Best of the 2010s

Rolling Stone recently compiled a list of the 100 best albums of the 2010s. Here, with some minor tweaks and additions, is the ballot I submitted to the staff vote. Where applicable, I've linked to a past DFSBP post where I discussed the album in question. (There's a jazz-only 2010s list here and individual all-genres-in-play lists for every year from 2010 through 2019 here.)

1. RVIVR, The Beauty Between (2013)
2. La Dispute, Rooms of the House (2014)
3. Francis and the Lights, It'll Be Better (2010)
4. Christian Mistress, Possession (2012)
5. Sheer Mag, Need to Feel Your Love (2017)
6. Future Islands, Singles (2014)
7. 40 Watt Sun, Wider Than the Sky (2016)
8. Freeman, Freeman (2014)
9. Rush, Clockwork Angels (2012)
10. Antemasque, Antemasque (2014)
11. Deftones, Koi No Yokan (2012) [no prior coverage here; I'm a late Deftones convert but I've come to adore both this record and its 2016 follow-up, Gore]
12. Moon Tooth, Crux (2019)
13. Mitski, Bury Me at Makeout Creek (2014)
14. Haim, Days Are Gone (2013)
15. Diarrhea Planet, I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams (2013)
16. Metallica, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
17. The Bad Plus, Never Stop (2010)
18. Frank Ocean, Nostalgia, Ultra (2011)
19. The Hotelier, Goodness (2016)
20. Carcass, Surgical Steel (2013)
21. Esperanza Spalding, Emily's D+Evolution (2016)
22. Alvvays, Alvvays (2014)
23. Meshuggah, The Violent Sleep of Reason (2016)
24. Elder, Reflections of a Floating World (2017)
25. Krallice, Ygg Huur (2015)


+10 runners-up

Clutch, Earth Rocker (2013)
Voivod, The Wake (2018)
Loincloth, Iron Balls of Steel (2012) 
Queens of the Stone Age, ...Like Clockwork (2013)
The Bad Plus, Never Stop II (2018)
Esperanza Spalding, 12 Little Spells (2018)
Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy (2011)
The Men, New Moon (2013)
Dan Weiss Trio, Timshel (2011)
Pallbearer, Sorrow and Extinction (2012)

Update, 12/27/19: I now realize I was remiss not to shout out Gorguts’ 2013 masterpiece Colored Sands above. Just re-spun, and, man, does it smoke. Same goes for Kvelertak's Meir!

/////

Rolling Stone also counted down the 100 best songs of the 2010s. Here are 60 of my favorites from the decade that's about to end. Some from the aforementioned albums, but many more are "radio songs" or just loose tracks from various other releases. The order is pretty arbitrary.


RVIVR, "Spidersong"
Francis and the Lights, "Betting on Us"
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, "Shallow"
CHVRCHES, "The Mother We Share"
Adele, "Someone Like You"
Miley Cyrus, "Wrecking Ball"
Julian Casablancas, "11th Dimension"
Alvvays, "Marry Me Archie"
Katy Perry, "California Gurls"
Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"

Luke Combs, "Even Though I'm Leaving"
Maroon 5, "Moves Like Jagger"
Alessia Cara, "Here"
Drake, "Hotline Bling"
Haim, "The Wire"
Tobias Jesso Jr., "How Could You Babe"
Haim, "Don't Save Me"
The Weeknd, "Starboy"
Justin Bieber, "Sorry"
Metallica, "Moth Into Flame"

Code Orange, "Bleeding in the Blur"
Bob Mould, "I Don't Know You Anymore"
Haunt, "Mosaic Vision"
Sheer Mag, "Just Can't Get Enough"
Ariana Grande, "Thank U Next"
Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe"
Bruno Mars, "Locked Out of Heaven"
Lil Uzi Vert, "XO Tour Llif3"
Daft Punk, "Get Lucky"
Drake, "Marvins Room"

Nude Beach, "Walkin' Down My Street"
Sheer Mag, "Fan the Flames"
Beach Slang, "Punks in a Disco Bar"
Queens of the Stone Age, "I Sat by the Ocean"
Antemasque, "50,000 Kilowatts"
Ghost, "Ritual"
Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"
Adele, "Hello"
Frank Ocean, "Thinkin' 'Bout You"
Killing Joke, "The Great Cull"

The Strokes, "Gratisfaction"
The War on Drugs, "Red Eyes"
Rihanna, "Only Girl in the World"
Lizzo, "Truth Hurts"
Mastodon, "The Motherload"
PSY, "Gangnam Style"
Bob Mould, "The Descent"
Black Sabbath, "The Age of Reason"
Usher, "OMG"
Sia, "Eye of the Needle"

Magic!, "Rude"
fun., "Some Nights"
Kanye West, "Monster"
Robyn, "Dancing on My Own"
Frank Ocean, "Novocane"
Turnstile, "Real Thing"
Justin Bieber, "Let Me Love You"
Lady Gaga, "Perfect Illusion"
The Strokes, "Under Cover of Darkness"
Metallica, "Spit Out the Bone"