Our Favorite Albums of the Decade
10 years is far too long a time. It's difficult to encapsulate what has occurred in the past decade, simply because your mind is usually unable to recall events that far back. It would be certifiably insane for one person to attempt to not only recall the best albums that came out since 2010, but rank them as well. So, through the power of asking for help, we've created a list of the NC Views staff's favorite albums of the decade. Not necessarily the best, but the ones that we viewed as the most significant to the music world, and to each writer personally. - Ritchie
Anderson .Paak, Malibu
Often times in music discussions, the term "versatile" gets thrown around far too much to too many artists that don't necessarily deserve it. Just because someone does multiple things on an album, doesn't mean that they did them particularly well (rappers' below average singing covered by autotune and Lizzo when she "raps").
But on his 2016 album Malibu, Anderson .Paak was the epitome of a Renaissance Man, achieving perfection in every facet of music. It's an album where every track seems perfectly in place, as he never falters out of rhythm. From start to finish, the Oxnard, California native ebbs and flows through the entire, toeing the line between soul, R&B, and rap. There is a never moment where the energy and emotion lacks, in songwriting nor production. Whether it was on "The Bird," the delicate opener that allowed his soul influences to shine through, or the energetic, ScHoolboy Q backed, funk track "Am I Wrong," or the sensual blazon dedicated to his lover on "Silicon Valley," the superstar is always on point. With the power of his band, The Free Nationals, supporting him along the way with flawless production on every track, each song acts as its own story. Stories that refuse to get lost in the fold of the crowded landscape a disingenuous music industry. - Ritchie
Mac Miller, Watching Movies With The Sound Off
The great lie of Mac Miller’s artistic journey is when he moved from “frat boy raps” to introspection and creative risks. Before Ariana Grande, long before Swimming, Mac was challenging himself with unique production and mature songwriting. Watching Movies With The Sound Off, released in 2013, is a graceful transition in a classic discography. Mac handles the production with ease, building clever song structures around prime featured artists. He brings along Action Bronson to spit on fixing college basketball games, Ab-Soul on his first time viewing porn, and even lures Jay Electronica into the booth. Mac shows off his court vision on just his second studio album to not only field these artists, but arrange them in perfect fashion.
The project delivers an early reflection on fame, drugs, and death. Mac displays maturity far beyond his age (22 upon release) as he mourns a lost friend on "REMember," or wishes away his spotlight in exchange for love on "Objects In the Mirror." The somber moments are countered with bouncy tracks like "Bird Call" and "Gees," or the hard-hitting "Red Dot Music" where Action and Mac deliver the best bars on the project. The project never feels scattered or divided-the emotions naturally feed into each other. Few artists can juxtapose the pleasures of fame and wealth with their inevitable consequence like Mac Miller. His musical journey this decade should be celebrated. - Chip
BADBADNOTGOOD, IV
I'm taking a definitive stance right now: there is nothing better than jazz. Absolutely nothing. Debate your mom, your dad, your bus driver, whoever. It is the basis of many other genre forms, getting endlessly sampled and utilized because artists understand that it rules. And when jazz is done right, there is nothing more powerful and captivating.
It's difficult to fully put into words what BADBADNOTGOOD did with their 2016 release, IV. The fifth studio album from the Toronto-based band integrates elements of improvisational jazz, funk, and electronic music to create a ridiculously unique instrumental album that has hip hop sounds permeating through it. Their ability to carry tracks without feature artists shines through on songs like "Speaking Gently" and "Chompy's Paradise," which are both equally hypnotic and soothing. However, the best work on the album comes when they call upon other artists, vocalists like Sam Herring and Charlotte Day Wilson on "Time Moves Slow" and "In Your Eyes," respectively. The pairing of a simple band structure with a clear direction with their sound, and the smooth vocals of the two tearing at the listener's heart, they are surrounded by a serene instrumental to coexist with deeply emotional vocals. They even play well with other producers, as their track "Lavender," a collaboration with fellow Canadian Kaytranada, showcased BADBADNOTGOOD's ability to adapt with the change in style. This album had everything you would want in a modern, improvisational jazz album. I don't know what you thought you wanted from this album, but IV satisfies in every way, shape, and form. - Ritchie
6lack, East Atlanta Love Letter
In the Fall of 2018, the artist known as 6lack (pronounced Black) took us on a journey through the darker side of love in East Atlanta Love Letter. The follow up to his great debut FREE 6LACK, 6lack goes through all phases of love, from the early honeymoon stages on the title track that features fellow Atlanta artist and icon Future singing his heart out to having to deal with the fact that he may have fallen short of his own expectations in the relationship "Unfair" and facing the idea of having to own up to his mistakes and acknowledge that “without you I ain’t shit” in "Sorry."
While not feature heavy, 6lack makes the most of the four featured artists by challenging them to get out of their comfort zone and enter his dark world. Whether it’s Khalid singing about looking forward to the changing of the seasons and starting fresh on "Seasons," to one of J. Cole’s many 2018 verse of the year candidates, this time about the beauty in the vulnerability and struggle of his relationship with his wife in "Pretty Little Fears," to even the Tierra Whack sketches throughout the album, 6lack makes the features work for him.
While love can be a beautiful thing, it’s not as neat as it is perceived by society. There’s ups and downs that you’ll have to face and 6lack paints an accurate, melancholy picture of love in all phases and as a result created one of the best albums of the decade. We have to thank love, because “love is the reason I’m writing these songs and shit.” - Jamaal
Kendrick Lamar, Section.80
Kendrick Lamar released three of the biggest projects in rap this decade, but his first studio album is crucial listening. Section.80 followed almost seven years of mixtapes as Kendrick, Jay Rock, and Top Dawg slowly built TDE from the ground up. The 2011 project would be released independently before TDE merged with Interscope/Aftermath. Because it’s a Kendrick project, it follows a clever narrative. He narrows his focus on the projects in Compton. The history of drugs and violence forced on his community is highlighted on tracks like "A.D.H.D." and "Ronald Reagan Era." "Keisha’s Song" is an unflinching look at the pain inflicted on people as a consequence, and "Kush & Corinthians" features some beautiful instrumentation over a smooth BJ the Chicago Kid outro.
Section.80 is unique in the decade of Kendrick Lamar simply because it feels so loose and carefree. He clearly doesn’t shy away from harsh stories as he connects them with lyrical excellence, but Kendrick has more fun with this project than anything else this decade. Joyful, triumphant horns are scattered through the project, and Kendrick works them magically on "Hol’ Up" and "Rigamortis." "The Spiteful Chant" is one of the most chest-thumping tracks in Kendrick’s discography, and ScHoolboy Q eats the final verse. The project feels light, even with the sorrow of a broken community sewn into the narrative. Section.80 stands out as a wholly unique project amongst an incredible decade from Kendrick Lamar. - Chip
Daniel Caesar, Freudian
This album dropped right before my senior year of high school; a time rife with exploration and new learning experiences, with important decisions and moments in time that at the time I had no clue how impactful they would be on my life. Daniel Caesar, the soulful and recently controversial artist, was coming off of a two-year break after his release of his EP Pilgrim’s Paradise. He had been hard at work producing this album and I didn’t know who he was until I came across a music video for his hit song “Get You," featuring Kali Uchis, during my many hours scrolling Twitter. Just like that, I was hooked to his style, his unique sound, his musical ability, everything.
I found what I had been looking for in the R&B genre and this album encapsulated everything I experienced my senior year perfectly. From finding and experiencing what I thought then was true love, with his heartwarming ballad “Best Part” featuring H.E.R., to blissful eroticism with his song “Take Me Away," featuring The Internet’s Syd, to heartbreak and growth with his songs “Loose” and “Transform," featuring Charlotte Day Wilson, this album was undoubtedly a highlight of the decade for me. While it may not have had the critical acclaim or chart-topping success other albums had, it helped shape an important chunk of my life for sure. - Heav
Kanye West, Yeezus
Yeezus is Kanye West’s ultimate middle finger warped by club lights and Daft Punk. Every Kanye project is a different experience, but the opening seconds of "On Sight" signal just how absurd the ride is. The 2013 project was famously sent to Rick Rubin in the eleventh hour to trim the fat, and the result is a minimal experience with maximum musical chaos. Kanye tells the essentially autobiographical story of a sex addicted sociopath trapped in a self-made cesspool of debauchery. By the end, he is rescued from his sin by love, though it’s clear his persona has barely changed.
Yeezus exists to shock the ear. Kanye spits horny and delirious on tracks like "I’m In It" and "Send It Up," tracks with distorted production and absurd bass. "Blood on the Leaves" has one of the most memorable drops of the decade when Kanye unleashes a bizarro marching band at high volume over a Nina Simone sample. "New Slaves" is a furious rant against white power structures in society, and "Black Skinhead" is essentially punk rap. Not one song on the project could be considered tame or underwhelming. Yeezus is simply loud as hell. Kanye rages about the injustice he has been served, while disguising his cries for help beneath a layer of sexual violence. Yeezus is the most bold and red-faced project of the decade from Kanye. It is a villainous “fuck you” in musical form, and it is a delight. - Chip
The Weeknd, House of Balloons
“Bring your love baby, I could bring my shame. Bring the drugs, baby, I could bring my pain” is the perfect lyric to encapsulate House Of Balloons by The Weeknd. It was a gripping and chilling coming out party for Toronto singer. His mixtape's rise to mainstream media fame came off of its co-sign from future recurring collaborator Drake on his twitter, and proceeded to get rave reviews that spread much throughout the music blogs at the time. The mystique from the countless reverbs and autotune, hypnotic hums, and dark keyboards heard during House Of Balloons helps to create the aura of a romantic tragedy that is felt throughout. A couple of the best examples of this are present the standout tracks “Twenty Eight” and “House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls."
Lust, drugs, and emotional emptiness are common themes within the mixtape to help match the atmospheric production. It was a mixtape that burst onto the scene and has since created a yearning for this version of The Weeknd’s music his fans and critics alike. The mixtape set a template sonically for several of the R&B albums to come out since due to its sorrow riddled lyrics and dark production heard throughout. House Of Balloons is a chaotic rollercoaster filled with peaks of both euphoria and misery that challenges the platitude, “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." - Kee
Drake, Views
Before I divulge, let me lay out my biases so there is absolutely no confusion. I believe that Drake is one of the greatest artists and rappers of all time, simply because of his growth and improvement from project to project, his longevity at the top of the charts, and the mythos he has in the industry at this point, that if you have him as a feature on anything it will most likely chart and chart well. Also, I believe Take Care is his fourth best album of all time. With that, let’s dig in to why I included Views on my end of decade list. Now for starters, Views got a bad rap when it was released. It was lambasted and ridiculed and I did not have a clue as to why.
How can you slander an album with “Feel No Ways” on it? “Faithful” and those fantastic features from Pimp C and dvsn? “Controlla” and “One Dance," songs that rightfully dominated the charts that year and were in consideration for the songs of the summer? “Too Good," showing that rampant chemistry between Drizzy and Rihanna that they always have in the studio but never in a relationship? And lastly, the highlights of the album, “Weston Road Flows,” with Drake commenting on his upbringing and how it has made him the man he is today, immediately followed by “Redemption," a song that deserves to be in that “Jaded”/”Marvin’s Room” tier of Drake R&B songs, yet never receives the recognition that those songs get? I rest my case. Luckily, the popular belief now online is that the album has only gotten better as the years go by, and I am glad that people are finally starting to recognize such a flawless project. - Heav
Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
There is something special about being the master of your craft. It's even more special when the masters have never faltered in their craft, establishing themselves as the pinnacle of the genre they exist in. That's who Daft Punk is and has been for the majority of their career, and on their 2013 album Random Access Memories, the French duo created a fitting culmination to their 20+ year career.
The album was special in the fact that it represented a slight departure from their original style of composition. Instead of a heavy dependence on sampling and machine usage, the duo integrated live musicians into their composition, creating a delightful disco sound to go with their top-notch electronic production. The inclusion of Pharrell Williams, Giorgio Moroder, and Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers shifted their sound from purely techno with synthesizers to one similar to the funk and groove of the late 70s and 80s on tracks like "Giorgio by Moroder," the mega hit "Get Lucky," and the superior "Lose Yourself to Dance." The amount of detail that went into each track allowed a masterpiece to come into fruition: "Touch" involves over 250 musical elements, creating a sprawling record that acts like a genre bending, time traveling adventure and the purely futuristic and electronic "Motherboard" carries the album to a beautiful finish. Daft Punk displayed how to musically age with grace, creating an album that will stand the test of time. - Ritchie
Big K.R.I.T., 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time
This project was unlike most of today, and while we love a track that almost feels like a snippet, that quick euphoria feeling isn’t needed. Big K.R.I.T felt the need for a double album, one that satisfied over a long stretch of time. Almost 2 hours of music! “Big K.R.I.T,” the opener, has my favorite line in the entire project: “I had all the components to be the greatest of all time // but you won geography lottery so.” After 10 plus years he’s still making it known. From Robert Glasper blessing him on “The Light,” to “Miss Georgia Fornia,” with Joi's outstanding performance, 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time becomes important to this gentleman’s career as being nothing more than a flex of his muscle. The execution of the entire album was spot on. Two years removed and some hit or miss music since, 4eva represents a bright spot in his catalog, a true southern classic. - Michael
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
15 E’s, 1 E (Down an octave), 3 D sharps (up an octave), D sharp (down an octave), 3 C sharps (up an octave), C sharp (down an octave)
It's September 12th 2010, Kanye makes his way to the center of the MTV Video Music Award stage that features a microphone and an MPC, in a vibrant red on red outfit with gold chains that shined the pitch black theatre and proceeded to hit these keys that have become prominent with fans throughout the entire decade. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is easily one of hip hop's most grandiose and impactful albums of not just the decade, but all time. The album rejuvenated fans interest and love for Kanye after they'd been turned down by his then most recent album 808’s and Heartbreak.
Kanye creates countless moments where he flexes his prowess of production on the album: his unique utilization of sampling on the song “Power," to one of his more stripped down beats with heavy primal drums in the song “Monster." Kanye not only makes you feel what it's like to be at the top with lyrics like “Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it / Screams from the haters got a nice ring to it / Guess every superhero need his theme music," he gives you a glimpse at an emotionally damaged bottom that he feels throughout with lyrics like “The plan was to drink until the pain over but what's worse, the pain or the hangover."
One of this albums greatest highlights is its powerful features heard throughout. From the posse track “Monster,” where a star was born in Nicki Minaj to a flawless verse from Rick Ross on the song “Devil In A New Dress,” the features prove to not only be an accessory on the album but one of driving forces as to why it is so critically acclaimed. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy set the standard of the decade of what picture-perfect artistry sounds like. The album is a dramatic gesture to what Kanye loves and is yet most troubled by…himself. - Kee
Tyler, The Creator, Cherry Bomb
I have been a huge Tyler the Creator fan for a few years now. Not exactly since the onset, because 2010 when he was first starting to get big. I was 10 and more so focused on what was the main event of WWE Raw that night, and what was my homework I forgot to do for geometry. However, as the years went on, with the release of his album Wolf and the aforementioned Cherry Bomb, I became more rebellious and nonchalant, and went back to listen to his old stuff. What I found was an angry, violent, sound with captivating lyrics that was jarring and a little exciting to me.
While I couldn’t exactly identify with what was being said, I became a huge fan and I was ready for what Cherry Bomb had in store. Would it be more angry, ruthless beats that I found on the album Goblin, from his hit songs “Yonkers” and “Radicals," or more of a mellow feel to the music that I found on his next album Wolf with “IFHY” featuring Pharrell or the medley “PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer?" What direction would this madman go with? What I was rewarded with was some of the best production in music I had ever heard, and it still amazes me to this day. The album featured beautiful melodies in songs like “FIND YOUR WINGS” featuring soothing harmonies from Syd and Kali Uchis, or “BLOW MY LOAD” with Wanya Morris, or “FUCKING YOUNG/PERFECT,” as Syd and Uchis came together again to leave an indelible mark on the project.
Along with these delightful tracks, we also got to experience the development of Tyler as a rapper as he held his own with some of the best rappers of all time in Lil Wayne and Kanye West on the song “SMUCKERS." All in all, this album showed how Tyler progressed as a producer, and it reflected on his next album Flower Boy sonically. Also, as I wrap this up, him releasing the album again with the instrumentals as well was one of the happiest days of my life because I love this album so much and the “OKAGA, CA” instrumental is just majestic. Tyler said himself this album is his favorite and I agree wholeheartedly. - Heav
Kaytranada, 99.9%
Often times, a debut album is meant to be a warmup. A solid introduction into the music world that gives an artist ground to grow from and progress off of. The symbol of a debut is one where the artist dips their toe into the proverbial water that is the music industry. But for Kaytranada, the Haitian born and Montreal raised DJ who had already made a name for himself as a superstar on SoundCloud, his debut studio album did exactly the opposite. He instead jumped head first into the water, creating an irreplaceable debut masterpiece in the form of 99.9%.
In one fell swoop, the now 27-year old put together a dynamic album that defied genre by mixing funk, soul, R&B, and dance beats to create a hypnotic, percussion-based sound. Each of these elements mesh with a clear synth style, allowing Kaytranada to weave in and out of a variety of equally perfect sounds through the entire project. The lyric-based tracks are perfect: Phonte sliding on over a heavy mix of horn sounds and synth on "ONE TOO MANY," Anderson .Paak floating on the dreamy, two-part bass production of "GLOWED UP," and River Tiber crooning over an airy beat on "VIVID DREAMS" deserve top marks. The instrumental tracks deserve their flowers as well: "LITE SPOTS" showcased Kaytranada's crate-digging abilities as he sampled the 1973 Brazilian dance track "Pontos de Luz," stripping down the classic rhythm and cutting it into a bouncy dance beat and "WEIGHT OFF" featured an especially entrancing drum beat from BADBADNOTGOOD's Alexander Sowinski. One would be hard-pressed to find another debut album that so flawlessly announced an artist's arrival. - Ritchie