50-26

50. Come Of Age

by The Vaccines (2012)

This band has not gotten the recognition they deserve this decade! Their first two albums are so solid, so punchy, and so much fun. This one in particular is like a swift punch to the face starting with the opener "No Hope."

49. Halcyon Digest

by Deerhunter (2010)

I originally downloaded this album with the intent of listening to it during my trip to Finland to photograph the Northern Lights. It was a lonely time for me and this is a lonely album but it's also ever so magical. That trip, honestly with the help of Halcyon Digest, was very awakening and transformative for me. This album will always offer me peace and solitude.

48. Big Mess

by Grouplove (2016)

Oh man oh man oh man. Grouplove is my guilty pleasure of the decade that I don't even feel guilty about. Big Mess was my reintroduction to them after I had given up after they failed to live up to their debut. I'm so glad I gave this album a chance, of course it is cheesy at times and a little overdone but that is the magic of Grouplove.

47. The Lumineers

by The Lumineers (2012)

This album is so very special to me. You see there's this girl I liked, she recommended it to me very early on. It was folky albeit a bit cheesy for my taste but as my love for her grew so did my love for this album and of course her singing along in the car to this album. As things heated up and got more complicated with the distance there was a three song stretch in the middle of the album that got to me everytime. I still get a little emotional about this album to this day. "Dead Sea" is one of our songs and it was of course played at our wedding.

46. Crack-Up

by Fleet Foxes (2017)

The ever so long awaited follow up to the grand Helplessness Blues! This was such a strange place to go from there but this one ended up growing on me. Crack-Up will always be synonymous with my trip over the mediterranean sea on my way to my now sister-in-law's wedding. A new album at the time paired so nicely with this mesmerizing body of water I was just getting to know. This is now my go to Southern European adventure album.

45. Alexander

by Alex Ebert (2011)

One man, so many instruments, so many sounds. This thing is simply amazing. Alexander was my first ever album of the year way back in 2011.

44. Tell Me How You Really Feel

by Courtney Barnett (2018)

This came out around the time my brother Austin came to visit me in Austin. His connection with the lyrics as I played it for him is what truly catapulted this latest Courtney Barnett project into the high status I give it today. Of course I have my own favorites "City Looks Pretty" and "Sunday Roast."

43. Charli

by Charli XCX (2019)

My decade long journey from indie hipster kid to my ever growing love of pop ends with my very latest obsession which brings pop into the future and into the 2020s. I had heard of Charli XCX for a while, she was even at a few music festivals I had attended but this was my first full album and I was instantly captivated. One of the best releases of 2019 in my eyes.

42. Dirty Computer

by Janelle Monáe (2018)

Speaking of the future of mainstream music, R&B was pushed forward last year by the amazing Janelle Monáe. Dirty Computer with its stunning album artwork welcomes you into this digitized, sexual, modern era in the best ways imaginable. Drenched in feminism and political commentary I am so thankful Monáe delivered this to us when we needed it most.

41. Blunderbuss

by Jack White (2012)

Not to push anyone's buttons but I prefer Jack White solo to The White Stripes. When Blunderbuss first came out it sounded so heavy and in my face. The distorted guitars of "Sixteen Saltines" mixed with the more traditional folky songs at the end like "I Guess I Should Go To Sleep" captures what Jack is all about. This album has become such a classic to me since it came out back in 2012.

40. Run The Jewels 2

by Run The Jewels (2014)

This was the first traditional hip-hop/rap album I really got into. From my very first listen, full blast, bass thumping while riding down Dorchester road I was obsessed. Yes it is angry and in your face just like Death Grips but the production and beats are very traditional comparatively. Some of the lines on here are so clever and laugh out loud funny while still working with some very serious and timely subject matter. Run The Jewels has become one of Nanette and I's very favorite groups to see live, they are just so much fun!

39. A Very She & Him Christmas

by She & Him (2011)

I don't listen to this one year round but when the time comes I put this thing on repeat. It's simply my very favorite Christmas album of all time. This album helped me accept the fact that Christmas didn't have to be as exciting as it was when I was a kid. Instead of listening to the same old music my family did when I was young and feeling disappointed remembering Christmas of the past this helped me focus on Christmas of the present.

38. Sound & Color

by Alabama Shakes (2015)

From the opening track you can tell this is something much more subtle than Alabama Shakes' debut album. This one just sits with me quietly creating this smooth and sensual mood. It is like a thick fog that seeps into the room.

37. Lotta Sea Lice

by Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile (2017)

From the moment I heard that Courtney and Kurt were teaming up for an album I was sold. This was a match made in heaven. Then the single "Over Everything" came out and it was better than I could have even imagined. This is the pinnacle of slacker rock, it really sounds like this was the easiest album of the decade to make. It sounds like it just happened. The friendship on full display here might just be the sweetest story in music of our time.

36. Sylvan Esso

by Sylvan Esso (2014)

If you have any soul at all there is no way you can put this on and not move your body. Sylvan Esso was lightning in a bottle on this debut album. So much pure sensual energy. A true classic in the Popa household.

35. Prisoner

by Ryan Adams (2017)

Another true classic! Ryan Adams channeling Bruce Springsteen. My very favorite guitar tones of the entire decade exist on this album. I specifically remember telling Nanette she has to listen to the new Ryan Adams as soon as possible when I was like three songs in on my first listen. One of the greatest first impressions an album has made on me in a long time.

34. Benji

by Sun Kil Moon (2014)

Melancholic, super depressing but oh so real. Benji is just the thoughts and endless ramblings of Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon) to the tune of his guitar. Somehow it works, and it is really beautiful. The first time I listened to this was appropriately on my way to a family reunion. This creates such a pensive and appreciative mood.

33. Teens Of Denial

by Car Seat Headrest (2016)

My album of the year in 2016. In this album I was able to experience a rebellious, angsty youth that I never really had.

32. We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic

by Foxygen (2013)

At a time when I needed it, this album had no memories that would have me missing my love while we were long distance. This album was all my own, and that helped catapult it to the top of my year end list in 2013. This was Foxygen's magnum opus. Drenched in a heavy 60s esthetic, even more so than other projects, this album will always hold a special spot in my heart.

31. Lonesome Dreams

by Lord Huron (2012)

Nanette discovered one of our all time favorite bands at Bonnaroo 2013. I was busy with Austin seeing Death Grips while she witnessed Lord Huron for the first time. She liked them a lot but it was me who brought this album to her attention a few months later. The rest is history.

30. Dark Bird Is Home

by The Tallest Man On Earth (2015)

One of the most satisfying albums based on the expectations I had for this release. He created such an intangible feeling on this record. Every time I put it on I am right back in the ever so exciting summer of 2015. This very easily went on to be my album of that year. For me this album was about hope, hope that everything would work out.

29. Skeptic Goodbye

by You Won't (2012)

My brother Austin played me this album one night. It was exactly what I needed. The lead singer has this voice that spoke directly to my heart as I'm sure it spoke to Austin's before as well. As soon as I heard "Who Knew" I felt like it was written just for me to hear at that moment.

28. 25

by Adele (2015)

Christmas break 2015, my first Florida Christmas. This was the soundtrack, it was such an exciting time in my life that I didn't experience this album the way most people probably experienced this album. There was no heartache involved for me. It was just like wow, this is so so so good. This was another step on my journey to accepting pop as a true art form. I was absolutely obsessed with "Send My Love (to your new lover)" for the longest time.

27. What Do You Think About The Car?

by Declan McKenna (2017)

He opened for someone, I'm pretty sure he must have been better than whoever we saw that night. I was instantly obsessed with this kid because he was the same age as my little brother but I had to wait almost a year for his debut album. And what a debut it was. This album is so damn catchy. I am just as anxiously awaiting a follow up. The future of music is in good hands with Declan McKenna in the mix.

26. Currents

by Tame Impala (2015)

"Let it happen" need I say more? This is the grooviest album I think I heard this decade. Also this was another album in heavy rotation during my first Florida Christmas and now it always kind of sounds like Christmas music to me which is a huge plus!

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