of hope she finds in between the cracks. A stunningly nuanced and stirring effort.

19. Carseat Headrest - Teens of Denial

The band’s best effort to date, Teens of Denial is this decade’s soundtrack to growing up. Will Toledo’s upfront and hilariously deadpan approach to writing and singing shines through better than ever before here...

...and the album’s instrumentation is dynamic and exciting. My favourite rock release of the 2010s (unless you count *** ***** *****)

18. Sun Kill Moon - Benji (2014)

Recency bias may be playing a part here (I somehow only heard this for the first time a few weeks ago), but this album had a profound effect on me. In the best way possible, it feels like a biopic, or more appropriately a diary entry...

...I say the latter because the album feels so deeply personal that I almost don’t feel like I’m supposed to be hearing it. However, this is balanced by Mark Kozelek’s extremely frank and conversational songwriting style, which gives the album an impossible amount of charm.

17. Anderson .Paak - Malibu (2016)

Warm, inviting and nostalgic, Malibu can, as far as I’m concerned, go toe to toe with any soul, R&B or hip hop classic that inspired it. Paak is a chameleon on this album, effortlessly going from funky disco cuts to smooth R&B jams...

...to bar-heavy rap tracks, all the while maintaining his smooth, loveable charisma. Malibu sounds like vinyl crackles on a California summer’s day.

16. Flying Lotus - You’re Dead! (2014)

The added wild passages of jazz instrumentation add so much extraordinary life and colour to Flying Lotus’ enveloping world on You’re Dead. The album’s overall concept, exploring the lead up to death, death itself and what may come...

*immediately afterwards is translated so powerfully through the stunningly heavy and dense sound of the album and the occasional animated guest performances. It really does sound like descending to hell and encountering bizarre characters and beautiful sights along the way.

15. Ariel Pink - Pom Pom (2014)

A thoroughly ridiculous album. Ariel Pink’s messy and thrillingly eccentric 10th album, Pom Pom is a delightfully silly smudge on a beautiful canvas, that while being the most accessible album of his career, manages to sneak in a surprise...

...at almost every turn. Ariel sounds in complete control of his sound here and it is an absolute carefree joy to listen to.

14. Julia Holter - Have You in My Wilderness (2015)

Julia’s shift to more accessible songwriting and brighter instrumentation than ever was a stroke of genius. This album sounds caked in sunshine and is without a doubt one of the most dreamy and heavenly pop albums of all time.

13. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica (2011)

Featuring some of the most fascinating uses of vocal samples across an album I have ever heard - Replica has a completely surreal soundscape. I would describe it as futuristic, drone-centric psychedelia. The most striking thing to me...

...about this album is how with each repetition of a drone or vocal motif, the atmosphere becomes yet more unsettling, often without noticeable additions to the mix. What this results in is one of the most emotionally affecting non-lyrical album experiences I’ve ever had.

12. Standing On The Corner - Red Burns (2017)

This project from the experimental New York duo is an incredible blend of hip-hop, jazz and plunderphonics/sound collage, which feels like flicking through a scrapbook of rough sketches of New York life and culture...

...but also, it feels like a philosophical therapy session or emotional journey that reaches a beautiful resolution as it untangles towards the end. The uses of sound bites, spoken word, warped jazz and twisted soul sampling give the album a disorientating variation in texture.

11. JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs (2019)

My 2019 Album of the Year. This album is incredible and I have talked about it enough for you guys to know why I think so.

Right, top ten of the decade, HERE WE GO

Before I reveal the top 10, I want to make it clear that all of these are pretty much exactly as good as each other in my eyes and all have impacted me more than I can explain - when it came to ordering them I didn’t go about it at all methodically, I just simply went with my gut

The explanations will come later today as one written piece, for now this is just a countdown

10. FRANK OCEAN - CHANNEL ORANGE (2012)