I was 15 years old in 2010. To state the obvious, my music taste was not then what it is now. Over the years, I have shifted from my punk rock roots to hip-hop, then to indie rock and back again, then on to country and R&B. A “Best of the 2010s” list of this sort cannot but be a haphazard patchwork of proclivities past and present, a Frankenstein monster comprised of innumerable snapshots. As such, this list is ranked very loosely. My intention was to balance my current taste with albums that were important to me when they were released, which includes albums that I hold fond memories of but have not listened to in several years. If my RYM calculations are correct, I rated approximately 640 albums that were released this decade. I bring this up only to note that there are many albums that I very much enjoy but did not make the list.
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100. Mitski - Bury Me at Makeout Creek (2014)
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99. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 (2011)
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98. The National - Trouble Will Find Me (2013)
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97. (Sandy) Alex G - DSU (2014)
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96. Toys that Kill - Fambly 42 (2012)
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95. Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (2012)
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94. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana (2019)
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93. Parquet Courts - Wide Awaaaaake! (2018)
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92. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains (2019)
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91. Old Man Markley - Guts N' Teeth (2011)
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90. Joyce Manor - Never Hungover Again (2014)
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89. Lorde - Pure Heroine (2013)
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88. Milk Music - Cruise Your Illusion (2013)
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87. The Menzingers - Chamberlain Waits (2010)
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86. Captain, We're Sinking - The Future is Cancelled (2013)
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85. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (2011)
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84. Snowing - I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted (2011)
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83. Tyler, the Creator - Igor (2019)
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82. Gospeed You! Black Emperor - 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress' (2014)
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81. Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising (2019)
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80. Pusha T - DAYTONA (2018)
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79. Deafheaven - Sunbather (2013)
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78. The Mountain Goats - Goths (2017)
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77. Titus Andronicus - Local Business (2012)
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76. Ceremony - Rohnert Park (2010)
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75. Solange - A Seat at the Table (2016)
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74. Bill Callahan - Dream River (2013)
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73. Craig Finn - We All Want the Same Things (2015)
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72. Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want (2018)
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71. The Brave Little Abacus - Just Got Back From the Discomfort—We're Alright (2010)
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70. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2 (2014)
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69. My Bloody Valentine - m b v (2013)
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68. Merchandise - Children of Desire (2012)
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67. The Men - Leave Home (2011)
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66. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012)
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65. A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (2016)
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64. Glassjaw - Coloring Book (2011)
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63. IDLES - Brutalism (2017)
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62. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo (2016)
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61. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (2010)
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60. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour (2018)
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59. Frank Ocean - Blonde (2016)
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58. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. (2017)
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57. Jeff Rosenstock - We Cool? (2015)
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56. The Menzingers - After the Party (2017)
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55. Jeff Rosenstock - I Look Like Shit (2012)
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54. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors (2019)
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53. The Weeknd - House of Balloons (2012)
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52. Death Grips - The Money Store (2012)
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51. Duster - Duster (2019)
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50. The National - High Violet (2010)
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49. (Sandy) Alex G - House of Sugar (2019)
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48. Death Grips - Bottomless Pit (2016)
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47. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition (2016)
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46. Julia Holter - Have You In My Wilderness (2015)
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45. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (2011)
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44. Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy (2011)
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43. Grouper - A I A: Alien Observer (2011)
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42. Laura Stevenson - Sit Resist (2011)
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41. D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah (2014)
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40. tUnE-yArDs - Whokill (2011)
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39. White Lung - Sorry (2012)
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38. mewithoutYou - Ten Stories (2012)
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37. Have a Nice Life - The Unnatural World (2014)
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36. Hop Along - Painted Shut (2015)
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35. Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE (2012)
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34. Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy (2017)
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33. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest (2010)
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32. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music (2012)
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31. Ramshackle Glory - Live the Dream (2011)
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30. Oneotrix Point Never - Replica (2011)
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29. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (2012)
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28. Laura Stevenson - Wheel (2013)
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27. Kanye West - Yeezus (2013)
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26. Giles Corey - Giles Corey (2011)
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25. Bomb the Music Industry! - Vacation (2011)
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24. Kendrick Lamar - Section.80 (2011)
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23. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (2013)
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22. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019)
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21. The Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth (2012)
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20. The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck (2011)
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19. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me (2018)
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18. The State Lottery - When the Night Comes (2010)
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17. Joyce Manor - Joyce Manor (2011)
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16. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt (2010)
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15. (Sandy) Alex G - Trick (2012)
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14. Swans - To Be Kind (2014)
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13. Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell (2015)
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12. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
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11. The Menzingers - On the Impossible Past (2012)
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10. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz (2010)
9. Preoccupations - Viet Cong (2015)
8. Hop Along - Get Disowned (2012)
7. IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance. (2018)
6. Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog (2018)
5. Women - Public Strain (2010)
4. Sun Kil Moon - Benji (2014)
3. Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)
2. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor (2010)
1. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
