Top Ten

10. Strange Trails

by Lord Huron (2015)

Mysterious, haunting, spooky, this project by Lord Huron was one of the best concept albums of the decade. It so perfectly captures the mystery surrounding death with the lyrics and the beautiful otherworldly instrumentation. After Lonesome Dreams Nanette and I were both pretty excited for this release but we never expected to love it as much as we did. This album is like walking through a graveyard on halloween night. I don't think there is another album we have listened to this much as a couple.

9. High As Hope

by Florence + The Machine (2018)

High as Hope was Florence's magnum opus, everything had been leading to this moment. Stripped down to this percussive and natural beauty of a sound Florence transcends into this ethereal being. It was my album of the year last year and my love for it has only grown. There's really not much more to say, her voice says everything.

8. Bloom

by Beach House (2012)

This album is everything to me. To me this is the music of memories, I put it on and I can see my childhood so clearly. Headphones are a must, put them on and it's like you are in a vacuum chamber existing outside of time. For this reason this also became my go-to airplane music. Beach House provides such a large, steady, and gentle sound all the way through here that this becomes great noise cancellation when drifting off to sleep on a busy flight. Soothing does not even begin to cover Bloom. I need this album in my life forever and for always.

7. Here

by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (2012)

My album of the year in 2012. Summer of 2012, walking around my neighborhood as the aspiring older hippie kid imparting this album upon my friends as the joy and salvation they were looking for is one of my fondest memories. It wasn't quite that dramatic, but this album puts me in such a good and positive mood until this day. From my anthem at the time "Man on Fire" to the cleansing "All Wash Out," Here will always put me back in those carefree days walking around being my best self.

6. Saturation Trilogy

by Brockhampton (2017)

I was visiting home and my brother Triston showed me a few videos of this super cool new hip-hop group that called themselves a boy band. I was very intrigued. This group of friends came together at just the right time to blow up practically into the mainstream. They released three albums that year. It was the SATURATION trilogy. All three albums are so stylistically similar and so consistently good that they fit so perfectly together as one entry in this list. The moment of SATURATION was the most exciting musical moment of the decade. I was so proud to be a part of it. Their impact is still coming into focus and they might still be just getting starting. Another artist that gives me so much hope for the future.

5. 1989

by Taylor Swift (2014)

My pop arrival. If Lorde's Pure Heroine was my warmup then 1989 was my first realization that I loved pop music. Drenched in 80s aesthetic Taylor created her masterpiece here. After my friend Eric's seemingly out of left field strong recommendation I hesitantly put this Taylor Swift album on for the very drive I am taking as I am writing this. I'm not even afraid to admit that I cried multiple times on my first listen, I was kind of in a vulnerable place at the time but still, Taylor is a true songstress and she shines brightest when dealing in heartbreak. The uncertainty of "Out of The Woods" got me first with it's highly relatable lyrics. Those emotions have since been totally replaced by the admiration and joy of the catchy melodies, the heart-on-sleeve and clever songwriting, and Taylor's perfect voice. When considering both the commercial and critical success I would say Taylor won the 2010s.

4. 151a

by Kishi Bashi (2012)

Pure magic. I was listening to this album constantly between the Fall of 2012 and Spring of 2013. I had never heard anything quite like this, everytime I put it on 151a made me feel like something momentous and substantial was about to happen. Sure enough it was during this time that I met my wife. This was my warning from the gods of music to keep my eyes and my heart open, that she was on her way. Then she even agreed that the first three songs on this album would be so perfect as our wedding ceremony soundtrack. The beauty on this album still never ceases to amaze me.

3. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

by Courtney Barnett (2015)

One of the two Bob Dylan's of our generation, Courtney Barnett did not immediately captivate me. This album was my introduction to her and upon first listen I thought the production sounded very bland and uninspired. Obviously it grew on me. This album was always the dark horse of the competition for my top album of the decade. Even a few years ago after I loved this album and Courtney as an artist I never would have pegged this album as one of my very favorites of the 2010s. It just stayed the course and grew and grew on me. The clever lyricism is absolutely amazing but it's her lazy delivery that really does it for me. She just speaks to my soul about the most mundane topics and that's the real beauty of Sometimes I Sit. It's an album about a state of mind, it's about boredom, about contemplation. It's about nothing and everything all at once.

2. The Wild Hunt

by The Tallest Man On Earth (2010)

Remember what I said about unique vocals and vocal delivery being the most important part of music for me? This is the prime example. My current favorite artist of all time, The Tallest Man on Earth, released my favorite album of his way back in 2010 before I even knew who he was. The Wild Hunt was my introduction to Tallest Man and his voice was a little to out there for me at the time of my first listen but "King of Spain" kept me coming back. After I warmed up to the vocals I fell head over heels in love with Tallest Man. He was the first Bob Dylan of the current generation. This album always brings me such warmth and such wonder.

1. An Awesome Wave

by ∆ (alt-J) (2012)

From the very moment I put on An Awesome Wave for the first time I knew it was something very special. This album is beyond words, but I will try. When I first started this list this album quickly rose to the top and I was like "oh, duh." It was that ah-ha moment where I realized this was always going to be my album of the decade. It has the perfect ever so personal mix of the things I care about most in music. The unique vocals, the interesting production and instrumentation, and the feelings they are able to create. The most important aspect here that sets this album apart from all the others is the perfect flow. Alt-J created such an amazing experience here hitting you with the stand out tracks right when they should and giving you some breathing room when they needed to as well. All of this is topped off by the fact that this was Nanette and I's favorite summer album our first summer together. This was probably because they played the entire thing at Bonnaroo when we saw them there with my brother Austin. It was the only time in my life where I felt one with the crowd to the point where I was not worried about getting smushed or trampled on by the tight mass of people flowing to the music in unison. Pretty sure it was the best show of my life and I could barely even see the band. Alt-J created something far greater than themselves. They created a masterpiece, they created my album of the decade!

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